Classic Thin & Crispy Margarita Pizza

This week has been a bit of a hectic one, with two trips to the physio (one for me and one for the accident prone eldest child) , a trip to the opticians to try and convince them that my new glasses are no good despite the number of adjustments to the arms they made, as I still couldn't see my computer screen clearly - a sure sign that I'm getting old!

Then I spent far too many hours working in front of my computer wearing my old scratched glasses with hazy sections in the middle of each lens whilst I wait for my new (hopefully improved) specs.

Fast forward to the weekend and I finally got around to making pizza for this week's Bake Off challenge. Some of those on the show turned out to be a bit of a dogs dinner, and I'm not sure where they went wrong, but it makes for good tv, and makes be feel better about my own rustic efforts.

Home made pizza is so much better than store bought, in my opinion, but sometimes needs must, and the kids don't seem to have the same palate as me, and don't mind where it comes from, although if you mention Domino's their grumpy little faces soon light up.

I'm not a fan of stuffed crusts or deep pan, as there's just way too much bread for my liking. Thin and crispy authentic pizza bases are definitely the way to go, and simple toppings are usually all that's needed. I used Paul Hollywood's pizza base recipe from his 'Bread' book, which is a nice and simple basic recipe. It makes enough dough for 3 decent sized single person pizzas, and it's easy to roll out or shape into a thin base.

I happen to have a pizza stone, which I've had for years, and it's perfect for cooking crispy bases, as you heat it up in the oven first, and it starts to cook the base before it even gets into the oven, which seems to make it easier to remove too. I also happened to have an unopened box of semolina in the cupboard with an expiry date of sometime during 2015, but it was still perfectly fine, and gave the base that authentic finish.

For the topping I stuck to the classic margarita style, with passata, mozzarella and fresh basil. I would've preferred more basil on top but Asda let me down that morning with my online shop and delivered a manky basil plant with barely any decent leaves on, which I only noticed as I went to pluck a handful of leaves once the pizza was cooked. The pizza still tasted great though, despite the lack of greenery, and it was thin and crispy, just the way I like it.

one of the few decent basil leaves (insert all the eye rolls)

If you're following a low carb diet & a bread base isn't really your thing then you could try making the base from a protein powder, such as pea protein. See more here for the best pea protein powders.

Pepperoni Pizza Bread Sticks

Before I made my cardamom, orange & cinnamon teacakes a few weeks ago I hadn't made any bread for a while, but that's the great thing about Bake Off, as it makes you rediscover the baking that you'd forgotten about, as well as trying out new bakes, such as Stroopwafels.

Since bread week I've baked bread of some sort each week, including a cheese, garlic and herb stuffed loaf to accompany home made soup, which is great in this cold weather, and now these bread sticks filled with cheesy pizza flavours. They are so easy to make, especially if you have a bread maker to make the dough, or use ready made and rolled pizza dough (£1 in Asda), as they only need a few additional ingredients, a little time to rest, and then only 10 minutes to bake.

Serve them as a tv snack dipped in ketchup or chilli sauce, or alongside soup, salad or pasta for a main meal. Personally I think they're best served warm, with the cheese oozing out, but they would also be a great addition to the kids lunchboxes, or as snack for car journeys.

I don't often buy cheesestrings, but they work really well in these, as the cheese doesn't seep out like it would if cheddar was used, plus they're convenient as they don't need cutting or grating!

Cardamom, Orange & Cinnamon Teacakes

Following Bake Off last week I decided to go for the signature bake and make teacakes. I don't recall ever making teacakes before, although I have made hot cross buns, which are very similar, as well as many other kinds of sweet buns.

I haven't made bread for a while but I did have some in date yeast and bread flour in the cupboard, so all was well, or so I thought.

As I'm always looking for ways to cut corners and save time whilst cooking and baking, I opted to make the dough in my bread maker before adding the dried fruit and spices after the first prove.

Whether it was the yeast or the flour, but one of them wasn't working in my favour, and there was barely a rise on the dough, but as I wasn't really paying much attention when I took it out of the bread maker, I carried on regardless.  It was only after I'd added the fruit and spices, rolled the dough into balls, flattened them out and left them to prove for an hour or so that I realised that I wasn't get a rise out of my buns that day, and perhaps the yeast was dead.

I baked the buns anyway, and despite being a little on the small side, they were perfectly acceptable, albeit a little dense and more on the English muffin side that the teacake, but everyone loved them anyway.

Once I'd replenished my yeast and flour supply I tried again, and this time the teacakes rose perfectly well, and again everyone loved them.

I love cardamom (especially in gin) but I took a risk not knowing if everyone else in the family would feel the same way. I need not have worried though as they loved them, even my 8 year old flavour connoisseur.

There's something so comforting about a toasted teacake in the afternoon, especially now the weather has turned so autumnal.

Easy Peasy No knead Hot Cross Buns

Easter falls a few weeks later this year than it did last, which means that we have a bit longer to stock up on all the Easter chocolate and baked goodies in the shops. Hot cross buns are an Easter treat that I enjoy perhaps even more than chocolate, and as the kids love them too we get through packets of them over the Easter period. The first time I made my own hot cross buns was at school, during one of the many dreaded cookery lessons. I wasn't at all bad a cooking but that teacher put the fear of god in us if we didn't scrub those pans until they were like new, so I'm surprised that I didn't get put off for life. Whilst I do enjoy making bread, it's definitely only for those days when you have a bit of time on your hands, so I'm always searching for short cuts and ways to make the process easier. 

A few years ago I discovered Focaccia making, which involves barely any effort at all to produce an amazing tasting loaf. I then adapted the recipe a little and came up with a Cinnamon Apple Focaccia, which was equally as good as its garlic & rosemary predecessor. This got me wondering if I could perhaps use the same basic recipe to make hot cross buns. I replaced the olive oil in the focaccia recipe with melted butter, and with the addition of dried mixed fruit and mixed spice, this delicious hot cross bun loaf was born.

Cherry, Chocolate & Almond Bread Ring

After watching Great British Bake Off this week, there was no doubt in my mind what I would be making. It definitely wasn't going to be the Dampfnudel technical challenge as they really didn't look very appealing, and the showstopper was a bit too showstopping for my liking. I love adding flavours to home made bread but I must admit that I used my bread maker to make the basic dough for this loaf (sorry Mr H), but I'll use my frozen shoulder as an excuse for that!

I knew that any type of bread with chocolate in would go down well with the kids, and this loaf, with it's crisp exterior and gooey filling, was no exception.

Cherry, Chocolate & Almond Bread Ring

500g Strong white bread flour

1/2 tsp salt

50g caster sugar

50g butter, softened

7g dried yeast

1 egg

225ml milk (room temperature)

filling

50g ground almonds

50g +20g butter

10g caster sugar

200g dark cherries (I used frozen ones), chopped

100g dark chocolate chips + extra for drizzling

• add the bread flour to a bowl (if you're using a breadmaker, add the ingredients in the order that your instructions state)
• add the salt, sugar, butter, yeast & egg 
• add approx 200ml of milk & start mixing everything together, adding more milk if necessary
• once the dough has come together, take it out of the bowl & knead for 10 minutes, until smooth & elastic 
• place in a large bowl & cover with clingfilm
• leave in a warm place to double in size
• once the dough has proved, turn out onto a lightly floured surface
• Roll into a large rectangle, approx 40cm x 30cm
• mix the ground almonds with 50g softened butter & spread over the dough
• scatter the chopped cherries and chocolate chips evenly over the dough
• roll up along the long edge into a tight sausage 
• form into a ring and pinch the ends together
• snip the dough with scissors approx every 2" around the ring
• place onto a lightly buttered baking sheet, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise for approx 1 hour
• brush generously with 20g melted butter
• bake in a preheated 200C oven for approx 15-20 minutes
• leave to cool on a wire rack before drizzling with melted chocolate

I am joining in with the Mummy Mishaps Great Bloggers Bake Off

Cinnamon Raisin Bagels (a bread maker recipe)

The smell of cinnamon bagels takes me back to our time living in the US, so whenever I buy them I take in that smell and reminisce. The kids love cinnamon bagels so I usually buy them every week, but it's one thing that I've never made myself.

After receiving a Russell Hobbs compact bread maker to trial I decided to give them a bash, and let the machine take the hard work out of dough making. For these bagels I used a 1kg basic bread recipe from the booklet included with the machine, with some small amendments.

Cinnamon Raisin Bagels - makes 16

200g water
200g milk
30g melted butter
10g salt
30g caster sugar
600g strong white bread flour
5g cinnamon
7g easy bake yeast
150g raisins (or sultanas)

water bath
large pan half filled with water
40g sugar
1 egg white

• add all of the ingredients, apart from the raisins, to the pan of the bread maker in the order listed above
• set the machine to the 'dough' program, adding the raisins after 22 minutes (on the basic bread setting the machine beeps after this time for any additions)
• leave the machine until the end of the cycle before removing the dough
• on a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 16 equal(ish) pieces
• roll each piece of dough into a flattened ball & make a hole in the centre with your fingers
• lay the bagels onto baking sheets lined with baking paper, spaced well apart
• leave to rise for 10 minutes
• add the sugar to the pan of water & bring to the boil
• drop 2 or 3 bagels into the water bath for approx 30 seconds each side
• remove with a slotted spoon and place onto the baking sheets
• brush the bagels with egg white before baking in a preheated 220C oven for approx 20 -25 minutes, until golden brown

home made bagels are crispy on the outside and lovely and soft and chewy in the centre. Serve sliced in half and spread with butter, or they can be halved and toasted

The Russell Hobbs 23620 compact black bread maker is a very reasonably priced bread maker at £59.99, but it's not short on features. There are all the usual bread, dough and cake programs, along with a program for jam and compote (which I'm yet to try), a 55 minute fast bake and one for gluten free bread. The booklet includes recipes suitable for all the programs, along with 8 recipes for various flavoured gluten free bread. I'm trying out a gluten free poppyseed loaf today so follow me on Instagram to see how that turns out, and to take a look at my previous loaves here, here and here.

I was sent the Russell Hobbs bread maker for this review

#OnkenTips Instagram Cookbook & Garlic and Cumin Seed Bread

Instagram is a great source of inspiration, whether it's fashion, home interiors or food. Whilst I'm not that interested in fashion, I am interested in looking into other people's homes, and very interested in looking at mouth watering food. Onken have created the UK's very first crowdsourced Instagram cookbook, sourced from their community over a two month period, and have included recipes, tips and ways to use yogurt in everyday dishes.

The book includes recipes for healthy breakfasts, mouthwatering mains and delicious desserts.

I decided to use some Onken fat free yogurt to make some garlic & cumin seed bread to accompany our curry, inspired by @MissMamo's Garlic Bread, and it was delicious. (add tsp cumin seed to the recipe)

You can view the the recipe for the bread, along with other recipes and tips, in the Onken Instagram Cookbook online here.

this post has been commissioned by Onken

Honey & Orange Filled Iced Buns

Well, that's it, no more bake off on a Wednesday night now that Nadiya has been crowned as the winner, and what a worthy winner she was too. She definitely improved as the series went on, and created some amazing bakes, especially her wedding cake and delicious looking filled iced buns. 

It's been a while since I've had the time to bake along with the show, but I managed to squeeze in some buns this week. I made a sweet enriched dough flavoured with orange zest, and piped in a cream & mascarpone filling, flavoured with honey and orange, with icing on the top and a sticky honey and orange sauce drizzled over (phew). I kept a few of the buns simple, with just icing, as I knew 2/3 of the kids wouldn't like the creamy filling.

Honey & Orange Filled Iced Buns - makes 12

500g Strong white bread flour

1/2 tsp salt

100g caster sugar

50g butter, softened

1 tsp dried yeast
1 egg

finely grated zest of 1 orange

225ml milk (room temperature)

filling
250g mascarpone
100ml double cream
juice & finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 tbsp honey

icing
200g icing sugar
water

honey & orange sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp butter
juice of 1 orange

• add the bread flour to a bowl
• add the salt, sugar, butter, yeast, egg & orange zest
• add approx 200ml of milk & start mixing everything together, adding more milk if necessary
• once the dough has come together, take it out of the bowl & knead for 10 minutes, until smooth & elastic
• place in a large bowl & cover with clingfilm
• leave in a warm place to double in size
• once the dough has proved, turn out onto a lightly floured surface
• divide the dough into 12 equal pieces
• roll each piece into a ball and shape into a finger
• place into a buttered baking tin, approx 1.5cm apart
• cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place to double in size again
• remove clingfilm & bake in a preheated 200C oven for 15-20 minutes
• leave to cool on a wire rack

filling

• whisk all the ingredients together until it's thick enough to pipe
• slice the cooled buns across the top, but not all the way through
• pipe the filling into the buns

icing

• mix a little water into the icing sugar, until a thick (but fluid) icing is reached
• pipe the icing onto the top of the buns, on either side of the filling

honey & orange sauce

• add the ingredients to a small saucepan
• bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes until thick and sticky
• allow to cool before drizzling over the buns

Cheese & Chive Beer Bread - No Yeast, No Proving, No Kneading

Another week of Great British Bake Off has passed, and this week it was time for bread to be in the limelight. You can't beat the smell of freshly baked bread, and it's hard to resist slicing off the end and slathering in butter, which is why I don't often make it!

Bread can be time consuming though, and can easily go wrong, but on the other hand it can taste and look amazing, as could be seen in this week's show - wow that lion sculpture was incredible. It's worth making the effort for a great loaf  if you have the time, but no yeast, no prove breads are a way to have freshly baked bread if you're in a hurry

I stumbled upon beer bread when browsing Pinterest one evening for no prove breads. All of the recipes I came across seemed to be American, and used cup measurements, but I've decided to stick with weighing my ingredients as I find it to be more accurate when it comes to baking.

It's not quite as light as home baked bread with yeast, but it's just as good, and an amazing way to get  a freshly baked loaf quickly. I've now baked a few of these loaves whilst playing with the quantities to reach a recipe that works well. I've made this cheese and chive flavour as well as cinnamon & raisin, which Hanna said tasted like cinnamon raisin bagels. 

Cheese & Chive Beer Bread - makes 1 large loaf

450g self raising flour
20g chives, chopped
100g mature cheddar cheese, grated
1 tbsp caster sugar
440ml can of lager/beer
25g butter, melted

• Add the flour, chives, cheese (reserve a small handful of cheese for later) and sugar to a large bowl & stir to combine
• Add the beer and mix well
• Brush some of the melted butter around the insides of a large loaf tin
• Pour the mixture into the tin, filling to around halfway
• If you have any mixture leftover you can pour into a buttered muffin pan
• Bake in a preheated 175C oven for around 50 minutes - 10-15 minutes before the end of the cooking time brush the top of the loaf with melted butter and scatter a handful of grated cheese evenly over before returning to the oven for the remainder of the cooking time
• Once cooked, remove from the pan and allow to cool on a wire rack

We enjoyed ours with pulled pork.

PULLED PORK BUNS

Sticky Chocolate Orange Buns

I haven't made bread in ages, but the return of some warm weather gave me a good excuse, as it means I don't have to try and find a space in the airing cupboard (which doesn't get that warm anyway) to place the dough to prove.

I wanted to make buns, and as I've made a few flavours previously (toffee apple,  strawberry & lemon curd, sticky plum, cherry, cinnamon, and Nutella) I wanted to try something new this time, and opted for chocolate orange as I knew the kids would love them.

When it comes to bread making you need a little patience, so don't try and rush the process. Make sure you allow yourself enough time for proving twice, so starting in the morning is a good idea. It comes down to a little trial and error at first, and getting used to the feel of the dough, and knowing whether you need to add a little more water/milk or a little more flour. Different flours absorb water differently so measurements of liquid are not always exact, and you may need to add more or less than a recipe states because of this - like I said, it's trial and error at first.

I use my food mixer to mix the dough, but it's not necessary and can all be done by hand - I'm just lazy when it comes to kneading, plus having carpal tunnel & arthritis in my right hand doesn't help!

 

Sticky Chocolate Orange Buns - makes 12-15

for the dough

500g white bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
50g caster sugar
50g butter, melted
7g yeast

225ml milk (approx)

filling

25g butter, melted

zest of 2 oranges

150g good quality dark chocolate chips - I used Callebaut Belgian chocolate

chocolate orange glaze

50g butter, melted

juice of half an orange (2 tbsp)

1 tbsp cocoa powder

4 tbsp icing sugar

• add the flour, salt, sugar, butter and yeast to the food mixer
• with a dough hook attached and the motor running slowly, add almost all of the milk, adding more if it's looking a little dry
• keep mixing until everything has been mixed together
• speed the motor up a little until the dough is smooth and elastic
• place dough in a lightly floured bowl and cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm spot until it's doubled in size (approx 2 hours)
• turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll out into a large rectangle
• brush with melted butter and sprinkle with chocolate chips and grate the zest over it, evenly
• roll the dough up tightly into a long sausage
• using a sharp knife cut slices approx 1cm in width and place in a greased ovenproof dish or baking sheet - if you bake them closer together they will be softer and deeper, if you space them out they will spread out more, be firmer and larger - see pics of both options below
• cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm spot again until approx double in size
• Once proved for the second time, preheat the oven to 200C, remove the clingfilm and bake the buns for approx 15-20 minutes until lightly golden brown
• leave to cool slightly before making the glaze by whisking all the ingredients together until smooth and then pouring over the buns

These are delicious when eaten slightly warm but are equally delicious if kept in the fridge and eaten cold, as the glaze firms up a little and the chocolate chips are hard

LEAVE ENOUGH SPACE TO INCREASE IN SIZE

AFTER THE SECOND PROVE

THESE WERE BAKED WITH PLENTY OF SPACE AROUND (BEFORE GLAZING)

THESE WERE BAKED CLOSER TOGETHER - A SOFTER TEXTURE AROUND THE EDGES

SOFT & GOOEY!