Michael Chakraverty

Why it earned the handshake

Michael’s bread is built from alternating plain and red chilli-spiced dough, layered with coconut chutney and twisted into a star. The official recipe looks dramatic but explains the geometry clearly: mark a centre, cut 16 rays, then twist pairs into eight joined points. A coconut chutney fills the bread; a fragrant mango chutney stands alongside. The handshake-worthy skill is not decoration for its own sake—it is a strong loaf that keeps the layers readable after baking.

Ingredients

Dough

• 500g very strong white bread flour
• 10g fast-action dried yeast
• 10g salt
• 10ml ground paprika
• 10ml ground coriander
• 5ml hot chilli powder
• 5ml crushed chilli flakes
• 30ml extra-virgin coconut oil
• Red food-colouring gel or paste
• 1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt
• 15ml nigella seeds
• Handful of coriander leaves, chopped

Coconut chutney

• 200ml full-fat coconut milk
• 100g desiccated coconut
• 6 smoked garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 red chillies
• 5ml ground coriander
• 10ml coconut flavouring

Mango chutney

• 150ml white wine vinegar
• 15ml lemon juice
• 150g light muscovado sugar
• 5ml cumin seeds
• 3.8ml coriander seeds
• Seeds from 6 green cardamom pods
• 3.8ml nigella seeds
• 1.3ml ground turmeric
• 3 cloves
• ½ red chilli, deseeded and chopped
• 2 ripe Alphonso mangoes, about 500g, peeled, stoned, and diced
• Finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
• 2.5ml hot chilli powder

You will also need hand-hot water, a dinner plate, a jam jar, a lined baking tray, and a sterilised jar for the chutney.

Method

1. Divide the flour, yeast, salt, paprika, coriander, chilli powder, and chilli flakes between two bowls, keeping yeast and salt apart until mixed. Melt the coconut oil and divide it between the bowls. Add 150ml hand-hot water to one bowl; add red food colouring to 150ml water for the second. Mix and knead each dough for about 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Oil the bowls, cover, and let both doughs rise for 45–60 minutes, until doubled.
2. For the coconut chutney, simmer the coconut milk, then stir in the coconut, garlic, and chillies. Remove from the heat, add the coriander and coconut flavouring, and rest for 30 minutes. Pulse to a paste.
3. For the mango chutney, dissolve the sugar in the vinegar and lemon juice, then boil until reduced by half. Toast the cumin, coriander, and cardamom seeds. Crush them with the nigella, turmeric, cloves, and chilli. Add the spices, mango, lemon zest, and chilli powder to the vinegar mixture. Simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes, until thick; cool briefly and jar.
4. Knock back both doughs. Divide each into two and rest for 5 minutes. Roll one red portion into a dinner-plate-sized circle on the lined tray. Mark the plate edge and a smaller centre circle. Spread 45ml coconut chutney between the circles.
5. Roll out a plain portion and place it over the red dough. Repeat the centre mark and chutney. Add the second red portion and more chutney, then finish with the final plain portion. Press the stack together, trim to the plate outline, and leave the jam jar marking the centre.
6. Cut from the centre to the edge: quarters, then eighths, then 16 rays. Twist neighbouring pairs twice away from one another and pinch the ends together, making eight joined points. Cover and prove for 30 minutes.
7. Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan. Brush with the beaten egg, sprinkle with nigella, and bake for 20–25 minutes, until risen, golden, and hollow-sounding underneath. Cool on a rack, scatter with coriander, and serve with mango chutney.

Baker’s tips

• Keep the chutney layer thin and inside the marked centre; excess filling makes the rays hard to seal.
• The dough may spring back while rolling. Let it rest for a few minutes rather than forcing it.
• Make clean, full-length cuts before twisting so every point carries the layered pattern.
• The star is best served warm or at room temperature, with the chutney on the side.

Make-ahead

Make the mango chutney up to several days ahead and refrigerate. The coconut chutney can be made while the dough rises. The bread is best baked on the day of serving; leftovers can be wrapped and gently rewarmed.