Sorghum squash potbread

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“Isonka sesiXhosa is another name for potbread. Most people in the village grow pumpkins, so there’s no shortage. This is what I like to do with all the extra squashes that are left over after harvest.” – Lipato Shogole

Ingredients

500 g pumpkin or squash, cut into large chunks
2 cups water
salt, to taste
540 g cake flour
100 g sorghum flour
10 g instant dry yeast
40 g brown sugar
100 g butter

Cooking Instructions

1. Place the pumpkin, water and salt in a saucepan. Boil gently for 10 minutes, or until the pumpkin is cooked through.

2. Drain, reserving the water, and allow the pumpkin to cool. Mash the pumpkin using a potato masher to make a rough- textured purée.

3. Place the flour, yeast, 1 t salt and sugar in a large bowl. Combine well using your hands. Add the pumpkin purée and stir through the dry ingredients, then add the pumpkin cooking water, stirring until you have an orange-hued dough.

4. Flour a work surface well and knead the dough until smooth and firm. Grease a 25 cm flat-bottomed cast-iron pot generously with the butter, greasing the inside of the lid, too.

5. Place the dough in the pot, cover and allow to prove for 30–40 minutes or until doubled in size.

6. Prepare the coals, then place the pot onto the coals, covering the lid with more coals. Keep the pot close to the coals
but not too close. Rotate the pot often to prevent the bread from burning. After 40 minutes, check the bread by tapping its surface – if it is cooked through it will sound hollow when tapped. Remove the bread from the coals and allow to cool before turning out onto a board. Slice and serve warm.

Find more South African recipes here.

Photographs: Jan Ras
Production: Khanya Mzongwana