Steamed Sweet Potato Bread

For those of you who left your oven at home (or if you have reliability issues with your oven, like me), a good option for some of your favorite recipes is to steam them. When I made pumpkin or banana loaves, they would inevitably burn on the bottom before being cooked through, due to my bottom-only gas heat (and a puny fan).

Last weekend I mixed up my own version of a sweet-potato raisin loaf, and decided to try steaming it instead of baking. I lined a flat-bottomed sieve (easy to find in Korean kitchenware or dollar stores) with a cheesecloth, poured in the dough, and put it in our steaming pot. About 40 minutes later, it was cooked through and ready to eat, piping hot!

I don’t see why this wouldn’t work with any other soda bread (banana, pumpkin, etc)—just cut back a bit on the liquids so it won’t run through the cheesecloth. I’ll report back soon—I have accumulated a fair bit of mashed banana in my freezer that should be used soon.

The only drawback to steaming is that you’ll need to eat it fairly quickly—it’s not so good after a day or two. Not that it will last that long, anyway.

My in-laws usually taste my baking cautiously, pronounce it to be delicious, and then stick it in the corner until it is moldy enough to be thrown away. Not this time.

Success!!

Now here’s the recipe for

Sweet Potato Raisin Nut Bread:

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

1/2 lb mashed cooked sweet potatoes (about 1 1/3 cups)

4 tbsp brown sugar

½ cup melted butter, shortening, or oil

2 small eggs

½ cup raisins

walnuts (for decoration)

Sift the dry ingredients (except the sugar) together in a bowl and set aside.

1. Beat the Mashed potatoes with the brown sugar, butter, and eggs until mixed.
2. Add the flour mixture, and mix just until moist. Stir in the raisins.
3. Line a steamer or flat-bottomed sieve with cheesecloth. Pour in the dough, and arrange the walnuts in a decorative pattern on top. Lay the cheesecloth lossely over the top of the dough.
4. Steam over boiling water for about 30 minutes, or until done. Unwrap and serve immediately.