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Liberian · West African

Liberian rice bread

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

A moist, dense, banana-sweet quick bread made with rice flour (or cream of rice), spiced with nutmeg and ginger. A Liberian teatime and breakfast favourite.

Liberian rice bread is a Liberian bread, ready in about 1 hour 30 minutes and made with rice flour and banana. It serves 10 and is rated easy to cook.

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No licensed photograph of this dish yet.

Prep
15 min
Cook
55 min
Rest
20 min
Total
1 h 30 min
Serves
10
Level
Easy
Calories
316

Ingredients

10 slices

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 175 °C and grease a 23 cm square or loaf tin.

  2. Step 2

    Whisk (opens in a new tab) the mashed bananas (opens in a new tab), sugar (opens in a new tab), eggs (opens in a new tab), oil and milk (opens in a new tab) until smooth.

    Eggs being whisked in a bowl
    How it looks · Photo: Kampus Production on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Mix the rice flour (opens in a new tab), baking powder (opens in a new tab), baking soda (opens in a new tab), nutmeg (opens in a new tab), ginger and salt, then stir into the wet ingredients to a thick batter.

    • 3 min

  4. Step 4

    Pour into the tin and bake until golden and a skewer comes out clean, 50–55 minutes. Cool 20 minutes before slicing.

    • 55 min
    • 175°C

About this dish

Origin
Liberia · Commonly attributedMore food from Liberia
Dish
Breakfast · Snack · Breads & flatbreads · Cakes
Cooking method
Oven-baked
Taste
sweet, fruity, aromatic / warmly spiced
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · DASH-style
With the listed swaps: Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead · Child-friendly · Portable / lunchbox
Cook more with
Rice flour · Banana · Sugar · Egg · Milk · Baking powder
Techniques
Baking

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom milk
  • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
  • May contain: Wheatfrom baking powder
  • May contain: Glutenfrom baking powder

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

316 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 125 g · recipe makes 10

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 5%
  • Carbohydrate 57%
  • Fat 38%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy316 kcal253 kcal
Protein4.2 g3.4 g
Carbohydrate45.8 g36.7 g
Net carbohydrate44.1 g35.3 g
Sugars17.6 g14.1 g
Added sugars12 g9.6 g
Fibre1.7 g1.3 g
Fat13.4 g10.7 g
Saturated fat1.8 g1.4 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol40 mg32 mg
Sodium300 mg240 mg
Salt equivalent0.7 g0.6 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
198 mg
Calcium
91 mg
Iron
0.5 mg
Magnesium
24 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
28 µg
Vitamin C
3 mg
Vitamin D
0.5 µg
Vitamin B12
0.2 µg
Folate (DFE)
14 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • “—” 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

  • Rice flour has no gluten, so the bread is dense and moist rather than fluffy — that's how it should be.

Common mistakes

  • Using bananas that aren't ripe enough — the bread will be bland and dry.

Serve with

  • Serve with tea or coffee.

Storage

  • Keep wrapped at room temperature 3 days or freeze slices up to 2 months.

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

Used in steps 2, 3

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 15 min

    Mix only until no dry flour remains — overmixing makes it tough and tunnelled.

  2. Bake · about 55 min at 175 °C

    Risen and golden; a skewer in the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs; the top springs back.

  3. Cool · about 20 min

    Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.

  4. Start to finish: about 1 h 30 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

If something goes wrong

  • 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

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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