What is Vetkoek?

Vetkoek is a deeply fried South African bread. It is often consumed with a number of sweet and salty fillings. The Afrikaner word is pronounced "fet cook" and literally means fat bread, probably because of the fact that the bread is a fried place of roast.

Dutch immigrants who moved from Cape Town to the interior of South Africa at the beginning of the 18th century, known as voortrekkers , or "those who went forward" began to produce Vetkoek because it was faster and easier to cook than typical breads. Bread is similar to Dutch Oliebollen, a sweet fried bread containing raisins. Vetkoek could be a spicy derivation of oliebollen without raisin.

Vetkoek is a traditionally yeast dough made of flour, yeast and salt. Sometimes it also contains sugar or butter. Liquid in bread can be water or combination of milk and eggs. Dough preparation is similar to typical yeast bread body - yeasts are first demonstrated in water, other ingredientsOU then mixed and the dough is allowed to rise at least once and sometimes twice. Some versions of recipes use baking powder for yeast jump, in which case the dough may not rise.

yeast dough is in the shape of balls, usually not more than 2 inches (about 5 cm) in diameter. If the dough with the baking powder is used, the dough is simply lowered into the oil with spoons. Any type of oil can be used to cook sausages. Dough balls are usually fried in oil several inches (about 7 to 8 cm) deep. They are fried on each side for a few minutes until the dough is golden brown and cooked, then exhausted.

Vetkoek can be consumed for any meal or for a snack. Popular sweet tops for bread include syrup, honey or jam and butter. Sweetened versions are usually served with strong black coffee.

There are many salty versions for Vetkoeks as well. One particular type is known as Kari ZajIce - fried bread filled with ground beef, which was cooked by curry spices. It is a popular delicacy for pupils in South Africa. Other popular spicy fillings include regular ground beef, beef and various types of cheese.

Variations in filling buns by spicy ingredients after cooking is to cook the filling into the buns. Crocked cheeses or chopped vegetables can be incorporated into the dough. Alternatively, the dough can be fried before frying around the filling.