Easy all purpose bread recipe

I haven't posted on this blog for a while. The cookery school is taking off and life has been busy. No excuse I  know but some exciting classes have been going on at the school.
We have jumped onto the bread baking band wagon and this recipe is an easy all purpose recipe that can be used for making bread sticks, focaccia or pizza bases.
The difference with this recipe and what makes it so easy it that it does not need a long time to rise and only has one rising.
This is a great recipe for beginners to bread making. I used this recipe at a recent bread making class and it was a great success.

Easy All- purpose bread

This dough doesn’t need a lot of proving time and can be used to make a versatile array of breads.

Makes 1 focaccia, 2 small pizzas and 12-16 breadsticks

Ingredients

200ml milk ( and extra if needed)
12g ( 1 ½ sachets of quick acting yeast)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
425g strong white bread flour

In a non-metallic bowl add in order as listed the first five ingredients plus 120 ml tepid water ( hand hot).

Add 1 ½ cups of the flour and mix thoroughly.

Cover and leave in warm, draught free place for 20 minutes.

 Stir in the remaining flour adding a little extra milk if your dough is too dry. Mix well then knead on a floured surface for about 10 minutes, until the dough feels silky and elastic.

To make focaccia.

Preheat the oven to 220ᵒC/ gas mark 7

Take a third of the dough and pat it out to 1cm on an oiled baking sheet. Use your fingers to make small “dimples” in the dough. Scatter with some rosemary leaves, chopped garlic, and black olives and drizzle with the juice of half an orange mixed with some olive oil. You could also mix in some chopped sun-dried tomatoes and thyme leaves for a different flavour.
Bake for 15 minutes.

To make pizza dough

Take a third of the dough and roll out 2x 20cm circles. Top with any toppings of your choice. Season and drizzle with olive oil. Preheat the oven to 230ᵒC/gas mark 8 and bake for 8-12 minutes.

To make breadsticks

Take a third of the dough and roll or pat out into a 1cm thick rectangle. Using a pizza wheel or kitchen scissors cut into 1cm wide strips. Roll into cylinders but don’t make them too even for that rustic look. Brush with water and sprinkle with poppy seeds, sea salt or onion seeds. Preheat the oven to 150ᵒc/ gas mark 2 and bake for 30- 40 minutes until crisp.

Why cooking is the key to happiness?

HAPPY COOKING WITH CULINARY CAPERS

The day is cold and grey but in the kitchen we are warm and cosy and we are  cooking up a storm!

In Ancient Greece the Epicureans believed that the key to happiness was good food and company. They would host lavish banquets for their friends. They may have had a point. How good do we feel when we are with our closest friends enjoying these simple pleasures. It doesn't have to cost a lot and it is even better when we make it ourselves. Home made is personal and unique.

We all own stacks of cookery books but how often do we actually use them? This could be because of a lack of confidence that we would not be able to achieve the beautifully turned out dish in the picture or a lack of knowledge or experience in the kitchen.

GET COOKING

There is an easy way to expand your knowledge in the kitchen and feel confident to cook from those books. At Culinary Capers all our classes are hands on so you are actually cooking and gaining valuable kitchen skills. If you book a class together with your friends you can enjoy a fun social experience as after you have cooked you can all sit down together to enjoy the food you have made and each others company. Just what the Epicurians would recommend!




TRY SOMETHING NEW

 

Why not try your hand at something that you have never tried before?

We offer a wide range of classes so you can travel the globe by cooking and tasting many different types of cuisine.


Why not treat yourself to some foodie happiness for Christmas or buy a Gift Voucher for someone you love?
To view our course calendar and for details on how to book your place, or to purchase a gift voucher
please go to  www.culinarycapers.co.uk

Easy Chicken Curry

                             

This week is National Curry Week so here is a recipe which is really easy to make to celebrate one of Britain's favourite meals.

Serves 4-6

1 onion chopped

2 cloves garlic - crushed

1-2 fresh green chillies- deseeded and chopped

2 inch piece of ginger - peeled and grated

2 tsp turmeric

2tsp coriander

2tsp cumin

1 cinnamon stick

6 cardamom pods

6 fresh tomatoes - quartered

1 green pepper - chopped

1 chicken cut into portions or ready portions of chicken ( thighs are good)

100ml chicken stock

juice of half a lemon

chopped fresh coriander to serve

Fry the onion until pale gold . Add the garlic and chillies and fry for a minute. Add the remaining spices and cook gently for about 5 minutes until fragrant.

Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove the skin from the chicken portions and add these to the pan.  Add the chopped pepper.

Stir and fry everything around until the chicken begins to change colour. Add the chicken stock and allow everything to simmer gently for about 30 minutes.

When the chicken is cooked through and the sauce reduced then the curry is ready.

Garnish with chopped fresh coriander.

Serve with basmati rice, a selection of Indian breads and chutneys.

 

Culinary Capers interviewed by the Town and Country Magazine.

Read Culinary Capers recent interview in Marlborough Town & Country magazine.

Fig Tart with Almonds

There has been a glut of fruit this year and I could'nt resist buying a whole load of figs from the supermarket. Then I was left with the dilemma of what to do with them. I found this recipe in an old Italian cookery book ( the Italians are so good at making pastries and desserts) so made this delicious tart.
Also my gorgeous girlfriends were coming round for coffee - so what better to have with a freshly brewed espresso!

If you like you can make your own pastry using the recipe below or you can buy some ready made sweet shortcrust pastry which makes this a really quick tart to put together. If you are going to use shop bought pastry you can skip the next bit of the recipe.
You can also use this same recipe but instead of figs you can use plums, apricots, greengages or any other stone fruit.

To make the Pastry case

This recipe will make enough for 2 x 9 inch tarts but you can always freeze half for later.

250g/9oz butter -slightly softened
250g/9oz caster sugar
500g/1llb 2oz flour
a pinch of salt
2 whole eggs and 1 yolk

Put the butter into a bowl with the sugar and mix to incorporate using a wooden spoon. Mix in the flour and salt with your fingers but don't knead it just work it gently through your fingers. Add the eggs and mix gently with your hands until the mixture just comes together and you can form it into a ball. Add a little flour if the dough seems too wet or a bit of cold water if it is too dry.
Divide the dough into 2 balls and flatten them slightly. Wrap in greaseproof paper and place in the fridge for about half an hour to an hour. The pastry will keep in the fridge for a couple of days or freeze for later if you are not using it all.

To line the tart tin.

 
You will need a 9" tart tin.

Remove the disc of dough from the fridge once it has had its resting time.
Sprinkle your work surface with a little flour. Place the disc on the surface and lightly roll out to 3mm about an eighth of an inch slightly larger in diameter than your tin. Lightly flour your rolling pin and roll up the pastry around the pin. Lower the pastry into the tin and unroll it from the pin as you do so.
Press the pasty down into the base of the tin. Roll you rolling pin over the top of the tin to trim off any overhanging pastry.

Now you need to bake the case "blind" which means you bake it without any filling.

Line the case with baking parchment and fill with some baking weight or you can just use some dried beans which you can keep for baking next time.
 Place in your preheated oven for about 20 minutes until you can see the edges of the pastry turning a pale gold.
Remove the beans and the paper and prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork. This stops the bottom of the pastry case from puffing up and not leaving any room for your filling. Put the pastry case back in the oven until the case in lightly brown and dry so that you dont end up with a soggy base for your tart.


For the Tart

10 ripe figs
4 tablespoons jam - you can use plum, apricot or fig
150g/6oz skinned almonds, halved
3 tablespoons demerara sugar


To assemble the tart.
Trim the figs and cut in half.
Spoon the jam over the bottom of the cooked pastry spreading it with the back of your spoon. Lay the figs cut side up over the jam. Scatter with the almonds and sprinkle with the sugar
Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes until the figs are golden and softened.

Vegetable Pastitsio

I  made this pasta dish last night after a bit of a scrabble around in the fridge. I had some vegetables lying around in the salad tray and was thinking of making some minestrone soup. But nobody wanted soup! I also had some bits of cheese - mozarella, gorgonzola and a tub of half used marscapone from the weekend. So I decided maybe some pasta was in order. So... here is my recipe which I think is rather good.

3 red onions peeled and cut into half moons
3 leeks washed and cut into 1 inch slices
3 courgettes cut into 1 inch chunks
2 bulbs of fennel - trimmed and quartered
1x500g punnet of cherry tomatoes
olive oil
fresh thyme and rosemary sprigs
salt and pepper
500g penne pasta
6 slices prosciutto cut into strips
2 tablespoons marscarpone cheese
6 oz buffalo mozarella torn into chunks
6 oz gorgonzola in chunks

Preheat the oven to Gas 7/200 degrees centigrade.

Place all the prepared vegetables in large roasting tin and sprinkle with about 3 tablespoons of olive oil to lubricate all the vegetables well. Season with salt and pepper and add the fresh thyme and rosemary sprigs.
Place the tray of vegetables in the oven and roast for about 30 minutes until soft.
Remove from the oven.
Place a large pan of salted boiling water on the heat and add the pasta. Cook for about 10 minutes until the pasta is al dente.
Drain the pasta and add to the vegetables. Add the prosciutto and the cheeses. Stir the whole lot together to amalgamate the vegetables with the pasta and cheese.
Return to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes until bubbling.
Serve with simple green salad.

Chicken and Mushroom Pie

The summer is over and the chilly weather calls for some warming and comforting dishes. What better than a home made pie. This was my daughters request for dinner...

Serves 6

8 chicken thighs
1tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
2 sprigs fresh thyme
knob of butter
3 leeks washed well and sliced thinly
250g button mushrooms
1 tbsp plain flour
small glass white wine ( about 5 floz/150ml)
chicken stock -( about 5floz/150ml)
single cream ( 5 floz/150ml)
small bunch parsley finely chopped
good quality puff pastry
1 beaten egg to glaze

Preheat the oven to  Gas 7/220 degrees centigrade. Place the chicken thighs in a roasting tin and drizzle with the olive oil, salt and pepper and the fresh thyme. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

Melt the butter and add the sliced leeks. Fry gently for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with the flour and cook for a minute to incorporate the flour. Stir in the wine and stock to make a thick sauce. Stir in the cream and add the mushrooms. Simmer for a couple of minutes. Set aside.

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces discarding the skin and bones. Stir the chicken into the sauce together with the cooking juices from the roasting tin.. Season and stir in the chopped parsley. Pour the mixture into the pie dish.

Roll out the pastry to fit the top of your pie dish. Brush the edges of the dish with beaten egg. Cover the pie dish with the pastry and trim the edges. Cut a cross in the top of the pastry to allow the steam to escape.

Brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg and put back in the oven for about 30 minutes.