I have named this quick bread, using Jamaican Patois
terminology. That is not to say it is something “Jamaican”. The Sweet Potato is
used in Jamaica mainly in soups, but also to make Sweet Potato Pudding. The
Cho-Cho or Chaoyte squash is used in soups, steamed as a vegetable, or pickled
to make “Escoveitched Fish”, a very Jamaican way of preserving fried fish. This
was very important in the days before refrigeration and probably came from the
European method for pickling fish in order to preserve it. In any event, neither
the sweet potato or Cho-Cho is used in Jamaica to make bread. I thought it
would be interesting therefore to try using these two Caribbean staples to make
something different. As inspiration, I drew on the sweet potato and zucchini
bread made in the US. Both the Boniato and Cho-Cho are not exactly like
the American Sweet Potato or Zucchini. They differ in starch and water content! My recipe therefore is unique, and based on experience gained by making other quick breads on this site. This
bread is very moist, dense, and with a thick crust. A slice will really "fill U Belly!" It’s delicious with a thick
spread of sweet cream butter, or jelly of your choice. As I said, it is very
moist, and if you can wait a day before slicing, it gets even more moist and
flavorful!
Ingredients
2
cups bread flour
1/3
cup oatmeal
1/2
cup brown sugar
1/4
cup white sugar
2
tablespoon honey OR Maple Syrup OR Golden Syrup
1
tablespoon molasses
1
teaspoon baking soda
1
teaspoon baking powder
1
teaspoon salt
1
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
½
teaspoon nutmeg
3/4
teaspoon allspice
1/2
cup dried fruit of your choice (small, dark currants or raisins. Dried mango
etc. I used dried mango because that’s what I had available)
¼
cup hot water
1 1/2 cups
grated chayote (cho-cho)
1½
cups grated sweet potato (not the American variety but the Latin American and
Caribbean type called “Boniato,” peel before grating)
1
tsp vanilla extract
Juice
and zest from 1 Lemon or Lime
3
eggs
½
cup vegetable oil
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grease a 9" × 5" × 3" baking pan with
butter. Line the bottom with parchment paper, and then flour the sides of the
pan.
3. Soak the dried fruit in the hot water and set aside
4. Grate the chayote and the sweet potato using the fine
holes on your grater. Mix together in a small bowl with the molasses, honey,
lemon/lime juice and zest (the juice from the citrus will help stop the potato
from discoloring). Add the soaked dried fruit to this mixture.
5. Combine the flour, oatmeal, baking powder, baking
soda, salt and spices.
6. Beat the eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla until pale in
color.
7. Stir in the grated chayote and sweet potato mixture.
8. Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix all
together quickly. It doesn’t matter if the batter is slightly lumpy, just don’t
overmix it. This is the stage that starts the reaction between the acid in the
lemon/lime juice and the baking soda that causes the bread mixture to bubble
and make it light. You do not want to waste time mixing at this stage or the
bread will be too hard.
9. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake
for 1 hour and 50 minutes or until a cake tester or skewer inserted into the
center comes out clean (this time may vary depending on the efficiency of your oven). Decrease the temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit
during the last 15-20 minutes if the bread appears to be browning too much. As it is baking, you may notice the batter bubbling a bit, almost like a pudding. When the bread is done, turn off the oven and leave the bread in for another 15
minutes.
Remove from oven and cool on a rack for 10 minutes
before turning out on to a cooling rack.
