New toy

 

Such a bargain. So shiny and new.

Cut my olive bread dough up a treat whilst I was eyeing up 1992-Kevin-Costner in The Bodyguard.

 

Treats

Maneesh

 

 

Bread Ingredients:

250g strong white flour (plus extra for dusting)

5g salt

13g caster sugar

5g instant yeast

Rape seed oil (plus extra for kneading)

160ml tepid water

 

Topping Ingredients:

3 tbsp sesamie seeds

2 tbsp dried thyme

1 tbsp dried basil*

Rape seed oil

 

*meant to be marjoram #FailagainTooleyStTescos

 

Makes ~ 1 bread

 

Preparation/Baking Method:

Mix together the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Add 3/4 of the water.

 

Using your fingers, mix the ingredients together. Gradually add the remaining water until all the flour has come away from the sides of the bowl and you have a soft dough (you may not need all the waterl; the dough should be soft and not sticky).

 

Pour a little oil onto your work top. Place the dough on top and knead for 5-10 minutes. The dough will be wet in the beginning but will form a smooth dough once kneaded.

 

Place in a clean, oiled bowl, cover with a tea-towel and leave to double in size (1-3 hours).

 

Line large baking tray with parchment paper.

 

Tip the dough onto an oiled work top. Knock the dough back by folding it on itself, repeating this until all the air is knocked out and the dough is smooth.

 

Roll dough into a large (approx 30cm) circle/disc.

 

Place on the lined baking tray and cover with a clean plastic bag. Leave to rest for 20 minutes.

 

Preheat the oven to 230C/450F/gas 8

 

Mix all the topping ingredients with a little rape seed oil until you have a thick paste.

 

Brush the surface of the bread with rape seed oil. Spread the topping over the bread and bake for approx 15 minutes.

 

Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

 

Alternatively eat immediately with a squidge of honey and your housemates.

 

Inspiration

 

Notes: Super yummy. Well worth the effort. Interesting to try with marjoram. Oil the baking parchment so the base doesn't stick? Try cooking for less time/longer so it doesn't stick.

Wrap up Sundays

 

Recipe as before.

Served with fishfingers and beans (random, yes) and 3 episodes of Come Dine with Me.

Notes: Improving. Bigger wraps, baked better, lovely steamy air pockets. Helped by spreading the dough out a little more by hand (careful fingers) when they first go into the pan.

Soda bread Saturday

Recipe as before. Breakfast as before.
I need to mix my Saturday mornings up.

Notes: Super crusty. Didn't seem baked for ages. Wetter dough next time? Shallower scoring on dough as bread seems to split open more? 

Vegan banana & strawberry loaf cake

Cake Ingredients:

560g self-raising flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp baking powder

230g caster sugar

2 over-ripe bananas

350ml soya milk

250ml light rapeseed oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

12 fresh strawberries hulled and roughly chopped

 

Vanilla Icing Ingredients:

300g icing sugar

2 tbsp soya milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

 

Dried banana chips for decoration

 

Makes ~ 1 loaf cake and 1 7" cake

 

Preparation/Baking Method:

Preheat oven to 180C/350F/gas 4 and grease and line loaf/cake tin

 

In a large bowl mix together to flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and caster sugar. Add the mashed banana, milk, oil, vanilla and chopped strawberries.

 

Using a metal spoon, quickly mix everything together for about 10 seconds until the ingredients are just combined. Don't mix the batter too much, it should still be a bit lumpy.

 

Pour/spoon the mixture into the tins and place in the preheated oven for 45-60 mins. Cool on a wire rack.

 

To make the icing mix together the icing sugar, milk and vanilla in a bowl. If it's too firm add a couple more drops of milk, and if too runny, add a little more icing sugar.

 

Ripple the icing onto the loaf/cake and decorate with dried banana chips.

 

Enjoy on summer solstice after a stroll by the river.

 

Inspiration

 

Notes: Makes a crazy amount of cake. Halve and just make one loaf/cake. Recipe adapted from the one in Ms Cupcake's recipie book as I ran out of oil and s/r flour. Extra banana made it super moist, smelt really 'banana-y' and didn't have the faint oil taste the victoria sponge seemed to have.