Bread Boats

Hey Everyone,

A bread for brunch this week! From one of my favourite recipe books, Sirocco, this bread is from Persian cooking - a far stretch from what I usually make at home, so the unusual flavour combinations seem (and are) very exotic! It might be quite a strange thing to crack an egg on a bread, but I can assure that it tastes really nice, even if I did manage to break the yolk of ALL my eggs - I trust that you can avoid my rookie mistake!

For those of you who aren't too keen on a whole lot of spice in your cooking, I will warn you that the cayenne pepper really adds a kick! However, my Grandad, a devout hater of hot food, really enjoyed it, so why not give it a go anyway?!

Bread Boats - From "Sirocco" By Sabrina Ghayour

Makes 4

Ingredients -

• 7g Sachet Fast-Action Dried Yeast
• 500ml Warm Water
• 700g Warm Water
• 700g Strong White Flour
• 2 Heaped Tbsp Crushed Sea Salt Flakes
• 75ml Olive Oil
• 50g Butter, melted

For the Filling

• 6 Large Eggs
• 250g Ready Grated Mozzarella (not Buffalo Mozzarella)
• 120g Young Spinach Leaves, roughly chopped
• 4 Spring Onions, thinly sliced
• 1 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
• A Pinch of Grated Nutmeg
• Finely Grated Zest of 1 Unwaxed Lemon
• Sea Salt Flakes and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1. Stir the yeast into 50ml of the warm water, then allow it to sit for a few minutes until it has dissolved.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, and crushed salt, then make a well in the centre. Pour in the remaining warm water, 50ml olive oil and the yeast dissolved in water and combine using your hands until you have a smooth dough. If the dough is a bit sticky, just add a little extra flour and, if it is dry, an additional splash of warm water.

3. On a clean, floured surface, knead the dough for 5 minutes to activate the yeast and stretch the glutens within it. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes before kneading it again for 2 minutes. Repeat this process another 3 times and, on the second, incorporate the remaining 25ml olive oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a clean towel and leave to rest for 3 hours. Once the resting period is over, the dough will have tripled in size.

4. Preheat the oven to 230°C/Gas Mark 8. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and shape the dough into a "boat" shape and place on the lined tray. Cover loosely with clingfilm and leave to rest in a warm place for 45-60 minutes.

5. Make the filling. In a mixing bowl, beat 1 egg with the mozzarella, spinach, spring onions, cayenne, nutmeg and lemon zest and season well with salt and pepper. Blend well until the mixture is smooth.

6. Divide the remaining mixture into 4 equal portions and place 1 in the centre of each bread boat, leaving 2.5cm clear at the edges. Pick up the clear edges of dough and tuck the inwards to secure the filling. Beat 1 of the remaining eggs and brush any exposed pastry dough with this egg wash. Bake for 15-17 minutes, remove from oven and carefully crack 1 egg into the centre of each boat. Bake for 6-8 minutes more or until the egg whites are opaque.

Please Enjoy!!!

Blueberry Muffins

Hey Everyone,

One of my favourite snacks has always been blueberry muffins and the same definitely goes for my sister as well. In fact I've been meaning to make them for a while because whilst the shop bought ones are delicious, there is nothing better than a homemade one muffins - especially if it contains blueberries! This particular recipe is from a children's cookery book, though it is a bit different from your average one as it's written by Paddington Bear, so it must be good! Everything in it's amazing... Even the marmalade according to my Mum, though I'm not so much of a fan myself!
These muffins were made using plenty of fresh blueberries for a way nicer flavour and it also improves the look too. Remember to eat them straight out of the oven warm - aren't all cakes best warm? Especially blueberry muffins too, due to the sweet and sticky blueberries that burst in the oven, with a light cake around them!

Blueberry Muffins - "Paddington's Cookery Book" By Michael Bond

Makes 12 Muffins

Ingredients -

• 125g Caster Sugar
• 200g Plain Flour
• 2 Tsp Baking Powder
• 175ml Milk
• 2 Eggs
• 150ml Vegetable Oil
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 200g Blueberries

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

2. Put the sugar in the mixing bowl. Sift the flour and baking powder on the top. In the other bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla extract together until smooth.

3. With a whisk, make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and beat in the liquid mixture quickly and roughly. Don't worry about the odd lump - speed keeps the air in and makes the muffins light.

4. Quickly fold in the blueberries with a large metal spoon. With the tablespoon place the mixture into 12 muffin cases.

5. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown and risen.

Please Enjoy!!!

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

Hey Everyone,

Although I have been posting a lot of recipes for bread recently, this is a different type as it's a sweet bread, flavoured with cinnamon.
Typically in our house, if we have a sweet snack it will be something like a cupcake (which we never seen to have a shortage of!), but this bread seemed too irresistible to not make! I found the recipe in one of the many recipe books I have for young children - I find that many of the best recipes to make are in cookbooks for kids as they are always practically foolproof! Making pull-apart bread was a new experience for me and was very interesting too - definitely something that I will be using in the future again. Instead of making the dough into one loaf at the beginning straight away like usual, you have to cut it into squares and stick them together in a loaf tin, so that after baking it can be easily shared, "pull-apart" as the name suggests! If you've never made it before then I would really recommend you do, and for those of you who already heave, why not make it again?!

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread - "The Children's Book of Baking Bread"

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients -

• 450g Strong White Bread Flour
• 1 Tsp Caster sugar
• 1 1/2 Tsp Fast-Action Yeast
• 20g Butter
• 300ml Milk

For the Filling

• 75g Butter, softened
• 75g Caster Sugar
• 4 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

For Sprinkling

• 1 Tsp Caster Sugar

You will need a 900g loaf tin

1. Grease the tin and line it with parchment. Put the flour, sugar and yeast in a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon. Put the butter and half the milk in a pan. Heat gently until the butter melts. Take the pan off the heat. Add the rest of the milk, then pour it on the flour mixture.

2. Mix with a spoon, then use your hands to bring the mixture into a bowl. Sprinkle a little flour on a clean surface. Put the dough on the surface. Knead for about 10 minutes, or until it feels smooth and springy. Put it back in the bowl.

3. Cover the bowl tightly with a plastic food wrap. Put it in a warm place for about 50 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size. While the dough is rising, make the filling. Put the butter in a bowl. Beat with a wooden spoon until it's soft and smooth. Add the sugar and cinnamon and mix well.

4. When the dough is ready, put it back on the surface. Knead gently for 2 minutes. Then, sprinkle a rolling with a little flour. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into three pieces. Roll out each one into a long triangle around 1/2cm thick. The short side should be narrower than the end of your loaf tin.

5. With a blunt knife, spread the filling over each rectangle until all of them are covered. Stack the rectangle;es on top of each other. Using the sharp knife, cut the stack into rough squares. Pack them all into the tin side-by-side, with the sides standing upright.

6. Cover with a plastic wrap. Put in a warm place for 30 minutes, or until the dough has risen above the top of the tin. Remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle on the sugar. Heat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6. Bake for 10 minutes, then cover the top with kitchen foil. Turn down the oven to 160°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

7. Bake for a further 30-35 minutes. Stand the tin on a wire rack for 20 minutes to cool. Then turn out the loaf.

Please Enjoy!!!