I have been meaning to blog this recipe for ooh, over a year. That is bad. I know. But it just never felt like the right time. And now, it being bread week on The Great British Bake Off, well, it feels just about the perfect time. READ MORE
Well summer is here and I’m back with another Bramley Apple recipe. This time I’ve taken the tangy Bramley and paired it with Gruyère cheese, one of my favourite cheeses for baking with. It’s nutty and melts to perfection, making it a natural choice for adding to bread. READ MORE
This recipe for cranberry and hazelnut bread is one of those annoying bakes that’s gone within an hour of being retrieved from the oven. The hazelnuts toast in the oven, the cranberries add that all important sweetness and the oats make for a textured loaf that feels like it might well be both good for you as well as delicious. READ MORE
I go through phases with bread. I’m not in the habit of perpetuating some kind of Good Life myth that I spend hours making my own sour dough. I wish that were my life, but it is not. I regularly feed my kids sliced bread from the supermarket. I have no issue with it. Snobbery regarding food is heinous in my opinion. READ MORE
Did you know it’s National Picnic Week? Now let’s not be all British and moan about the weather. I personally don’t give two hoots about how sunny it is when it comes to eating al fresco; I have been known to pack up warm soupy picnics for snowy sledging trips after all.
If the kids are crying that it really is too rainy then a carpet picnic is a perfect British alternative. Here are my ‘rules’ for a successful indoor picnic:
I really wanted to post something hugely traditional like a Simnel cake, some regular hot cross buns or even some kind of lamb dish.
But I couldn’t. I opened the larder door and the chocolate chips called to me. I had some yeast sachets that needed using up, plus some strong white flour that’s almost done for. And I really don’t like waste you see. It bothers me hugely.
The rest is history. But look! They’re very pretty. See:
I’ve not been well. Nothing quantifiable, just feeling tired all the time, run down; spent.
So I made bread rolls. That’s what works for me. Regular over the counter remedies never quite hit the spot. There’s something therapeutic about all the kneading and cutting and forming of rolls. It makes me feel wholesome. The end result is of course the true therapy. A springy poppy seed studded roll with the nuttiness of spelt and the depth of rye. This is a roll to feel good about. It’ll cleanse from the inside out. I enjoyed mine with my new favourite filling; houmous, grated carrot, a splash of orange juice and pomegranate seeds. Positively medicinal.
Lots of great recipes like this in my book, Recipes from a Normal Mum, out now… on Amazon, The Works, at Waterstones, WHSmith, The Book Depository and many smaller outlets.
Last year: Chocolate and banana flower shaped cupcakes, Subtle coconut rolls, Easy chocolate cupcakes and Chocolate orange tea buns. Oh and I almost forgot my Almond and fig granola.
Two years ago: Love cupcakes and White chocolate, lemon and macadamia cake and Roasted celeriac, carrot and parsnip soup and My lightest Yorkshire puddings.
Three years ago: Bake me not chocolate cake and Jelly and ice-cream meringue roulade and Good flapjack and Banana, butterscotch and fig traybake.
Four years ago: Treasure hunt ice-cream and Rhubarb and ginger chutney and Carrot cake.
Rye, spelt & poppy seed rolls
Makes 16 rolls though depends on how large you make them.
Ingredients:
Mix together the two flours, poppy seeds, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Take 450mls lukewarm tap water and mix in the oil then add to the flour gradually, mixing with a metal spoon as you go until you have what is often called ‘a shaggy mess’ on your hands. Word of warning; the type of flour you use (brand, age etc) affects how much water will be absorbed so you may need all of it or you may need more. I know these kind of instructions in recipes are annoying, but I promise you that you’ll know if there’s not enough as there will be areas of flour that are still dry and unable to mix in. You are looking for a soft, shaggy mess of a dough. Cover the dough in the bowl with clingfilm and leave for 5 minutes. (This really helps reduce the amount of kneading later).
After 5 minutes take a little olive oil and grease the work surface and your hands. Tip the dough onto the work surface and knead until elastic and starting to feel smooth. This takes about 10 minutes by hand and 3 – 4 using a dough hook with a stand mixer. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave at room temperature to prove until the dough has doubled in size. Beware that spelt flour proves faster than regular strong white flour so keep an eye on it. The warmer the environment the faster the prove; so this could take as little as 25 minutes.
Sprinkle a couple of baking trays with spelt flour. Knock the dough back once it’s doubled by tipping onto a work surface and pressing the air out of it with your hands. Cut the dough into 16 even sized pieces (either weigh the dough and divide by 16 or cut the dough in half, then half again, then each piece into quarters). Roll the dough into balls using well floured hands and place onto the baking tray about 1cm apart. Repeat until all the dough is used up, sprinkle with flour and cover with clingfilm. Leave to prove until they are doubled in size (the rolls will be touching once proved) and bake in a preheated oven at 220°C/Gas Mark 7 for about 15 minutes until well risen, golden brown and smelling divine. Remove from the tray and cool on a wire rack. Then tear the rolls apart for that very professional baker look and eat with lots of salted butter and fillings of your choice. Or freeze. They freeze really well for up to a month. Make sure you use freezer bags and think about slicing them pre freezing so you can make simply filled packed lunches with the frozen rolls. (Don’t put salad stuff next to frozen bread as it goes all mushy).
NB: If you don’t have spelt flour or can’t find it then use strong white flour instead. The proving will take a little longer though. I would advise against using 100% rye flour as the loaf will be very dense. Poppy seeds can be left out if you wish or substituted with something else – other seeds, fresh rosemary, nuts, finely chopped sundried tomatoes etc).
If you’re looking for something wholesome and share-able for Boxing Day then I think I have it. This is easy to prep, rises and does it’s bready thing whilst you crack on with assembling Lego/locating the purple Quality Street/shouting at the children to be quiet whilst you watch Mary Poppins.
I made a lovely video with the Scoff folks to show off how to make this loaf. You can see the vid on my YouTube channel and also the Scoff one. You can watch it below too.
Lots of great recipes like this in my book, Recipes from a Normal Mum, out now… on Amazon, at Waterstones, WHSmith, The Book Depository and many smaller outlets.
Last December: My slow cooker beef bourguignon pie and Crumble topped mince pies and a very ugly but delicious cranberry & raspberry traybake
Two years ago: Mini Yorkshire pudding canapes and Christmas pudding fizz and Brandy butter icing and Rudolf morsels
Three years ago: Lime meringue pie with chocolate pastry and Christmas scones and Ginger cake with Christmas cottage and Hot chocolate on a stick
Four years ago: Moonuts and Cheese biscuits and Parsnip soup and Inauthentic chicken tagine
Cheese concertina loaf
Makes 1 loaf
Ingredients:
Butter a 2lb loaf tin. Make the bread dough by mixing the flour, yeast and salt in a stand mixer with the dough hook, or mix by hand in a large bowl. Add the melted butter and water slowly as the dough hook is turning at speed 1. Alternatively add by hand and use your hand to mix in then knead for about 10 minutes until the dough feels smooth and elastic. In the mixer this will take 4 minutes.
Cover the bowl of dough with clingfilm and leave to prove until double the size. Knock back by giving the dough a few turns in the stand mixer with the dough hook or use your hands. Then roll out into a long belt of dough, ensuring the width of the belt is the same width as your loaf tin is. Measure the height of your loaf tin and double this number – then cut the belt into pieces this long. Scatter cheese evenly on all the pieces, fold and the place upright in the loaf tin, with the open side upwards. Sprinkle with a little flour and cover loosely in clingfilm then leave to prove until double the size.
Bake in a preheated oven at 220C/gas mark 7 for 30 minutes until well risen and golden looking. Cool on a wire rack and remove from the tin as soon as you can. Tear and share whilst still a little warm!
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We’re back from our summer hols. We went to Suffolk. Southwold to be precise. We always holiday in Suffolk; it’s my attempt at creating childhood memories the boys can bore their own kids with. I regularly irritate them with rose tinted tales of crabbing in Cornwall. It’s only right I allow them the same pleasurable adult pastime.
Did I have a nice holiday? Can I be honest? It wasn’t great. It felt more like an endurance test. (And yes, we’re lucky to have a holiday, I know that some people won’t go on holiday this year, or any year – so really my moaning is unnecessary, but hear me out, I’m a terribly sleep deprived woman and I don’t see many adults. This is my version of a pint and a chat at the pub).
Anyway, it all felt like very hard work indeed. The routine my sons thrive on was shot to pieces so they were all a bit tetchy and out of sorts. It was hot beyond hot which was deliciously unexpected (I had packed rain coats), but made keeping a 4 week old comfy difficult. I kept looking about on the beach and wondering when the cavalry might arrive (aka The Grandparents), then remembered we’d left them all in Leicester. Fools. Amateurs! You’d think we’d have this lark licked by the time we were on baby number three. Not so.
Here’s a delicious and very good for you bread recipe. I love rye but find too much of it in a loaf makes it heavy and reminiscent of bread sold in shops that sell natural deodorant. This uses a little rye for flavour, some spelt for a quick rise and a slight nuttiness and white flour to pad it out and make it palatable. Enjoy!
Oh and psssst, my book is out! If you fancy buying it click here, it already has SIX five star reviews. And none were by my Dad. Promise.
One year ago: Orange rubble cake and Oatmeal & fudge cookies and Puffed up peaches
Two years ago: Clementine cake and Macadamia and white chocolate shortbread
Three years ago: Teacher’s pet chocolate and hazelnut oaty biscuits and Spelt loaf
Four years ago: Restorative chicken and leek risotto
Rye, spelt & white blend loaf
Makes 1 large loaf or lots of rolls
Ingredients:
Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, then knead until smooth and elastic. You can use your KitchenAid to do this too – use the dough hook at speed 2 for about 5 minutes. The dough should be slightly sticky – if it isn’t add some more water. (NB: It is very hard to give exact water mls for bread recipes as all flours absorb water at a different rate, plus the humidity in the atmosphere makes a difference.)
Cover the sticky dough mixture (still in the bowl) with clingfilm and leave to double in size. This will be speedier than standard dough as spelt flour rises quickly. Grease and flour a loaf tin and once the dough has double in size, knock it back with your hands or a few turns of the dough hook. Shape into a sausage using some extra flour then place in the tin. Sprinkle the top with flour, cover loosely with clingfilm and leave to double in size.
Bake in a preheated 220C/Gas mark 8 oven for about 30 minutes until well browned. Remove the bread from the tin 5 minutes before the end and finish off directly on the oven shelf. The bread should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Some ovens may take more or less time to bake bread – timings also depend on the flour you used so keep an eye on it.
Leave to cool on a wire rack and slice once cold.
A very easy alternative to their less healthy cousin, the cheese straw. These are bread based rather than pastry based. Perfect for picnics, little ones, and for dipping.
One year ago: Simple chocolate ganache tart and Meringue roses and Flat vanilla cupcakes
Two years ago: Razzamatazz ribs and Banana and custard cupcakes and After Eight cupcakes
Three years ago: Banana and custard melts
Cheesy bread sticks
Makes about 25, though depends how long or thick you make them
Ingredients:
Mix the flour, yeast, salt and olive oil together in a large bowl, then add the water gradually until the mixture is a shaggy mess and is easy to pull together with your hands. Use your Kitchenaid with the dough hook at speed 2 to knead, or your until elastic looking and smooth, then place back in the bowl and cover in clingfilm. Leave to prove for about an hour, until doubled in size.
Once doubled, add the cheese and knock the dough back with your dough hook or hands, giving a good knead to ensure the cheese is well distributed and then place on a well floured work surface. Sprinkle flour over the top of the dough and roll with a rolling pin until about 1cm thick. Use floured scissors to cut the dough into strips about 1cm across then place onto baking sheets prepared with greaseproof paper, about 2cm apart. Once all the dough is cut bake in a preheated oven at 200C/gas mark 6 until golden brown and no longer doughy to touch. They should make a snap sound when broken in two. The bake time all depends on how thick you cut the bread sticks – for 1cm ones about 10 – 12 minutes, turning half way, for fatter ones like the picture this takes a little longer. Cool on a wire rack.
These keep in an air tight tin for 2 weeks if baked until properly dried out.
Holly Bell 