Breads & Buns

Name: Jamaica Gingerbread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: 1 loaf
Cuisine: Jamaican
Ingredients: 2 cups flour; 3 Tbsp ground ginger; 1 Tbsp bicarbonate of soda; 4 oz margarine; 3/4 cup brown sugar; 3/4 cup molasses; 2/3 cup milk; 1 egg

These are the loaves Jamaicans bake and buy every day. Hard dough bread for breakfast and sandwiches, banana bread for a quick sweet slice, and rich gingerbread with molasses and spice. Easter Bun lives here too as a standalone favorite.

Standalone Recipes

A spiced, fruit-studded loaf sweetened with molasses or stout. Traditionally served with thick slices of Jamaican cheese, especially around Easter. Opens in a new tab.

Authentic Jamaican Easter Bun

Bun and Bread recipes on this Page

Hard Dough Bread

Banana Bread

Jamaica Gingerbread

Hard Dough Bread Recipe

Discover the staple of Jamaican kitchens. Dense, slightly sweet, and sturdy enough for sandwiches or toast.

Prep: 25 min + rise · Bake: 15–20 min · Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients

6 cups baking flour
1 1/2 tbsp salt
4 oz shortening
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups warm water
2 tbsp dried yeast
Glaze: 1/2 cup water, 1 tbsp sugar

Cooking Directions

Sift 5 cups of flour into a large bowl; add salt and rub in shortening.
Activate yeast with warm water and 1 tbsp sugar; rest 10 minutes until bubbly.
Stir remaining sugar into flour. Add yeast mixture; mix to a soft, pliable dough.
Knead about 10 minutes, adding more flour if needed.
Divide between two greased 4×8 inch tins. Proof until doubled, 45–60 minutes.
Brush tops with sugar-water glaze. Bake at 375°F on top shelf for 15–20 minutes until golden.
Cool before slicing.

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Jamaican Banana Bread Recipe

Prep: 15 min · Bake: ~60 min · Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients

1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, well-beaten
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup raisins
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Cooking Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a loaf pan.
Cream butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.
Mash bananas. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
Fold dry ingredients and bananas into creamed mixture until just combined.
Stir in raisins. Add a splash of milk if batter is very thick.
Pour into pan and bake about 60 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool on rack.

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Jamaica Gingerbread Recipe

Prep: 15 min · Bake: ~1 hr 10 min · Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients

2 cups flour
3 Tb Sp ground ginger
1 Tb Sp bicarbonate of soda
4 oz margarine
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup molasses
2/3 cup milk
1 egg

Cooking Directions

Sift the dry ingredients together.
Warm margarine, sugar, molasses, and milk until margarine melts.
Add this mixture and the egg to the dry ingredients. Beat well.
Pour into a greased 9×4 inch loaf tin.
Bake on the center shelf at 325°F for about 1 hour 10 minutes.
Cool completely, then store airtight for 48 hours before slicing and buttering.

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