Saltfish and Bake Recipe – Fluffy Fried Bread Street Food

Difficulty:

3/5

Serves:

12 PEOPLE

Prep Time:

1-2 hours minutes

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Saltfish and Bake Recipe (Guyana)

Guyanese Saltfish and Bake Recipe brings together fluffy fried bakes with spicy saltfish buljol, creating a dish that’s perfect for beach picnics or breakfast street food cravings. Featured on Global Street Eats, this recipe combines desalted codfish with wiri wiri pepper heat and tender, golden bakes for a bold, satisfying street food sandwich that’s easy to recreate at home.

The Inspiration

This Saltfish and Bake Recipe represents Guyana’s coastal culinary soul—Port Mourant’s fishing villages transformed salted cod (a colonial import) into the nation’s breakfast obsession. Roadside “bake ladies” fry golden dough discs while stirring aromatic saltfish buljol, creating portable sandwiches that fuel schoolchildren, fishermen, and late-night partiers alike. The genius lies in perfect balance: fluffy bakes with crisp exteriors contrasting spicy, tomatoey saltfish that demands Caribbean hot sauce. Devan Rajkumar captures authentic Guyanese technique on Global Street Eats episode 1007, using wiri wiri peppers (Guyana’s habanero cousin) and proper double-boiling to perfectly desalt the fish. This isn’t just food—it’s morning ritual wrapped in newspaper.

Ingredients

For the Saltfish:

1/2 lb saltfish such as cod
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 wiri wiri pepper or 1/2 scotch bonnet pepper, diced
1 sprig thyme leaves, chopped
1 tbsp (14.8ml) tomato paste
2 tomatoes, diced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp (29.6ml) olive oil

For the Bakes:

3 ½ cups (840ml) all-purpose flour
2 tsp (9.9ml) baking powder
¼ tsp (1.2ml) instant yeast
½ cup (2.5ml) brown sugar
2 tbsp (29.6ml) unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1 1/4 (300ml) cup water
¼ tsp (1.2ml) salt
Neutral oil such as vegetable or peanut oil
Caribbean hot sauce for serving

Methods

Make the Saltfish:

Place the saltfish in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let the saltfish soak for 15 minutes, then drain and cover with boiling water again. Let soak for another 15 minutes, then drain thoroughly. Remove any bones and flake the saltfish with a fork.
Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it turns translucent, about 1 minute. Add the garlic, wiri wiri pepper, thyme, tomato, tomato paste, and saltfish to the pan. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have broken down, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the scallions and take the saltfish off the heat.

Make the Bakes:

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, yeast, sugar, and salt. Add the butter and cut it into the flour with a fork. Pour in the water and mix to form a dough.
Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until the dough comes together.
Divide the dough into 12 pieces and form into balls. Place dough balls on a parchment-lined tray and cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.
Flatten the dough circles with a rolling pin or your hand so they are about ½ inch thick.
Heat 2 inches of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add bakes to the skillet, making sure not to crowd the pan. Spoon hot oil over the bakes to encourage them to puff up. Cook until the bakes have browned on the bottom, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the bakes and continue to cook until they have browned on the other side, 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer to a paper towel lined tray and repeat to cook remaining bakes.
To serve, cut the bakes in half and fill with saltfish to form a sandwich. Serve with Caribbean hot sauce.

Serving Suggestions

Pile warm saltfish and bakes onto wax paper-lined trays with bottles of Caribbean hot sauce and ice-cold mauby or pine drink for authentic Guyanese beach picnic vibes, perfect for cricket matches, family breakfasts, or post-liming recovery. Serve with golden fried plantains and avocado slices spooned into bake sandwiches for creamy contrast against spicy buljol, or elevate beachside snacking by wrapping filled bakes in newspaper bundles with pickled cucumber sticks and tamarind balls.

For parties, arrange open-faced bakes on platters with communal hot sauce bottles and lime wedges, letting guests customize heat levels while bakes stay warm in low oven. Ready in hours but tastes like all-day roadside cooking—ideal for weekend brunches, school lunchboxes, or midnight cravings when only fluffy fry bread satisfies.

Final Thoughts

This Saltfish and Bake Recipe celebrates Guyana’s street food brilliance—fluffy bakes sandwiching perfectly spiced saltfish buljol that transports you to Port Mourant roadside carts. Devan Rajkumar’s Global Street Eats version makes authentic Guyanese comfort accessible while preserving wiri wiri heat and proper desalting technique. The magic happens when hot bake steam melts into cool fish filling, creating messy perfection that demands second helpings. Whether feeding beach crowds or treating family to morning glory, saltfish and bake delivers portable Caribbean happiness every time.

Find more recipes from Global Street Eats here!