Nigerian Sardine Bread

When I woke up this morning and started craving bread, I remembered "Underground Bakery" close to Unilag and the wonderful and refreshing aroma just rushed into my nose and I just had to go grocery shopping to satisfy my taste bud and fill my nose with the aroma of freshly baked sardine bread.

I learnt about "underground bakery" when I started my A levels at Artic Conference close to Unilag. The first day I went there, I went with one of my BFFs, Chinelo. As soon as we stepped in, I started salivating. The aroma of the freshly baked pastries was so satisfying and sublime. We bought pastries and I decided to buy 6 of their sardine bread. As soon as I got home, I took a bite of the sardine bread and I felt a rush of blood run through my veins and all my senses heightened. You don't need to eat the sardine bread with butter or anything. However, this bread is perfect with beans (Ewa Agoyin), naija style scrambled eggs or whatever you are craving.
Now you know the story behind my cravings for Sardine bread, lets see how to make sardine bread:

• 4 Cups of All Purpose Flour (or Bread Flour)
• 3 tsp of Fleischmann's Bread Yeast
• 3 tbsp of Sugar
• 1/2 tsp of Salt
• 7tbsp of Butter
• 250 ml of Warm Milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tin of Sardine
• A large bowl
• Brush for Glazing
• Egg and Milk for Glazing
• 10 tbsp of Lukewarm Water

1. Mix the warm milk and yeast  in a small bowl and keep it aside. Let it stand for about 15 minutes or till it is frothy.  
   
                                        
2. Mix the Flour, Sugar and salt together and thoroughly.  Then whisk in the eggs and mix properly using a wooden spatula or your hand. Then you add the melted butter and mix thoroughly.            
   
                                             
3. Stir in the yeast and mix thoroughly. Then add the warm milk and mix with your hands (if you have a mixer, use your mixer). The dough will become sticky and soft. Don't be scared, you will definitely get the consistency you are looking for. Sprinkle flour on a clean smooth surface, place your sticky dough on the floured surface.
   
4. Then sprinkle flour on the sticky dough.
   
    
5. Knead the dough like you are washing your clothes on a wooden platform at the stream (You can use your hands or a rolling pin). Knead for about 5 - 7 minutes continuously. This is what your dough should look like after kneading. 
   
6. Return dough to the bowl and cover with a neat white piece of cloth. Keep the bowl containing the dough in the oven so that it can rise. Let it stay there for about an hour.  After an hour, knead the dough again for about 5-7 minutes and put back in the oven for another 45 minutes so that it will rise.
7. Coat your bread pan with olive oil or butter, mash the sardine, bring out the dough and knead again. Then add the mashed sardine, sardine oil and knead. Now place dough in bread pan and evenly spread/stretch to each corners of the pan.
   
8. Put a white piece of cloth over the pan containing the dough and leave it to rise in a warm place for about 15 minutes. Preheat your oven at 280 degrees.
9. Remove white cloth from bread pan and put it in the oven once oven is ready. the risen dough in the bread pan should look like this or better:  
   
      
10. Bake for 80 minutes in already preheated oven. Your final product should look like this or better the mine