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.

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.

White chocolate lace cupcakes

I recently made these gorgeous cupcakes for a family party. I wanted something that would transport well in the heat and would look good when I got to the party and that I could make in advance.
It is a really easy recipe as the wet ingredients are melted together and then mixed in with the dry so there is no whisking or beating.
 I found this recipe in an Australian Women's Weekly publication.  The recipe makes a dozen cupcakes.

Ingredients

250g/ 10oz butter
150g/6 oz white eating chocolate ( I used Green and Blacks as it is really got a good vanilla taste)
250g/10oz caster sugar
250ml/9floz milk
300g/12oz plain flour
125g/5oz self raising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

Baking time - approx 50 minutes

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C/ gas mark 3. Place your cupcake cases into a 12 hole cupcake tin.
 Chop the butter into small pieces and break up the chocolate. Combine the butter, chocolate, sugar and milk in a saucepan and melt over a low heat stirring until the mixture is smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
 Whisk in the sifted flours, vanilla extract and lightly beaten egg.  Divide the mixture between the cake cases. It will be quite liquid but don't worry it is meant to be like this.
Bake the cupcakes for about 50 minutes until they are firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the cakes comes out clean.
The cupcakes will develop a thick sugary crust whilst baking and some cracks may appear but this is fine.
 Cool the cupcakes on a wire rack.

The cakes will keep for a week in an airtight container or can be frozen for for 3 months.

To decorate.

 I decorated the cakes with a chocolate ganache. This is a mixture of melted chocolate and cream. It is easy to make.

White Chocolate Ganche
360g/11.5 oz white chocolate
125 ml/5floz pouring cream

Break the chocolate into pieces.
Bring the cream to the boil in a small saucepan and remove from the heat.
Add the chocolate to the cream and stir until smooth and all the chocolate has melted.
Cool to room temperature and then cool in the fridge for about half an hour.
Beat with an electric mixture until the mixture becomes fluffy and spreadable.

Use this mixture to spread across the top of the cupcakes as your first layer of decoration.

To Ice the Cakes

Knead some ready made icing on a surface dusted with a little cornflour.
Roll the icing until 5mm/ a quarter of an inch thick.
Using a textured embossing mat roll on top of the icing to make a pattern. Use a rolling pin to firmly press and the pattern onto the icing. Using a 7 cm/2.5 cutter cut out 12 rounds from the icing. Carefully place the rounds onto the cakes.
Place the cakes into some lacy cupcake wrappers to hide the plain white cupcake cases.

Gooseberry Pie

My next door neighbours have just bought me the biggest bag of gooseberries freshly picked from a bush in their garden so I have just made two gooseberry pies out of them. Although gooseberries are quite tart they are delicious in a pie served warm with custard.

I had about 3lbs of gooseberries so I made two  pies and gave one to my neighbours. To make one pie halve the recipe which should serve about 6 people.


1.4 kg/ 3lb gooseberries washed and topped and tailed.
220g/ 8oz demerara sugar ( you can add more to taste if the berries are too tart)
4 dessert spoons of cornflour
4 tablespoons elderflower cordial
Beaten egg for brushing the top

Shortcrust pastry
For pastry use half the amount of fat to flour. I use plain flour and butter.
For my two pies I used 450g/1 lb flour and 220g/8oz of butter.

Sift the flour and into a bowl and add the butter cut into small cubes. Quickly rub the fat into the flour using the tips of your fingers. Add 3-4 tablespoons of ice cold water and work it into the crumbs until you have a soft dough.  Roll the dough into a ball and wrap in cling film. and chill in the fridge for about half an hour.

 To make the pie.

Put the gooseberries in a large bowl and sprinkle over the sugar, cornflour and elderflower cordial. Stir together and allow to stand to allow the fruit to sit for about 10 minutes. Pour the fruit into your pie dish. Dot with a little butter.
Preheat the oven to Gas 6/200 degrees centigrade. Brush the rim of the pie dish with water and stick a strip of pastry all the way around the edge of the dish.  Brush the strip of dough with water so that your pastry lid will stick to it.Roll out your dough and cover the fruit with your pastry lid. Brush your pie with beaten egg.
Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes then turn the heat down to Gas 5/180 degrees centigrade and cook for about 30 minutes until the fruit is cooked through and bubbling.

Greek Easter Cookies ( Koulourakia)

These cookies are traditionally made for Easter. Two strands of dough are twisted together or formed into “s” shapes before being glazed with egg wash and baked. Flavoured with orange and vanilla they are lovely with a cup of coffee.

8oz/200g butter – allowed to soften for about 2 hours at room temperature
8oz/200g caster sugar
4 whole eggs  + 2 yolks
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
grated rind and juice of one orange
1oz/25g baking powder
2llbs/800g plain flour
1 egg yolk mixed with 2 tablespoons of milk to glaze

Makes 40 cookies

Heat oven to 200◦ C/ gas mark 6

2.       Beating  continuously, add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition and then mix in the two egg yolks. Then add the vanilla extract and orange rind and juice.

3.       Fit the mixer with a dough hook or use a wooden spoon gradually add the flour and baking powder.

4.       Keep mixing until the mixture begins to form a soft dough.

5.       The mixture should be soft but not sticky.

6.       Using your hands break off pieces of the dough and roll into long thin sausage shapes about the thickness of a finger. Fold the sausage shape in half then twist the two ropes together or form the dough into “s” shapes.

7.       Place the cookies onto  greased baking sheets. Glaze them with the egg/ milk mixture. Space them well apart as they will expand during cooking. Bake in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes until golden brown.

"Crunchie" Cupcakes

3oz ( 75g) dark chocolate broken into pieces
8oz (200g) butter
8oz (200g) caster sugar
3 eggs
½ teaspoon baking powder
6oz (150g) flour
1oz (25g) cocoa powder
2oz (50g) honeycomb chunks ( or 50g of crunchie bar smashed into small pieces)

Frosting
8oz(200g) milk chocolate ( melted over hot water)
4oz ( 100g) butter( softened)

Makes 24 small cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 200ᵒ C/ gas mark 6. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake cases.

Melt the butter and chocolate together in a bowl suspended over a pan of hot water.  Allow to cool for a few minutes.

Stir in the sugar until well blended. Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl and gradually add to the chocolate mixture stirring well until you have a smooth batter.

Sift in the flour, cocoa and baking powder into the batter and mix until smooth.

Fold in the honeycomb chunks.

Fill the cases to ¾ full.

Cook in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cakes comes out clean.
 Leave to cool in the tins for a few minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Frosting

Cream the butter until light a fluffy using an electric mixture or wooden spoon.

Add the melted chocolate and beat until you have a creamy frosting.

Decorate the top of the cupcakes. Sprinkle with more honeycomb bits, broken crunchy bar and chocolate chips.

Welsh Cakes

Tomorrow is St David's day so I have just made a batch of Welsh Cakes. My girls and I have just eaten about three each as they are so delicious warm from the griddle and sprinkled with sugar. They are like a cross between a scone and a biscuit, lightly spiced and not too fruity.
Other food associated with St David's Day are the leek which is St David's personal symbol.
In the 18th century gingerbread confectioneries known as "taffies" were baked in the shape of a Welshman riding a goat.

Ingredients

8oz/225g self raising flour
4oz/100g butter
3oz/85g caster sugar
1/4 tsp mixed spice
2oz/50g sultanas
1 egg -lightly beaten

Method

Place the flour into a bowl and add the butter cut into cubes. Rub into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar, spice,and dried fruit. Add the beaten egg and mix until you have a dough.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface and cut the dough into rounds with a 3 inch fluted cutter.

The Welsh cakes are traditionally fried in lard but for a less fattening version use a heavy griddle or baking stone to cook the cakes. Butter the stone and place on the heat for the stone to heat up. Place the cakes on the stone and "fry" the cakes for 5 -7 minutes a side. Only turn them once as if you try to turn them before they are "set" then they will break apart.  Allow the cakes to brown well as this will give them a lovely flavour.

Serve the warm cakes sprinkled with caster sugar or you can split them and serve them with butter and jam, or even cream and soft fruits as a dessert.
They will keep in an airtight container for about a week but they are better served warm.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

 I made these over the weekend with my daughter. They were lovely warm from the oven with a cup of tea. Perfect for a cold and rainy afternoon.

makes about 20 cookies

6oz/150g butter
5oz/120g sugar
1 large egg- lightly beaten
12oz self raising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 1-2 tablespoons milk
4oz/100g dark chocolate chips
4oz/100g white or milk chocolate chips
pinch of salt

Preheated oven 180 degrees centigrade/gas mark 4
baking sheet lined with baking parchment

Cream together the butter and sugar using an electric mixer or hand mixer with a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, the vanilla extract and the milk.
Fold in the flour, salt and the chocolate chips. You will begin to get a soft dough and if necessary mix with your hands to get a soft pliable dough.
Roll out the dough on a floured board  to a thickness of about1/4 inch. Cut into rounds using a 2 inch biscuit cutter and place on the baking sheet spaced well apart.
Bake in the centre of the oven for about 20 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes on the baking tray before placing on a wire rack to cool completely.

Banoffee Brownies

This recipe was created so that I could use up that one banana that was lying around in the fruit bowl!
I am expecting a crowd of people over the weekend so thought these would be good to have with cups of tea or even as a dessert with ice cream. That is if they last that long.......

Ingredients

1lb/400g granulated sugar
8oz/200g butter -softened
1 medium banana- mashed
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
4 eggs
10oz/250g self raising flour
2oz/50g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4oz/100g fudge chunks
4oz/100g chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade/gas mark 6
lightly greased 13" x 9" pan

Method

Using an electric mixer or hand held electric whisk combine the sugar and butter and beat on a medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add the mashed banana and vanilla extract. Beat until well blended.
Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt and beat on a low speed until blended.
Stir int the fudge chunks and chocolate chips.

Spread the mixture into the prepared pan and level the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan.


When completely cold spread with ready made dulche de leche. This is a ready made caramel spread which is available in supermarket. Cut into even sized squared to serve. This should make about 32 brownies.

Chocolate and Amaretto cake with Raspberries

I made this cake at the weekend for my daughter's 17th Birthday. We were having the family over for Sunday lunch so I wanted something that would double up as a dessert too.

There was 9 of us for lunch so I made a starter of Halloumi cheese wrapped with parma ham and vine leaves and baked in the oven which we had with some warm pitta bread and hoummous.

For main course I made a leg of lamb with rosemary and garlic which I basted with white wine and honey so by the time it had finished cooking it had made its own gravy.

I served this with some crisp roasted garlic and rosemary roast potatoes and a medley of green vegetables including asparagus, green beans and baby lettuce which I cooked in a little white wine and stock until the vegetables were tender.

We then had the cake for dessert with some pouring cream.

 

I doubled this recipe but it was a huge cake and I do still have half left!

 

Ingredients

Serves 8

 

9oz/225g unsalted butter - this needs to be really soft as you will cream all the ingredients together in one bowl.

9oz/225g self-raising flour
1tsp baking powder
9oz/225g caster sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2oz/ 50g cocoa powder

For the filling

10oz/250g mascarpone cheese

10floz/300ml double cream - lightly whipped

2oz/50g caster sugar

1teaspoon vanilla extract

2fl0z/60ml amaretto liquer
8oz plain chocolate -melted over hot water and allowed to cool slightl

raspberries and chocolate nibs to decorate.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade/ 350 degrees farenheit/gas mark 4. Butter two, 20 cm/8" round sandwich tins and line the bases with baking parchment.

 

To mix the cake you can use a bowl with an electric whisk or an electric mixer. Sift the flour cocoa powder and baking powder into the bowl, then add the softened butter,sugar and eggs. Mix together until well blended but do not over mix as then your cake will not be light. Divide the batter between the tins and level the top of the mixture. Bake for about 20 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean with no uncooked batter.

Loosen the cakes by running a knife around the edge of the tins and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

 

To make the filling place the mascarpone into a bowl and beat it to soften it slightly. Fold in the double cream, sugar and vanilla extract and the cooled melted chocolate.

To assemble the cake cut the two cakes in half horizontally to make four layers. Place one cake on a plate and sprinkle with the amaretto. Take about a quarter of your mascarpone cream mixture and spread it over the base cake. Place the second tier on top. Repeat the process with the other cake layers. Spread the top of the cake with your mascarpone cream and decorate with raspberries and chocolate nibs. Chill for about an hour before you are ready to serve.

Blueberry Bundt Cakes

I bought some bundt cake tins a while ago and had not got round to using them. I felt like baking something nice on this very rainy day so decided to make some blueberry bundt cakes.
It took a while to perfect the mix and balance of flavours but I think they have come out great.
The first batch I made stuck to the bottom of the tin even though I had thoroughly greased and floured the tin. It was a bit disappointing but my daughters still managed to eat the stuck on bits with a spoon straight out of the tin!
When making the second batch I said a little prayer before putting them in the oven. Again they came out of the oven smelling really good and evenly risen. This time I decided I would allow them to cool in the tin before turning them out and they came out perfectly. So my tip is let them cool down first!!!

Makes 12 bundt cakes

120g/ 6oz blueberries
150g/5oz butter - softened
400g/14oz caster sugar
2 eggs lightly beaten
300g/10 oz plain flour -sifted
225ml/ 8floz buttermilk
1tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Icing
juice of 1 lemon
100 g of icing sugar -sifted

Cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs a little at time until they are incorporated into the mixture and then add the buttermilk and vanilla extract.

Fold in the flour and the bicarbonate of soda and then gently fold in the blueberries.

Pipe or spoon the batter into the prepared tins and bake in a preheated oven, 180 degrees centigrade/ gas mark 4 for 15 to 20 minutes until risen and golden brown.

Allow to cool in the tins before turning out onto a wire rack.
To make the icing blend the icing sugar with the lemon juice until you have a smooth but not too runny icing. You may need more or less icing sugar to get the right consistency.

Allow the cakes to cool completely before drizzling with the icing.