Plate 09 of 10

Bakes and Saltfish

Name: Bakes and Saltfish
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 6, from 8 to 10 bakes
Cuisine: Guyana
Ingredients: 500 g Plain flour; 15 g Baking powder; 30 g Granulated sugar; 5 g Fine sea salt; 45 g Cold unsalted butter or shortening, cubed; 280 ml Lukewarm water; 1 L Neutral oil, for deep frying; 400 g Salted dried cod; 30 ml Vegetable oil; 1 large Yellow onion, thinly sliced; 2 medium Ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and finely diced; 5 cloves Garlic, minced; 4 sprigs Fine-leaf thyme; 1 whole Wiri wiri pepper, seeded and finely minced; 3 stalks Scallions, finely sliced; 3 g Freshly ground black pepper

The weekend breakfast. Despite the name, bakes never see an oven. Discs of leavened dough are dropped into hot oil, where they puff into hollow golden floats, then split while steaming and stuffed with salt cod boiled twice and sautéed with onion, tomato, garlic, fine-leaf thyme and wiri wiri.

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 25 min
Serves: 6, from 8 to 10 bakes
Difficulty: Medium

Researched · Kitchen testing pending

Four puffed golden fried bakes beside a pile of flaked saltfish sautéed with tomato, onion and red and orange peppers.

Bakes and saltfish is the weekend and holiday morning staple of Guyana. Despite the name, a Guyanese bake never sees an oven: it is a disc of leavened dough dropped into bubbling oil, where it puffs dramatically into a hollow golden sphere known as a float.

The puffed bake is split along its side while steaming and stuffed with saltfish, salt cod boiled to tame it, flaked, and sautéed with sweet onion, tomato, garlic, fine-leaf thyme and wiri wiri. The pillowy, slightly sweet, crisp dough against the briny, herbal fish is a pillar of Guyanese breakfast.

Ingredients

Bakes
500 gPlain flour
15 gBaking powder
30 gGranulated sugar
5 gFine sea salt
45 gCold unsalted butter or shortening, cubed
280 mlLukewarm water
1 LNeutral oil, for deep frying
Saltfish
400 gSalted dried cod
30 mlVegetable oil
1 largeYellow onion, thinly sliced
2 mediumRipe plum tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
5 clovesGarlic, minced
4 sprigsFine-leaf thyme
1 wholeWiri wiri pepper, seeded and finely minced
3 stalksScallions, finely sliced
3 gFreshly ground black pepper

Why they balloon

Baking powder and a little fat rubbed into the flour keep the gluten short, and twenty minutes of rest relaxes it. In 185 °C oil the underside crisps at once and traps the moisture inside; that water turns to steam, cannot escape through the sealed crust, and forces the top and bottom apart into a hollow sphere. Spooning hot oil over the top hurries it along.

Boil the cod and taste

Salt cod is preserved in salt beds. Fifteen minutes at a rolling boil, then a taste; another five if it still bites.

The five tastes on this plate

Salt is the desalinated cod against lightly salted dough. Fat is butter in the dough, the frying oil and the sauté. Acid is ripe tomato. Heat is minced wiri wiri and black pepper. Umami is dried cod and sweet cooked onion.

Equipment

5-quart heavy Dutch oven with a thermometer
12-inch skillet
Rolling pin
Slotted spoon and a wire rack
Serrated knife

The Guyanese kitchen fries in a deep cast-aluminium caldero and sautés in cast iron. Any deep heavy pot that holds 185 °C will make the bakes puff.

Method

Desalinate the cod20 min
Cover the cod with cold water and boil hard 15 minutes. Drain, rinse in cold water, and taste; boil 5 minutes more if still too salty. Drain well and flake fine with a fork, discarding skin and bones.
Cover the cod with cold water and boil hard 15 minutes. Drain, rinse in cold water, and taste; boil 5 minutes more if still too salty. Drain well and flake fine with a fork, discarding skin and bones.
Knead the bake dough8 min
Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Rub in the cold butter to fine crumbs. Add the warm water gradually, kneading 4 to 5 minutes to a soft, smooth dough. Do not knead longer.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Rub in the cold butter to fine crumbs. Add the warm water gradually, kneading 4 to 5 minutes to a soft, smooth dough. Do not knead longer.
Rest20 min
Divide into 8 balls, cover with a damp cloth on a floured surface, and rest 20 minutes.
Divide into 8 balls, cover with a damp cloth on a floured surface, and rest 20 minutes.
Cook the saltfish filling12 min
Heat the oil in the skillet over medium. Sauté the onion, garlic, wiri wiri and thyme 3 minutes until the onion softens. Add the tomato and black pepper and cook 3 minutes until it breaks down. Add the flaked cod and scallions and toss 4 to 5 minutes until the fish takes on the aromatics and the filling is moist but not wet. Keep warm.
Heat oil over medium. Sauté onion, garlic, wiri wiri and thyme 3 minutes until softened. Add tomato and black pepper; cook 3 minutes until broken down. Add cod and scallions; toss 4–5 minutes until moist, not wet. Keep warm.
Roll the bakes5 min
Heat the litre of oil to 185 °C. Roll each rested ball into a 12 cm disc about 5 mm thick.
Heat the litre of oil to 185 °C. Roll each rested ball into a 12 cm disc about 5 mm thick.
Fry to floats3 min each
Slide a disc into the oil. It sinks for a moment and rises. Ladle hot oil over the top continuously with a metal spoon and it will inflate into a hollow balloon. Flip and fry 1 minute more until golden on both sides. Lift to a rack and repeat.
Slide a disc into the oil; continuously spoon hot oil over it with a metal spoon until puffed. Flip and fry 1 minute more until both sides are golden. Transfer to a rack and repeat.
Stuff and serve
Slice each hot bake open along one side with a serrated knife to make a pocket, fill generously with the warm saltfish, and serve at once.
Slice each hot bake open along one side with a serrated knife to make a pocket, fill generously with the warm saltfish, and serve at once.
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Sensory cues of doneness
- Visual: golden-amber puffed spheres with a light sheen, hollow and steamy inside; a bright sauté of white fish, red tomato and green thyme.
- Auditory: a crackling, foaming sizzle as the raw dough goes in and inflates within seconds.
- Olfactory: hot fried sweet dough, garlic, sweet onion and briny cod.
Look for golden-amber, hollow bakes and moist white saltfish with red tomato and green thyme. The dough should crackle and puff rapidly; expect fried sweet dough, garlic, onion and briny cod aromas.

Storing it

Reheat leftover bakes 4 minutes in a 180 °C oven to restore the crust. Never the microwave, which turns them rubbery.

Troubleshooting

Flat, heavy bakes.: Oil under 170 °C, or under-rested dough. It must be 185 °C so the steam forms before the crust sets.
An oversalted filling.: The cod was not boiled. Boil it and taste a flake before it meets the aromatics.
A greasy, leathery shell.: Over-kneaded dough with a heavy gluten web. Four gentle minutes only.

Substitutions

One-to-one swaps, with the technique change each one needs.

Ingredient substitutions

Ingredient	Replace with	Culinary impact and technique adjustment
Salted cod	Smoked herring, canned sardines in tomato, or seasoned smoked salmon	One-to-one
Wiri wiri pepper	Habanero or Scotch bonnet, finely minced	One-to-one
Plain flour	Bread flour	A slightly chewier crust with a taller puff

Scaling

Half

Halve the dough and filling for 4 to 5 bakes. Keep the full litre of oil.

Double

Double everything for 16 to 20 bakes and fry one or two at a time so the oil holds its heat.

What to serve it with

Hot sweet milky tea
Sliced cucumber and extra pepper sauce
Cocoa tea spiced with cinnamon, fresh orange juice, or mauby

Questions

Why "bakes" if they are fried?

British colonial Caribbean dialect called unleavened griddle or pan breads bakes, and the name stayed on the fried version.

Can I use yeast instead?

Yes. Yeast-raised versions are float bakes; they need an hour's rise and come out airier with bigger hollows.

How do I reheat them?

Four minutes in a 180 °C oven or toaster oven. Not the microwave.