Rewena Paraoa (Maori Bread)

For our recent Matariki celebrations it was decided that we make some Maori Bread to compliment our Pork meal. I shared with the team that I had a family recipe but unfortunately did not have an active ‘bug/plant’ (leavening culture) essential to make a traditional bread. Therefore I had to start from scratch with a ’starter plant’. Here is the recipe...

Rewena (Leavening for Maori Bread)
Original Starter:
2 cups of Plain Flour
1 teaspoon of sugar
3 slices medium sliced potato (or kumara)
Boil potato slices in 1 cup of unsalted water to mashing consistency. Cool. When lukewarm, mix all ingredients together to a fairly firm dough texture. Add more warm water if required. Put in a lidded container and leave in a warm place to ferment. This can take up to 1-4 days dependant on temperature. Then...
Feed this raw dough one day with 1/2 cup unsalted potato water, and the next day with 1 teaspoon of sugar. Mixing well each time. Continue alternate daily feeds.
After a few days of feeding, you generally have enough Rewena to make your first loaf.

Rewena Paraoa
5 cups of flour
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
2 tablespoons Sugar (adjust to taste)
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
Rewena mix

Method
Put flour, sugar and salt into bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour Rewena in and sprinkle baking soda over. Stir. You may need to add more lukewarm water. Mix and knead lightly for 10 minutes.
NB: Keep 2 heaped tablespoons of this raw dough in a large jar with lid (I have a small pierced hole in my lid). This becomes the next bug/plant which you need to feed daily.
Put into a lightly greased and floured round deep cake tin and cover with a lid or light damp cloth. Leave to rise to at least double it’s size (can take up to 7hrs to rise). The hot water cupboard is a nice warm place.
Bake in preheated oven 200 deg. C for about 30—40 minutes until golden brown. When cooked it will sound hollow when tapped. Rub a knob of butter on top to glaze. Enjoy...well worth the initial effort. (Sharon SciaScia, Matariki—25th June 2009)

It took ages to rise, so it was cooked that evening and eaten at kindergarten the next day. YUMMY KAI !