July 10, 2016 - 2:06pm
Nelson Mandela Celebration Challenge Bake
With America's Independence Day and Canada Day out of the way there is another man who was instrumental in the independence for so many in his country; Nelson Mandela The South African holiday in his name comes up July 18th - a little over a week away. So Lucy thought a Nelson Mandela Challenge Bake would make for a fun summer celebration in his honor.
Post them here and happy baking
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But I think I'll pass.
I am game but need some rules. :D
was a very complex man who overcame much in his long life but ended up holding no grudges against anyone and becoming an inspiration for all folks the world over. There are lots of ways to approach this bread and Lucy has some ideas that might work. I say bake what you think would be a bread befitting such a man and explain why. So it might take some research to learn about what this man is like. You might even find out what bread he liked?
Here is a quick bio
SynopsisNelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, in Mvezo, Transkei, South Africa. Becoming actively involved in the anti-apartheid movement in his 20s, Mandela joined the African National Congress in 1942. For 20 years, he directed a campaign of peaceful, nonviolent defiance against the South African government and its racist policies. In 1993, Mandela and South African President F.W. de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to dismantle the country's apartheid system. In 1994, Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa's first black president. In 2009, Mandela's birthday (July 18) was declared "Mandela Day" to promote global peace and celebrate the South African leader's legacy. Mandela died at his home in Johannesburg on December 5, 2013, at age 95.
The whole bio comes from below
http://www.biography.com/people/nelson-mandela-9397017#early-life
It'll be fun!
:)
I don't know if I can make one but I'll try. Time is so short. :(
An interesting idea to shape a bread after such a noteworthy person. I am interested in this project but, unfortunately, will be away from home during this challenge. I would like to offer my thoughts in hope that someone would be inspired. Thank you for the link to his biography. I also researched DeKlerk. I'm not sure of Mr.DeKlerk's motives but he was also essential to the process of eradicating apartheid in SA.
There has to be a dark rye involved. Nelson was a dark man interfacing with the darkness of apartheid and the darkness of prison. But he was also a man of light that dispelled the darkness with persistence, kindness and a need for justice. He finally experienced the sweetness of recognition and change-not only in South Africa but in the world. He has been described as a unifier and a talented reconciler. He was definitely NOT a wimp.
If that was a description of a bread, I would say a long fermented, sourdough based, coarsely grained, multigrain rye with the addition of seeds and dried fruit. A long baked loaf that is well preserved by this process.
Multigrain reflects the different factions being brought together.
Seeds represent the issues that are worthy of discussion and change.
Sourdough reflects the bitter taste of defeat
Long fermentation reflects the long years of his imprisonment and the ultimate savoring taste of freedom
Dark rye reflects the darkness of apartheid and hate
Dried fruit (raisins,dates or figs) reflects the sweet moments of triumph-open elections, equality, Nobel Peace Prize,etc
Long,slow bake reflects the time it took to bring all the different factions together in cooperation for a delicious and peaceful co-existence.
Executed properly, all these disparate ingredients provide a balanced sweetness and sourness and an overall deliciousness in bringing all the different grains together. I believe the concept of this loaf would honor Nelson Mandela.
Great idea for a project. It illustrates that bread is more than a baking project to anyone passionate about bread.
Thank you!
well said
Check out dabrownman's comment here where he says, "You are too kind!" to get a true spirit of baking. http://www.thefreshloaf.com/comment/356159#comment-356159
It's the funniest thing but oh, so true! It might help with the inspiration thing.
Have fun!
Murph
In a letter Nelson Mandela wrote to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, his wife at the time, from Robben Island on August 31 1970 he says,
“How I long for amasi (traditional South African fermented milk also called “inkomasi”), thick and sour! You know, darling, there is one respect in which I dwarf all my contemporaries or at least about which I can confidently claim to be second to none – a healthy appetite.”
Before read this, I had pretty much decided on what bread I was going to make [I’ll probably still try it at some point]. Reading that Madiba longed for something so simple and taken for granted, made me think I should go for something a simpler. The more I thought about it, the more I started thinking that humble ingredients can be made extraordinary, and this was a fitting theme for a bake celebrating a humble man, who was nothing short of extraordinary.
So one ingredient down, inkomasi. Inkomasi is almost like buttermilk, only much much thicker and sourer. A very poplular South African meal is pap and inkomasi (pap is a stiff white maize meal porridge, a staple food in South Africa) so I thought of incorporating maize meal. Once I thought of maize meal I thought of polenta, which is essentially the same thing except polenta is made with yellow maize/corn. I decided to use both.
Apartheid separated people who are essentially the same based on appearance alone. Using two different types of corn meal, that look different and bringing them together was my way of representing the unity that Nelson Mandela taught about.
I wanted to stop there and keep it really simple and humble but I thought adding 3 different types of seeds (sesame, pumpkin and sunflower) would be a nice way to represent the South Africa’s cultural diversity which Nelson Mandela also celebrated [and South African’s like seeded bread!].
So essentially what I ended up with was a corn bread! Hands up, it’s not actually “bread”, but I think it shows what I was trying to get at.
The crumb is nice and fluffy, it doesn’t just fall apart which I like. The best part is the taste. I only added about half a tablespoon of honey so it’s not sweet, but the tang of the inkomasi is unmistakable!
I’m glad I added the polenta which has a much more distinct flavor than the white maize meal, the seeds at a nice textural component and nuttiness to the flavor. This was my first try at corn bread, and i'm really happy with it!
Thanks Dab for this challenge bake, it was fun to put more thought into a bake than usual!
I like your inspiration, Ru007! That bread looks wonderful!
I think it's great where you can get to a point and just think about what kind of bread you feel like doing and put it together with confidence that it's going to work.
I'm going to give that a try in a few weeks. Very exciting!
Murph
Glad you liked it :)
I think with bread its always fun to just give something new a try! Worst case, it doesn't work... big deal. LOL! That's the great thing about bread, you can always learn something from each bake.
Awesome, Ru, and inspired. I agree, though he was in many ways, a world leader, he was humble and respected the simple needs we all share. This is comfort food, how much more essential does it get? Nice job - enjoy!
Cathy
Glad you like it :)
It was fun challenge.
his wife to make to curb his longing for home. I personally am addicted to southern corn bread - a tinge fo sweetness,warm with bitter and honey. Simple but so satisfying.
I'm guessing his appetite is what got Nelson to 95 years old! Loved your write up and
Happy baking Ru007
Ru, you did an awesome job. It looks absolutely delicious!
I came up with the idea of this Mandela bread by reading his biography on the link provided. At one point in Mandela's life, he and his family survived by eating pumpkins, sorghum, beans and maize. So I decided to include these ingredients in my bread. I used pumpkin seeds, sorghum flour, cornmeal and black bean flour. I decided to make two separate doughs and then braid them together to signify the unity that Nelson Mandela was striving for. The cranberries were added for flavour but they could also signify the bloodshed that has happened over the years in South Africa. And I used my homemade starter for leavening the bread.
I did have to tweak the water and flour amounts as I was going along to come up with a dough that could hopefully be braided. The amounts listed below are the final amounts.
Dough #1
100 g cornmeal
200 g boiling water
50 g Robin Hood Best for Bread multigrain flour
150 g of Rogers no additives unbleached flour
152 g of water
50 g starter
6 g salt
50 g dried cranberries
57 g pumpkin seeds toasted
Dough #2
50g Black bean flour
50 g sorghum flour
50 g Robin Hood Best for Bread multigrain flour
150 g of Rogers no additives unbleached flour
195 g of water
50 g starter
6 g salt
50 g dried cranberries
57 g pumpkin seeds toasted
1. Feed starter, let rise to double on counter and put into fridge overnight.
2. Put boiling water into cornmeal and microwave for three minutes. Cool.
3. Mix flours and water from dough #1 and cornmeal soaker together. Autolyse for an hour.
4. Mix flours from dough #2 together, add water and autolyse for an hour.
5. Note that the following is done twice, once to each dough until it is time to shape.
6. Add the salt and starter to each dough, and mix well by pinching and folding. Let rest for half hour.
7. Give the doughs four folds on a wet counter using the letter fold method. Let rest another half hour.
8. Pat the doughs into a rectangle on the wet counter and add the cranberries and the seeds. Roll up the doughs and do another set of letter folds to integrate the cranberries and the seeds.
9. Continue the letter folds every half hour or hour until the doughs have risen by about 30%. Be sure to cover doughs with a towel or place in plastic bags to prevent the doughs from drying out. I found that the black bean dough had a tendency to do that.
10. Place dough #1 on well floured counter and divide into halves. Pat dough down and start rolling it into a rope. Let rest occasionally to relax the gluten. Rope should be about 2 feet or 60 cm long.
11. Repeat with dough #2.
12. Braid the four ropes together. I looked it up on YouTube.
13. Place on parchment paper and then into plastic bag to proof. Let proof until risen about 50%.
14. Bake at 450F with steam for 20 minutes. Drop temp to 420F and bake for another 40 minutes.
15. Let cool a couple of hours before slicing.
At this point, the bread just came out of the oven so I have no idea how it tastes. I suspect that the crumb is rather tight. I will update when I cut it.
Way to get some color! Love the add-ins and nicely braided to good effect - you beat me to it, mine will be braided, too, but it's chillin' overnight first.
Cathy
as you for proofing but I got impatient. I really did not get much rise or oven spring. However, I cut a few small slices and even though the crumb is quite tight, the flavor is awesome! It is sweet where the cornmeal is and it has a very nutty flavor where the sorghum and black bean are.
I think it turned out handsomely and am glad to hear that you're happy with how it tastes! I have similar concerns for my dough, want a lovely crumb, but even more so, I want two doughs that can be braided and hold their shape through proofing and baking. We'll see how it goes.
What a beautiful loaf Danni! Nice braiding.
I love how well thought out your choice of ingredients was.
Glad you're happy with how it turned out, it sure looks good to me.
Enjoy :)
what a wonderful idea. Loved the story about how he and his wife survived some hard times.with those ingredients incorporated in a braided read. Well done and
MHappy baking
Black bean for color. Who knew!
Very cool. That technique is pushing me even further into at least getting a Krups coffee grinder to mill down some flour. Is there such a thing as black bean flour or did you buy a bag of dried black beans and grind 'em up?
Good job with the braiding!! Thank you for including photos.
Murph
They are a bulk store with an amazing array of different things. They even carry sprouted flours which considering we live in a big city in the middle of nowhere, is not something I ever expected to find locally. I went into the store with the idea of finding some kind of bean flour and the idea of a two tone braid came to life when I realized that it would turn the dough dark.
Here is the crumb shot:
It turned out to be a pretty heavy bread. Next time, I may need to increase the proportion of white flour to the non gluten components of this bread and give it more proofing time. I think there will be a next time too since hubby is quite enjoying it.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/46378/nelson-mandela-challenge-bread
It looks absolutely delicious, as usual. What did Lucy come up with for this challenge? I see seeds and fruit and wonderful color.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/46378/nelson-mandela-challenge-bread
The crumb is highly aromatic, and soft and moist by the addition of potato water and olive oil. Whole grains represent 62%.
I’m looking forward to seeing all the variety of entries as they are submitted – each as unique as its baker.
Cathy
That looks awesome! And the crumb looks nice and soft! I also love your write up! Great job!
grain bread. And the braiding is exceptional too. Love the unity and circle of life theme too. Nelson was all about those two things and why is quite the inspiration for so many. This one is aromatic too - one of Lucy's favorite things with that huge nose she has:-)
I think Nelson was the West's Gandhi and your bread fits him to a tee. Well done and happy baking Cathy. Lucy sends her best to your furry apprentices.
Well, I may have cheated, included the cornmeal... technically a grain and I imagine it's whole. Without it, we're at 50% AP and 50% WW and whole rye, so still not too bad. I used my KA mixer, since I needed to prepare two batches of dough (I have two of these loaves), so autolysed the grains and potato water, then beat the heck out of it before adding the starter, spices and olive oil. I wanted to get a soft dough and tender crust, but also one that would hold its shape when braided. It's good that I chose to shape it right out of the refrigerator - would have been too sticky had I waited.
I was happy to see the response to the challenge - and such variety in interpretation. It's a marvel to see what people's minds can devise.
My travels to AZ had to be rescheduled to the coming week or so... but I was so looking forward to 115 F in blazing sun at remote mountain rock quarries. Ahh, it will come soon enough!
106 F now and it might rain at night to make the next day humid like Miami without the beach:-) Well, we have plenty of beach in the desrt but no ocean to go with it:-)
but I love a good thunderstorm as much as anyone does! There is almost no better photo opportunity than a stormy desert! Ooh, something to look forward to! Oh, yeah, and a bunch of rocks. Someone has to do it. :)
ground - Grand and Oak Break Canyon in Sedona. The rocks are twice as hot as the holes:-)
That is a beautiful loaf Cathy! Must have been tasty, i'm a chakalaka fan so this is definitely a win in my books!
Great write up i think you did a great job capturing the spirit of the in your loaf.
:)
What a wonderful bunch of breads from a wonderful bunch of people! I love how they are all excellent, yummy and creative breads in themselves, but how much thought and feeling went into making them significant to the challenge and the man too.
I'm humbled by you all...