Guyanese Plait Bread
A soft, butter-enriched, eggless Guyanese loaf, shaped into a three-strand plait and baked for Christmas breakfast or everyday meals.
Tennis rolls
Guyanese tennis roll · tennis roll and cheese
Guyanese tennis rolls are small, round, sweet yeasted breads flavoured with lemon and vanilla. They are often split and eaten with cheddar; this recipe is separate from Guyanese plait bread.
History
Tennis rolls are a Guyanese sweet, round bakery bread. In a 2010 Tastes Like Home column, Cynthia Nelson describes tennis rolls as Guyana's signature bread roll and recalls eating them split with cheddar cheese and cream soda mixed with milk after school. Her accompanying home version is explicitly presented as close but not identical to bakery rolls. A 2011 Stabroek News profile documents a Guyanese family bakery selling tennis rolls and reports the family bakery tradition began in the 1960s; it does not date the bread itself. The name's origin is not established here. Round tennis rolls are distinct in shape from braided Guyanese plait bread.
Ingredients
Yield 8 large rolls · Scaling: source batch only
Warm waterWarm; used to dissolve the sugar and yeast.
118 mL½ cup as recorded
Brown sugarDissolve in the warm water.
59 mL¼ cup as recorded
Active dry yeastStir into the sugar water.
15 mL1 tbsp as recorded
ButterMelt for the dough; reserve 1 tablespoon to brush the baked rolls.
59 mL¼ cup as recorded
The cited recipe lists 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon.Evaporated or whole milkCombine with the melted butter.
237 mL1 cup as recorded
The source allows either evaporated milk or regular milk.All-purpose wheat flourSift; reserve additional flour for dusting.
946 mL4 cup as recorded
Extra flour for dusting is not measured.1.2 mL¼ tsp as recorded
Lemon zestFinely zest about one lemon.
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
The source describes one lemon.Lemon extract
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
Vanilla extract
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
Vanilla essence is also given as an option.Egg whiteMix with water for the egg wash.
1 egg white
WaterMix with the egg white for the wash.
15 mL1 tbsp as recorded
Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour dough
Raw flour may carry harmful bacteria. Do not taste uncooked dough; bake the rolls before eating and clean hands, tools and work surfaces after handling.
Hazard sourceRaw egg white wash
The wash contains raw egg before baking. Avoid tasting it and wash hands and utensils after contact.
Hazard sourceDo not taste raw dough or egg wash. Bake the rolls before eating and clean hands, utensils, bowls and surfaces after contact with flour, dough or raw egg.
Control sourceWash hands and equipment after handling the raw egg wash.
Control sourceNo internal temperature or separately validated safety endpoint is established by the recipe source; the 350°F oven setting and 25-minute bake are source guidance, not measured limits.
Use oven mitts for hot trays and allow the rolls to cool before handling.
- Stir the brown sugar into the warm water, then add the active dry yeast. Cover the bowl and let the mixture stand while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, combine the melted butter and milk. Add the yeast mixture, lemon zest, lemon extract and vanilla extract.
- Whisk in flour a little at a time until the mixture is too thick to whisk. Work in the remaining flour in stages, by hand or with a dough hook, until a smooth, soft dough forms.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes by hand. Put it in a greased bowl, cover and let it rise until doubled; the recipe's total preparation time is about 2 hours.
- Press the dough down and knead it briefly into a smooth ball. Divide it into eight pieces for larger rolls, or into up to twelve pieces for smaller ones. Shape each into a compact round ball and place them spaced apart on a greased or lined baking sheet.
- Cover the rolls and let them proof for 30–45 minutes. Toward the end of the rise, heat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Whisk the egg white with 1 tablespoon water and brush it over the rolls. Bake for 25 minutes, following the cited recipe's bake time; its golden colour is a visual guide, not a validated food-safety endpoint.
- Remove the rolls from the oven, brush with the reserved butter and cover loosely with a clean towel while they cool. Split and serve with a thick slice of cheddar if desired.
Conditions
Yield8 large rolls
Fermentation1.25–2.75 h
Places
Guyana
Documented preparation · Country evidenceAlthea Brown's Guyanese recipe and Stabroek News reporting on bakeries document tennis rolls in Guyana. No local birthplace is claimed.
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Sources
MetemgeeMethod · Inspiration · History
Tennis RollsThe author identifies tennis rolls as Guyanese round, sweet breads with a tender, compact crumb, commonly paired with sharp cheddar; she notes other ways of eating them too.
The eight-roll recipe lists water, brown sugar, active dry yeast, butter, evaporated or regular milk, flour, salt, lemon zest, lemon extract and vanilla; an egg-white wash is used.
The method activates yeast in sweetened water, mixes a soft dough, kneads about ten minutes, lets it rise until doubled, shapes and proofs the rolls, then bakes at 350°F for 25 minutes and brushes with butter.
The page reports two days at room temperature in an airtight container; no validated home storage study is cited, so no storage claim is included here.
Stabroek NewsHistory
So close, but yet so far …Elusive Tennis RollsNelson distinguishes the round Guyanese tennis roll from other Caribbean signature breads and describes its shape, sweet lemon or orange zest aroma and association with cheddar and cream soda mixed with milk.
Her tested home attempt uses a borrowed recipe but she says its airy crumb differs from bakery tennis rolls; it is not treated as a definitive commercial formula.
Stabroek NewsHistory
Harry Bajjan’s village bakeryThe profile reports that a family bakery tradition began in the 1960s and describes later production and delivery of tennis rolls in Guyana.
It does not establish the first date or birthplace of tennis rolls.
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to KnowRaw flour may carry harmful bacteria; raw dough should not be tasted and must be cooked.
Wash hands, utensils, bowls and surfaces after handling raw flour and dough.
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
What You Need to Know About Egg SafetyRaw egg can carry Salmonella; wash hands and utensils after contact with uncooked egg and cook egg-containing foods thoroughly.
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
What You Need to Know About Egg SafetyRaw eggs may carry Salmonella; wash hands, tools and surfaces after contact with raw eggs.
Cook egg-containing foods thoroughly.