Vegan Sweet Agege Bread (Sugar Bread)

You know how I say that I am so happy I was able to veganize a favourite Ghanaian recipe and it has been the most rewarding, well this is another recipe that has been the most reward. I will probably veganize another recipe and say the exact same thing.

In West Africa, bread has become a household staple. It is yet another thing we inherited from our colonial past but like everything we adopt, we make it our own. This is one of them. I do not think I have seen or tasted bread like this. It is not just flour, water and yeast like most European style breads but has its own flavour and twist. I think the closest to it is probably Japanese milk bread, which is also soft inside and sweet; however, it is prepared in a completely different way

Agege bread as it is known in Nigeria, or sugar bread is one of the many bread styles we have in Ghana. This bread is a staple in every Ghanaian household and present at the breakfast table. What I love about this bread is how fragrant it is. It is not just flour, yeast and milk but also includes nutmeg and vanilla, so when you are baking it or pull it out of the oven, your entire kitchen is going to smell incredible! The reason I was a bit hesitant about this recipe was the potential for it to be technical but after lots of trial and error I have it down for you to try.

For this recipe you are going to need

• Bread Flour and All purpose flour: I used a mixture of these flours because they provide the best texture combination. Bread flour has a higher protein content so it really gives that chewiness we love in bread. But, adding all purpose flour allows us to achieve a nice and fluffy crumb that is not too hard. 
• Yeast: This is a yeasted bread so it’s a no brainer
• Butter or Margarine: Vegan butter allows us to achieve a softer and richer dough. I will highly suggest an unsalted version so that you have more control over the amount of salt you will require. Margarine is the usual in Ghana as butter is not a big part of our diet so it should work well in this recipe
• Sugar: Plain old white sugar is best for this recipe. Make sure that the sugar is vegan as some plain white sugar use animal by-products for purification. I know, yuckkkk!
• Plant Based Milk: Oat milk and soy milk work best for this recipe. I know they are quite different in fat and protein composition but they tend to be the creamiest of plant based milks and help give the dough a nice richness to it
• Flavouring: It is not a Ghanaian recipe if there isn’t some kind of spice or flavouring. In this recipe you will need nutmeg and vanilla essence to give is a nice flavour and smell

How to Make it 

• One thing to remember is to make sure that all you wet ingredients are not cold, this means warming the milk that is used to bloom the yeast to activate it faster, melting the butter for ~ 30 seconds to combine with the dough and also warming the milk mixed into the dough
• Activate Yeast: You are first going to activate the yeast in warm milk and sugar till the mixture is nice and frothy. I usually warm my milk in the microwave for ~30 seconds; you do not want the milk to me too warm otherwise you will kill the yeast
• Mix dry ingredients: you are going to mix the flours, salt and sugar together till well combined
• Add the wet ingredients: You are going to add in the yeast mixture and the melted but. Mix in the milk slowly because you may or may not need it all. 
• Knead: To build gluten, knead the dough for about 5-10 mins till it has gone from tough to soft
• First Rise: You will let the dough rise in a warm place till doubled (45mins -1hr)
• Shape: After the rise, you will shape the dough into a nice tight log
• Second rise: You will place the shaped dough in the loaf pan and let it rise again for another 25 mins. Double rising really makes the final loaf nice and soft, which we want
• Bake: Bake at 325°F for 40 min
• Cool and Slice

What can I eat with this bread

• In Ghana, it is served warm with hot chocolate and a generous spread of magarine or groundnut paste.It is also served with akara or kose–a bean fritter, which most people turn into a sandwich.It also pairs beautifully with beans for breakfast like in ewa agoyin or just on with tofu scramble

FAQ

• Can this be made gluten free? Unfortunately not, the texture and consistency of the dough is dependent on the gluten from the flour, which is difficult to replicate with just gluten free flour without additive like xanthum gum
• Can I substitute white flour for whole wheat? Potentially, this will require different ratios that may not be feasible with this recipe but I will work hard to provide a whole wheat version

So with all the questions and details out of the way, lets get to the real reason you stopped here in the first place

Print Recipe

Vegan Sugar Agege Bread

Baking – Ghanaian

By Afia – Serves: 12 slices

Prep Time: 1 hour 15 mins – Cooking Time: 40 minutes – Total Time: 2 hours

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 1/2 cup warm soy milk*
• 155g ~ 1 cup bread flour
• 356g ~ 2 cups all purpose flour
• 54 g ~ 1/4 cup of white sugar
• 5 tbsp vegan butter or margarine
• 3/4 cup warm plant milk (oat milk is best)
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Instructions

1

Activate the yeast by mixing it with 1/2 cup warm milk and 1 tbsp sugar and setting aside for 10 mins till it has bloomed (nice and frothy)

2

While the yeast is being activated, mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl

3

Once the yeast has bloomed, create a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the yeast and melted butter.

4

Add the milk in slowly till the dough has formed into a ball. I say add it in slowly because you might not need all the warm milk to get the dough to come together. If you accidentally add more milk and find the dough is too sticky, add in a little all purpose flour at a time (1 tbsp at a time)

5

Once the dough is well combined, you are going to knead it for about 5-10 minutes, till the dough is nice and soft. If the dough starts to get sticky whiles kneading, sprinkle a little all purpose flour on it till it is well combined

6

After kneading, place the dough in a well oiled bowl and let it rise for 45 - 1 hour (till it has doubled in size). I would usually warm up my oven for a little (to around 100°F and turn on the oven light) to create an environment for the dough to rise

7

After it has risen, take out the dough and shape it into a log: To do this, slightly stretch out the dough into a square, bring in the top left and right corners in about 1/3 of the way till the dough looks like a pentagon and press in. Then bring in the top of the pentagon to where you have pressed in the corners and press in the dough to create a log. You are going to continue rolling the dough till everything is nice and tucked in. Roll around the dough to create a log and the seam has closed

8

Once you have shaped the dough, you will place the loaf seam-side down in a well oiled loaf pan to rise again for 25 minutes. I used an 11.5 inch long by 6 inch wide loaf pan. To properly oil the pan, lightly brush the pan with oil and dust some flour into the pan. This really creates a barrier between the loaf and the pan to make it easier to remove the bread when it is done

9

As the dough is rising for the second time, preheat the oven to 325°F

10

After the 20 mins, place the dough in the centre of the oven with a pan of warm water on a rack below. The steam helps keep the dough nice and moist as it is baking

11

Bake it at this temperature for 40 mins

12

When the time has passed, take the bread out and let it cool. If you are unfamiliar with this type of bread do not be worried that it will feel soft when you touch the top; it is cooked through. You can also lightly spread some butter on top to give the loaf a nice shine

13

Cooling the bread is important in allowing the gluten to relax and maintain the shape of the loaf. If you cut it too early, the bread will disfigure and you will be left with a squished loaf

14

Once the bread is cool, you can slice and enjoy

Make sure to pin this recipe for later