bread

Cheese and Onion Tear and Share Bread

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Serves 8

500 Grams Strong White (bread) Flour

1 Sachet dried yeast

350Mil Luke warm water

1 1/2 Tsp Salt

1 Onion (cut in half and finely sliced)

125 Grams Grated Cheese (I used 100 Grams of mature cheddar and 25 Grams of parmasan, but use any combination you have)

1 Tsp dried Thyme

Black pepper

1 Tsp Oil

  • Stir the yeast into the luke warm water
  • Add the salt and flour to a large bowl before pouring in the yeast mix and mixing well until it forms a dough
  • If you have a mixer with a dough hook, mix for 5 minutes.  If you don’t, turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes
  • Transfer the dough back to a bowl that has been wiped with a little oil. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and and prove for 1 hour
  • When the dough has proved, uncover and hit it a punch to knock out the air and then form it into a ball
  • Turn onto a floured surface and with a rolling pin (or wine bottle if you don’t have one) roll out the dough into a rough rectangle 12cm x 24cm
  • Sprinkle the surface with the grated cheese, finely sliced onion, thyme and black pepper
  • Roll the dough into a sausage shape (using the long side of the dough)
  • Cut the dough into 8 equal sized slices
  • Line a spring form baking tin with parchment (scrunch the sheet up first, it makes it easier to spread out)
  • Place the slices of dough into the tin in a circle, cover the tin with a tea towel and prove again for 15 minutes
  • Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius
  • Bake the bread for 35-40 minutes until golden brown
  • Serve while still warm (your kitchen will smell amazing)

Black Olive and Chilli Focaccia

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I made this as I needed to rage bake as I was totally pissed off.  Belfast has had far right knuckle draggers riot over the weekend and destroyed businesses owned by people who immigrated here for no other reason than the colour of their skin.  For the record, if you don’t know Belfast this is a tiny minority of fuckwits (many of whom had travelled here to start shit) and while these morons were destroying people’s livelihoods we also had the Feile (brilliant festival) with 10,000 people partying happily at an 80s-90s concert where everyone was welcome.

So at the weekends when you have a little bit more free time, make this and it takes time to prove while you get on with all those mundane tasks that steal your free time (yes laundry, I’m giving you serious side eye).  But hey, at least you have delicious freshly baked focaccia at the end of it all).

Ingredients

500 Grams Strong white flour

7 Grams Dried yeast

1 Tsp Salt

300-400 Mil Luke warm water

100 Grams Black Olives (well drained if in brine)

1 Large chilli pepper (sliced in 1/2 cm slices)

4-5 Tbsp Olive oil

Method

  • 1. Mix your yeast with 300ml of luke warm water and set to one side while you measure out the flour and add it to a large bowl
  • 2. Add a teaspoon of salt to one side of the (this will stop it coming into direct contact with the yeast and killing it). Make a well in the centre of the flour, add two tablespoons of olive oil and the water and yeast mix.
  • 3. Mix well, you may need to add more water, your dough should be quite soft and sticky, but not super wet
  • 4. Turn your dough onto a floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes. If you have a mixer with a dough hook you can also use this, but I enjoy kneading the bread
  • 5. Clean the bowl you were using, (I always give the bowl a quick wipe with a little oil to stop your dough sticking). Put your dough back in the bowl and cover with a tea towel and prove for one hour
  • 6. Grease an 8 x 12 inch tin with some olive oil and transfer the dough from the bowl to the tin. Stretch the dough out to fill the tin. Cover with a tea towel again and prove for 45 minutes
  • 7. Pre-heat your oven to 220 degree (Celsius). Remove the tea towel from your baking tin, and with your finger tips press little dimples into the dough. Gently press the olives and chilli slices into the dough
  • 8. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of olive oil across the top of the dough.
  • 9. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes

Courgette/Zucchini Bread

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This is actually more of a sweet loaf/tea bread, but you can kid yourself that this is slightly healthier than normal cake because it also incorporates vegetables. This is really good on it’s own, but I also like to spread cream cheese or butter on it.

The courgette/zuchini keeps the cake super moist and tender, and during the Summer when they courgettes are cheap and plentiful this is a good way to use them up if you are running out of ideas.

If you’re super organised and want to make a double batch this also freezes really well.

Ingredients

2 Eggs

125ml vegetable oil

350 Grams Courgettes, coarsely grated

300 Grams Plain flour

2 Tsp Cinnamon

1tsp baking powder

75g Walnuts (roughly chopped)

150g Dried cranberries or sultanas

75 Grams Brown sugar

1/4 Tsp Salt

(extra butter for greasing the loaf tin)

Method

  • Preheat your oven to 180 degree (Celsius), and line a 2lb loaf tin with parchment paper
  • Add the oil, sugar, and eggs to a large bowl and whisk until combined before adding the courgette
  • In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients before adding to the dry ingredients and mix well
  • Transfer the mix to the prepared baking tin and bake for 1 hour.  Test the loaf with a cocktail stick and if it comes out clean the loaf is cooked.  If it doesn’t give the loaf another 5 minutes in the oven before checking again

Moroccan Bread (Khobz)

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What I love about food is that it can transport you to different places or recall memories of places you visited and meals you enjoyed.

I visited Marrakesh six years ago and the place was an assault on the senses. The heat was like nothing I’d ever experienced, and the onslaught from traders left me a little stunned. What I did love was the food, which was too delicious and varied to cover in one post.

What I still crave was the delicious freshly made bread that was served everywhere. Perfect with tagines if you can’t face couscous, or great with houmous and olives, or soup for lunch.

I found a recipe from Cooking the Globe which is pretty much spot on for recreating what I remember. The ingredients and methods are straight forward. It does require a decent amount of kneading , but I don’t mind this as it allows me to burn off some stress and do some rage baking.

Ingredients

250 ml Warm Water (about skin temperature or luke warm, not too hot or it will kill the yeast)

500 Grams Plain flour (you can also use strong bread flour if this is what you have)

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Sugar

2 & 1/4 Tsp or 7 Gram Sachet of dried yeast

Method

  1. In a small bowl add the warm water, sugar and yeast and stir. Leave in a warm room for 10 minutes, it should start to foam (if it hasn’t done this your yeast is dead)
  2. In a large bowl combine the flour and salt, then gradually add the yeast mixture and work together until you get a soft dough (you may need to use a little more or less water)
  3. Turn onto a floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes until smooth (this is time to let your rage baking take hold) or if you’re well adnusted and have a stand mixer ou can use the dough hook. Divide into two equal size balls, cover with a slighlty damp tea towel and leave to rest for 10 minutes
  4. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Transfer the bread to the baking sheet, flatten slightly to about 2-3 cm thick, and and cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm room for an hour to rise
  5. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees. Uncover the bread and knick each loaf 4-5 times with a knife if you want to be totally authentic you can sprinkle with cornmeal or semolina. I didn’t have this and it was still fine
  6. Bake for 25 minutes or until the loaves sound hollow when you tap them

Porridge Bread

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My friend Mags has been raving about this recipe for ages. We both have a serious bread addiction and this recipe is from a slimming club site. So when she shared the recipe I had to make it. If you’ve ever had Irish wheaten bread this is similar in taste.

Ready to bake

It takes two minutes to knock together, can be enjoyed by those who have issues with gluten and is pretty cheap to make. If you want something to keep kids busy this also something to do with them on a rainy afternoon and the will be super pleased with themselves.

It’s not the lightest fluffiest bread, but it is packed full of fibre and perfect served with cheese and chutney or buttered along side soup. I topped mine with some pumpkin seeds for a bit of crunch, but you can also sprinkle with porridge oats.

Ingredients

500ml Yoghurt

200 Grams Porridge oats

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Bicarbonate of Soda (baking soda)

1 Egg

Method

  • Preheat your oven to 180 degrees (Celsius). Grease a load tin, you can also line it with baking parchment if want to (but I just greased the tin really well and it was fine)
  • Mix the yoghurt, salt and baking soda together, before stirring in the porridge oats
  • In a separate bowl, crack the egg and whisk with a fork until light and fluffy. Stir into the porridge mix and stir until we’ll combined
  • Transfer the mix into the loaf tin and bake for 50 minutes. Test with a tooth pick, when it comes out clean it’s ready.
  • Cool in the tin for 30 minutes

Homemade Rosemary Focaccia

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Nothing smells better than freshly baked bread straight out of the oven. Making your own focaccia also costs about a third of the price of buying one from a fancy bakery or deli.

Like most people I don’t bake my own bread everyday. At the weekend when you have a little more time its nice to shake off the stresses of the week and kneading bread is a great way to work off any residual tension. Although this bread only needs 5 minutes kneading and you’re rewarded with amazingly tasty bread that can be sliced in half for sandwiches or is a delicious side dish served along side soups, stews, or pasta.

I’ve used a traditional salt and rosemary topping, but caramelised onion or olives are also brilliant alternatives. This also freezes really well.

Ready for the oven

Ingredients

500 Grams Strong white flour

7 Grams Dried yeast

1 Tsp Salt

300-400 Mil Luke warm water

4-5 Tbsp Olive oil

2-3 Sprigs Rosemary

Method

  • 1. Mix your yeast with 300ml of luke warm water and set to one side while you measure out the flour and add it to a large bowl
  • 2. Add a teaspoon of salt to one side of the (this will stop it coming into direct contact with the yeast and killing it). Make a well in the centre of the flour, add two tablespoons of olive oil and the water and yeast mix.
  • 3. Mix well, you may need to add more water, your dough should be quite soft and sticky, but not super wet
  • 4. Turn your dough onto a floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes (or until the urge to punch someone has passed, if I haven’t mentioned it before I sometimes “rage bake”)
  • 5. Clean the bowl you were using, (I always give the bowl a quick wipe with a little oil to stop your dough sticking). Put your dough back in the bowl and cover with a tea towel and prove for one hour
  • 6. Grease an 8 x 12 inch tin with some olive oil and transfer the dough from the bowl to the tin. Stretch the dough out to fill the tin. Cover with a tea towel again and prove for 45 minutes
  • 7. Pre-heat your oven to 220 degree (Celsius). Remove the tea towel from your baking tin, and with your finger tips press little dimples into the dough
  • 8. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of olive oil across the top of the dough. Pluck leaves of rosemary and poke them into the dough (it will just sit on top and then fall off if you don’t). Sprinkle a teaspoon is salt across the top of the dough (sea salt is best if you have it, but just use a little less ordinary salt if you don’t)
  • 9. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes

Migas

Seaneen's Sunnyside Kitchen1 Comment

If you always end up with left over bread this is a really tasty way to use it up.

This dish apparently started with poor shepherds in Spain and Portugal. I like recipes that allow you to use up what’s available and this is perfect for using up scraps of streaky bacon, ham or other smokey meats or cold cuts

This dish does use a lot of oil, which is why I’ve included it amongst the poor filth recipes. It’s quick, easy to make and tastes great. I like for breakfast/brunch with fried eggs. It also makes a fantastic hangover cure.

Ingredients

500 Grams Stale bread (broken into chunks of various size, but not as small as breadcrumbs)

1 Onion (cut into fine slices)

2-3 Cloves of garlic

50 Grams Chorizo (peeled and sliced)

1 Red pepper (cut into 1cm strips)

50 Grams Streaky bacon or other left over meat or cold cuts (cut into 2cm slices)

1 Tsp Smoked paprika

2-3 Tbsp Olive oil

Method

Serves 4

  • Heat a large high sided pan and add the chorizo, and streaky bacon until it starts to crisp up. Remove from the pan and set to one side
  • Add the onion, garlic, red pepper and paprika to the pan and cook in the juices released from the chorizo and bacon until the onion becomes translucent
  • Add some oil to the pan and then add the stale bread chunks. Fry until the bread starts to brown, stirring regularly so it doesn’t burn
  • Add the meat back to the pan and stir well
  • Serve with fried eggs.

Easy, Two Ingredient Bread Rolls

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I hate food waste, but like everyone else I’m not perfect.

One of the things I always ended up throwing out was Greek yogurt.  The small pots weren’t enough, and the larger containers meant I always had some left over.

A friend told me about this recipe and I love it.  Most people are put off making bread bread because it can take time to prove, knead etc.  This couldn’t be quicker or easier. 

Equal amounts of flour and yoghurt, and like making scones these rolls benefit from not handling to much.  This recipe makes 4 rolls, but you can double the recipe if you want more. You can brush the uncooked rolls with egg or melted butter if you want a glazed top, but I just sprinkled with flour.

Soft and fluffy rolls

I haven’t given exact weights. I literally just used a mug to ensure I was measuring equal amounts.

These also freeze really well.

Ingredients

1 Cup self raising flour
1 Cup of Greek yogurt (I used full fat yoghurt as this is what I had, it also gives a softer texture, but use what you have)

Method

  1. Measure out the flour and yoghurt and add to a bowl.
  2. Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees (or around 350 if you’re using Fahrenheit)
  3. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough is combined and turn onto a lightly floured surface
  4. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and roll into balls
  5. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes or until the bottoms sound hollow when tapped

Soda Bread with Feta and Sun Dried Tomatoes

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I think I’ve developed an obsession with soda bread. It’s hard not to, it’s quick and easy, and it’s amazingly versatile.

You can usually rustle up a version with stuff you have in the fridge or cupboard. This version has a Mediterranean slant and is great with cheese or prosciutto.

Delicious served along side soup

I like it with soup, and like any good soda bread its delicious with butter. This takes 5 minutes to prepare and if you’re having friends over they’ll be really impressed that you made your own bread (your place will also smell fantastic).

Ready for the oven

Ingredients

350 Grams Plain flour

1 Tsp Bicarbonate of soda

1 Tsp Oregano

1/2 Tsp Black pepper

100 Grams Feta cheese (chopped)

75 Grams Sun dried tomatoes (chopped)

275 ml Buttermilk (if you don’t have buttermilk, you can add lemon juice to ordinary milk and let it sit for a couple of minutes. It will do same job)

Method

  1. Measure out your flour, oregano, black pepper and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl
  2. Add the Feta cheese and toss in the flour, then add sun dried tomatoes and toss on the flour as well (this will prevent them sticking together in clumps)
  3. Add the buttermilk to the mix and stir well. Form into a ball
  4. Line a baking sheet with baking paper and pre heat your oven to 180 degrees
  5. Transfer your dough onto the baking paper and cut a cross into the ball of dough (about one third of the depth of the ball of dough)
  6. Bake for 40 minutes or until the base sounds hollow when tapped

Blueberry and Walnut Soda Bread

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Blueberry and Walnut Soda Bread

I love soda bread, it’s super adaptable and works well with sweet or savoury ingredients.

Just out of the oven, and delicious with butter

Like everyone else, I was glued to the Great British Bake Off when the contestants were making various types of soda bread. I hadn’t made soda bread since I made my version with dulse (dried seaweed), and I thought I’d try a sweet version.

Usually I would use dried fruit in a soda bread, but I didn’t have any. I had a look at what I did have, and this was how I came up with blueberry and walnut soda bread.

As before, if you don’t have buttermilk you can add lemon juice to ordinary milk and let it sit for a few minutes to achieve the same result. I also tossed the blueberries in the flour before mixing them in. Apparently this stops them sinking to the bottom.

This loaf will live quite happily in an airtight box for 2-3 days. If you still have any left, can I suggest toasting it, it’s amazing. I also toasted some and topped it with cheese and this was so delicious the I forgot to take photos.

Freshly toasted and slathered in butter, mmmmm

Ingredients

200 Grams Plain flour

200 Grams Wholemeal flour

25 Grams Butter

100 Grams Porridge oats

1 Tsp Bicarbonate of soda

100 Grams Fresh blueberries

50 Grams Walnuts

1 Tsp Salt

75 Grams Sugar

450ml Buttermilk

Method

  1. Rub butter into the porridge oats (you can use a food processor to do this, but really only takes a minute)
  2. Add your dry ingredients to the porridge oats (remember to dust the blueberries in the flour before adding them)
  3. Add the buttermilk to the bowl and mix lightly with a palette knife
  4. Turn your mix onto a floured surface and gently form it into a ball. Try not to handle it too much, it should be a fairly soft dough
  5. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Cut a cross onto your loaf. You should cut down about one third of the depth of the dough
  6. Bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 45-50 minutes (or until it sounds hollow when you tap it).