MARMITE & CHEESE LOAF

Right, I put my hands up, my name is Yasmin and I like Marmite.  I like it in a sandwich with lettuce (thank you mother),  I like it roasted on potatoes, I like it stirred into pasta (thank you Nigella) and I like it on toast. But now I like it in toast. Why have I never thought of this before? Adding cheese just escalates its deliciousness. It is the most perfect toasting loaf and the best for making cheese on toast. Now, don't be put off if you are not a Marmite lover, my taste for Marmite has not been passed on to my children but they devoured this whole loaf in one sitting. These photos are a second one I had to make so I could share it with you. Suffice to say it went as quickly as the first made into ham sandwiches.

500g Strong White Bread Flour, 10g Yeast, 50g Oil, 30g Marmite, 100g Grated Cheddar, 300g Hand Warm Water

I made this in my freestanding mixer to get the dough started but you can do the whole thing by hand. Put everything in the bowl and get mixing.  Once the dough starts to slap against the side of the bowl, turn off the mixer and tip it onto your surface. You must knead the dough till it's smooth and elastic, I usually give this about 8 minutes. If it's sticking pour a little oil on to the surface rather than adding flour.  

When you are done with kneading, dust your bowl with flour and return the dough to it. Cover with cling film or a shower cap and leave to rise and double in size for 1 hour. Next shape your loaf. Make it free form or use a loaf tin. I plaited mine then put it in a 2lb loaf tin. Leave to rise again covered with a clean tea towel for 30 minutes then bake at 200C for 25-30 minutes

Do try it made into cheese on toast, you won't believe the difference the Marmite makes. Xx

ROSCA DE REYES - Sweet Bread Crown

When I go on holiday I like to go off the beaten track and get a real feel for the place that I'm visiting, go to the  shops and cafes that the locals use and have an authentic taste of the country.  My family and I spent some time in Spain this year with a holiday in Lanzarote where we visited the volcano in the Timanfaya National Park and they cooked chicken from the heat of the volcano






and Tenerife where we had the most amazing sea food and fresh fruit.  I discovered a bizarre fruit which looks like a green pineapple but tastes like a banana and the delicious cake called Tarte De Saint Jaques, an almond cake that we couldn't get enough of.





Spain has lots of foodie traditions and christmas is no exception,  I always think that embracing different customs can only enhance our own celebrations and they usualy involve food which is always good with me.  

Three Kings Day which marks the end of christmas and traditionally the day when children get their presents, takes place 12 days after christmas and celebrates the day the Three Wise Men gave gifts to Jesus. Rosca De Reyes is customarily eaten on this day, a ring of sweet bread packed with dried and candied fruit which represents a crown worn by the kings. It also has a small doll hidden inside to symbolise jesus hiding from Herod. If you get the slice with the doll, you then host a party for Candlemass on February 2nd, more food, woohoo!

I am asked quite regularly what my favourite thing is to bake and it doesn't take much thought to reply with bread. This bread looks so spectacular when it emerges from the oven that everyone gasps.  You can use a variety of dried fruit like figs, cherries and cranberries, the more colourful the better.  I have used mixed fruit, cherries and crystallised ginger along with pistachios and flaked almonds to finish it off.  For extra christmas flavour I've also added some mixed spice and cinnamon and my secret ingredient is some of the beautiful cherry vinegar from Womersley Foods which gives it a whole different dimension with an added depth of flavour.

I can see this being a regular addition to our festivities along with Salmon Coulibiac on christmas eve and Guyanese Pepperpot for christmas breakfast.

500g Strong White Bread Flour
15g Quick Active Yeast
60g Butter
40g Sugar
10g Salt
2 Eggs
250ml Warm Milk

Filling
230g Mixed Fruit
40g Glace Cherries
40g Pistachios
40g Crystalised Ginger
25g Butter
1 tbsp Soft Brown Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
1 tsp Mixed Spice
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 tbsp Cherry Vinegar - Optional
20g Flaked Almonds
2 tblsp Honey

First Make the dough.  While you warm the milk add the remaining ingredients to the bowl of a freestanding mixer and process till everything is blended. Next add the eggs and mix, then the warmed milk.  The milk should be warm not hot.  Keep mixing till it comes together as a dough and tip it onto a lightly floured surface to knead.  It will be a little stickier than normal bread so harder to knead but it does come together eventually and you will get that lovely warm, smooth stretchy dough you want.

After 8-10 minutes of kneading sprinkle some flour into the bowl and return your dough.  Cover with cling film or a disposable shower cap and leave in a warm place to rise for 1hour.  It should double in size and fill the bowl.  While the dough is rising, mix the filling.  Cut the cherries into 1/4's, roughly chop the pistachios and cut the ginger into small pieces. Combine all the ingredients apart from the flaked almonds and honey.

When the dough has risen, on a floured surface roll it out into a large rectangle about 25cm x 75cm and spread the filling mix over it.  Using the long edge, roll the whole thing up into a sausage.









Now cut down the middle along the length of it and lay the two pieces next to each other, cut side up.  Carefully twist the two pieces together keeping the cut side uppermost.




Gingerly transfer the twined dough onto a baking stone or baking sheet lined with parchment and join the ends together to form a wreath.  Lastly, sprinkle on the almonds.  Now leave in a warm place to rise again for a further 45-60 minutes.

Sweet dough has a tendency to burn quite easily before it is cooked so tent the dough with foil for the first 15 minutes to avoid this.  Bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 170c

Once it has cooked, transfer to a cooling rack and brush the top with warm honey to give your crown a shiny glaze.

I didn't have the traditional baby to hide but the Jesus from out Playmobil Nativity did the job!

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STROMBOLI SALAD

So there we were, eating our supper watching The Hairy Bikers when low and behold, they started to cook our meal.  It was like 5D TV, we could see it, touch it, smell it, eat it and taste it!  Great minds think alike is all I can say.  Si and Dave were in Italy making Stromboli, I was on the Wirral eating it.

Stromboli is basically an olive oil bread dough topped with pesto, parma ham, mozzarella and basil then rolled up like a swiss roll and baked. This was the kind of supper my husband and I would have pre-children, in one big bowl with two forks.  The bread is served warm from the oven, cut into chunks and added to salad.  The only dressing you need is some olive oil and balsamic which soaks into the bread making it even more lush.

In a bowl weigh:
500g Bread Flour
12g Dried Yeast
10g Salt
50g Olive oil
320g Water

Mix till it's all combined.  It shouldn't be dry so add a little more water if necessary. Remember, the softer your dough, the softer your bread.  Now tip it onto the surface and knead till it's smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes.

Leave to rise in a bowl covered in cling film (or a shower cap) for an hour to double in size.

Next divide the dough into 2 and roll each into rectangles.  Cover with:
Pesto or Sun Dried Tomato Paste
Parma Ham
Grated Buffalo Mozzarella
Fresh Basil,Rocket or Spinach

Roll the dough along the longer edge like a swiss roll and put onto a lined baking sheet.  Make some slashes along the top and leave to rest for another hour. Lastly Bake at 200C for 20-25 minutes.

Eat your heart out Ingrid Bergman x

MINI BLT

Now then, I know I'm not the only one out there who is enjoying the current TV scheduling.  In fact, there's so much good tv at the moment I'm having problems with things clashing.  Added to this dilemma of what to watch is the what to eat issue.

They say it is better for you if you eat earlier in the day rather than late at night so I do this but truth be told it's so I can have a little smakeral of something whilst settling infront of Downton, Spooks, XFactor, Strictly......the list goes on.  I'm at the point now that I'm planning my snacks for next weeks episode at the end of this weeks!

The chosen treat for Downton this week was something I'm sure Mrs Patmore would have approved of. Mini BLT's.  It's pretty obvious really, it's just what it say's on the tin - Bread brushed with olive oil and griddled, pinned together with Parma Ham, L & T  There was also some mayo going on in there or even - a real guilty pleasure salad cream but ssh, don't tell anyone x

PUMPKIN BREAD

I'm loving Halloween and Autumn and crunchy leaves and orange and gold and soup and snuggling in my dressing gown.  Autumn was always my mothers favourite time of year and I never really got it, but it was the colours she loved and the low sun you get now makes them look spectacular.

Soon we shall have the aroma of bonfires, I love that smell, like incense filling the air but first we have halloween and all the excitement that comes with it.  

We all enjoy carving pumpkins in our house so with 5 of us we end up with a lot of pumpkin to eat.  There is the usual pie and soup, then we have it fried with shrimps and spices and now we have bread.  

I have to admit that the flavour wasn't particularly strong but it does give it a warm yellow ochre colour.

Pumpkin has a very high water content so you need to avoid adding anymore to it.  I steam mine to cook

it before I puree it in the blender.

Wash the seeds, dry them and use them on your bread or stick them on a baking tray sprinkled with a little peri peri seasoning and roast at 180 C for 20 minutes.  Once they are cool they will be crisp and a good snack.

BREAD

600g Strong Bread Flour

30g Butter

10g Salt

15g Yeast

200g Pumpkin Puree

100g Water

100g Milk

Add the Butter to the flour and rub it in as you would with pastry, once it has disappeared into the flour stir in the salt and yeast.

Next add the wet ingredients.  You can do this by hand or in a mixer.  I tend to start it off in the mixer and once it's all combined I knead it by hand.  You should have a fairly wet but manageable dough.  To help it stop sticking when kneading, drizzle a little oil onto the surface.  Try not to add flour as this will give you a tougher dough.  The softer your dough, the softer your bread will be.

Dust your hands with flour and knead, stretching the dough, for a good ten minutes.  You will feel it become more elastic as you work.

Leave your dough to prove in a large bowl covered with a  t-towel for 1-1 1/2 hours somewhere warm and draft free.  It will double in size, I always get so excited when I go back to it and it has grown to fill the bowl.

Now knock the dough back by punching the air out or kneading it back to it's original size.  Form the dough into the shape you want your loaf on a baking sheet or stone.  I made a small loaf with half and 10 rolls in a brioche tin.  Leave it to rise again for another hour.  Use a sharp knife to score a pattern on your loaf then bake at 200 C for 30-40 minutes.

To check if it's cooked, you can tap the underneath of your bread, if it sounds hollow it is done.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN X

THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF - WEEK THREE

It was bread this week and we were all very nervous about what Paul would have to say about our efforts.  I do like to make bread, of all the things to bake it gives me the most sense of achievement when I produce something nice - For me, It's easy to get wrong and hard to get right.

In the past I have shied away from loaves and made less temperamental breads like stromboli and fougasse.  Bread does scare me a little so I had to really get to grips with my reservations and work hard on coming up with original recipes that I could guarantee would work, have lots of flavour and offer something different. 

We started with our signature free form loaf. I have issues with adding ingredients to my bread, I just don't seem to get good results once I add any extras so I new I had to find something that would add lots of flavour but not affect the structure of the dough

Dukkah is a middle eastern spice mix traditionally used as a side dish eaten with olive oil and bread.  The name Dukkah is derived from the Arabic for 'to pound' as the mixture of spices and nuts are pounded together after being dry roasted.  I also use it on roasted meats , in stews and on pizzas and now in bread.

   50g Blanched Almonds or Hazelnuts

50g Sesame Seeds 25g Coriander Seeds 5g Cumin Seeds 1/2tsp Salt Flakes 1/4tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper 1 tsp Dried Thyme

  

Put the corriander seeds, cumin seeds, hazelnuts and sesame seeds in a pan and dry roast them till they start to brown and pop.  The aroma is fantastic.  Remove them from the pan immediately as they will continue to toast and they may burn.  Add the remaining ingredients and either use a pestle and mortar to grind them together or whizz them in a mini chopper.  I like it a little chunky and to have texture but you can make it as fine as you like.

              

          Dough

500g Strong White Bread Flour                                               15g Yeast                                                10g Salt                                              40g Butter                                             300g Water                                             50g Dukkah                                          A little Olive Oil

                                                                                                                                         

Rub the butter into the flour, add the yeast, salt and dukkah and combine.  Add the water and mix till it all comes together, I find it easier to use a knife for this.  You want to start with quite a wet dough.  Put a little olive oil on the surface, this will help it to not stick when kneading.  Knead for 10 minutes - if you can manage it,  till smooth.  If it does start to stick, add a little more oil to the surface or dust yout hands lightly with flour.  Try not to add too much flour to your dough though as it will become tough and you will achieve hard bread. Form the dough into a ball, return it to the bowl and cover with a tea towel.  Rest for 1 hour to double in size. Remove the dough from the bowl and 'knock it back' to it's original size.  Now shape it into a ball and rest for a further hour on a baking stone covered with a tea towel.  After the hour the dough will have doubled again, cut marks into the loaf and bake at 200C for 40 minutes.

PESTO BREAD

Because I'd used a normal bread dough for the signature loaf I wanted something different for the first of my two rolls.  This pesto bread is made with an olive oil dough but rather than use just olive oil, I have used the oil to make the pesto and added that.

Olive oil dough has a lovely soft stretchy texture, I actually prefer to use it for most of my bread, it's good for pizza bases too.

Pesto 50g Basil               30g Pinenuts 30g Pecorino        1 clove Garlic 85ml Olive Oil       Salt & Pepper to Season Whizz all the ingredients together in a mini chopper or processor till you have a lovely sloppy green paste.    Dough 500g Strong White Bread Flour 15g Yeast 10g Salt 320g Water 3 Tblsp Pesto Mix the flour, yeast and salt. Combine the water with the pesto and mix into the flour with a knife  to form a dough.  Knead it on a lightly oiled surface for 10 minutes till smooth. Now return the dough to the bowl and cover with a tea towel.  Rest for 1 hour till doubled in size. Remove the dough from the bowl and 'knock back' to original size.  Divide it into 12 pieces, they should weigh about 80g each.  Roll each one into a sausage then tie them into knots.  Rest them on the baking sheet or stone and cover with a tea towel.  Rest for a further hour to double again. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 200C

SWEET COCONUT ROLLS

So, I've used a regular dough and an olive oil dough, now for a sweet dough.  This was the bread that made Mary like coconut.  It reminds me of my mum's chelsea buns, she replaced the usual sultanas with a mixture of toasted coconut, butter and sugar, every time I taste it I'm transported back to my childhood.

You can eat this bread as it is, still warm from the oven is best but it also goes great with a really hot curry, the sweetness helps combat the heat from the chilli, a bit like peshwari naan.

Coconut Filling

100g Dessicated Coconut 

50g Demerara Sugar  

50g Butter 

500g Strong White Bread Flour 15g Yeast 60g Butter 40g Sugar 10g Salt  2 Eggs  200g Milk 25g Dessicated Coconut 1 tsp Icing Sugar

Make the coconut filling. Toast all the coconut in a dry pan till it browns.  Remove it from the pan as it will continue to toast and burn. Remove 25g and set aside for the dough.  Now put the butter and sugar in the pan and heat till the butter has melted.  Once they have both melted add the remaining coconut and stir to combine.

Now make the dough.  Stir the icing sugar into the 25g of coconut and set aside.  Warm the milk slightly in a pan.  Rub the butter into the flour.  Add the yeast, sugar, salt and coconut with icing sugar and stir to combine.  Mix in the eggs and milk with a knife and knead for 10 minutes on a slightly oiled surface till smooth. Return the dough to the bowl and cover.  Leave to prove for an hour till doubled in size.

The Faffy Bit

Remove from bowl and 'knock back' to original size.  Divide the dough into 12 neat balls, they should weigh about 80g each. This is where it gets tricky but only slightly,  To form each one, roll each into a disc about 5mm thick and cover with a spoon of coconut filling.  Cut from the centre to the edge of the disc then roll it up from the cut edge to form a cone shape.  Tuck the dough at the larger end in on itself to make a base, sit the base in the surface and use your thumb to push the point of the cone into the centre and form a dimple.  Rest for a further hour on a baking sheet lined with parchment.   Cover with a tea towel. 

Because it is a sweet dough it can burn if the temperature is too high so bake it at 160C for 20-30 minutes.

BREAD BASKET

If that wasn't enough we had to make a display basket for our rolls.  15 years in child care teaches you something about play dough along with cutting and sticking so that's just what I did!

My friend Ann always buys the most perfect presents and she gave me these fantastic leaf cutters.  The whole thing was simple and effective but it was the cutters that made it - with a little help from me!

  

 Salt Dough

2 Cups Plain Flour and Extra for Rolling 1 Cup Salt 1 Cup Warm Water 1 tsp Oil 1 Egg White to glaze and stick extra leaves on

I baked mine for 30 minutes at 140C on the outside then removed the bowl and did it for a further 30 minutes.

Once it's baked glaze the whole thing with egg white and glue on the extra baked leaves also with egg white.  Bake for a further 10 minutes.

White Loaf

Chelsea Buns

First attempt at chelsea buns with my new love of bread making.  It was 2 hours in the making and 10 minutes in the eating.  I had to make one row without raisins for Archie, just not the same though.  Next time I'm going to try it with coconut like my mother used to, that should stir up some memories.

Ishihara Plate- Painting

I can't believe how long it took me to paint this but I love the finished piece.  I had to draw each circle individually in 3 different sizes then painted each one making sure that there were no 2 colours the same next to each other the same size....does that make sense?

Most people get the number straight away but there have been a couple who can't see it and my Father thought he could see a rabbit!  Some have asked why 45, I just liked the shape.

Take the ishihara color vision test HERE