Easy Trinidad hops bread

17.11.15 | Recipe by Renz


The perfect bread roll that is soft on the inside and nice and crusty on the outside. These Trinidad hops bread are the perfect dinner rolls. This well-loved favorite is perfect for sandwiches or just to eat plain out of the oven.

  
A dish of completed hops bread in a large bowl stacked together.




Getting sent to buy a quart of this was the most amazing thing ever. You went into the bakery empty-handed and came out with a brown bag of hot crusty bread.

In this bag was piping hot bread just ready to be devoured. I know my mom sometimes made us buy extra because we just needed to eat hot hops in the car on the way home.

They disappeared as quickly as they came in.

And we didn't just eat them as sandwich bases,  these rolls are also great to sap up some stew chicken gravy.

  

What is Trini hops bread?


In Trinidad and Tobago, we kind of like to give things our own names.

What we refer to as hops bread, is really just a dinner roll.

How it varies is that the outside of the bread is crusty and the inside soft. Most times the shape may be more round than square. But this depends on how many balls you put into your tray.

Ingredients for making hops bread

  
All ingredients needed to make hops bread portioned out.



This bread recipe includes some simple ingredients that are just some pantry basics.

  • Water.
  • Shortening - Crisco is always my go-to for shortening.
  • All-purpose flour.
  • Salt.
  • Sugar - when baking this I use granulated sugar versus brown sugar. I feel like it's easier to mix in.
  • Instant yeast.

Equipment


  • Mixer - this can be a hand mixer or a stand mixer
  • Baking tray
  • Kitchen towel
  • Plastic wrap, plastic bag, or foil


Making these dinner rolls


So let's make these things with a little step-by-step through the process for you.

Go ahead and add the shortening to some hot water. Give it a stir. I also crush it a little against the side of the cup then mix it again in the liquid to help it along with the melting. You can set that to the side for now.

In a large bowl combine your dry ingredients. We are not going to do all of the flour though, just 5 cups. So it's the flour, salt, yeast, and sugar we are going to combine.

  
Dry ingredients of flour, sugar, salt, yeast for making hops bread.


By now the shortening water should be lukewarm in temperature. Take it and gradually the warm water to the dry ingredients. And keep kneading it in.

You can use your hands or use your stand mixer or a hand mixer here. Then go ahead and add in the remaining flour. You want to continue to combine until you get a stiff dough.

  
Mixing the dry ingredients for the bread with the wet ingredients to create a sticky dough ball.


If it's better for you, you can remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a clean surface, dusted with a little flour, and knead it all together on the floured surface.

Now go ahead and place the dough in an oiled bowl, and cover with a damp kitchen cloth, or damp paper towel. We are going to leave it to rise until the dough has doubled in size.

  
Dough for hops, left to raise to double it's size while covered with plastic wrap.


Punch the dough down then separate and form them into individual balls. I try for 3-4 inches or so.

  
Bread dough pulled out then shaped into balls.


Place them on your greased baking tray and then cover them again with the damp cloth. We will allow the rolls to rise again to double the size.

Place your tray of dough in your preheated oven and baked for about 15-20 minutes, and until golden brown.

  
Unbaked, risen hops bread dough balls ready to be baked.


How do you use fresh hops?


Hot bread is always good with slices of cheddar cheese or with some butter.

But all-time favorite add-ins are:
  
Close up images of just baked Trinidad hops bread in the baking sheet.


Alternatives


Flour - you can use different flour here. Some people switch out the white flour for wheat flour and make wheat hops.

Best way to store rolls


We want to keep these as fresh as possible for as long as possible.

Before we store these anywhere, we want the rolls to be cooled down. You can leave them on a cooling rack, and allow them to get to room temperature.

Once cooled, wrap them in plastic wrap, a plastic storage bag, or even foil. If using foil make sure it covers everything and no parts of the hops are exposed. It's best to wrap each one individually. If using a storage bag try to remove as much air as possible from the bag prior to closing it.

If you have fast eaters then you can store them on the counter or in a bread bin for a few days. I say five days maximum.

If it's going to take a while to eat these, you can store them in the freezer.

  
Close up of couple of hops bread with lettuce, cheese and tomato to make a good sandwich.


Can you make these ahead?


If you want these for a special occasion, making them ahead will help you to ease the stress.

You can make these and then place them in the freezer till you are ready to use them. Then remove and get to room temperature. Placing them on a baking rack is best.

You can also make the dough but don't bake them. Put them in the freezer in the individual balls. When ready to use, take out and bring to room temperature, then bake as instructed.

  
Hops bread sliced with tomato, cheese and lettuce on a brown cutting board.



Do you like making rolls? If you try this recipe let me know how it went for you. Leave a rating and comment in the recipe card below.

 

 

Here are some other Caribbean bread recipes: