Sunday Baking: A Beautiful Easy Quick Bread Recipe - Zuri's South African Picnic Bread (2024)

Sunday Baking:

A Beautiful Easy Quick Bread Recipe

– Zuri’s South African Picnic Bread –

Today’s post is tinged with some sadness; my recipe today is for Zuri’s South African Picnic Bread, and it has been made by way of a condolence message for my good friend Zuri (Zuretha) who lost her husband Gideon last week.Such is the power of the internet that on-line friendships can be made (and sadly broken too) and some of you may find this strange when I say that I have not actually met Zuri, in the flesh so to speak! I have spoken to her on-line, via forums, Facebook and other messengering services, we have written to each other and exchanged gifts and cards, and I have also spoken to her on the phone, but I have never met her in a physical sense. But, as is so often the case, we “clicked” the very first time we “met” each other and although I have not been in such constant contact recently,we still exchanged a regular greeting or comment on-line. It was last week that Zuri posted on her Facebook wall that her husband had died, and I was very upset (as I have also spoken to him on the phone too)…….There is a “cook-a-thon” in Gideon’s memory on a major American food site, so I joined in and this is what I made, Zuri’s amazing, and I mean amazing, Picnic Bread.

Zuri is a fascinating person, she is an author of several books, some in Afrikaans as well as English and also a cookbook; she is part of the Stellenbosch Writers Group and was also the food editor of a major South African magazine.One of the strong bonds that links us so firmly as friends, is the fact that I was born in South Africa, so we have lots in common. We were both born in the Western Cape – I was born near the sea in the Cape, Wynberg, and we lived in Fish Hoek, but Zuri comes from the stunning Hex RiverValley, where lots of the grapes for the South African wine industry are grown. I have shared some of Zuri’s stunning photos of her homeland below…..

……and as I said, I was born and lived near the sea……

……But back to today’s recipe! I made the recipe for Zuri’s Picnic Bread two days ago, and we have enjoyed it for breakfast two days running now, with freshly boiled eggs, a pot of tea and some slices of ham.The texture is moist and almost “pudding like”, but it is NOT heavy at all, and this quick bread recipe is JUST packed with flavour. I LOVE the cheesy taste, there’s a lot of cheese (and eggs) in this recipe, and I can see why fishermen would have taken it out with them, as it’s packed full of protein and would have made a very filling snack. Zuri’s original recipe was double the quantities I have shared today, and I have also had to convert it to metric, as the recipe I was following was posted on an American site, and was in US cups. However, as you can see from the photos, the bread came out amazingly well with a rich yellow colour thanks to the cheese AND my hen’s eggs too.

I have made many of Zuri’s recipes in the past, and I have three of her books – The Saffron Pear Tree and Other Kitchen Memories,Sea spray and cherry peppers (both kindly sent to me by Zuri and signed for me!) as well as her fabulous cookbookRoast Duck on Sunday – a book packed with homely recipes, South African and also French inspired.I hope you have all enjoyed your brief excursion to South Africa today, PLEASE DO try this recipe and let me know what you think of it, as I am sure Zuri would love to know too……that’s it for today, have a wonderful Sunday and I will see you soon with MORE recipes, some reviews and a new giveaway! Karen

NB: MY adapted recipe for this recipe is shared below.