Ghana Sugar Bread

Medium·2 hours

A soft, sweet, golden-crusted enriched loaf scented with nutmeg, with a tender, fluffy crumb that pulls apart in cottony strands. A nostalgic Ghanaian bakery and breakfast staple, eaten plain, buttered, or split around an omelette.

Sugar bread is among the most popular breads in Ghana, distinguished by its high sugar content and nutmeg fragrance; a fixture of Ghanaian home and bakery baking.

The crust is glossy and lightly chewy, giving way to a soft, springy crumb that is faintly sweet and warmly spiced with nutmeg. It tears in fluffy ribbons and melts a little on the tongue. Toasted with butter, the sweetness blooms even further.

The enriching butter, sugar and egg coat the gluten and tenderise the crumb, while sustained kneading still builds enough structure to trap the gas from a long, sugar-fed fermentation. Nutmeg gives the signature aroma.

Variations

tea bread (less sweet, tighter crumb), butter bread (extra butter), plaited or twisted loaves, made into bread rolls

On the Palate

Where Ghana Sugar Bread sits in the Ghanaian flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 8

500 gBread Flour

100 gSugar

2 tspActive Dry Yeast

How it's made

8 steps · 2 hours

1
8 min
Activate the yeast in warm milk with a spoon of sugar until frothy.
Watch out
Wait for a thick foamy cap on the milk — no froth means the yeast is dead and the loaf won't rise.
2
4 min
Mix flour, sugar, salt and grated nutmeg in a large bowl.
3
5 min
Add the yeast mixture, egg and softened butter and bring together into a dough.
4
10 min
Knead firmly for about ten minutes until smooth, elastic and slightly tacky.
Watch out
Knead until the dough turns smooth and springs back, tacky but not sticking to your hands — that's enough gluten to hold the rise.
5
60 min
Cover and let the dough rise until doubled, about one hour.
Watch out
Let it rise until doubled and a poked dent springs back slowly; the sugar makes it slower than a plain dough.
6
5 min
Knock back, shape into a loaf and place in a greased tin.
7
45 min
Prove again until risen above the rim, then brush with egg or milk.
8
30 min
Bake at 180C until deep golden and hollow-sounding, about 30 minutes.
Watch out
Tap the bottom — a hollow, drum-like sound means it's baked through; a dull thud needs a few more minutes.