Agege bread
Vegetarian
A dense yet very soft, slightly sweet and stretchy white loaf, famous on Lagos streets. Long kneading gives it its signature tight, pull-apart crumb.
Agege bread is a Nigerian bread, ready in about 3 hours 35 minutes and made with bread flour, sugar and instant yeast. It serves 12 and is rated intermediate to cook.
No licensed photograph of this dish yet.
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Rest
- 2 h 30 min
- Total
- 3 h 35 min
- Serves
- 12
- Level
- Intermediate
- Calories
- 210
Method
Step 1
Mix the flour, sugar (opens in a new tab), yeast, salt and milk powder (opens in a new tab), add the water and knead 5 minutes. Add the butter (opens in a new tab) and knead 15 minutes more until very smooth and stretchy; the dough is firm.
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels Step 2
Imitate the bakery 'brake': roll the dough out thin with a rolling pin (opens in a new tab), fold it in three and roll again, 8–10 times, until it is satiny with no air bubbles.
How it looks · Photo: Katerina Holmes on Pexels Step 3
Cover and leave until doubled, 60–75 minutes.
- 70 min
Step 4
Roll into a tight log, place seam-down in a greased 900 g loaf tin (opens in a new tab) and proof until it crowns just above the rim, 45–60 minutes. Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 180 °C.
- 50 min
- 180°C
- Loaf tin (opens in a new tab)
Step 5
Bake 28–30 minutes until golden brown and 90–93 °C inside. Cool completely on a rack before slicing.
About this dish
- Origin
- Agege, Lagos, Nigeria · Commonly attributedNamed after the Agege area of Lagos; commercial bakers knead it with dough brakes, imitated here by long kneading.More food from Nigeria
- Dish
- Breakfast · Snack · Breads & flatbreads
- Cooking method
- Oven-baked, Fermented
- Taste
- sweet, mild, buttery
- Diet
- Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free - Good for
- Everyday · Child-friendly
- Cook more with
- Bread flour · Sugar · Instant yeast · Milk powder · Butter
- Techniques
- Baking · Kneading · Fermentation
Allergens
- Contains: Milkfrom milk powder, butter
- Contains: Wheatfrom bread flour
- Contains: Glutenfrom bread flour
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
210 kcal per serving
Calculated1 serving ≈ 71 g · recipe makes 12
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 11%
- Carbohydrate 69%
- Fat 20%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 210 kcal | 296 kcal |
| Protein | 5.7 g | 8 g |
| Carbohydrate | 36.1 g | 51 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 34.9 g | 49.3 g |
| Sugars | 5.8 g | 8.1 g |
| Added sugars | 5 g | 7.1 g |
| Fibre | 1.2 g | 1.6 g |
| Fat | 4.6 g | 6.4 g |
| Saturated fat | 2.5 g | 3.6 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 11 mg | 15 mg |
| Sodium | 261 mg | 368 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.7 g | 0.9 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 71 mg
- Calcium
- 25 mg
- Iron
- 1.9 mg
- Magnesium
- 13 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 33 µg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.2 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.1 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 134 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- Brush the hot loaf with a little butter for a soft crust.
Common mistakes
- Adding water to make the dough easier gives a lighter, more ordinary loaf.
Serve with
- Eat with akara, fried eggs, ewa agoyin (stewed beans) or tea.
Storage
- Wrapped for 3 days; freeze up to 1 month.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
What the dish is built around
Main ingredient
- Bread flour500 g
- Milk powder20 g
- Butter, softened50 g
Baker’s notes
Customise in Bread & BakeryTimeline and readiness cues
Mix and knead · about 35 min
Weigh everything. Knead until smooth and elastic: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through (the windowpane test).
First rise (bulk) · about 1 h 10 min
About doubled, domed, jiggly, with bubbles on the sides. A floured finger poked in leaves a dent that fills slowly.
Final proof · about 50 min
Poke test: the dent springs back slowly and only partly. Springs back fast = needs longer; doesn't spring back = over-proofed, bake now.
Bake · about 30 min at 180 °C
Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).
Cool · about 1 h
Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.
- Start to finish: about 4 h 5 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.
The dough
| Ingredient | Role | Weight | Baker’s % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread flour | Flour | 500 g | 100% |
| Water | Water | 280 g | 56% |
| Sugar | Sugar | 60 g | 12% |
| Butter | Fat | 50 g | 10% |
| Milk powder | Other | 20 g | 4% |
| Instant yeast | Yeast | 7 g | 1.4% |
| Salt | Salt | 7 g | 1.4% |
- Total flour
- 500 g
- Hydration
- 56%
- With milk, eggs…
- 56%
- Wholegrain
- 0%
Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.
- Medium dough (55–65%) — soft and easy to knead; sandwich loaves and rolls.
- Salt 1.4% — on the low side (1.8–2.2% is typical for bread).
- Sugar 12% — an enriched, sweet dough; rises more slowly and browns quickly.
- Fat 10% — a rich, tender dough.
If something goes wrong
Dense, heavy loaf
Likely causes
- Under-kneaded (weak gluten)
- Under-proofed
- Old or dead yeast/starter
- Too much wholegrain flour without extra water
What to do
- Knead to the windowpane stage
- Proof by the poke test, not the clock
- Test yeast in warm water with sugar; feed the starter and use it at its peak
- Add 5–10% more water for wholegrain flours and give them a rest
Gummy or wet crumb
Likely causes
- Under-baked
- Sliced while hot
- Hydration too high for the flour
What to do
- Bake to 93–96 °C inside (cakes: clean skewer)
- Cool completely on a rack before slicing
- Reduce water by 3–5% or use a stronger flour
Spreads flat / no oven spring
Likely causes
- Over-proofed
- Weak shaping (no surface tension)
- Oven not hot enough
- Too much water for the flour
What to do
- Shorten the proof; bake when the poke springs back slowly
- Shape tightly so the skin is taut
- Preheat fully (30+ minutes; with a stone or Dutch oven, 45)
- Lower hydration or use bread flour
Collapsed or sunken middle
Likely causes
- Oven door opened too early
- Too much leavening or sugar
- Under-baked centre
- Over-proofed yeast dough
What to do
- Don't open the oven for the first two-thirds of baking
- Measure leaveners exactly with spoons, levelled
- Test the centre before removing
- Proof less
Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Crust too hard or thick
Likely causes
- Baked too long at too low a temperature
- No steam at the start
What to do
- Bake hotter for a shorter time
- Add steam for the first 15 minutes (tray of boiling water, or a covered Dutch oven)
- Cool under a tea towel for a softer crust
Big holes or tunnels
Likely causes
- Overmixed batter (cakes, muffins)
- Air trapped while shaping bread
- Uneven proof
What to do
- Mix quick breads only until no dry flour shows
- Degas gently and shape tightly
- Proof covered in an even, warm place
Dough didn't rise
Likely causes
- Dead yeast (expired or killed by hot liquid)
- Kitchen too cold
- Salt in direct contact with fresh yeast
- Starter not active
What to do
- Liquid should be lukewarm (no hotter than 40 °C)
- Proof somewhere warm (an oven with just the light on)
- Mix the salt into the flour, not onto the yeast
- Feed the starter until it doubles in 4–8 hours
Over-proofed (sour smell, collapses when scored)
Likely causes
- Too warm
- Too much yeast
- Left too long
What to do
- Knock back, reshape and proof again briefly (yeast doughs)
- Use less yeast or a cooler proof
- Set a timer and check early with the poke test
Dry or crumbly
Likely causes
- Too much flour (scooped, not weighed)
- Over-baked
- Too little fat or sugar
What to do
- Weigh flour, or spoon it into the cup and level
- Check 5 minutes early
- Don't cut fat or sugar by more than a quarter without another moisture source
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