Guyana @ 50 - Tennis Rolls

Each country in the Caribbean has their special breads and rolls. In Guyana Tennis Roll is THE bread roll of choice. Even though it is popularly served and eaten with sharp cheddar cheese, eggs, ham, butter, jam, jelly, peanut butter, sardines and tuna are among the things that can be sandwiched between a cut tennis roll.

A Tennis Roll is not simply an ordinary bread roll, it is flavoured with lemon and the dough is worked in such a way to form a very fine crumb. The recipe for Tennis Rolls is elusive and a carefully guarded secret by the various bakeries that make them. Those of us who try to make it at home, do some from our own taste memory.

Tennis Rolls ©Cynthia Nelson

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Tennis Rolls - A Guyanese Favourite

Each nation the world over has its own signature bread. The same is true for the Caribbean. We have various bread-rolls with their one-of-a-kind flavour and texture. Trinidad & Tabago has Hops Bread, Jamaica has Coco Bread, Barbados has Salt Bread and Guyana has Tennis Rolls. The Eastern Caribbean islands - St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Dominica etc. each has their own bread too.

These breads, as simple as they may seem, the recipes are not easy to come by and replicating them at home is more difficult than you think. Sure you come close, but there are certain dynamics and methods employed in a commerical bakery that results in a precision that is not always achievable in the home kitchen. Read this week's column about me trying to make Tennis Rolls and for an analyzed result. The recipe for the Tennis Rolls are at the bottom of the column.

Tennis Roll and Cheese along with a cold glass of cream soda and milk is a combo that is still relished today in Guyana. We used to eat this snack in the afternoons when we'd return home from school.

This week on About.Com - the most difficult thing about cooking with salt fish (salted cod), is not knowing how to de-salt the fish. Find out how it is done here and the importance of not removing all of the salt from the fish.

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