Breadsticks - Bread Challenge No. 14

Well here we go, it's the penultimate challenge and one I was determined to attempt before the end as it was different, though the process was basically the same as making a loaf. So glad I did as they taste lovely and worked well with our salad tea this evening!!!
Not much else to say!

Ingredients:
350g/12oz Strong Bread Flour
1 1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Sachet Fast Action Yeast
200ml/7floz Lukewarm Water
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
Method:
Put the flour,salt, yeast and oil in a bowl, Make a well and add the water and mix to form a dough. Knead well for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth. Leave in a bowl covered with clingfilm in a warm place for about an hour til risen.
When risen, punch down on the dough and transfer to the work surface. Knead for a couple of minutes then roll out into a rectangle. Cut into strips and roll and stretch each strip and place on a greased baking tray. Cover and leave again to double in size.
Bake for 10-15 mins at 200C

Seeded Loaf - Bread Challenge No. 10

 Happy Easter!
Yes the day finally crept up on us and, after losing an hours slept last night due to the clocks moving forward an hour, it was a very tired me in The Old Red Lion kitchen today cooking roast dinners. 
I didnt receive any Easter eggs today unfortuntely but I did get to open my Secret Easter Bunny gift that I received in the post yesterday as part of an online craft forum swap that I entered. My gift was made by someone that I have actually been in awe of for the past couple of years and her gift to me was these seriously cute bunnies that she made herself. Ros has a fantastic blog which is full of tutorials, her makes and a little bit of gossip!

Back to bread making!! This week we have started to make plans for a new menu for the summer months. One idea I had was mushroom pate as a starter. In the week I made a sample but, although it tasted lovely it needed to be eaten with something textured. We had some slightly stale, seeded loaf from the shop so we used that to experiment on taste and it really worked well together, so yesterday I attempted my own seeded loaf.

It came out BEAUTIFUL!! You must try this one it's a lovely taste and today, a day later, still was very soft and fresh tasting.

Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

375g Strong White Bread Flour

125g Strong Brown Bread Flour

1 1/2 Tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Light Brown Sugar

1 Tsp Fast Action Dried Yeast

1 1/2 Tbsp Sunflour Oil

2 Tsp Lemon Juice

300ml Lukewarm Water

1 Tsp Poppy Seeds

1 Tsp Sesame Seeds

For The Topping

1 Egg White

1 Tbsp Water

1 Tbsp Pumpkin and Sunflower Seeds Mixed

Method:

Put the flours,sugar,salt, yeast and seeds into a bowl.Add the oil,lemon juice and water and mix together to form a dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 10minutes or until the dough is soft and pliable. Return to your bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour..

When risen, punch down the dough to release the gas and knead for a couple more minutes and press into a large loaf tin and leave to rise again.When risen, mix the egg white and water and brush the top of the dough with it then gently press in the pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Bake in the oven about 20-25 minutes at 200C until golden brown.

Homemade seeded Loaf

Doesn't this look good!

Homemade Seeded Loaf

Spinach,Turmeric and Beetroot Loaf - Bread Challenge No 9

So I'm really moving forward with the bread challenge now and everyone is as interested and excited as I am with every new handmade loaf being produced in the kitchen. Isnt it nice to be able to say "I had fun at work today"!!!
So following production of the beetroot loaf yesterday Toby had a brainwave and suggested I try making 3 different coloured doughs and combining them together to make a tri-coloured and flavoured dough. So with his help I gave it a go, and this is what happened!!!

Spinach,Turmeric and Beetroot loaf

How cool is that!! The top layer is spinach, the center turmeric and the bottom beetroot, though I have to admit when eating the bread there is no strong particular flavour but the image is fantastic!

We are now considering other colours but for now I'll talk you through how we made this one.

 We needed to make 3 individual doughs, so I got my basic bread recipe and divided the quantity of ingredients by 3. I got 3 bowls and into each put 170g strong white bread flour,1 tsp sugar,1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp yeast. Then I rubbed in 10g butter into each mix.

1 egg and 1 egg yolk were beaten and as best I could split between the 3 bowls. Next we made up the coloured liquids. Toby pureed 1 cooked beetroot and added luke warm water to make 70ml of liquid. Turmeric was added to another 70ml lukewarm water and pureed handful of cooked spinach added to another 70ml.

Each liquid was put in each bowl and mixed to form 3 coloured doughs. Each was kneaded until a soft, pliable dough was formed then left in a covered bowl in a warm place to prove.

An hour later when they had all risen we punched down on each dough to release the gas then flattened out each one.

In a large loaf tin we lay the doughs one on top of each other and left to rise whilst we went for our lunchbreak.

You have never seen 2 more excited and giggly chefs as we put our invention in the oven to cook for 20 minutes. Our laughing continued when we removed the loaf from the tin and it looked all higgle-de piggle-de (what a saying!!)

But then we cut a slice and patted each other on the back as it looked brilliant. The colours worked so well and came out great, I'm sure you would agree!

Spinach,Turmeric and Beetroot Loaf

We are now working on other colours and ideas for interesting looking breads! Watch this space!

Beetroot Loaf - Bread Challenge No.8

I bet, reading this posts title, you're thinking exactly what I was thinking when Vicky gave me the recipe for Beetroot loaf from 'The Fabulous Baker Brothers' book 'Glorious British Grub' - WEIRD!
But hey, weird is good, especially when you are doing a bread challenge and want to have a go at as many recipes as you can.
In the book they create the dough to make small baps to serve their mackeral burgers in but I decided to just bake it in a loaf tin.
Look how pink it was before going in the oven!



We all got really excited as we watched the loaf cook in the oven but a bit dismayed when it turned a brown colour rather than the vibrant pink it had been before baking.

The dough was wetter than most of the others I've made and I think I should have possibly kneaded a little more flour in to dry out the dough slightly. The loaf was slightly undercooked when I took it out of the tin.

Tasted very sweet though and lovely.

Want to try it for yourself?   Here's the recipe below

Ingredients:

500g strong white flour

1 tsp salt

7g fast action dried yeast

handful chopped fresh thyme

1 tbsp honey

2 small cooked vacuum- packed beetroots, blended to a fine paste

300ml luke warm water

Method:

Place the flour,salt and yeast into a bowl. Add the beetroot,thyme, honey and water and mix to form a soft not sticky dough.

Knead for 10 minutes til soft and pliable. Place in a bowl, cover and leave in a warm place to rise.

When risen, punch down the dough, remove from the bowl and knead lightly for couple of minutes then place in an oiled loaf tin.

Leave to rise again then bake in a preheated oven 180C for about 20 minutes.

Beetroot Loaf

Focaccia - Bread Challenge No 6

As I reach number 6 of my dough challenge I would firstly like to thank my bosses Ben Aveling and Vicky Rogers for being so supportive,interested and encouraging for what I am doing and secondly would very much like to welcome any new reader who has found their way here via The Old Red Lion or Radmore farm Shop facebook and twitter feed. I hope that you enjoy the read, attempt the recipe or even just pop along to the pub and enjoy the taste of traditional homemade bread.
So today let's talk Focaccia!
Focaccia - a light Italian flatbread made from a soft dough and flavoured with olive oil.
 It had been my intention to attempt this bread nearer the end of my challenge as I thought it was a more complex dough to make but, having completed the challenge successfully today, I concur that it wasnt any harder than my previous challenges and that it is truly a gorgeous soft bread if eaten fresh from the oven.
Ingredients:
500g Strong White Bread Flour
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 1/2 Tsp Fast Action Yeast
1-2 Tbsp Finely Chopped Fresh Rosemary Sprigs
6 Tbsp Olive Oil
300ml Lukewarm Water

1 Green Pepper
8 Sun-Dried Tomato halves
4 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 clove garlic
Sea Salt Flakes & Freshly Ground Black Pepper.
A few sprigs Rosemary.

Method:
Combine the flour,salt and yeast in a bowl. Stir in the chopped rosemary and add the oil. Mix in enough of the lukewarm water to form a soft and slightly sticky dough. Turn out the dough on to a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and pliable - usually about 10 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and turn over so it's coated in oil. Cover with clingfilm and leave to rise for about an hour in a warm area.
While the dough is rising prepare the topping.
Deseed the pepper and cut into 2cm chunks. Put into a mixing bowl with 2tbsp olive oil and stir round until coated. Heat a frying pan and chargrill the pepper over a high heat until speckled with dark-brown patches. Put back into the bowl, add the crushed garlic and a little salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. Roughly chop the sun-dried tomatoes.
When the dough has risen punch down into it to deflate and disperse the gas. Turn the dough onto an oiled baking tray, press and shape into a rough square with your hands. Press your fingers into the dough to make dimples.

Poke fresh rosemary sprigs into these dimples, scatter the tomatoes over and top with the pepper mixture. Leave to rise for a further 20 minutes and turn on your oven to preheat to 220C/425F/gas7.
When risen, drizzle the rest of the olive oil over the top and season with salt and pepper and put in the oven.

Bake for 10mins,then reduce the temperature to 190C/375F/Gas 5 and cook for a further 15mins until the edges and base are a good golden brown.

Best served warm and certainly a big hit amongst the staff and customers last night! A lovely soft and tasty bread.

Green Pepper and Sun-Dried Tomato Focaccia

Monkey Bread - The Bread Challenge No. 4

It's a well known fact that we eat with our eyes and when I saw the photo of my next challenge my eyes told me I had to attempt it!
An unusual loaf, with a decorative pattern when sliced, and an added flavour of red leicester cheese and chilli.

I found the recipe in "The Great British Bake Off   How To Bake" recipe book. It's quite an easy challenge, give it a go, the recipe is below.

 

Ingredients:

500g Strong White Bread Flour

1 1/2 Tsp Salt

1 x 7g Fast Action Yeast

50g Unsalted Butter

200ml Lukewarm Milk

1 Large Egg

100g Unsalted butter, melted, for coating

150g Grated Red Leicester

1/4 - 1/2 Tsp Dried Chilli Flakes

First make the dough.

Sift the flour into a bowl, add the salt and yeast and make a well in the centre. Melt the butter and add to lukewarm milk and mix in the egg. Add the liquid to the dry mix and mix together to form a dough. Knead for 10 minutes or until smooth, then place in a bowl, cover and leave in a warm place to rise for about an hour, until double in size.

When risen, "punch" the dough down to release the gas in the dough. Knead for a couple of minutes to evenly distribute the gas then cut the dough into about 60 pieces!

 

 

Roll each piece into a rough ball. Add the chilli flakes to the cheese. Dip each ball into the melted butter then cover with the cheese and place in a loaf tin. Pack them in the tin tight. I think my mistake at this stage was not to pack them tight enough.

Pack them in the tin tight.I think my mistake at this stage was to not pack them in tight enough. Cover and leave to rise.

Bake in a hot oven for 20 - 30 minutes.

Monkey Bread

Served best straight from the oven.

There is a sweet alternative to this using cinnamon and chopped walnuts instead of the chilli cheese. Maybe I will attempt that recipe soon!

Homemade Bread

I think you would agree with me that, as consumers, we always like to be offered free items from companies that shows us to be valued and appreciated.
At The Old Red Lion, Litchborough Ben and Vicky think its a lovely gesture to offer homemade bread with an oil and balsamic dip to their customers whilst they peruse the menu.
Having never made bread before this came as a new challenge for me, but was not as difficult as I imagined and, it seems, truely welcomed by customers so far.
Look below for the recipe that I use and give it a go yourself!

CRUSTY WHITE BREAD
Ingredients
1 Egg
1 Egg Yolk
150-200/5-7floz luke warm water
500g/1lb 2oz strong white flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp easy-blend dried yeast
25g/1oz Butter
sunflour oil

Method
1. Place the egg and egg yolk in a jug and beat lightly to mix. Add enough luke warm water to make up to 300ml/10floz. Stir well
2. Sift the flour into a bowl and stir in the salt, sugar, and yeast. Add the butter, and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.Make a well in the centre, add the egg mixture and work to a smooth dough.
3. Turn out on to a lightly oiled surface and knead well for about 10 minutes or until smooth. Brush a bowl with oil . Place the dough in the bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
4. Brush a 900g/2lb loaf tin with oil. Turn out the dough and knead again for 1 minute or until smooth. Shape the dough to the size of the tin and place in it. Cover again with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes or until it has risen above the tin. Place in a pre heated oven 220C/425F/Gas 7 for approx 30mins until firm and golden brown.Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Below is a batch I made last night.

And here is how we serve it!

If you don't fancy making the bread yourself why not pop along to The Old Red Lion and try some for yourself!