Spiced Jamaican rolls (bulla)

Sometimes referred to as bulla cake, these sweet, flat rolls are spiced with ginger and, often, molasses. They are a popular snack for school children and can also be filled with butter or cheese.

• makes

  6

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 100 g unsalted butter, chopped
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 385 g (1¾ cups firmly packed) brown sugar
• 4 cm-piece ginger, peeled, finely grated
• 700 g (4⅔ cups) plain flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• sliced avocado, to serve

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180°C. Place 185 ml water, butter, vanilla, sugar, ginger and 2 tsp salt in a saucepan over low heat and stir for 5 minutes until sugar dissolves and butter melts. Set aside to cool.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon into a bowl. Slowly pour sugar mixture into bowl, stirring to bring together.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Roll dough out to 2 cm-thick. Using an 11 cm cookie cutter, cut dough into 6 rounds.

Transfer rounds to oven trays lined with baking paper and bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown. Serve with sliced avocado.

Photography Chris Chen

As seen in Feast magazine, March 2014, Issue 29. For more recipes and articles, pick up a copy of this month's Feast magazine or check out our great subscriptions offers here.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.