Crusty Brown Bread

This week I made a lovely crusty brown bread to go with dinner. I really like baking in the cast iron pan lately, it gives the bread such a good crunch.

The Recipe

100g strong white bread flour

220g strong wholemeal flour

100g seeded malt flour, or similar

275ml water

1tbsp oil

1tsp salt

1tsp brown sugar

1 crushed vitamin C tablet

7g yeast (1 ½ tsp)

I used a dough cycle on the machine. Add the ingredients as per your machine's manufacturers instructions. When the dough cycle is finished, shape the dough into a ball and pop in a well-floured proofing basket to rise. Put the basket into a plastic carrier bag (5p bag charge from your local supermarket) and tie it up and leave for an hour or so until doubled in size.

Put a cast iron pan to heat in the oven at 245c or 225c fan oven. Remove the pan when the oven is up to temperature, then tip the dough upside down into the pan. Don't worry if the dough isn't straight, it will bake fine. Put the lid on the pan and then bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for a further 15 minutes. Carefully remove the bread from the pan and leave to cool on a wire rack. 

Cheese-topped Rolls

Do you know what goes well with Sunday? Cheese topped rolls with bacon. Or my husband likes them filled with grated cheese, dipped in cream of tomato soup. Hell, they even go well with butter and Marmite. Whatever fills your cheese-topped roll boat!

The Recipe

275ml water
450g strong white bread flour. 
1 tbsp oil
2tsp salt
2tsp caster sugar
7g yeast

I made the dough in the bread machine on a basic dough setting. Then shape into 10 rolls, place on oiled baking trays, covered in oiled cling film and let rise for half hour. 

Grate cheese over them and bake at 220c (200c fan oven) for 15 minutes.

Cinnamon rolls with a sticky glaze

There's nothing that says "autumn" and "binge eating because it's colder" like cinnamon rolls. I used simple cup bread machine recipe to make the dough on a basic dough setting. 

Rolls

1 cup warm milk

2 eggs, room temperature

1⁄3 cup melted butter
4 1⁄2 cups strong white bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 cup caster sugar
2 1⁄2 teaspoons dried yeast

1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup softened butter
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Glaze

2 cups icing sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoons milk

Roll the dough out into a rectangle on a floured surface. Spread with softened butter and then sprinkle with a brown sugar and cinnamon mix. Roll the dough up, cut into slices (for me the dough made 15) and lie flat in a greased roasting dish. Cover with cling film and let rise for half an hour. 

Bake at 190c (fan oven) or 210c (normal oven). 

Tell husband that the dough only made 9 rolls and deny all accusations.

Bread Machine Challah Plait

The bread machine is brilliant for making Challah dough. Challah is a traditional Jewish bread, egg enriched, and braided.

Ingredients

2 lightly beaten eggs
Water to add to the eggs making up 275 ml in total
2 tbsp oil
450 g strong white bread flour
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp quick dried yeast
A further beaten egg to glaze
Poppy seeds


Recipe
Mix the eggs in a measuring jug, then top up with water to 275 ml.
Pour in the water/eggs, then the oil. Sprinkle over the flour. Add salt and sugar in separate corners of the pan, then yeast in the middle. Set to a dough setting (generally 1 hr 30 mins).
When the dough is ready, knock it out onto a lightly floured surface then break into three sections. Plait the dough, tucking the ends under at each end of the loaf.
Place on an oiled baking tray and cover with oiled cling film for half hour, or until doubled in size. If you let the bread over prove, you will lose the definition of the plait. If the bread hasn't risen enough, the strands of the plait won't join together.
After rising, glaze the bread with beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds.

Bake the bread at 190c for 30 minutes, or until the bread has a hollow sound when tapped underneath and is nicely brown on the top. Leave to cool, and try to resist breaking off great big chunks and coating with salty butter.

Ultimate Pizza - Bread Machine Dough

Because Thursday is the new Friday, here is my ultimate pizza. Dough made in the bread machine of course. Pizza a.k.a Food of the Gods. You can put anything on it. I like meat. Salami, Ham, Pepperoni, Kabanos, Frankfurters, Smoked Pork, Parma Ham, roast chicken. If it's meat, it belongs on a pizza.

My husband likes salty combinations like anchovies, thinly sliced garlic, pine nuts and capers. But today, this isn't his pizza. It's mine. All mine (does mildy evil laugh).

Recipe275 mls water
A couple of good glugs of olive oil

450 grms strong white bread flour
A heavy pinch of sea salt

A little pinch of sugar

1 tsp of quick dried yeast

Put the ingredients into your bread machine according to the machine's instruction and run a dough setting. Without a machine, put the dried ingredients into a bowl, add the liquid, form into a dough adding extra flour if you need to. Cover bowl with oiled cling film and leave to rise for a couple of hours.

Instructions

Stick a pizza stone in the oven and preheat it to 230c. Knock out the dough on a floured surface, and roll it out into a lovely rustic shape of your choice. Put the pizza base on the hot stone – this way, the dough is already starting to cook from underneath whilst you're assembling the toppings. Add sauce. You can make your own, but to be honest, a bit of Napolina pizza sauce is just as good. Add cheese – I've opted for Mozarella. If you cut it into small cubes and drizzle with olive oil, it will melt better.

Add meat.

Sprinkle with a bit of dried oregano, black pepper, whatever herbs take your fancy really.

Cook for 10 minutes or so, until delightfully crispy. Eat on your own, after the children have gone to bed. Follow up with a tub of Haagen Dazs. Or a Magnum.  

Dutch Crunch Rolls

In another attempt to recreate the famous Tiger Bread, I had a go at these Dutch Crunch Rolls. They were missing the sesame taste, but the texture is lovely and I'm really happy with the topping on the top. I made the dough in the bread machine (just using the dough setting). But if you're really domesticated, it's just as easy to make by hand. Also, I find that the dog will lick any excess floured dropped off the flour. Better than a Dyson.

Recipe - For the dough

1 cup warm water
1/4 cup warm milk
2 1/2 cups of strong white bread flour
2 tsp oil (vegetable, olive oil , anything will do)
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp of quick dried yeast (I like Doves)

Recipe - For the topping

1/2 cup warm water
3/4 cup of rice flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp quick dried yeast

INSTRUCTIONS

Form and knead the dough, let it rise for an hour or until doubled in size. Or just plonk it in the bread machine and sit down to watch Despicable Me for the 800th time.

Lightly oil a couple of baking sheets. Tip the dough onto a floured surface, knock out the dough and then form around 10 rolls. Put them on the baking sheets and cover with oiled cling film for 20 minutes. Mix up the paste. Uncover the rolls, put a nice coating of the paste over the top. Leave for another 20 minutes.

Bake rolls at 190c for 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Serve with some really good bacon. Or freeze them for the kids lunches and impress the teachers that you are basically Nigella.