Hops Bread
Hops bread is a common bread made in Trinidad and Tobago. It is loved for its crusty top, especially when hot. Hops bread must be eaten within two days of baking or it can get rather firm. It tastes great hot, with melted cheese or butter. It also makes a great lettuce and fried fish sandwich.
Long ago hops was made mostly with white flour, but as people became more health conscious they added a little whole wheat flour to it. Adding whole wheat flour to the hops bread recipe does not compromise the taste but adds much to your health. The hops bread below was made with white flour and whole wheat flour. I encourage you to try it or as we say in Trini "try it, yuh go like it".
HOPS BREAD
4 cups flour
1½ tbsp. dry instant yeast
2 tsp. sugar
1¼ cups water
1 tsp. salt
Sift flour in a medium sized bowl. Add sugar, yeast, and salt.
Mix the dry ingredients well.
Form a well in the middle of the ingredients and pour the water all at once. Mix with a fork thoroughly before kneading. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes adding flour if necessary to make a medium stiff dough.
Grease the bowl and the top of the dough. Cover and allow the dough to rise for about 25 minutes.
Punch down the dough and form into balls. Place the balls on a grease tray and cover with a damp cloth, and allow to rise for about 1 hour or until it double in size.
Bake in a preheated oven 400°F for 20 minutes. Yields about 9-10 hops.
Variation
Whole wheat hops (as shown in the picture):
I like adding some whole wheat to my hops. You can try it by using instead 3¾ cups of flour and ¼ cup of whole wheat for this recipe.
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