Leftover Bread and Jam Pudding

Got some leftover bread? Why not make some bread pudding!

Making bread pudding is very simple: all you need is stale bread, eggs, milk, and sugar. However, you can add other things to jazz it up with some butter, or even some jam.

To make this pudding, which served four, I used 4 slices of white bread (actually, I used up the last of my pink bread), enough strawberry jam to make sandwiches, 2 medium eggs, 3 fluid ounces (85 millilitres) each of milk and whipping cream, and 1 tablespoon of sugar. To top it off before cooking, I also used about 1 tablespoon of butter.

Make 2 sandwiches with the bread and jam and cut each into quarters (I broke up two of the quarters to line the dish because it wasn't long enough for all the sandwiches), and then arrange in the dish, which should be well buttered. In a jug, mix together the eggs, cream, milk, and sugar very well. Strain over the sandwiches and allow the whole confection to soak for at least 2 hours, or better, overnight in the fridge.

When you want to cook it, dot the top with butter and sprinkle with coarse Demerara sugar. Bake in a preheated 180C oven for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until nicely puffed and well browned. I served this with a little whipping cream that I mixed with some raspberry jam for flavour.

This is a delicious and simple weeknight dessert, and one of my all time favourite desserts. It tastes like a lovely squishy croissant served with cream!

Taste of Thailand: Pink Milk Bread (Dairy and Egg Free; Wheat Free Option)

กินให้อร่อยนะ!

For the first installment in my new series, Taste of Thailand, I have some delicious pink milk bread.

I don't know any Thai apart from "Sawasadee ka" and "Kop khun ka", but I do know that I absolutely loved the squishy, fluffy, pink milk bread available in 7-Eleven shops all over Bangkok and Pattaya!

This is simply a Hokkaido milk bread that's flavoured mildly with "pink milk": pink milk could either be a Thai beverage of milk and sala syrup, which is also called snake fruit syrup; or simply strawberry milk. I haven't found the answer to which one it is yet, so I use strawberry syrup because sala syrup is hard to find, expensive, and I don't want a whole bottle for one experiment.

This bread is very sweet, and would make lovely Japanese fruit and cream sandwiches. If you don't want it as sweet, leave out some of the sugar. The dough is a little fiddly too, but persevere and you'll get a fabulous, fluffy, soft bread.

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DIFFICULTY

Requires kneading a very sticky dough

TIME

Over 4 hours

RECIPE RATING

Intermediate/Advanced

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INGREDIMENTS

12 ounces (340 grammes) strong white bread flour, at least 11.5% protein*

2¼ teaspoons (1 sachet) active yeast

1 ounce (30 grammes) caster sugar
1 ounce (30 millilitres) sunflower oil

1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) salt

1 fluid ounce (30 millilitres) strawberry syrup, made up to 8 fluid ounces (240 millilitres) with lukewarm water

Pink gel food colouring

* - You can make this using plain spelt flour, but reduce the overall strawberry water amount to 6 fluid ounces (170 millilitres)

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METHOD

First, make the dough

• In a large mixing bowl, mix half of the salt, half of the sugar, 8 ounces (225 grammes) of the flour, and the strawberry water. 
• Mix into a batter, cover the bowl with a clean tea towel, and leave in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
• When doubled in size, add the remaining ingredients and some pink food colouring to make a gentle rosy colour. Mix well with a wooden spoon and turn out onto an unfloured work surface.
• Knead well, scraping the dough off the surface with a plastic or silicone bench scraper. The dough will be sticky, but do not be tempted to dust the surface with flour: this will make the bread tough. Knead for 10 minutes by hand until the dough passes the windowpane test.
• Pop into a clean bowl, dust lightly with flour, and once again cover the bowl. Allow to proof in a warm place for 60 to 90 minutes, or until at least doubled in size.

Then, shape the loaf

• Once doubled in size, turn out onto a lightly floured board and deflate. Divide the dough into three by weight, and roll each piece into a tight ball.
• Take each ball and roll out into a flat rectangle. Fold into three, turn by 90 degrees, then roll flat again into a rectangle. Roll the rectangle up and pinch closed.
• Place the three bread rolls into a greased and floured 2 pound (900 gramme) loaf tin, that has been greased and floured. Cover again with a clean tea towel and allow to rise to half an inch from the lip of the pan.

Finally, bake the bread

• Preheat the oven to 180C (350F), then bake the bread in the centre of the oven, covered lightly with foil to prevent too much browning. 
• Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow.
• Allow to cool completely before slicing to get the best texture.

THIS TIME IN PREVIOUS YEARS

2017: Valentine's Day: I ❤ Pizza! (Wheat-, Egg-, and Dairy Free Base)

2016: Yeast and Wheat Free Cinnanomnom (or just plain Cinnamon) Rolls

2015: Strawberry Crumble Bars (Wheat Free)

Tangzhong Cinnamon Rolls: Further Experiments

In my further bread experiments, I've discovered that tangzhong dough works very well for making cinnamon rolls!

I wrote up a cinnamon rolls recipe about two years ago using a traditional bread dough method, but I thought it'd be nice to update it with my recent discovery of the Tangzhong method.

In my previous blog on the topic, I said that it was an Asian method (which makes sense, being called tangzhong), however from further research I discovered that its origins are to be found in Eastern Europe, particularly Austria and Russia. In German, it's called kochstück and was originally used to prevent spelt bread from drying out in the oven. So, it's doubly appropriate I should use it on this blog, which has a focus on making things with spelt flour!

 

This made some mega fluffy cinnamon rolls, but I will warn that they dough is so soft and stretchy that it's difficult to get a nice tight roll. But the crumb is so unbelievably fluffy that that won't bother you.To make the dough, I used 1 pound (450 grammes) strong flour, at least 11.5% protein, 6 fluid ounces (170 millilitres) water, the same amount of milk, two ¼ ounce (7 gramme) packs of dried yeast, 2 ounce (55 grammes) salted butter, and 2 tablespoon (30 grammes) sugar.

In the future, I'll be looking into ways to knead this style of dough without a machine, because I rely on my newly acquired stand mixer to knead this very sticky style of bread. There are masters who know the ancient ways of kneading high hydration dough, so I'll turn to them for assistance....

Bread That's Still Fresh Tomorrow: Tangzhong Method

Ah, bread... such a simple, simple pleasure. In some parts of the world, access to bread is a human right, and I can see why!

However, sometimes homemade bread doesn't live up to expectations for a variety of reasons: it's dry, it's dense, it's doughy, or sometimes it simply doesn't last for more than a day before going stale. That's not a problem if you have lots of people in your house to eat the bread, but if not even the biggest bread lover couldn't (or if they could, shouldn't) eat an entire loaf of bread in one day. 

So, I took to the internet to do some research on how to keep my bread fresher for longer and lasts for three days without having to become bird food. And it's all to do with the relationship between the flour and the water.

Now, for some science

In the breadmaking world, people talk about dough hydration percentage. Sounds fancy, but all that really means is if you have a bread dough that has 1000 grammes of flour, and 500 grammes of water, that dough has a 50% hydration, because there is half as much water as flour. The higher the percentage of hydration, the chewier and sturdier the texture of the dough after baking, and the fresher it stays for longer. The lower the percentage, the quicker it goes stale. 

Doughs that have a higher hydration percentage need flour with more gluten, so an 80% hydration dough would need strong bread flour that has a high percentage of protein on the label, more than 11%. Lower hydration dough, however, can be made using regular plain or all purpose flour which makes them much more accessible for beginners or occasional bakers who might only have plain flour at home.

Regular beginner's bread doughs often have roughly 60-65% hydration, or a pound of flour (455 grammes) to about half a pint of water or milk (285 millilitres). That's how my Mum taught me, and it's easy to handle. Often very experienced or artisan breadmakers can use bread doughs that have up to 80% hydration, like sourdough, which has great keeping qualities and a delicious chewy texture. However, this kind of dough needs particular handling techniques that take a long time to master that would absolutely frustrate and discourage a beginner. I've tried, and failed, and cried over way too many wasted loaves of bread.

Is there a compromise?

To have a dough with a nice high percentage hydration but can be easily handled, you need to trap some of the water. Introducing a method that's very popular in East Asian countries: the tangzhong.

This method takes a small amount of the flour used in your recipe to make a paste with some of the water. This paste traps the water in the starch of the flour, which has two advantages: the water isn't all in your dough, making it hard to handle; and the water is trapped which makes it harder to escape, keeping the bread moister for longer!

Now, that's some massive oversimplification: the real technical reason has way more longer words in it like gelatinisation and other words I couldn't spell out loud from memory. But all you need to know is that it works very well.

So, the takeaway is

Higher Hydration: 65%<

Needs strong (bread) flour with more protein

Makes bread that has a chewy texture

Can have big air pockets, depending on how it's proofed

Sticky dough which needs specific handling techniques

Almost has a life of its own

Makes bread that keeps longer

Lower Hydration: >65%

Can be made using plain (all-purpose) flour

Make tender, soft bread

Has a more cake-like texture

Easy to handle dough that's good for beginners

Quite a forgiving dough that doesn't need special treatment

Can stale quickly if not eaten or frozen immediately

Tangzhong Method

Traps some of the water in a cooked flour-water paste

Results in a dough which is a happy middle ground between low and high hydration properties

So, for my delicious loaf of white bread that's in the pictures, I used 1 pound (455 grammes) of strong bread flour, 12 fluid ounces (340 millilitres), one quarter-ounce (7 gramme) sachet of dried yeast, 1 ounce (30 grammes) butter or oil, 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) salt, and two teaspoons (10 millilitres) sugar.

One pound is 16 ounces, which means 12 fluid ounces of water is 75% of the flour measurement. If you use more or less flour, the water must be scaled to always be 75% of the flour.

Take 1 ounce (30 grammes) of the pre-measured flour and cook it with 6 fluid ounces (180 millilitres) of the pre-measured water and cook it into a paste in a saucepan over medium-low heat and allow to cool with cling film directly touching the surface to prevent a skin. The paste should be thick and translucent. Notice that the ratio of flour to water is 1:6, and also that half of the overall water is being trapped in the paste. 

Make the bread as usual, adding in the paste and the remaining ingredients. It will take longer to knead and sometimes get a little sticky, but don't be tempted to add a load more flour to knead it easier. You can use plain flour for dusting.

Bake as normal and cool as normal and you'll be presented with some of the most deliciously impossibly soft and fluffy bread you've ever eaten. Just like from the Chinese bakery!

This method can be used to make cinnamon rolls and other kinds of bread treats like dinner rolls, hot dog buns, or hamburger buns. You can use milk in the dough, but always make sure you make the flour paste with water; it just works better that way.

For more information on tangzhong method dough, please read through my sources and explore what the world wide web has to offer on the subject!

SOURCES

https://pastrychefonline.com/tangzhong-bread/

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2018/07/23/how-to-convert-a-bread-recipe-to-tangzhong

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2018/03/26/introduction-to-tangzhong

Hot Cross Buns, and Iced Buns: Almost No-Knead Bread (Wheat Free with Dairy Free Option)

Today is Good Friday, and as promised I present to you Hot Cross Buns and Easter Iced Buns!

These are brought to you because hot cross buns are traditional this weekend, of course, but also in response to a conversation that I find myself having fairly frequently with other hobby bakers:

"How do you make bread without kneading?"

You don't have to knead bread if it proves overnight in the fridge

"Hmm, I don't have that amount of time. How to I make bread in a few hours?"

Well, if you want it today you'll have to knead it really thoroughly

"Okay, so how do you make bread that doesn't need kneading that I can have in a few hours?"

These people who obviously want to have their bread and eat it too.

If there is one thing that I have come to learn about yeast-risen bread, it's that to make a nice bread you have to spend time, or spend effort. There is no such thing as a no-effort bread that's ready immediately, unless you're making soda bread. As such, the less effort you want to put in the more time you'll have to spend, and the less time you want to spend the more effort you'll have to put in.

Kneading and overnight proving are both used to develop gluten in bread dough: you can develop the gluten by hand through kneading vigorously, or you can let the yeast develop the gluten overnight slowly and steadily. Here are the pros and cons of each:

• Kneading is the faster solution as you can knead a dough well by hand and have bread ready for its first rise in half an hour. Sometimes, however, when you encounter a particularly sticky dough, people get frustrated and the temptation is to add a load more flour to make the kneading easier, thus making the dough dry and tough. Also, some very sticky doughs need a good 20 to 25 minutes of continuous kneading, which can be exhausting.
• When you prove dough overnight, the kneading step and the first rise step are combined in a zero effort solution, but if you want bread today you have to start yesterday, which means you really have to plan your bread needs in advance. Also, overnight rises can make a bread that is overproofed, which leads to dense, sour loaves that stale too quickly.

So what's a baker to do? Well, I have come to inform you that there is a halfway house: bread that takes a day to make and requires only moderate kneading effort, harnessing the gluten developing powers of both the yeast and your hands in turns.

In this recipe, I use this bread dough to make a delicious and pretty Easter treat: a tray of hot cross buns, and plain buns iced with little portraits of Bibbit's springtime friends.

Follow the recipe below, and watch the video for full instructions!

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DIFFICULTY

The steps are simple, but time consuming

TIME

Roughly 3½ to 4 hours

RECIPE RATING

Intermediate

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INGREDIMENTS

Makes 16 buns

1 pound (455 grammes) white spelt flour
2 ounces (55 grammes) unsalted butter, or margarine
1 rounded teaspoon (7 grammes) salt
2 ounces (55 grammes) caster sugar
2 medium (US large) eggs
6 fluid ounces (170 millilitres) milk at body temperature, or milk alternative
Up to 4 extra tablespoons (60 millilitres) milk or milk alternative, to adjust the texture
1 quarter-ounce (7 gramme) packet of dried active yeast

For spiced dough

1 or 2 tablespoons (7 to 15 grammes) ground mixed spice, to taste, moistened with half as much warm water
3 ounces (85 grammes) mixed dried fruit of your choice
Optional: 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) orange zest
Optional: 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) lemon zest

To make the crosses

½ ounce (15 grammes) white spelt flour
¾ teaspoon (3 grammes) butter
Water, to mix

To decorate

Runny honey, for brushing
Fresh orange juice, for brushing
12 ounces (340 grammes) icing sugar, sieved
2 ounces (55 grammes) unsalted butter, or margarine
Hot water, to mix
Food colouring: pink, yellow, orange, black, blue, and green.

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FREE FROM

Wheat, yeast, nuts

CONTAINS

Eggs, spelt, dairy (dairy free option in italics), refined sugar

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POINTS TO REMEMBER

• Try not to add too much milk, otherwise it will need more rises to develop the gluten. At the absolute most, add a total of 8 fluid ounces (225 millilitres) of milk, which is half as much flour.
• The first rise will take roughly an hour and a quarter, but it could take up to an hour and a half.
• Likewise, the second rise should only be 45 minutes, but could take up to an hour.
• One thing that I forget to mention in the video is that the raw rolls need to be flattened a little bit so they don't rise in a ball shape. 
• The third and final rise should to 30 to 40 minutes: the rolls should expand by about two thirds, not double. If you poke them on the side and they spring back, they need more rising: your finger should leave a little dent in the side, but not collapse the roll.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 200°C (400°F).

THIS TIME IN 2017: Recipe Revision: Baked Cheesecake, but a large one this time! (Gluten Free Option)

THIS TIME IN 2015: Experiment: Yeast and Wheat Free Hot Cross Buns

THIS TIME IN 2013: Coffee Sponge Slice with Raspberry Fondant Icing (Wheat Free)

There were no blogs on this day in 2014 for 2016

Báirín Breac, a.k.a. Barm Brack: Traditional Irish Fruit Bread

Hallowe'en as a holiday originates in Ireland: Oíche Shamhna was the original Gaelic new year's eve, where the division between the living world and the spirit world would open for one night only to permit the dead to pass over. Sometimes, though, pesky spirits would accidentally (on purpose) take people who were still alive into the spirit world, where they'd get stuck forever. To prevent this from happening, the living people were advised to disguise themselves as ghouls, goblins and sprites to fool the spirits into thinking they were some of their own, and prevent their apprehension.

Once the Irish migrated en-masse to the United States, Hallowe'en became part of the American consciousness, and was popularised worldwide through American television. How the Irish celebrated Hallowe'en was always a little bit more ghoulish and pagan when I was a kid, and not as holiday-fied as the American Hallowe'en, but over my lifetime it has lost popularity and has become completely overshadowed by Christmas. Seriously, we have Christmas stuff in the shops from September.

So, in the spirit of sharing our traditions, I will share with you a recipe for barmbrack, or báirín breac in Irish, which is a fruited bread often eaten at this time of year. Hidden inside the loaf are a few trinkets that have symbolic meaning: a ring for marriage, a coin for wealth, a stick for poverty, a pea for spinsterhood, and a relic for a religious life. Nowadays, it's usually only a coin or ring. And yes, even the ones in the shop have the trinkets hidden inside; I understand in America it's illegal to sell food that contains foreign object, but not here!

I tried making this the traditional way, with a home-cultured yeast and tea-soaked fruit, but it was really really difficult: making your own bread starter is a tricky business, and I personally find it too sour, and using soaked fruit made a complete and utter mess. Instead, I've somewhat adapted the traditional bread recipe to make it a tad easier.

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DIFFICULTY

Requires bread making

TIME

About 5 hours

RECIPE RATING

Experienced

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INGREDIMENTS

Makes one large loaf, weighing roughly 1½ pounds (680 grammes)

6 fluid ounces (170 millilitres) strong black tea, hot

10 ounces (280 grammes) raisins or currants, or a mixture of both

2 teaspoons (10 grammes) brown sugar

12 ounces (340 grammes) white spelt flour, plus up to 2 ounces (55 grammes) extra for dusting

1½ teaspoons (7 grammes) salt

1 quarter-ounce (7 gramme) packet of dry active yeast

1 ounce (30 grammes) caster sugar

1 medium (US Large) egg, or you can use more tea

1½ ounces (40 grammes) unsalted butter, soft, or margarine

Demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Eggwash

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FREE FROM

Nuts, wheat

CONTAINS

Spelt, dairy (italics show alternatives), eggs (italics show alternatives), refined sugar, yeast

~~ ^ _ ^ ~~

METHOD

• In a large jug, mix the fruit with the hot tea and brown sugar. Heat in the microwave on full power for 1 minute, stirring half way. Allow the fruit to cool to hand-hot, which will take about 20 minutes
• Strain all the liquid out of the fruit, pressing as much liquid as you can out of the fruit. Set the fruit aside for later, and make sure the tea is still hand-hot: it should feel like nice bathwater. If it's too cold, heat gently in the microwave until it's hot enough again.
• In a large mixing bowl, sieve in 8 ounces (225 grammes) of the flour, and add in the yeast, the sugar, and salt. Mix in the egg, and only enough of the strained tea to make what looks like a thick pancake mixture. Cover loosely with a tea towel or cling film, and allow to rise for about 20 minutes to half an hour. This will help the strengthening of the gluten.
• Once the dough has risen, add in the remaining 4 ounces (115 grammes) of flour and mix to a very soft dough; it will be a little bit tacky. Sprinkle some of the premeasured flour onto the work surface and knead until smooth.
• Add the butter and fruit into the dough, and knead again until the dough is very smooth and supple, and passes the window-pane test. The whole kneading process from adding the flour to finished dough might take up to 20 minutes and will be incredibly messy, so prepare yourself and don't be afraid to flour the surface often (making sure not to add more than 2 ounces (55 grammes). If you have a standing mixer with a dough hook, it'll be ready in half the time.
• Roll into the dough into a ball, return to the bowl, and allow to rise for about an hour to two hours, or until just over doubled in size.
• Grease and flour an 8 inch (20 centimetre) deep, round cake tin. You could also use two 8 inch (20 centimetre) sandwich tins to make shallower loaves.
• Once doubled, press the air out of the dough and shape again to a ball, making sure the surface is very smooth and tight. Put into the prepared tin and flatten out until the surface is level. Cover again and allow to rise once more until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. In the last few minutes of rising, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4).
• Brush the surface of the loaf with eggwash and sprinkle with Demerara sugar. Bake the loaf on the centre shelf of the oven for 30 to 45 minutes: the top will be a beautiful golden brown, and to test the doneness take the loaf out of the tin and knock the bottom, and if it sounds hollow it's done.
• If the top is browning too quickly, cover with a tin foil hat. Ovens turn loaves of bread into conspiracy theorists sometimes.
• When cooked, carefully remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack. If you want to enjoy it freshly baked, allow it to cool enough to handle before cutting, but it's best cut at room temperature.

STORAGE

These keep for up to 3 or 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature. Do not store in the fridge!

Yeast Risen Cinnamon Rolls (Wheat Free)

Fancy a lazy weekend breakfast treat? Here are some deliciously spicy, soft, and rich cinnamon rolls!

I really, thoroughly enjoy the combination of yeasty, doughy, extra light and fluffy dough and squishy gooey spicy centres found in cinnamon rolls: it's such a pleasing thing to eat. They look really pretty too, and the fluffy sides revealed by breaking the rolls apart is one of the best parts.

In the UK, these buns usually have some dried fruit along with the sugary spicy filling and are called Chelsea buns, but my companion really doesn't like dried fruit. So, this American style take on the spiral bread roll is much more likely to be eaten in our household!

To be honest, I prefer them too: the dried fruit kind of gets in the way of enjoying that ooey-gooey middle bit, especially is it's slathered in buttery, creamy, yet tart icing, like a yoghurt or cream cheese glaze.

INGREDIMENTS 

For 8 cinnamon rolls 

• Half a quantity of dough made through this recipe
• About 2 ounces (55 grams) caster sugar 
• About 2 ounces (55 grams) light brown sugar 
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) ground cinnamon 
• Up to 1 ounce (30 grammes) very soft butter

For the icing

• 4 ounces (115 grammes) icing sugar
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) very soft butter
• Plain natural yoghurt, buttermilk, or milk to mix

METHOD 

• Prepare the dough as instructed, and allow to rise. Grease a 11 by 7 inch (28 by 18 centimetre) rectangular dish, or any other similar size.
• When the dough is nicely puffed up and doubled in size, roll it out on a lightly floured work surface until it becomes a rectangle just under half an inch (1 centimetre) thick. 
• Spread the soft butter over the whole surface of the dough, except for an inch (2 centimetres) on one of the long sides. Butter it like you'd be generously buttering toast, but don't drown the surface in it: you don't want the rolls to be greasy, there should just be enough to allow the sugar to stick.
• In a cup or bowl, mix up the sugars and cinnamon. Sprinkle the sugar over the buttered surface until it forms a sandy surface. Make sure the sugar distribution is nice and even.
• Slightly wet the un-sugared long side of the dough, and roll from the fully sugared long side to the wet long side, making a loose but snug roly-poly: if you roll it too tightly, the buns will grow noses in the oven, because the tightly rolled middle will have nowhere to go but up! Pinch the join well.
• Cut the big cinnamon sausage into 8 pieces, and then place cut side up into the dish, only barely touching each other.
• Cover, and leave to rise for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until increased by a half or so. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF, Gas Mk.4). 
• Once they are puffed, and the oven preheated, place the dish in the oven on the centre shelf for 30 minutes, or until deliciously golden brown.
• While the buns are cooking, make the icing. Cream together the butter and the icing sugar until smooth and clump free. Mix into a glaze with some yoghurt, buttermilk, or milk to make a thick but running glaze.
• Remove from the oven, and cool for 5 minutes before drizzling the glaze over the buns while still warm.

TIP
If you want to eat these first thing in the morning, but don't want to get up early to make the dough, you can make these the night before. Prepare the cinnamon rolls right up to the point that you arrange them in the dish, and then wrap tightly with cling film. Pop in the fridge overnight, and then in the morning put them straight from the fridge into the cold oven, then turn it on. The buns will rise while the oven is preheating, and in 40 to 45 minutes you'll have delicious breakfast cinnamon rolls!

Best eaten on the day they are made. If there are leftovers, eat within three days, or freeze for up to 2 months.

THIS TIME IN 2016:  Milky Ice Pops: Chocolate Flavour (Naturally Gluten Free; Dairy-Free Option)
THIS TIME IN 2015: Battenberg Birthday Cake (Wheat and Dairy Free)
THIS TIME IN 2014: American Style Pancakes... also known as drop scones, ssh. (Wheat Free)
THIS TIME IN 2013: Cake Pops, a Maiden Voyage: Jaffa Cake Pops

Variation on a Theme: Chocolate Chip Wholemeal Banana Bread (Wheat- an Dairy Free)

I haven't done banana bread in ages, and seeing as I have a load of overripe bananas hanging around, it seemed timely...

This banana bread is made with wholemeal flour, with the naughty addition of some milk chocolate chips. You can't always be healthy in this life, and this doesn't have any butter so the odd chocolate chip should be okay!

I used the same recipe as my vegan banana bread, with the totally un-vegan addition of two medium eggs. I mixed them into the bananas, oil, and sugar before adding the dry ingredients. I personally like to add eggs for texture and structure, but you don't have to add any eggs if you want to keep it eggless. I also stirred in some milk chocolate chips for added interest.


If you would like to make the bread yourself, here is how you do it.

INGREDIMENTS
This will yield one 8x4 inch (20x10 centimeter) loaf.

• 8 ounces (225 grammes) wholemeal spelt flour
• 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) baking powder
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) mixed spice
• Pinch of salt
• 3 large overripe bananas
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) soft brown sugar
• 3 fluid ounces (85 millilitres) sunflower oil
• 2 medium eggs
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) chocolate chips, milk or dark, or use dairy free chocolate
• Optional: Golden syrup or honey, for brushing

HOW-TO

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4, or moderate). Grease and flour a loaf pan.
• Sift the flour, baking powder, and spice into a large mixing bowl. In another bowl or large jug, mash the bananas with the sugar and salt until smooth and runny. Beat in the oil and eggs.
• Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the banana mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon only until combined. You don't need to beat it, as the texture will be tough if you do.
• Gently fold in the chocolate chips, then pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for about 40 to 45 minutes. Test the loaf with a cocktail stick, and if it's still sticky in the middle, bake for a further 5 minutes. Repeat this process if needed.
• Remove from the oven once baked and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• If you would like to glaze your bread, brush the top of the loaf with some golden syrup of honey as soon as it comes out of the oven.
• Eat when it has fully cooled, and store the leftovers in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Hot Cross Bunnies: a Cutesy Twist on a Traditional Favourite (Wheat Free)

What do you get if you pour a kettleful of water down a rabbit hole? Hot cross bunnies!

I know I shouldn't be so flippant on the day of our Lord's death, but it's a joke I always heard growing up. What better way to interpret it than in edible form?

Traditionally, hot cross buns are eaten on Good Friday, as they are marked with Jesus' cross, and spiced in memory of his embalming. However, they are available throughout the entirety of Lent in most Irish and UK supermarkets. Easter in my household is indeed a religious celebration, and not just a social custom, as it has become for most Irish and British people. As such, I like to honour the traditional Christian practices at this time of year.

My mother for years has been deprived of hot cross buns and, seeing as in the past six months I've properly learnt how to make yeast risen dough, I thought I'd break her fast, pardon the Lenten pun.

I made a batch of sweet bread dough according to this recipe, only added in about 3 ounces (85 grammes) of dried mixed fruit with candied peel, 2 teaspoons mixed spice, and 2 teaspoons of lemon zest. If you don't like dried fruit however (like my companion: he hates dried fruit), you can use the same amount of chocolate chips, or nuts.

I divided the dough into 12 pieces, and roll into balls. I arrange on one or two flat trays, depending on size, about two or three inches (5 to 8 centimetres) apart so that they wouldn't touch each other as they rose and baked, and slightly flattened so they didn't rise into giant balls, but domed as they rose instead. I then proofed until the buns doubled in size. Make sure to roll the dough balls better than I did, however, mine went a little mental and lost their shape because I didn't tighten the surfaces of the dough balls.

Once they doubled, I used scissors the cut the ears out of the bunnies, and pulled them away from the bodies slightly. I then brushed the bunnies with some eggwash. Then, I mixed about 2 ounces (55 grammes) of white spelt flour with enough water, a teaspoon at a time, until it became think and pipe-able, like royal icing. I piped on the crosses on the bunnies' backs using a small baking paper piping cone. Putting the crosses on after eggwashing means the bunnies become golden, but the crosses stay white.

I baked on the centre shelf of an oven preheated to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4) for 15 to 20 minutes, until well risen and golden brown. If the bunnies' ears begin to burn, cover the bunnies with tin foil, but mine were okay. I removed them from the oven and, while they were still warm, I brushed them with golden syrup. You could use apricot jam, or honey, or even just some icing sugar mixed to a syrup with hot water.

They're delicious straight from the oven, but I recommend letting them cool down a little so they're easier to cut open and lather with butter.

These however, don't keep very well. Like with all my other recipes made with sweet bread dough, eat on the day they're made, and toast the next day; on day three, they're only good for bird food.

THIS TIME IN 2016: Buttermilk Scones (Wheat Free)

THIS TIME IN 2015: Carrot and Orange Cake with Fresh Cream Icing (Wheat Free)

There was no blog this time in 2014

THIS TIME IN 2013: Black Forest Gâteau: a Retro Classic? (Wheat Free)

Shrove Tuesday: Semlor, Scandinavian Cream Buns (Wheat Free)

In keeping with the theme of Shrove Tuesday, here is another delicious offering, this time from the Subarctic realms of Scandinavia: semlor!

Originally, semlor (singular: semla) were eaten on Shrove Tuesday before the start of Lent, but once the Scandinavian countries had the Protestant Reformation, Lent was no longer as important. Nowadays, these cream buns are eaten throughout the year as a sweet treat. Traditionally, semlor are eaten in bowls of warm milk, like a pudding, but I'm not sure how often they are eaten like that anymore.

In Sweden, semlor are filled with whipped cream and almond paste made into a creamy filling by mixing with milk. In Finland, they are called laskiaispulla, and are made with raspberry or strawberry jam instead of almond paste filling. However, both are sold all over Scandinavia, and are differentiated by their appearance: almond semlor have almonds on top, and jam semlor are simply dusted with some icing sugar.

The bread dough is also subtly perfumed with some ground cardamom, which is a spice which I don't think is used anywhere near enough. However, if you don't like cardamom, you could use cinnamon, or just leave it un-spiced entirely.

I made both, but I preferred the jammy ones: I found the almond paste ones too heavy and cloying. But, make both and

INGREDIMENTS
Makes 16 or 20 buns, depending on size

• One batch of sweet bread dough, seen here, with 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom added
• 1 medium egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) of milk, or water
• 17½ fluid ounces (500 millilitres) whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) icing sugar
• Optional: 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence

For Finnish style buns

• 5 or 6 ounces (140 or 170 grammes) raspberry or strawberry jam
• Icing sugar, for dusting

For Swedish style buns

• 5 ounces (140 grammes) marzipan*
• Milk, for mixing*
• Flaked almonds, for decorating
• Optional: warm milk, for serving

HOW-TO

• Prepare the dough according to this recipe, adding the cardamom, and once it has risen the first time, divide into 16 or 20 balls, roughly 2 ounces or 1½ ounces (55 or 45 grammes) each. Make sure the tops are nice and smooth and taught.
• Lightly dust two large flat baking tray, and place the dough balls--8 or 10 on each tray--in a 3-2-3(-2) pattern, about two inches (5 centimetres) apart to allow them to double in size without touching each other.
• Allow to rise in a warm place, loosely covered with some oiled cling film or a slightly damp clean tea towel, for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until doubled in size.
• In the meantime, preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4). Arrange the oven so two shelves are close to the centre of the oven.
• Once the buns have risen, brush each bun gently with the egg beaten with milk or water. If you want some Swedish style buns, sprinkle the top of each one with some flaked almonds for decoration.
• Place the trays in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown and risen nicely.
• When they are baked, remove from the oven and transfer each bun to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.
• To fill the buns, whatever style you choose, whip the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla, if using, to firm peaks.

To complete Swedish style buns,

• Mix the marzipan with milk, a tablespoon (15 millilitres) at a time until a smooth paste is achieved. Be gradual with the milk as a little goes a long way and you don't want it too thin: it should be creamy. A fork is the best tool for this job.*
• Cut the top off each bun, about an inch (2½ centimetres) from the top. Fill the bun with some almond paste, about a rounded teaspoon (7 millilitres), and a dollop of cream. You could put the cream in a piping bag fitted with a star shaped nozzle, if you prefer.
• Place the top back on the bun, and serve either on a plate with a cup of tea or coffee, or for an authentic experience, serve in a shallow bowl of warm milk.

To complete Finnish style buns,

• Cut the tops off the buns as before, but fill each bun with a rounded teaspoon (7 millilitres) or so of jam, and then some cream, replacing the top as before.
• Serve individually on plates, dusted with icing sugar. Enjoy with tea or coffee.

These are best consumed immediately after preparing, or on the day they're made. The next day, they are alright, but by day three are best used for bird food.

* UPDATE (27/02/17): Instead of using pre-made marzipan, you can make your own almond paste filling. In a mixing bowl, mix together 3 ounces (85 grammes) ground almonds with 3 ounces (85 grammes) icing sugar and a pinch of salt, and add a few drops of almond essence. Add milk or water gradually, about a tablespoon (15 millilitres) at a time until it becomes creamy, as shown above.

Soft White Bread Rolls (Wheat-, Egg-, and Dairy Free)

There are very few things in this life that are better than freshly baked bread. And luckily, using this recipe, it can be enjoyed if you are a spelt eater

 I remember when I was a little girl, Mum used to bake delicious white bread. The excitement of watching the dough rise, then watching the loaf go into the range (yes: we had a range. I was brought up in very rural West Clare in the '90s), then watching it emerge as a delicious treat waiting to happen. When it was St. Patrick's Day, Mum used to tint the dough green, so we could have green toast. It was exactly the kind of novelty that little children revel in, especially my brother, who is called Patrick.

I'm just wondering how many other applications there are for this dough: it seems incredibly versatile. This recipe uses exactly the same bread recipe as I used to make the pork dim sum, but applied to a slightly different context. I also discovered that this bread dough can be used to make delicious thin crust pizza, but I want to experiment with deep dish pizza, which has always been a favourite of mine.
FREE FROM

☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Wheat
☑ Nuts
☑ Eggs
☑ Dairy

CONTAINS
☒ Gluten
☒ Yeast
☒ Refined sugar products


INGREDIMENTS
For 10 small buns, or 8 medium sized buns

• 12 ounces (340 grammes) white spelt flour
• 1 quarter-ounce (7 grammes) package of instant yeast
• ½ teaspoon (3 millilitres) baking powder
• 6 fluid ounces (180 millilitres) hand hot water
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) sugar
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) sunflower oil

METHOD

First, prepare the yeast dough.

• In a large mixing bowl, mix 8 ounces (225 grammes) of the flour, the yeast, sugar, oil, and warm water together. Mix into a sticky paste, cover, and leave to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size and very spongy in appearance.
• Once risen, remove from the oven and sieve in the rest of the flour, the baking powder, and salt and mix together by hand until fully incorporated.
• Knead in the bowl until it forms a dough ball, and until the bowl is completely clean. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead continuously for 4 minutes.
• Return the dough to the bowl, cover again, and leave to rise again for 1 to 1½ hours, or until about doubled in size.

Next, assemble and cook the rolls.

• When the dough is fully risen, take it out and gently deflate it. Gently flatten the dough into a circle, and cut the circle into 10 or 8 pieces. If you like, you can use a digital scale to be more precise with the division.
• Take each piece and wad up into a ball, keeping the surface nice and taught. Place on a floured baking tray about an inch apart, so they can grow into each other.
• Cover lightly with a piece of cling film, put back in the warm place, and proof for a further 25 to 35 minutes, until doubled in size and touching.
• While the dough is proofing, preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F, Gas Mk.7), with a oven proof jug of boiled water on the bottom to make it steamy.
• When the buns are risen, sprinkle with a little bit of flour, score the tops in a cross shape, then place in the steamy preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, until brown on top.
• Once cooked, allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before eating.

Like with any kind of bread rolls, they are best eaten on the day they are eaten. I follow the adage: today it's bread, tomorrow it's toast, the next day it's for the birds.

However, these can be frozen raw. Once you have formed the dough balls, freeze on a tray before proofing the second time, pack them into bags once frozen, and freeze them for up to 2 weeks. When you want them, line them up on a floured tray as instructed, and allow to thaw and proof in a warm place for about 4 or 5 hours. Bake as instructed.

Spelt Burger Buns, Brioche Style (Wheat Free)

Yayeeee!! First post of 2017!! I have an excite about it! And today, I've rustled up some burger buns.

My bread phase is still alive and kicking after the Christmas period, and myself and my companion thought we'd have some nice lamb burgers. We went to a concert this week, and had planned to stop by Dublin's Eddie Rockets restaurant to have some fine American diner food, but we hadn't timed it well enough. So, the day after we thought we'd make some burgers and chips: he made the lamb mince burgers, and made the buns.

This isn't so much as recipe as an idea for something to do with this dough recipe that I used to make the iced buns. It's a super soft dough, which is firm enough to use for brioche style burger buns. The crumb is firm and strong enough to hold a meat patty, but still soft and fluffy, like an edible pillow.

The difference is this time I used half the quantity of the original recipe, and instead of rolling the dough into fingers, I divided the dough into six equal balls and flattened them to about half an inch (1 centimetre) thick. I lightly greased and floured a flat tray, placed the dough pieces on the tray in a 2-1-2-1 pattern to they'd have soft corners, then allowed to proof until doubled in size. I preheated the oven to the same temperature as the original recipe, brushed each bun with egg wash and sprinkled with sesame seeds. I baked them for 15 minutes, turning the tray through 180 degrees halfway through cooking, until they were golden and brown.

These buns are best eaten on the day they're made, when fully cooled. The next day, they can be eaten as sandwiches. They day after, they can be eaten as toast. But after that, they're best as dog food. I wish I had taken some pictures of them as hamburger sandwiches, but it was night time and the photos didn't come out very well.

If one were to use the full recipe quantity, this would make 12 buns suitable for quarter-pounder meat patties, or 24 buns or slider burgers, which would be super cute and adorable. If you don't like sesame seeds, you can leave them off, or you could also use poppy seeds. I'd personally love to find some black sesame seeds for next time.

I bought a packet of sesame seeds from Lidl, and they had 100 gramme bags. So now I have a load of sesame seeds in my companion's cupboard. If anyone has suggestions for recipes that need lots and lots of sesame seeds, I'm all ears!

This time last year: Rondos: Almond "Fingers" (Wheat Free with a Dairy Free Option)

This time in 2015: Something Savory: Chicken and Ham Pie (Wheat Free)

This time in 2014: Oatie Biscuits (Wheat Free)