Ash bread and sheep’s tails

The humble sheep’s tail eaten with ash bread is food fit for a king. While filming a documentary about this Khoekhoen baking method, I watched wide-eyed as my hostess placed dough directly on sand on which a fire had been made, and then covered it with river sand and placed more coals on top. Half an hour later she dug out a pair of beautiful loaves and used a stone to scrape off the sand. The deep flavour was unique and the whole ritual was almost spiritual. But you don’t need to source river sand in order to bake your own ash bread. You simply need a few coals that have lost most of their heat. Make your dough 24 hours in advance, let it prove, and refrigerate it overnight. Take the dough out of the fridge 2 hours before you want to bake the bread so it can reach room temperature.

Makes 6 rolls

Preparation time 10 minutes (plus cooking time for the sheep’s tails and proving time for the ash bread) Cooking time 20–30 minutes

YOU NEED

FOR THE SHEEP’S TAILS

• 2 sheep’s tails per person – they are very rich; 2 per person is usually enough as a starter (but I have seen a large man devour 4)

FOR THE ASH BREAD

• 2 cups (500 ml) white bread wheat flour or cake wheat flour

• ½ sachet (5 g) instant yeast

• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) sugar

• ½ teaspoon (2,5 ml) salt

• 1 cup (250 ml) lukewarm water

• butter and makataan (wild watermelon) preserve or jam, to serve

THIS IS HOW

Cook the sheep’s tails Place the sheep’s tails in a saucepan, cover with water and cook for 1½ hours. Carefully remove the tails from the saucepan, season them with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and braai them over moderately high heat for about 20 minutes or until they’re browned nicely and the fat has rendered. Serve them with the ash bread.

Make the ash bread Combine all the dry ingredients, then mix in the water until the dough comes together. Knead the dough for at least 10 minutes to develop the gluten, then let it rest for about 1 hour or until doubled in volume. If you’re in a hurry, let it rise in sunlight. But remember, the longer (and more slowly) the bread takes to prove, the more the texture and flavour will develop.

After 1 hour you can either place a whole loaf in the coals or make individual rolls by dividing the dough into 6 balls and lightly shaping each one into a roll that’s 2 cm–3 cm thick.

Let the fire burn until the flames are gone and only coals and a layer of ash remain. The coals should still be hot but not glowing. Place the dough on top of the ashy coals and lightly cover it with more coals. Bake the bread for 20–30 minutes, depending on how much heat is left in your coals. You will immediately see it rise. If necessary, turn over the bread (or rolls) after 10 minutes. Bake until it makes a hollow sound when you tap it with a spoon. If there are any burnt spots, use a grater to remove them. Serve the bread with butter, wild watermelon preserve or jam, and the hot sheep’s tails.