Cookbook Challenge : Rosemary and Garlic Focaccia

Theme 4: Outdoors

Cookbook : The big book of bread

Recipe : Rosemary and Garlic Focaccia

I'm a little behind in the posting of my cookbook challenges.  However late, I am still excited and feel inspired to keep going.

For this fortnight's outdoors theme, I chose bread.  Bread is so versatile.  It can filled with delicious meats and salads or can be left plain.  It is portable and can be taken anywhere.

This recipe was made in a bread machine but I'll also give the manual method.  Baking bread in Melbourne can be hit and miss because of the unpredictable weather, so it's handy having a bread machine.  Having said that though, it is also thoroughly satisfying kneading the dough by hand and giving it all the attention it needs. 

I topped my focaccia with garlic and rosemary but any combination can be used.

400g strong bread flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp dried yeast

3 tbs olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

200ml of tepid water

2 stalks of rosemary, leaves taken off the stem

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1.  For machine bread: place all the ingredients into the baking bucket according to manual instructions.  (note:  The order of adding ingredients is important because it keeps the yeast away from the liquid ingredients until it's time to knead them together).  Then set the machine to the dough setting.  (mine takes about 1 1/2 hours)

To make manually:  Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl, then stir in the yeast.  Make a well in the center, then add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and water, mixing to form a soft dough. (don't add all the water at once, add 3/4 of it then add more if needed).  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about 10-15 minutes).   Shape the dough into a ball, then place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

2.  Once the dough has risen either from the machine or manually, knock back the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out into a rough rectangle about 2-3 cm thick.  Transfer the dough onto a greased baking tray.  Using your finger tips, make little dents into the dough.  Leave to rise again for 30 to 45 minutes till it slightly rises.

3.  Preheat oven to 200degC (180degC fan-forced).  Drizzle olive oil over the dough and sprinkle with the rosemary and garlic, spreading it out evenly.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the focaccia has risen and turned golden brown.

Please check out my previous posts on this year's Cook Book Challenge

Bon Appetite,

Cherrie

Kulinarya Cooking Club December 2010 : Spanish Bread.

Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and it's colourful cuisine.  Each month we will showcase a new dish along with their family recipes.  By sharing these recipes we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino food as we do.

This month's theme is Homemade Food Gifts.

When I read that what this month's theme was I was super excited.  The possibilities were endless.  So many choices on what to make.  Because of that, I couldn't make up my mind and I spent weeks trying to decide.  I even consulted with my cooking mentor, my mum.  

In the end, I decided to bake Spanish bread.  

Originally, I wanted to make ensaymada, which is popular during Christmas time in the Philippines but I decided to make a variation of the same dough recipe.  Spanish bread is a also another popular bread in the Philippines.   It is a sweet bread layered with butter and sugar.  I researched the net on why it's called Spanish bread but it seems, no one is certain why.

I searched for a good recipe and I found this one by Kusina ni Manang. I liked this version as it uses a bread machine, which made it a lot easier.  And anything that makes things easier for all the Christmas baking I'm doing, is a winner for me.

Recipe :

2/3 cup warm milk

1/2 cup warm water 

1 egg

2 egg yolks

85grams butter

1 1/2 tsp salt

4 1/2 cup bread flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp yeast

Filling: 

250gram softened butter

1 cup white sugar

Make the dough in the bread machine according to instructions.  My machine instructions suggest to put the liquid ingredients first then add the dry ones except the yeast.  Make a well in the center of the flour then add the yeast in the middle.  By doing this, the yeast doesn't touch the liquid too early enabling the yeast to work better.

Meanwhile, to make the filling, mix the butter and sugar together until totally incorporated.

Once the dough is ready, divide equally into 24 portions.  Roll out the dough into long ovals.  Spread the butter and sugar mixture evenly over the dough.

To roll the dough, start at one end and roll tightly.  Gently cover it with breadcrumbs and place carefully on a tray, cover and leave to rise for 30minutes.

Place in a preheated oven of 180degC and bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.

These are best eaten warm from the oven.  It can be kept for 3 days in an air tight container and can be reheated up in the oven.

Other members in the Kulinarya Coioking Club is listed here.

The Cook Book Challenge - Week 15 : Muffins

Week 15 : Muffin

Recipe :  English Muffin

Cook Book : The big book of Bread by Anne Sheasby

So, this week's theme is muffins.  I looked through all my cook books and there were some amazing flavour combinations both sweet and savoury.  It was hard to decided.  I wanted to make something that challenged me and something I haven't tried before.  Then I saw a recipe for English Muffins.  I love baking bread and take on any opportunity to practise.

This recipe seems like most bread recipes.  However when it came to actually baking the bread, the instruction was not to bake but to cook on top of the stove on a griddle.  I was a bit a apprehensive about that method.  I didn't want to get to this point of my muffins and then totally ruin it.  I, therefore, decided to just place in hot oven and it totally worked. Maybe one day, Ill make this again and try cooking it in a griddle pan.

• 500g strong white flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 easy blend dried yeast
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 55g melted butter
• 150ml warm milk
• about 150ml warm water
• sunflower oil, for greasing

1. Generously flour a large baking sheet and set aside. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl, then stir in the yeast and sugar. Make a well in the centre, then add the melted butter, milk and enough water, mixing to form a soft dough.
2. Turn the dough into a lightly floured surface and kneed until smooth and elastic. About 10 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball, then place it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel or cling film and leave to rise in a warm place until it doubles in size. It could take about 1 to 2 hours.
3. Knock back the air in the dough then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 equal portions. Shape each portion into a circle, and roll it to about 1-2cm thick. Place on baking sheet, cover and leave to rise again for 30-40 minutes or until springy to the touch.
4. Preheat oven to 230c.
5. Bake towards top of the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Turn over and bake further 5 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
6. To serve, when fresh, spread with butter and your favourite topping. When cold, slice in half and then toast both sides and then spread with topping.

http://www.grouprecipes.com/111462/english-muffins.html

Bon Appetite,

Cherrie

The Cook Book Challenge - Week 5 : Greek

Week 5 : Greek

Recipe : Lamb Souvlaki with Flat breads and Tzatziki

Cook Book : Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escapes and Ainsley Harriott's Gourmet Express

This week's challenge was a litle difficult.  For some reason, out of all the cookbooks I own, I don't really have many Greek recipes.... hmmm.  Maybe I should get one of George's books??   After searching for a while I came across a dish I wanted to make for the challenge.  Truth be told, I doubt that I would have tried this recipe if it wasn't for this challenge.  However, I'm happy to say that I'm so glad I did because it was simply delicious and it may even make it into our weekday rotation.

I made this early in the week as I knew I had a busy week ahead and wouldn't have any time to make it.  I'm also glad that I made all components of this recipe including the flatbread.  It would have been easier to go out and buy it but I wanted to have the homemade experience for hubby.  Besides I love baking bread and would love to practice and gain the experience.  On the whole, the dish was absolutely a pleasure to cook and of course, eat.

Mama Tahsia's Tzatziki.

1/2 cucumber

200g Greek Yoghurt

4 tbls chopped fresh mint

2 garlic cloves, crushed

pinch of dried oregano

pinch of caster sugar

juice of 1 lime

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cut the cucumber in half, length ways and remove the seeds.  Grate the cucumber into a sieve set over a bowl.  Squeeze out any excess water by pressing the cucumber down into the sieve and transfer to a bowl.  Add the yogurt, mint, garlic, oregano, caster sugar and lime juice.  Season to taste and chill until ready.

Lamb Souvlaki.

2 kg boned shoulder of lamb

1 tbls dried oregano

juice of 1 large lemon

150ml extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

Cut the lamb into cubes and place in to a bowl with the oregano, lemon juice, olive oil, 2 tsp salt and some black pepper and leave to marinate at room temperature for 1 hour.

Thread about 5 pieces of meat onto sskewers and on top of the stove or on the barbecue for 6 minutes, turning them 2-3 times during cooking. Cook in batches if necessary.  Transfer to a serving platter and keep warm while you cook the remainder.

Flatbreads .

350g bread flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp easy blend yeast

2 tbls extra virgin olive oil.

Sift the flour, salt and yeast into a bowl and make a well in the center.  Add 250ml warm water and olive oil and mix together to make a soft dough.  Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes.  Put back into a bowl, covre and leave somewhere warm for about 1 hour until doubled in size.

Punch back the dough, turn it out onto a ligtly floured surface and knead once more until smooth.  Divide into 8 pieces and roll each one into a ball.  Cover and leave to rise for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 240deg.  Working with one ball of dough at a time, roll it out flat until it is about 22 cm across.  Place it on a greased baking sheet, spray lightly with a little water and bake for 2-3 minutes.  Keep warm in a tea towel.  Repeat for the rest of the bread.

Week 5 challenge, here I come.

Bon Appetite,

Cherrie

Bread Baking at Home

So... baking bread at home is something I've tried numerous times with mostly an unsatisfactory result. I've tried different recipes but none have turned out the way I liked.

I've decided to give it another go when the day was sunny and warm'ish (to aid with the rising and proofing). Armed with information and tips from various cookbooks and from the internet and of course with the help of my 3yr old assistant, I tackled a petit pains au lait.

The recipe from "The big book of bread" (by Anne Sheasby) is for long rolls but I opted to make round rolls. By doing this I had to change the baking time to 20-25 mins.

I think this bread is best eaten straight out of the oven as the outside is crunchy and the inside is very soft. You can still eat it a couple days later but I suggest you place in a warm oven to refresh the bread.

Dry ingredients in my big bowl

After kneading, we rolled the dough into a ball, getting it ready for it to rise. (the smaller one was 3yr old's dough)

After leaving it to rise for a couple of hours. It doubled in size

We rolled them out to small rolls. As you can see, 3yr old helped because they weren't quite perfectly round.

Baked bread.

RECIPE

450g strong plain flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

55g diced butter

1 tbl caster sugar

2tsp dried yeast

About 300ml warm milk, plus extra for glazing

1. Grease or flour 2 baking sheets. Sift the flour and salt into large bowl, then rub in the butter. Stir in the sugar and yeast. Make a well in the centre, then add enough milk, mixing to form a soft dough.

2. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Shape dough into a ball then place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

3. Knock back the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 portions and shape into 13cm long rolls and place on baking sheets, spacing them well apart. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 20-30 minutes, or until doubled in size.

4. Preaheat oven to 200c. Slash the top of reach roll diagonally several times at regular intervals, then brush with milk.

5. Bake rolls for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or cold.

I hope you try to bake bread at home not only because you know what ingredients went into your bread but also it makes your house smell wonderful!

Bon Appetite,

Cherrie