Fat Friday #43 Olive Oil Bread

I'm not sure if olive oil bread really counts as a Fat Friday, tastes amazing though. Its been very busy here in the world of Penny, so I stuck with something easy to make, if a little time consuming, but the proofing time, provided me extra time to do other bits and pieces. (I'm still gutted that my camera isn't working so sadly, no picture.) 

As I said this olive oil loaf isn't hard but is a little time consuming, with the proofing and all. It uses olive oil to knead the dough rather then lots of flour.

Bread dough (Recipe Adapted from The Great British Bake Off Showstoppers by Libby Collister):

·500g strong white flour
·2 teaspoons sea salt flakes, crushed
·1x7g fast action yeast
·350ml lukewarm water
·3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for kneading
·100g green olives, drained
·50g manchego cheese, diced

Equipment:

·Baking sheet lined with baking paper
·Doily
·Bowl
·Clingfilm
·Sieve
· Roasting tin

Method: 
1.Mix together the flour, salt, and dried yeast in a bowl.
2.Add the water and work with your hand to make a soft looking dough. Cover with cling film and leave to rest for 15 minutes.
3.Turn out the dough on an oiled surface, oil your hands and knead the dough for 4 minutes. Cover the dough with clingfilm and leave to rest for 20 minutes and knead for another 4 minutes.
4.Combine the olives and cheese, then work into the dough. The dough should be soft but not sticking to your hands.
5.Transfer the dough to the baking sheet and pat out until an oval shape (1.5 cm thick and about 20cm wide). Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for 40 minutes or until doubled in size.
6.Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven 230c/450f/ Gas Mark 8. Place the baking sheet and roasting tin into the oven. Place the dough onto baking paper.
7.Uncover the dough, dust a little flour on top to decorate, or place a doily on top and dust a little flour on top with a sieve.
8.Carefully pull the baking sheet out of the oven, and slide the dough onto the baking sheet and put into the oven.
9. Pour some cold water into the roasting tin to create a burst of steam and close the oven door fast.
10.  Bake the loaf for 20 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and eat the same day, warm.
Have a great weekend!

The Cake and Bake Show Haul 2015

Well I've had fun! Stuffing my face with cake and free samples. Did any of you readers get the chance to visit the Cake and Bake Show in London this year? My friend Lucy and I are making this an annual 'thing' (You can read last years post here). I was hoping that I would do a video on it... until my camera broke.

Thats right. On the one day of filming I REALLY  needed a good camera... erg. Tech. Such is life. I thought I would do a blog post on what I purchased.

Firstly, food because... food. I grabbed some Emily Apple and Banana Fruit crisps. But these are the best crisps I've ever had. They were just soft enough in texture not to be soggy but crisp enough to crunch on and not break your teeth. The flavours are true fruit flavours. Seriously, totally worth buying! 

I got a super weird gizmo. Its a peeler. BUT NOT JUST A PEELER! Its a julienne vegetable and fruit peeler with a cool attachment to make noodles from veg. Lucy was full on impressed with this, that she didn't hesitate in buying it. I was convinced to get one also and the peeler does assist me in daily cooking tasks.

I also got a new piping bag and nozzles... pretty standard. 

For my Halloween bakes this year, I got some pretty sprinkles and cupcake cases from one of my personal favourite places to shop, Scrumptious. I bought some green, purple and orange sprinkles as well as some jazzy violet sprinkles. They have a great selection of sprinkles, decorating materials and cases. I did get some adorable ghostly cupcake cases as well as some Christmasy ones (don't judge me I know its only October). 

To stuff my face with, I got marshmallows from both 'The Marshmallowist' and 'The Marshmallow Company'. From the Marshmallowist, I got strawberry and basil, blueberry and gin, lemon and coconut flavours. Now, I must be truthful, the flavours didn't really come through apart from the coconut. I haven't tried 'The Marhmallow Company' marshmallows yet but I will do and will add what I think here.

I did get some special icing sugars, like I do every year, from another one of my favourite companies: Sugar and Crumbs. I bought: 'Santa's Snowball' which tastes like white chocolate and marshmallows (yum!!), 'Christmas Punch' which tastes like mulled wine and lastly, 'Apple Crumble'... which is what you expect. They make great buttercreams, or as a substitute for caster sugar in cakes.  

Homemade Granola

Nothing like the a good breakfast to kick start the day! This is the first ever granola that I actually enjoy eating. This also makes a great gift to give and it take 30 minutes to prep and cook. I don't know why everyone doesn't make their own granola, its so easy! If you want to make it dairy free omit the dark chocolate or use dairy free chocolate. Making it gluten free? Use gluten free oats (yes, they do exist).

Recipe: Makes 10 servings (Recipe is from my recipe book and I didn't note down where its from so if you know please message or comment below!) 
Ingredients: 

• 340g oats
• 200g cherries
• 250g Mixture of almonds, cashews, dark chocolate chips and sunflower seeds
• 130g maple syrup 
• 130g coconut oil

Equipment

• Baking sheet
• Mixing bowl
• Wooden Spoon

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350f/180c/Gas Mark 4

2. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. 

3.Spread in a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.

4. Wait until the granola has completely cooled and store in an airtight jar. 

5. Or eat it all in one big go!

Halloween Bakes

Have you started planning your Halloween bakes yet? Check out the links below for some inspiration. 

1. Dios de los Muertos Cupcakes- Ok not really Halloween but great hit at parties.

2.Pumpkin Pecan Bars- Because pumpkin. And its October. 

3.Orange Juice Cupcakes-Juicy and bursting full of citrus flavour.

4.Pumpkin Chocolate Brownie-See number 2

5. Ginger and Treacle Cupcakes

6.Chocolate Cola Cake-Beautifully chocolaty and a little fizzy with the cola. 

7.Horror Film Gory Cupcakes- Ahh that poor sour patch kid!!

8.Gluten Free Zombie Cookies-Well we needed zombies in this list! It IS Halloween after all! 

So what will you be making for Halloween?