The Staff of Life

I have lived most of my adult life in foreign countries of Asia, with long periods also in the Middle East, and West sub-Saharan Africa. Each region has it’s own type of bread. In many cases, it is not particularly enjoyed by a Westerner. Particularly in Thailand, and the Philippines, where the use of ovens has never become common.

The Indochinese countries (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos) were no exception. The first thing the French did when they colonized those countries (and the Cote d’Ivoire in W. Africa) was build bread ovens and teach the locals how to make good French bread. Consequently, good Western style bread is widely available in those countries.

India has perhaps the richest assortment of types of bread to be found anywhere in the world, as anyone having visited or lived there knows. The British also taught the Indians how to make bread familiar to the British palate to augment the already highly developed bread availability.

Central Asia and the Middle East bread is baked in an oven, but it is unleavened and therefore flat. I would not describe it as “Western”. It is perfectly adapted to the foods served. It needs to be consumed quickly after baking because it goes stale rather quickly. Consequently, the bread ovens are going most of the day, with little boys hauling stacks of it home on their heads, for their mothers.

Thailand in the late ‘60’s lacked Western bread even in Bangkok. One could find good baked bread only in the 5-star hotels. That gradually changed as tourism grew, and Western type bread became available in the larger cities of Thailand. Now it is widely available, mainly because of the ubiquitous Western tourist.

The same is to some extent true in the Philippines, though not to the same degree as in Thailand. The Filipinos still rely on steaming to produce the breads they may consume mainly as a snack. Rice is the main starchy item in the Filipino meal.

So when I have a craving for good quality bread, made with healthy ingredients I usually make my own. A bread machine (imported) is a convenient way to go for my household in rural southern Mindanao. I use “3rd Quality” wheat flour because it is unbleached, largely unprocessed and available locally. Sort of a half-whole wheat flour if you get what I mean. I can sometimes find imported real whole wheat flour in the larger supermarkets. Sesame seed is plentiful here, and oatmeal is imported and widely eaten. Dry yeast is also available and even the most rural Philippine market has sea salt. I bring in poppy seeds, milled flax seeds, and gluten, flax oil and Turbinado sugar (substitute dark brown sugar). These ingredients are used to produce what I call an “Oat-Seed Bread”. Recipe follows in metric and US measure:

Warm water: 430g (1-3/4C + 1 tblsp)
Oil, flax: 18g (4 tsp)
Salt: 5 g (1 tsp)
Sugar, Turbinado: 15g (1 tblsp)
Flour, white: 265g (2 C)
Flour, whole wheat: 135g (1 C)
Non-fat milk powder: 25g (2 tblsp)
Gluten: 15g (1 tblsp)
Sesame seed: 40g (1/3 C)
Flax seed, milled: 40g (3/4 C)
Poppy seed, blue: 40g (6 tblsp)
Oats, quick, rolled: 65g (3/4 C)
Sunflower seeds, hulled: 50g (1/2 C)
Dry yeast: 10g (1 pkg)

The sunflower seeds are best milled in a blender until they are fine granules. In a bread machine add the warm water, the oil, salt and sugar. Mix the dry ingredients well (except the yeast) in a big bowl, and add them to the liquid in the machine. Lastly, make a well in the dry ingredients and add the yeast. Bake it as “whole wheat”, “medium crust”, “large loaf”, and "start". Then you keep your fingers crossed that the power stays on for at least 4 hours until the bread is done.

You can make this bread the traditional way, in an oven using bread pans. If you do, I suggest doubling or tripling the recipe and freezing the sliced loaves. (In my opinion refrigerating bread ruins it.) It will be consumed pretty fast, guaranteed.

After it is cool, slice it to your preferred thickness. I use an electric knife and slice it about 1 cm thick. This bread bakes into a sturdy loaf. If you get hooked on this bread, or more likely the whole family does, you might consider purchasing a bread slicing machine – handy little gadget. Of course you may have really good bread available in markets near you.

This is no-nonsense, honest-to-goodness bread with hearty substance; the bread probably much like that which was described as the Staff of Life.


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