Fat Friday #30 Cinnamon Breakfast Loaf

Can you believe that its been a straight 30 weeks since I've been doing Fat Fridays? Its pretty unbelievable, but the idea would never have been conceived if it wasn't for my good friend Lucy Madz. She was the one who really came up with Fat Fridays, or as it was known back when we were working together, Fat F**k Fridays... I'm glad the name was changed...

Anyway, the reason why I'm speaking about her is that, she (and her boyfriend) are coming over to Portsmouth to see me and Rob. It's been such a long time since we've seen each other, so I'm super excited. In honour of Lucy and Ben's arrival, I'm making a breakfast loaf to serve, in case they fancy something sweet early in the morning.

*Edit- Poor Lucy is feeling sick this week, so our catch up weekend has been postponed. But not to worry, this loaf freezes really well and will be ready to serve at a later date* 

This loaf is easy once you've mastered the basic kneading. Its great on its own with a little butter or made into French toast!

Recipe: Makes 1 loaf (Recipe adapted from Great British Bake Off Showstoppers by Linda Collister)

Bread dough:

·       500g strong bread flour
·       1 ½ teaspoon seasalt flakes, crushed
·       2 tablespoons caster sugar
·       1x 7g fast action yeast
·       125ml milk
·       50g unsalted butter
·       1 large egg

Filling:

·       50g caster sugar
·       1 teaspoon strong bread flour
·       1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

To Finish:

·       Milk to brush on the loaf
·       Small knob of butter

Equipment:

·       A greased and lined loaf tin
·       Saucepan
·       Bowl
·       Fork
·       Rolling pin
·       Small bowl
·       Pastry brush
·       Plastic bag
·       Wire rack
 
Method:
1.Mix together the flour, salt, sugar and dried yeast in a bowl.
2.Gently warm the milk and butter in a saucepan, until melted. Take off the heat.
3.Add the egg to the milk, and beat with fork until combined.
4.Pour the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and work with your hands or with a mixer.
5.Knead for 10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes by mixer with the dough hook attachment until smooth and pliable.
6.Return to a bowl, cover with cling film and leave for about an hour in a warm place. At this point you can make the filling.
7.After an hour, punch the dough and turn out on a lightly knead for a few seconds.
8.Pat out until a rough rectangle, roughly about 2mm thick. Cover with cling film and leave to relax for 5 minutes.
9.Flour a rolling pin and roll out the dough to a rectangle as wide as the length of the tin and about 50cm long.
10. Brush the dough with milk, then sprinkle with the cinnamon filling in an even layer, leaving a small 1cm boarder.
11.Roll up the dough, neatly and tightly as you can.
12. Lift the dough into the loaf tin, gently tucking in the ends under to make a neat shape. Pop the tin into a small plastic bag, trying to not to let the plastic bag touch the dough. Leave to rise as before until just doubled. Towards the end pop the oven onto Preheat on 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
13. Uncover the dough and brush lightly with milk. Bake for about 35 minutes or until a golden brown.
14. Transfer the bread onto a wire rack and rub the butter over the top to give a glossy finish.

For the filling:

1.    Mix the sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl.  DONE!

Don't forget I'm going to be at Mrs H Vintage Fair in Warsash in the Victory Hall tomorrow, if you like sugary treats feel free to pop on by and say hello! Me and My 2 friends will be on the sweetie stall called Cake by Chloe. Have a great weekend folks!

Baking Basics 101 Creaming Butter and Sugar

Hello and welcome to the first Baking Basics 101! This week we're focusing on the method of creaming.

Creaming is used in most cupcake and cake recipes. It's the method of mixing a fat and sugar together until the the mixture turns really light and fluffy. Nowadays everyone uses electric hand whisks, but it can be achieved with a classic wooden spoon. 

Unsalted butter and caster sugar are the most commonly used in cakes. But other types of fat can be used such as margarine, or lard. The same goes for sugar, sweetener, and other varieties of sugar can be used.

Equipment Needed:

• Bowl
• Wooden Spoon/Electric Hand-Whisk
• Micro-wave

Step by Step Example: Caster Sugar and Unsalted butter

Step 1. Warm Unsalted Butter

 Step 1. Place your unsalted butter in a microwavable bowl. If the butter is still fridge cold, pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds. It should be warm because this way it's easier to work with. 

Step 2. Caster Sugar in the same bowl as the Unsalted Butter

Step 2. Next place the caster sugar in the same bowl and begin to beat with a wooden spoon or an electric whisk until the mixture changes to a light yellow. 

Step 3. Your looking for  a colour change and a fluffy texture.

Step 3. When all the sugar and butter has been thoroughly combined. Your looking for a lighter colour and for a fluffy texture. 

That's all there is to creaming! There are so many recipes that this can be used in. Go over to the Recipe Index to see them all but here are some of my favourites that use the creaming method:
50 Cupcakes for a 50th Birthday (Chocolate and Lemon Cupcakes)
Valentine Heart Biscuits
Red Velvet Cake with Blue Lacy Butterflies

Join us next time for Baking Basics 101
If there's a method you'd like to learn and want me to write about, please comment below or let me know on facebook or twitter with the hashtag #bakingbasics101

St Patricks Day Soda Bread and Pistachio Cupcakes

Happy St Patricks Day! Coming from an Irish family, we celebrate in a wonderful way... with food of course! In this case, bread. 

When I think of Ireland, I think of my Grandad, potatoes, green shamrocks, Mrs Brown's Boys and Leprechauns of course. But when I think of Irish food, my bread brain always thinks of soda bread. However, other countries have there own claim on the soda bread, but its mainly associated with Ireland. 

The Plain Soda Bread I made in pastry class.

My Grandad, (aka Gramps) is your typical, stereotypical Irish man and so he has to share his memories with me constantly. He told me that his granmother (my great-great granmother) would make her soda bread with currents to make it sweet. 

When I told him that I would be publishing a soda bread, which you can add cheese to. 

He looked mortified. 

So in this recipe, you can add currents or cheese and a little paprika (Just don't tell my Gramps!)

Ingredients: (Recipe Inspired by my Gramps and My patisserie tutor Faye)

·       300g Strong Flour

·       4g bicarbonate of soda

·       15g baking powder

·       15g Sugar

·       4g Salt

·       30g Unsalted butter

·       210ml buttermilk

(Add about 75g currents or 80g of a cheese of your choice with a pinch of paprika but this is optional)

Equipment

·       Sieve

·       Bowl

·       Jug

·       Baking sheet covered with silicone paper

Great with cheese or currents baked in it.

    1.    Sieve all the dry ingredients into a bowl.

    2.    Rub the butter into the mix until it resembles breadcrumbs

    3.    Make a well in centre and add most of the buttermilk but not all of it. Only add the last part if it’s too dry.

    4.    Mix all the ingredients together to form a dough. (Add the currents or cheese at this stage)

    5.    Turn out onto the table and knead until the stickiness has gone. Mould into a round and place on a baking sheet.

    6.    Make a cross with a very sharp knife almost cutting all the way through. Dust with a little flour.

    7.    Leave to rest in a proofer for 10 minutes then put into a hot oven 230c/450f/ Gas Mark 8 then turn the oven down and finish cooking for 25 minutes.

   8.    When cooked, it should appear golden brown and sound hollow when tapped when tapped on the bottom. 

    The next recipe is not traditional, in fact when I saw it, I went: “Huh, this is erm.. different? At least it's green.”

     In fact, I didn't think it would work! But the saltiness of the pistachios contrasted with the sweetness of the icing. It is a combination that will make your tastebuds dance a little Irish jig! 

    Recipe: Pistachio Cupcakes Makes About 16 (Adapted from Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman)

·       150g plain flour

·       1 teaspoon baking powder

·       1 teaspoon salt

·       190g unsalted butter, softened

·       150g dark brown sugar

·       3 eggs

·       1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

·       125ml natural yogurt

·       150g salted pistachios, roughly chopped

       Recipe: Green Icing

·       20g unsalted butter, softened

·       4 tablespoons hot milk

·       220g icing sugar

·       2 drops of Peppermint flavouring

·       Green food colouring paste (I used Gooseberry Green)

·       Green sugar

·       Gold and green glitter or other decorations.

       Equipment:

·       Knife

·       Chopping board

·       Bowl x3

·       12 hole muffin tray filled with cupcake cases x2

·       Electric whisk/handheld whisk

·       Scales

·       Spoons

·       Small palette knife

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

2.    Mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

3.    Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and add vanilla. Alternately beat in the flour mixture and the yoghurt. Fold in the pistachios.

4.    Spoon batter into cupcake cases, filling about 2/3 full. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Green icing was used to top the cupcakes

5.    For the icing: Mix the butter and milk together in a large bowl. Slowly beat in the icing sugar until the icing is of a good spreading consistency. (You may need to add a little more milk depending on how runny you want your icing, but it should but thick but spreading).

6.    Add the food colouring and the peppermint flavouring, mix well and spread on cooled cupcakes. Decorate as desired. (Glitter and tried to do some shamrocks.)

Have a Happy St Patricks Day and Bake On!

Devonshire Splits, Bath Buns and Fruit Buns. With One Dough!

Another pastry class and a week closer to another crazy assessment!
Next week I'm making a flavoured loaf which was featured in a past blog post. 
However this week I've been making a plain sweet dough. Which sounds a little boring, but the whole class made a variety of different buns. 

In the class we made Devonshire Splits. When I think of Devon, I think of my friends Leanne and Ben and secondly of traditional cream tea. Now, no matter which country in the world tries. The BEST cream tea is from the UK!

Image from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Devonshire_tea.jpg

Traditionally clotted cream, jam are served with scones and hot tea. However Devonshire Splits aka Cornwall Splits, (there isn't a difference in the bun, but the name varies on if you put the jam or cream on first) can also be served with instead of scones.  Just would like to point out that we also made some Devonshire Splits with fondant icing on top, which look very similar to éclairs. 

Devonshire Splits made by me in pastry class

Bath buns are sweet dough buns which can be filled with fruits such as raisins and can be served with jam or cream or even both! They are always topped with crushed sugar. 

Bath buns(far left) with different shaped Devonshire Splits.(Made by me) 

Recipe: Basic Bun Dough 

·       600g Strong Flour

·       15g Milk powder

·       75g Sugar

·       7g Salt

·       60g Unsalted butter

·       30g Liquid egg

·       37g Yeast

·       300g Warm Water

Devonshire Splits with icing:

·       500g Fondant Icing

·       Whipped Cream

Devonshire Splits:

·       Whole Egg for glazing

·       Whipped Cream

·       Raspberry Jam

Bath Buns

·       Whole Egg for glazing

·       Crushed sugar 
        
Fruit Buns
· 75g Sultanas

Equipment

·       Sieve

·       Bowl

·       Jug

·       Large baking sheet covered with silicone paper

·       2x Piping bags, one fitted with a star nozzle

·       Spoons

·       Pastry brush for the egg glaze

·       Whisk for the whipping cream

1.    Sieve the flour into a bowl, add the milk powder. Rub the butter into the flour until mix resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in the salt and sugar.

2.    Disperse yeast in some but not all of the water.

3.    Make a well in the flour mix, add the yeast water and also the egg. Add most of the yeasty water but not all. Knead the dough until the dough loses it’s stickiness. Add the rest of the water if the dough feels dry. 

4.    Cut into thirds. Mix 75g sultanas into one third of the dough, cut into 4’s and shape into round buns.

5.    Cut the two doughs into 4’s and shape four into oblongs and four into round buns.

6.    Place all the buns on the large tray covered with silicone paper and leave to proof for 30-45 minutes.

7.    Glaze the tops of the buns with a little egg wash and top the fruit buns with a little nibbed sugar.

8.    Bake at 180c/350f/Gas Mark 4/  for 15-20 minutes.

9. Place on a wire rack to cool.
10. Cut the plain buns slightly diagonally fill with cream and jam.

11. Cut the oblong buns across and top with melted fondant and fill with cream. Serve with tea!

Bake On!
Penny 

The Magic of Homemade Bread

There truly is something magical about homemade bread. 
The smell, the taste, the fluffiness. The 'bread' in the supermarkets doesn't compare to the real stuff. THE GOOD STUFF!
It's almost Valentines Day and we should be writing poems about the people we love but I'll be writing about my love for homemade bread. Why people don't write love poems about bread and bakers I don't know. 

Thou art more satisfying with some butter spread upon your warm crust.

Ok it's a little creepy. It's hard to tell whether I'm hungry or horny. But I don't go around writing poems about bread. But it's been ages since I've had really amazing homemade bread. What really made me change my outlook on baking was t.v's, The Fabulous Baker Brothers. If you get the chance definitely watch it if you get the chance.  

The method that my pastry tutor swears by is the 'Richard Bertinet' method. I was a non-beliver to begin with but when the bread came out of the oven. My mouth was watering!

Homemade white bread and Focaccia bread made by me in pastry class

Basic White Bread

•        500g strong flour
•        10g fresh yeast
•        10g salt
•        350ml warm water (plus a little extra)
•        Olive oil for greasing the loaf tin

Equipment:

•        Bowl
•        Scraper
•        Sieve
•        Pastry brush
•        Loaf tin
•        Tray filled with water

1.    Pre-heat oven to Gas Mark 9/475f/250c so that is very hot. Place the tray with warm water into the oven at this stage.
2.    Sieve the flour into the bowl and rub the fresh yeast into the flour. (Make sure that the salt doesn’t make contact with the yeast.)
3.    Add the salt and warm water, once the yeast has completely rubbed in.
4.    Using your scraper, mix the dough until smooth. It may need a little more warm water just add a little bit at a time so that its sticky but not wet.
5.    Remove from the bowl and place on work-surface (without flour on the surface). Fold the bread like this. Pick it up, slap it on the surface of the table and fold it over itself and repeat until it forms a smooth lovely dough. (It looks like it's gone wrong but trust me it works)
6.    Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place to proof for about 30 minutes.
7.    The dough should have doubled in size. Lightly scrap the dough onto a work surface and knead it a little again. And fold it to shape it to fit the loaf tin.
8.    Proof again for another 30 mins.
9.    Turn the oven down to Gas Mark 7/425f/220c and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Foccacia meaning 'hearth, place for baking' was thought to have first been made in ancient Rome and is similar to a tradtional pizza dough. It is seasoned with salt, olive oil and often Italian herbs. 
In this version, its simply done with rosemary and salt.

Homemade white bread and Focaccia bread made by me in pastry class

 Foccacia

•       500g strong flour
•        20g semolina
•        15g fresh yeast
•        10g salt
•        50g olive oil, plus extra to decorate on top and to oil the tray
•        320ml water
•        Rosemary and salt to decorate

Equipment:

•        Baking tray
•        Sieve
•        scraper
•        Bowl
•        Pastry brush
•        Tray with warm water placed in the oven.

1.    Pre-heat oven to Gas Mark 9/475f/250c so that is very hot. Place the tray with warm water into the oven at this stage.

2.    Sieve the flour into the bowl, add the semolina and rub the fresh yeast into the mixture. (Make sure that the salt doesn’t make contact with the yeast.)

3.    Add the salt, olive warm water, once the yeast has completely rubbed in.

4.    Using your scraper, mix the dough until smooth. It may need a little more warm water just add a little bit at a time so that its sticky but not wet.

5.    Remove from the bowl and place on work-surface (without flour on the surface). Fold the bread like this. Pick it up, slap it on the surface of the table and fold it over itself and repeat until it forms a smooth lovely dough.

6.    Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place to proof for about 30 minutes.

7.    The dough should have doubled in size. Lightly scrap the dough onto an oiled tray and dimple the top using your fingers. Proof again for another 30 mins.

8.    Brush the top with a little olive oil, place some rosemary sprigs into the dimples and sprinkle some salt on top.

9.    Turn the oven down to Gas Mark 7/425f/220c and bake for 20-25 minutes. 

Homemade white bread and Focaccia bread made by me in pastry class.

Bake On!
Penny