Passionate about heritage cuisine, food historian and La Motte Culinary Consultant, Hetta van Deventer-Terblanche shares her Ouma Malgas‘ recipe for a traditional raisin bread.

Raisin Bread Recipe

Preheat the oven to 180 ˚C and butter a bread tin.

1 ¼ k milk

30 ml butter (traditionally pork fat was used, and it stays my preference)

4 x 250 ml cake flour

30 ml sugar

10 ml salt

100 g raisins

1 packet instant yeast

Bring milk and butter to boiling point. Cool down to tepid.

Sift flour, then add sugar and salt.

Add raisins and stir through flour.

Add yeast to flour mixture.

First stir the milk mixture into half of the flour en slowly knead in the rest of the flour until a soft dough has formed.

Knead properly until the dough is elastic (great exercise for the arms just before summer!)

Leave to proof in the bread tin in a warm spot until it has doubled in volume.

Bake for 45 minutes at 200 ˚C.

“Did you know: Hildagonda Duckitt (1840-1905) was ‘n formidable hostess and cook and South Africans is indebted to her for the heritage of documented traditional recipes and comments on society that were found in her diary after her death. One such inscription is about the annual trip with her family from their farm in Darling to visit a family in Klapmuts. They used to enjoy raisin bread on the journey.”

Featured image: Pierneef à La Motte’s Chefs Michelle Theron and Sergio Jacobs with their interpretation of Hetta’s traditional raisin bread.