Tiger loaf

The queen of the bread jungle: The tiger loaf. Slice open and use for extra fancy sandwiches, serve with soup, eat plain with lashings of butter… there are so many ways to eat this fun loaf with its extremely soft and fluffy insides.

Credit: Quadrille / Ellis Parrinder

• makes

  1

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

It’s such a satisfying moment when you cut a slice and see the swirls of tiger markings that are individual each and every time.

Ingredients

• 240 ml tepid water
• 1½ tsp salt
• 3 tsp caster or granulated sugar
• 70 g butter, melted (or vegan butter – use one that’s close to 80% fat content)
• 400 g strong white bread flour
• 7 g (2¼ tsp) instant fast-action dried yeast
• orange and black gel food dyes (good-quality food dyes will really help you out)
• 3 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder (ideally, ultra Dutched black cocoa powder, as it’s darker in colour, although any will do)
• 3 tsp hot water
• neutral-tasting oil, for oiling

Makes: one 450 g (1lb) loaf

Rising time: about 1½ hours in total (the time needed will depend on the temperature of the room). 

Can be made vegan.

Instructions

1. To make the dough, add the tepid water, salt and sugar to a large bowl and mix until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Add the melted butter, then the flour and yeast and mix with a spoon until roughly mixed. Tip onto a work surface and use your hands to knead into a smooth, elastic ball of dough. You can use a little flour or oil to prevent sticking, but try to avoid using it. If the dough sticks to the work surface, use a dough scraper to easily remove it, but as you knead, it should become easier to handle. If you have a stand mixer or bread machine, then let the machine knead the dough for you.
2. Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Add orange food dye to one piece and knead until it’s orange throughout. Mix the cocoa powder with the hot water in a small bowl until smooth, then add this to a second piece of dough and knead in along with black food dye. The cocoa powder should help darken the base colour of the dough, so less black food dye needs to be added.
3. Place the different pieces of dough into 3 separate lightly oiled bowls and cover with plastic wrap. Leave to rise until about doubled in size. The time this takes depends on the ambient temperature of the room, so if it’s cold it will take longer, and if it’s warm it will be faster.
4. When risen, knock back and roll out each different coloured dough into a rectangle, about 10–12 cm (4–4½ in) wide and 42 cm (16½ in) long. Use a little oil to prevent the dough sticking to the work surface. (Tip: The dough will try to resist being rolled and stretched back. If this happens, let it rest for 10 minutes then come back to it. It will roll with less resistance once the gluten has relaxed.)
5. Layer the orange rectangle on top of the black, then place the white rectangle on top. Cut this in half so that you have 2 smaller rectangles, then place one half on top of the other. Roll out again to the same size as previously, then repeat cutting it in half and placing one on top of the other.
6. Lightly grease a 450 g (1 lb) loaf tin with butter. Shape the dough gently by tucking in the sides at the bottom so it looks like a neat loaf, with a smooth and taut top and any seams bunched underneath. Place in the prepared loaf tin and loosely cover with oiled plastic wrap. Leave to prove until the dough just reaches the top of the tin.
7. Around 15 minutes or so before the bread has fully risen, preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F/Gas mark 7).
8. Score the top of the loaf a few times using a very sharp knife or blade, then bake for 30 minutes, or until risen and browned on top. Eat fresh from the oven, or leave to cool first on a wire rack. Best eaten on the day it’s made, or store in an airtight container for 4 days – this bread retains its softness well, but popping a slice in the toaster also helps to refresh it. Alternatively, freeze.

 

Recipe from Bake Me a Cat by Kim-Joy, published by Quadrille. (RRP HB $32.99). Photography by Ellis Parrinder.

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.

It’s such a satisfying moment when you cut a slice and see the swirls of tiger markings that are individual each and every time.