How to make cassava bread
Jump to RecipeCassava, or as it’s commonly known in Dominica, manioc, was one of the main Carib Indians’ (Kalinago) staples. The cassava plant’s root is the most valuable part of the plant. The Caribs would often use this root in various ways, including farine, which a byproduct of cassava and flatbread called cassava bread.
Cassava bread is very filling, served as a meal on its own, or used with other food items. Additionally, there are many great benefits of cassava bread. This bread is fat-free and rich in fiber. It has a long shelf life of up to 8 months and a great option for wheat.
How is cassava bread made?
When I was growing up in Dominica, a small cassava plant was located on Back Street, next to my grandparent’s house, in my village of Thibaud.
I remember witnessing the workers peel the cassava, grate the pieces on a large grater. It would go through a manual extraction process, where the liquid was extracted. The residue would then be shaped in a flatbread shape and placed in a large heavy pan, where it was heated with a wide open fire below the container. As you’ve noticed, this was a very involved process that needed lots of attention.
Creating cassava bread in such an authentic way is exceptionally complicated and something that I’m unable to do at home. Instead, with the advice of my sister, Marva, in Toronto, who’s often watched my mom make cassava bread, I’ve added some store-bought cassava flour and water, and tried to recreate this childhood favorite.
View recipe below. I’ve slightly adjusted it a bit to get my bread into a round shape.
Here’s how to make cassava bread
I used my cassava bread to make smoke herring and codfish sandwiches. Here’s my recipe for codfish bulljaw.
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Cassava bread
Equipment
- Cast iron griddle (heavy)
Ingredients
- 3 cups farine set aside ½ cup
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup cassava flour
- salt I didn't use salt for this recipe since I was adding salt fish. It also depends on your intake level. You can also use sugar, if you prefer a less savory option.
Instructions
- Mix dry ingredients in a bowl
- Add water and mix well
- When mixture has achieved a doughy like consistency, roll into little balls
- Roll balls with the palm of your hands, and flatten slightly like s disk
- In a plate, cover balls with the rest of the farine to create a very course texture
- Place on a hot heavy cast iron griddle pressing down to flatten with and roast on both sides until lightly brown
- Remove and serve or add your special accompaniment
This looks like a great recipe, thank you. Question: What is farine? I know in French it is flour but in your recipe it may be something else? T I A for clarifying.
Doris
Doris, thanks for your question. It’s a byproduct of cassava. It’s not very fine, a bit coarse.
This is excellent! Thank you for sharing. I enjoy reading the stories and I am so excited to try out each recipe.
Hi Amanda! Happy that you enjoy the stories behind the recipes. All the best trying out the recipes.
Hi (sorry I don’t see your name),
This recipe is fascinating. I’m from the Dominican Republic where we have a similar type of bread, but less fluffy, that we call casabe. It’s always so nice to see how it seems we all have variations of similar dishes in the Caribbean. I’m leaving you a recipe of our version (I think it’s a bit of an acquired taste) for your enjoyment and comparison: https://www.dominicancooking.com/13313/casabe
Also, I’m going to make your codfish bulljaw. It looks very good! It’s similar to a codfish stew we make, but we don’t add the scallions, curry or hot peppers. This is going to be interesting!
Thanks!
Hi,
How was it? Hope you enjoyed your bulljaw. 🙂