Gullah Rice Bread

Name: Gullah Rice Bread
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 8
Cuisine: USA
Ingredients: 250 g cooked long-grain white rice, cooled (day-old rice works perfectly); 150 g rice flour (white rice flour); 50 g plain (all-purpose) wheat flour; 1 tsp instant dried yeast (or 1 tsp active dry yeast, activated in 2 tbsp warm water); 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp salt; 1 tbsp caster sugar; 2 large eggs, beaten; 200 ml buttermilk (or whole milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice, left 5 minutes); 2 tbsp vegetable oil or lard

A dense, slightly sour quick bread made from cooked rice and rice flour: the bread of the Gullah Geechee people of the South Carolina Lowcountry, using the fermentation techniques brought from West Africa: crusty on the outside, soft and faintly tangy within

Origin: South Carolina Lowcountry, USA (Gullah Geechee tradition)

From the journey of Rice.

Gullah rice bread is one of the most distinctive breads in American culinary history; made not from wheat but from rice, the grain that defined the Lowcountry economy for over 200 years. The Gullah Geechee people developed a range of rice-based preparations that drew on West African traditions of fermenting grains to make breads and porridges: this bread is a direct descendant of those traditions. Unlike the wheat-based cornbread of the broader American South, Gullah rice bread uses cooked rice (often day-old, leftover rice) as its primary ingredient, producing a bread of unusual density and a faintly yeasty, sour character from the brief fermentation. It was baked on the hearth, in Dutch ovens and in simple pans. The bread sustained enslaved communities across the Lowcountry; it was filling, made from the rice they produced but did not own, and could be baked with minimal resources. Today it is recognised as part of the important and endangered Gullah Geechee food heritage.

Ingredients

Rice

250 g cooked long-grain white rice, cooled (day-old rice works perfectly)

Flour

150 g rice flour (white rice flour)
50 g plain (all-purpose) wheat flour

Leavening

1 tsp instant dried yeast (or 1 tsp active dry yeast, activated in 2 tbsp warm water)
1 tsp baking powder

Seasoning

1 tsp salt

Sweetener

1 tbsp caster sugar

Binding

2 large eggs, beaten

Liquid

200 ml buttermilk (or whole milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice, left 5 minutes)

Fat

2 tbsp vegetable oil or lard

Method

Combine the cooked rice, buttermilk, and yeast in a bowl. Mash with a fork to break up the rice grains partially (some texture remaining is desirable). Cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place for 1 hour to briefly ferment.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the rice flour, plain flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
Add the beaten eggs and oil to the rice-buttermilk mixture. Stir well. Add the flour mixture and stir to combine into a thick, wet batter (this is not a kneadable dough; it will be sticky and loose).
Grease a 900g loaf tin generously with lard or oil. Pour the batter into the tin; it should fill it about two-thirds. Smooth the top with a wet spatula.
Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan). Bake the bread for 35–40 minutes until a deep golden brown and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and rest in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out. Cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before slicing. The bread is best eaten warm.
Serve sliced with salted butter, or alongside Hoppin' John, red rice or any Gullah Geechee meal. Excellent with pot likker (the cooking liquid from Hoppin' John) for dunking.

Notes

Gullah Geechee food traditions, including rice bread, Hoppin' John, red rice, and many other dishes, have been recognised by food historians and cultural preservation organisations as an endangered and irreplaceable part of American food heritage. The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, a federally designated corridor running along the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, works to preserve this culture. The people who created this food were enslaved, brought from the 'Rice Coast' of West Africa specifically for their agricultural expertise, and they built the rice economy of the antebellum South with their knowledge and their bodies. Their food deserves to be known, cooked, and credited properly.

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