Tag Archives: bread

Quick Olive Bread

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This recipe is an adaptation of Irish Soda Bread. Made in the time it takes the oven to heat up, you can whip this up between morning coffee and Sunday lunch.

Served with home-made Gravlax and pickled vegetables (see below) it was delicious. Spread the bread with butter or mayonnaise, before topping with the gravlax or smoked salmon.

2 cups plain flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbs lemon juice or vinegar
1½ cups plain yoghurt
1 Tbs chopped fresh rosemary
1 cup sliced olives (black or green or a mix)
1-2 tsp salt, to taste
1 Tbs each sunflower seeds and pepitas

Preheat oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Mix all the ingredients together, except the seeds, in a mixing bowl. Mix until all the dry bits have been incorporated. With floured hands, form into a ball and place on the baking tray. Use hands to shape into a low flattish round as shown in photo. Sprinkle with the seeds and pat them on.

Bake for 45 minutes or until evenly browned. Cool then serve immediately. Any leftovers can be served next day, toasted.

Makes 1 loaf

Variation: use chopped sun dried tomatoes instead of olives or some of each.

Japanese Pickled vegetables: cut vegetables into two-bite pieces and pack into a clean large jar or 2-3 smaller ones – cauliflower florets, red capsicum strips, cucumber sticks, carrot sticks, chunks of fennel etc. Heat 1 cup each of sugar, water and cider or white wine vinegar in a saucepan. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then bring to the boil and pour over the vegetables. If liked add one or two whole red chillies, then cover with the lid. If you don’t have enough liquid to cover the vegetables, make a bit more, using equal quantities of sugar, water and vinegar. Keep for a few days before using. Store in the fridge.

Flatbreads with Minted Yoghurt and Roast Vegetables

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This recipe is adapted from one by Yotam Ottolenghi. The flatbreads are easy to make, but you could buy some Naan bread or wraps and use those instead. Any leftover flatbreads can be frozen. Just thaw and reheat briefly in a frying pan.

Flatbreads:
400g plain flour (see note below)
½ cup plain yoghurt
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried yeast
180ml warm water
1 tsp sugar
Ghee (or oil and butter) for frying
Oven-Roasted vegetables
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
Mint Yoghurt:
2 cups plain yoghurt
2 Tbs chopped mint
1 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbs olive oil
Good pinch of salt

Place flour and salt in food processor and add yoghurt. In a small bowl, mix yeast with warm water and sugar and leave to stand for 10 minutes until frothy. Add to the food processor and process until mixture forms a ball. If it seems too dry to form a ball add a bit more warm water, a tablespoon at a time with the motor running. Once dough has formed into a smooth ball, tip onto a lightly floured surface and form into a sausage shape. Cut into 8 even-sized pieces, then knead and roll each into a ball and place on a tray. Cover with a tea towel and leave for an hour and a half, or until doubled in size.

Meanwhile prepare the oven-roasted vegetables according to the recipe link, seasoning them before roasting with the cumin and paprika, as well as the oil, salt and pepper. Any mix of vegetables will do. You might like to add some tomatoes as in the photo.

Line a sieve with a piece of muslin or similar cloth (I use a man’s cotton handkerchief I keep for this purpose), scrape in the yoghurt and stand over a bowl so the liquid drains out. Leave for an hour or two or overnight in the fridge. Blitz mint, lemon juice, oil and salt in a mini-blender, spice grinder or use a mortar and pestle. Mix this paste into the strained yoghurt.

At serving time, on a lightly floured surface, roll out each flatbread ball thinly to form a circle about 25cm in diameter. Heat some ghee (or a drizzle of oil and a small piece of butter) in a large non-stick frying pan and cook flatbread on high for about 2 minutes each side. Keep warm in a low oven covered with a tea towel while you cook the rest, adding a little more ghee or oil and butter as required.

Serve flatbread spread with Mint Yoghurt and topped with warm roasted vegetables.

Makes 8 servings

Note: if available use half plain flour and half strong bread flour

Deux Baguettes S’il Vous Plaît

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When he was eleven I asked our eldest son James to go into a bakery in a ski resort in France and buy “Deux baguettes s’il vous plaît” while I was double parked outside. I had been round the block twice and there was absolutely nowhere to park.

We sat outside the bakery for what seemed like a very long time with me saying come on you can do it and James saying he really didn’t want to. His more outgoing younger sister wanted him to hand over the money so she could go. But she didn’t need a confidence booster and I wanted him to do it. Eventually James went into the bakery and came out, beaming from ear to ear, one baguette under each arm.

I had completely forgotten this incident until James (now married with kids of his own) reminded me. He says he remembers it whenever he has to do something challenging, like speaking in public.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to use the No Knead Bread recipe to make deux baguettes instead of the usual round loaf you make in a Le Creuset pot. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but decided to give it a go. Well the baguettes were amazing and I’ve made them three times since. Crisp and crunchy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside, the recipe makes two small baguettes or one very large one, which probably wouldn’t fit in my oven.

3 cups plain flour
1 heaped tsp salt
1 Tbs olive oil (optional)
¼ tsp dried yeast
1½ cups very hot water from the tap
Extra flour
Sesame seeds (optional)

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly with the blade of a knife. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a tea towel and leave for a few hours. The amount of time you can leave it is flexible and varies a bit according to the weather. In the middle of summer it will be ready to go to the next stage in about three hours, but it’s okay if you leave it longer. When ready the dough will have doubled in size.

Sprinkle extra flour on work surface and scrape out the dough. Using a little extra flour as necessary, form dough into a non-sticky round, then cut in two and form each into a sausage shape about 30cm or 12″ long. Place side by side on a lightly greased oven tray, sprinkle with sesame seeds if liked, then leave aside while the oven heats up.

Heat the oven to 220°C. Bake bread for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and crisp all over. Cool on a cake rack. Bread freezes well.

Makes 2 small loaves or 1 large

Quick and Easy Pita Bread

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I found this recipe in a book of Greek recipes called Taking you Home that I borrowed from the public library. It’s not proper pita bread because it doesn’t contain any yeast and when cooked it doesn’t form a pocket. To make proper pita bread use this recipe.

However, they taste good and you can make them in less time than it takes to nip down to the shops and buy some. A great accompaniment to dips and to serve at BBQs. Another big plus is that they reheat extremely well the following day in the oven, in a frying pan or in the toaster.

The original recipe calls for 500g self-raising flour and 500g Greek yoghurt, plus a tablespoon each of baking powder and salt. I decided to make just over half the recipe and next time I will cut down on the baking powder and salt as they were a bit too overpowering. My adjusted quantities are below.

They would make perfect individual pizza bases.

Easy Pita Bread300g self-raising flour
300g thick Greek yoghurt
1-2 tsp salt, to taste
1 rounded tsp baking powder
Extra flour for dusting
Olive oil or Canola spray

Mix flour, yoghurt, salt and baking powder in a bowl until combined. If it seems too stiff add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water – just enough to get it all to stick together. Tip onto a floured surface and knead gently for 30 seconds – just enough to get it all combined. Cut dough into six and with a floured rolling pin roll each piece into a circle about 15cm (6 inches) in diameter. If you want them smaller cut dough into 8 or 10 pieces.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat and spray the bottom with oil. Cook the pita for about 2 minutes on each side, or until nicely browned. Cook remaining pitas, making sure you spray each side with oil.

Serve warm.

Makes 6-10 pitas

Note: store any leftover pita in a plastic bag in the fridge. Reheat for a few minutes in a moderate oven or for a minute or two on each side in a dry frying pan. Or cut them in half and zap them in the toaster.

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Seed Bread

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I love dense, nutty, chunky bread and this recipe, adapted from  Adventure Bread by Josey Baker, ticks all the boxes.

It’s gluten-free and dairy-free. Feel free to substitute similar ingredients, but don’t omit the psyllium husks (sold in most supermarkets or health food stores) because it acts as a binder, taking the place of the gluten found in wheat flour.

While you can eat this bread as it is, I think it’s much nicer toasted, with honey, jam or cheese. Toasted and buttered with a smear of vegemite and a slice of Swiss cheese or cheddar really hits the spot for me. It’s quite filling and what I often have in the evening, when I’ve decided to skip dinner after an indulgent lunch.

Gluten-Free Seed Bread
¾ cup nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, walnuts or whatever you fancy)
1 cup sunflower seeds (hulled)
½ cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/3 cup psyllium husks
2¼ cups rolled oats (gluten free oats are available)
3 Tbs chia, quinoa or sesame seeds
¾ cup flax seeds or linseeds (see note below)
2 tsp salt
2 Tbs maple syrup or honey
¼ cup olive oil
2½ cups water

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 190°C. Tip into an oiled loaf tin, push down and smooth the top. The one I use is 25x12cm and 10cm deep (approx 10x5x4 inches) which the recipe fills to within 2-3 cm of the top and as the bread doesn’t rise that’s fine. If you don’t have a big loaf tin use two smaller ones.

Bake for 40 minutes then tip the bread out of the tin and put it back in the oven on a flat tray for a further 20 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack. Wait until it’s completely cold before slicing. Can be eaten as it is, or toasted.

Loaf can be stored well-wrapped in the fridge for up to a week. As I’m the only one who eats this bread in our household, I like to slice the loaf about 1 cm or so thick, then individually wrap each slice in plastic wrap and freeze them. Toast from frozen, though they do need two goes.

Makes 1 loaf

Note: Flax seeds and Linseeds are the same thing. Known as Linseeds in Australia and Flax seeds in the USA.

No-Knead No-Cross Buns

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There’s nothing quite like home-made Hot Cross Buns for breakfast over the Easter weekend. Serve them warm straight from the oven. Or make them ahead and reheat them in a moderate oven. Or split and toast them.

In an attempt to save time I thought I would see if the No-Knead Bread recipe could be adapted to make Hot Cross Buns. You always need more yeast when you’re adding fruit, sugar, butter and eggs to a basic bread dough, so I doubled the amount used in the No Knead Bread recipe.

Putting crosses on the buns is a bit fiddly so I didn’t bother and can assure you they taste just as good without! Technically this recipe is not quick because you leave the dough to prove overnight. But the actual work involved takes no more than five or ten minutes.

Basic yeast mixture:
4 cups plain flour
½ tsp dry yeast unnamed
1½ cups warm water
1 tsp salt
Additions:
60g butter at room temp (I used spreadable butter)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp each ground cinnamon, mixed spice and ground ginger
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ cup sultanas
¼ cup dried mixed peel (optional) or use more sultanas
Extra flour as needed
Glaze:
1 Tbs cold water
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp powdered gelatine

In a large mixing bowl mix all ingredients for yeast mixture with a spoon until well combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave overnight. Next day – whenever you are ready – mix butter, sugar, spices and egg into the yeast mixture, using electric beaters. Lastly mix in the fruit then tip mixture onto a well-floured surface.

Knead just enough to incorporate a bit more flour and get rid of excessive stickiness, then cut the dough into 12 even pieces. Form into balls and arrange in a greased 10-12″ (25+cm) round tin or use a rectangular one. Leave to rise for an hour or two, then bake in a pre-heated oven at 220ºC for 20 mins. Remove from the oven and brush with hot glaze while hot. Serve warm or toasted split in two and spread with butter.

Glaze: place cold water and sugar in a small bowl and sprinkle with gelatine. Zap in the microwave for 20 secs on High.

Makes 12 buns

Note: can be frozen, but best frozen without glaze then thawed, reheated in a moderate oven and brushed with glaze while hot. Made in this way the buns all stick together and need to be broken apart. If preferred bake them on a larger biscuit tray, leaving more space between each one, so they don’t stick together.

Scandinavian-style Brown Bread

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While were were living in Denmark I became very fond of Rugbrød, a dense brown bread which Danes eat with everything. I think it goes particularly well with smoked salmon, gravlax and cheese.

Traditional Rugbrød is made from a sourdough starter, so it’s not exactly a five minute job. This recipe is similar in style, being dense and full of healthiness, but it uses self-raising flour and buttermilk as raising agents, so it is a five minute job – apart from the baking time.

For a darker bread use treacle or molasses instead of honey. The soaked buckwheat keeps it nice and moist, so it lasts a few days in the fridge, well-wrapped. It also freezes well. I used one large tin and three smaller ones. My loaves weren’t very deep so I probably should have used one tin less in order to make them deeper.

Serve with smoked salmon, Gravlax with Mustard Sauce or an aged cheddar or Brie.

Scandinavian-style Brown Bread½ cup raw buckwheat (from Health Food shops)
500g self-raising wholemeal flour
1 cup flour
1 cup porridge oats
1 cup sunflower kernels
1-2 tsp salt (to taste)
1 Tbs honey (treacle or molasses)
600ml buttermilk + a little water

Place buckwheat in a bowl and cover generously with cold water. Leave to soak overnight then tip into a sieve, rinse under cold water and drain well. Preheat oven to 190ºC. Grease two loaf tins (or four small ones) with oil or butter.

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add a dash of cold water to the buttermilk container (about ¼ cup) and swish it around then add to the bowl.  If there are any dry bits in the bottom of the bowl which won’t mix in add a little more water, but go easy. Mixture should be like a stiff scone mixture.

Divide mixture among the tins which should be just over half full. Bake for 15 mins then lower temperature to 170ºC and bake for a further 35-45 mins. Larger loaves will take longer than smaller ones. It’s nice warm but easier to slice when cold. Can be toasted.

Makes 2 loaves (or more if using smaller tins)

Irish Soda Bread

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A carton of buttermilk will keep in the fridge, unopened, for at least a month, so I always have one on hand to make Irish soda bread. This bread doesn’t contain yeast, so it’s quick to make. Delicious eaten fresh or toasted next day.

The owner of a bed and breakfast near Cork many moons ago taught me to make soda bread. She used sour milk – something people often ended up with in the days before refrigeration, when the recipe originated. As far as the method goes, our lovely Irish hostess said “just mix it up wit yer two hands”. As it’s a bit sticky, I usually use a spoon. I replace the sour milk with buttermilk, but a mixture of half plain yoghurt and half fresh milk also works well. You can use self-raising flour or plain flour with the addition of baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.

This is a very flexible recipe. Use white flour or wholemeal as I have with these rolls, or half and half. Leave out the oats and use more flour. If you like, add a little honey. Grated cheese, herbs, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, dried fruit or nuts also help to ring the changes. Top with oats, sesame seeds or poppy seeds. The options are endless.

The recipe makes one large loaf or about a dozen small rolls. I recently bought a baking mold for 8 tiny loaf shapes and was dying to use it, so I ended up with eight loaves and four round rolls. As you can see in the photo, I sliced some of the loaves and topped them with cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers and red onion. Delicious.

Irish Soda Bread3 cups wholemeal self-raising flour, sifted
Or 3 cups plain four + 1 tsp each baking powder and baking soda
1 cup porridge oats (see note)
1 Tbs honey (optional)
1 Tbs vegetable oil
600ml buttermilk
Extra oats

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. I usually add a dash of water to the buttermilk container, swish it round and add that too. The mixture should be soft and slightly sticky – not as dry as a normal bread dough. Don’t over mix or knead. Place heaped tablespoonfuls onto a tray lined with baking paper. Or spoon into greased muffin tins or mini-loaf tins. Sprinkle with extra oats.

Irish Soda Bread with Smoked SalmonAlternatively, to make one large loaf, tip dough onto a floured surface and use floured hands to form it into a flattened round shape, place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper or in a large greased loaf tin and sprinkle with extra oats. Bake for 20-25 minutes, then remove from oven and cool on baking racks. A large loaf will take longer than rolls – around 45 mins.

Makes one large loaf or 12 rolls

Notes: You can use quick cooking oats or ordinary stone-ground ones. If using the latter give them a quick whiz in the food processor, to break them up a bit.

Syrian Pita Bread with Falafel

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I’ve made some lifelong friends through chance encounters – on trains, planes, buses, in doggy parks and supermarket queues. The kids say “Mum talks to everyone”, but I like to think that when two lives cross there’s a reason.

Eva Rishan works as a doctor’s receptionist and we got chatting while I was waiting for my turn. Eva was born in Syria, emigrated to Australia in 1989 and has since been joined by her parents, several siblings and their families.

Eva invited me and my family to join her family for what she called a Syrian all day breakfast. Number one son James and I went early, so that Eva’s mother Renelle could show us how to make pita bread and falafel. Renelle’s English is limited but cooking is an international language and it wasn’t long before we were both busy chopping and mixing.

The large back verandah has been enclosed with a corrugated iron roof and roll-down plastic blinds, in order to accommodate big family gatherings and keep the smokers out of the main house. Smoking – both ordinary cigarettes and flavoured tobacco smoke, inhaled through a hookah pipe – is still very popular among Syrians.

The rest of our family (three) and the rest of Eva’s family (I lost count) arrived in time for lunch. There were over 30 of us altogether, including numerous kids. The mountain of pita bread was soon disappearing, filled with crispy warm falafel, hummus and a selection of pickles and salads. My contribution was an Apple Strudel which went down well for dessert with some strawberries and whipped cream.

It was great fun to be part of a Syrian family for a day.

Syrian Pita Bread with Felafel

Pita bread
3½ tsp dry yeast
¾ cup warm water
6 cups plain flour
1½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
1 Tbs olive oil
About 1½ cups warm milk

Mix yeast with warm water and put aside for 10 minutes. Place flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Make a well in the middle and add  yeast mixture, gradually adding enough warm milk to hold the dough together. Knead dough until smooth and elastic but very slightly sticky, then leave in a bowl in a warm place – near a heater for example – covered with plastic wrap for an hour or two to rise, while you make the falafel.

Cut dough into 12 and roll into balls. Preheat oven to it’s highest setting and heat up a pizza stone in the oven if you have one. Roll out each ball to a circle about 20 cm in diameter, then bake for 5-10 mins or until puffed and slightly browned. This will result in pocket-style pita breads which you can fill with falafel and salad. If preferred, stretch the circles out into much thinner pita breads, about 40 cm in diameter, as you can see in the photos. There’s quite a knack to this, but Renelle can do it in her sleep! These are rolled around the fillings like a wrap.

Makes 12

Falafel
375g dry chick peas
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 onion, peeled and quartered
1 cup chopped parsley
1 cup chopped coriander
1 tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda, extra
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
¼ tsp each ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg
2 Tbs olive oil
3 Tbs plain flour
Oil for frying (canola, sunflower or rice oil)
Sesame seeds

Place chickpeas in a bowl and cover generously with cold water. Mix in bicarbonate of soda and leave to soak overnight then drain. Using a food processor or a meat mincer, finely chop chick peas, onion, garlic, parsley and coriander. Add flour, salt, pepper, spices, extra bicarbonate of soda and oil. By hand or using a special gadget called a falafel scoop form mixture into small patties, dipping it into cold water between each.

Heat 4-6cm oil in a large deep frying pan or wok. When hot fry falafel on both sides until golden, remove and drain, then roll immediately in sesame seeds. Don’t overcrowd the pan – falafel should cook quite quickly otherwise they will be dry. Serve warm with pita bread, salads and hummus.

Makes about 50

Hummus

This recipe using canned chickpeas is quick to make and easy to halve.

2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2/3 cup tahini paste, stirred
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
Garnish: (optional)
Chopped parsley
Toasted pine nuts
Extra olive oil
Paprika

Place chick peas in food processor with remaining ingredients. Process, adding enough water to give the consistency of a dip. Keep in the fridge, covered, until needed. To serve, add a little water if Hummus has become too stiff, then spread onto a shallow dish and decorate with chopped parsley, toasted pine nuts, paprika and a drizzle of olive oil. The garnish is optional, but it looks and tastes great. Serve at room temperature with pita bread.

Makes about 3 cups

No-Knead Bread

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My son in law makes this “no-knead bread” and says it’s so easy, so I thought it was time I had a go. The time involved in making it is less than five minutes, plus baking time. Minimum mess, quick and easy and tastes fantastic – just like a shop-bought ciabatta. If you look on Google you will find that there are heaps of variations of this recipe, though I believe it was first published in the New York Times. Here’s our version.

3 cups plain flourphoto
¼ tsp dry yeast
1 heaped tsp salt
1 Tbs olive oil (optional)
1½ cups very hot water from the tap

Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until you’re ready to bake the bread. In summer anywhere will do, but in the middle of winter it’s probably a good idea to put it somewhere cosy like the microwave or the oven, making sure you tell people not to switch it on! Recipes on Google vary on how long the dough needs to rise, so I reckon it’s fairly flexible. Anywhere between 4 and 24 hours you can go to the next stage.

At this stage, i.e. after the 24 hour rising period, the dough can be refrigerated for up to 3-4 days and this time in the fridge actually improves the flavour of the bread.

Place an iron pot with a lid in the oven – a le Creuset-type pot holding 6-8 litres – and turn the oven on to 250C or as high as it will go if it doesn’t go that high. Meanwhile tip the bread dough out onto a floured surface. Fold and flip it over on itself a few times, then form into a ball with the seams underneath and place on a piece of baking paper. Turn on the oven and let the bread rise a bit while it comes up to temperature. This could take around half an hour. If the dough has been in the fridge for a couple of days then give it 2 hours to come to room temperature and rise before baking.

When the oven is up to temperature use the paper to put the bread into the pot on the paper and make two slashes in the top with a pair of scissors. Cover with the lid and bake for 30-40 minutes. Remove lid and bake for a further 5-10 minutes or until nicely browned. It depends on your oven how fast it browns, so keep an eye on it. In such a hot oven it browns fast. Remove and cool on a rack.