West Africa · Breakfast
Tapalapa (Crusty Wood-Fired Hearth Bread)
Dense, blistered Gambian hearth bread with a rugged crust and chewy interior, enriched with millet and cowpea flours.
The story
Across The Gambia, the dawn air is defined by the aroma of Tapalapa baking in traditional domed clay wood-fired ovens operated largely by Fula bakers. Eaten daily for breakfast alongside butter, beans, or akara, it is the undisputed staple carbohydrate of urban and rural working mornings. Technically, authentic tapalapa differs from ordinary baguettes through the mandatory inclusion of cowpea and millet flours, which give the crumb its characteristic density and nutty aroma.
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