Cheddar, Onion and Wholegrain Mustard Couronne

This is a delicious interpretation of a couronne loaf; once you've mastered the twisting process, you really can add any fillings you want. I find the combination of a cheese, a complementary flavour and something to accentuate and complement both base flavours is a foolproof selection of fillings!

Cheddar, Onion and Wholegrain Mustard Couronne

Fillings added

Ingredients:

500g/1.1lb strong white bread flour

25g/1oz marg or butter

2tsp salt

7g/2tsp dried yeast

350ml warm water

200g strong cheddar, grated
6 medium/4 large onions, finely sliced (I used a mix of red and white)
Salt and pepper (and herbs and seasonings to taste)

2 tbsp wholegrain mustard

Rolled up

200oC oven/180oC fan

Method:

1. Rub the marg or butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs, then add the yeast and salt (to separate sides of the bowl) and mix.

2. Add the warm water in stages until the dough comes together but isn't sticky.

3. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Cut down middle

4. Place into an oiled bowl, cover with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (at least 1 hour).

5. Whilst the dough is rising, gently saute the onions in a little oil until they're soft and translucent. Add salt and pepper to taste. I added a little mixed herbs and garlic salt too for an extra savoury note.

6. Once risen, turn the dough out onto a floured surface, knead gently for 30 seconds to knock it back and then roll the dough out into a rectangle (approx. 1m x 50cm).

7. Cover the rectangle with the fillings of your choice, (I did mustard first, then onions, then cheese), tack one of the long edges to the work surface and then roll from the opposite long edge like a swiss roll - do it as tightly as you can.

Twisted halves

8. Cut the ~1m long roll of dough lengthways down the centre of the roll, twist edge half individually until it has an even twist all the way along, then twist the two halves together, to effectively reform the ~1m long roll.

9. Starting at one end of the dough, roll the dough into a flat spiral, like a snails shell. Continue to the other end of the dough and then place your spiral onto the centre of a greased and floured baking sheet.

10. Cover again with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise again in a warm place for approx. 30 minutes.

Twists spiralled together

11. Brush with milk and bake in the centre of a preheated oven (200oC) for 35 minutes, or until golden brown and makes a hollow sound when the base is tapped.

12. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy warm with lots of butter. It'll keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container.

This bread makes a delicious accompaniment to a classic tomato soup, or as part of a really special Ploughmans, but it's equally delicious all on it's own!

Happy Baking!

The Baking Ginger xx

Caramelised Onion and Stilton Multigrain Spiral Rolls

Finished Rolls

Obviously I'm a fan of all baked goods, but these might be the best thing I've ever made; multigrain rolls are packed with sweet caramelised onions and punchy blue cheese. They’re great on their own (warm is best, or straight out of the oven!) or with a herby side salad or bowl of tomato soup. Cooking them side by side makes for crispy tops and soft, bouncy sides, but the fillings would be equally delicious worked through the whole dough to make a large loaf – whatever suits your needs!

Dough, pre-rising

Caramelised Onion and Stilton Multigrain Spiral Rolls

Makes 16/18 rolls

Ingredients:

Dough:

500g multigrain bread flour (or strong white)

25g/1oz marg or butter

2 tsp salt

2 tsp/7g dried yeast

350ml warm water

Filling:

4 onions, very finely sliced

2 tsp butter or marg

2 tsp sugar (any variety)

Salt and pepper to season

225g stilton (or use any variety of cheese you like)

Doubled dough

milk to glaze

200oC oven/180oc fan oven

Method:

1. Rub the marg or butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs, then add the yeast and salt (to separate sides of the bowl) and mix.

2. Add the warm water in stages until the dough comes together but isn't sticky.

Soft, golden caramelised onions

3. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

4. Place into an oiled bowl, cover with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (at least 1 hour).

5. Whilst the dough is rising make the caramelised onions. Cook the sliced onions in a saucepan with a little oil over a low heat for 10 minutes, or until very soft and translucent, do not let the onions colour. Once soft, add the butter and sugar, continue to heat gently until everything is combined. Season to taste. Sieve the onions to remove excess liquid and set aside to cool.

Covered dough with fillings

6. Once doubled in size, turn the risen dough out onto a floured surface, knead gently for 30 seconds to knock it back and then roll the dough out into a rectangle (approx. 1m x 50cm).

7. Cover the rectangle evenly with the onions and blue cheese (broken into small pieces), tack one of the long edges to the work surface and then roll from the opposite long edge like a swiss roll - do it as tightly as you can. (I left a small portion of the dough without stilton as some of the people I was making it for don't like it).

8. Cut the ~1m long roll into approx. 5cm portions (you should get between 16/18 individual rolls, plus some scraggy end bits which you can just bake with the rolls).

Mid rolling

9. Place the rolls, cut side up into greased baking dishes; I used a rectangle dish and a round dish just to mix up the final loafs you’ll get.

10. Cover the rolls with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise again in a warm place for approx. 30 minutes.

11. Brush the rolls with milk and bake in the centre of a preheated oven (200oC) for 35/40 minutes, or until golden brown. Because of the oils from the cheese and onions you can't tap these rolls on the base to test for a hollow sound; you have to do it by the colour of the dough and the feel when pressed, you're looking for crispy exteriors that spring back when pressed. Turn out of the trays and leave to cool on a wire rack, or eat straight away... 

Sliced rolls before 2nd proofing

No two ways about it, these are delicious! They'll keep for up to a week in an air tight container, it's nice to reheat them in the oven for 10 minutes to refresh them if you're keeping them this long.

Happy Baking!

The Baking Ginger xx

Finished Roll!

Ready for the oven

Parsnip Soda Bread

Finished Loaf

I wanted to try some baking that was a bit healthier than usual, and this recipe caught my eye, although I have substituted a few things from the original recipe to make it even healthier – although don’t get me wrong, I am all for full fat baking 95% of the time!

I really like beetroot chocolate cake, so I thought parsnips in bread wasn’t too much of a leap, and this is one of the easiest loaves you will ever make! It uses bicarbonate of soda, rather than yeast, as a raising agent, so doesn’t need any kneading, proving or resting, so it’s super quick and easy!

Parsnip Soda Bread

Dry Ingredients

Makes one large loaf

Ingredients:

250g plain white flour, plus extra for dusting
250g wholemeal flour
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
175g parsnips, peeled and grated
100g low fat mature cheddar, grated (plus extra for a topping if you want)
2 tsp ground cumin
approx 5 tbsp seeds (I used a mix of pumpkin, sesame, sunflower and poppy)
1 tsp sea salt

Acidified Milk

large pinch of pepper
400ml semi-skimmed or full-fat milk with 2tsp lemon juice

190oC fan oven/200oC other ovens

Method:

1.     First mix the milk with the lemon juice and leave to stand for at least 10 minutes, or until you’re ready to use it. It'll get slightly thicker, to the consistency of single cream.

2.     In a large bowl combine the flours, bicarb, parsnips, cumin, seeds, cheese and seasoning. Mix thoroughly.

Dough coming together

3.     Add the milk/lemon juice mix and bring the dough together – it’ll be sticky and won’t look like your typical smooth dough, but it doesn’t need to, that’s why this recipe is so easy!

4.     Shape the dough in a round, put on a baking tray, score a cross on the top with a sharp knife and sprinkle with extra cheese if you want to.

5.     Bake in the centre of your pre-heated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Ready for the oven!

This bread makes amazing toast, freezes well and will last for up to a week in an airtight container - it's too easy and tasty not to give it a go!

Happy Baking!


The Baking Ginger xx

Finished slices!

Cajun Spiced Flatbreads and Poppy Seed Rolls

Flatbreads

I am the world’s worst person at doing nothing; I usually watch telly and play card games at the same time or work and listen to podcasts and so when I found myself with an empty day I decided to bake two different types of bread I've been thinking about for a while. 

I started by making a basic bread dough and then split it in half and made Cajun Spiced Flatbreads and Poppy Seed Rolls simultaneously. I’ve only started with the basic dough recipe and then split it up into the method for the flatbreads and rolls, but if you’re going to use the whole of the basic dough to make one or other of these simply double the additional ingredients.

They’re both delicious, the Flatbreads made one of the best lunches I’ve had in ages!

Cajun Spiced Flatbreads and Poppy Seed Rolls

Basic Dough Ingredients:

Rolls

500g strong white bread flour

2tsp salt

1 x 7g sachet dried yeast

11floz lukewarm water

Flatbreads: (makes 4 large)

2tbsp Cajun seasoning, or equivalent (usually something with garlic, herbs, something hot and something smoky works really well)

oil for cooking (light olive or vegetable oil work well)

Poppy Seed Rolls: (makes 6 medium rolls)

milk for glazing (approx. 2tbsp)

2 tbsp poppy seeds

200oC fan/210oC other ovens

Basic Dough Method:

1. Put the flour into a large mixing bowl, add the salt to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other (so as not to kill the yeast), and mix.
2. Add the water and mix into a dough (you might not need all of the water so add it in a few goes until you have a soft, but not sticky, dough).
3. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. See this blog for my tips on kneading and other bread baking techniques.
4. Put your dough into an oiled bowl, covered with oiled clingfilm, and leave in a warm place until doubled in size (approx. 1 hour)
5. Once doubled knock your dough back by kneading on a lightly floured surface for 2/3 minutes. This is your basic bread dough, ready for anything!

Flatbread dough

I divided mine in half and made Cajun Flatbreads with one half and Poppy Seed Rolls with the other.

For the Flatbreads:

Flatbread breads being cooked

a. Take half of the knocked back dough and on a lightly floured surface knead in 2tbsp of the Cajun seasoning, this should only take 2/3 minutes until it is fully incorporated.

b. Divide the dough into 4 and roll each portion out until they’re the same thickness as a 10p. Whilst you’re doing this have a frying pan or griddle heating up on the hob over a medium/high heat. 

c. Add a small amount of oil the pan and fry each flatbread for 2 minutes on each side, or until both sides are lightly charred and full of air pockets. 

d. Repeat for the rest of the flatbreads, adding small amounts of oil as required. 

Filled with salad ready to eat!

e. These are best enjoyed warm out of the pan stuffed with fresh crispy salad – delicious! They don’t keep especially well, so best just to make what you need and eat them fresh!

Roll dough

 For the Poppy Seed Rolls:

a. Take the other half of the knocked back dough, divide into six and form each portion into a circle – the easiest way to do this is to knead for 30 seconds and the dough will automatically take on the right shape. 

b. Repeat for all of the dough then place them all into an oiled baking tray, evenly spaced. 

With seeds added

c. Cover the tray with oiled clingfilm and prove for another 30 minutes in a warm place, or until doubled in size. 

d. Once risen brush generously with milk, sprinkle with a layer of Poppy seeds; only the bottom layer will stick so you don’t need to go overboard. 

e. Bake in a preheated oven (200oC fan/210oC other ovens) for 20 minutes or until they sound hollow when tapped on the base – cook for another 5 minutes and test again until you get the hollow noise. 

Finished rolls!

f. These make great sandwiches, or are nice toasted with something like scrambled egg. They’ll keep for 3 or 4 days in an air tight container.

Like I said, it would be just as easy to use all of the dough to make flatbreads, or the rolls, simply double the additional ingredients required.

I hope this demonstrates how flexible dough can be, and how many different things you can do with it (simultaneously or otherwise!) once you’ve mastered the basic technique!

Happy Baking!

The Baking Ginger xx

Perfection kneads practice...

Dough coming together

I think the key to good bread is to perfect your kneading technique; practice makes perfect here, so get baking! If you want your bread to have a good texture and not resemble a house brick this is the place to put in the work.

Once you've mixed together your dry ingredients you should add enough warm water to your dough so it comes together to form a soft dough, but not so much that it becomes sticky, the easiest way to achieve this is to add it in stages. Once you've done this and turned your dough out onto a lightly floured surface you're ready to knead!

I’ve tried to illustrate my Gran's technique in these photos, it’s very reliable:

Dough ready to be kneaded

1. Form your dough into a circle, pull out from the edge of the dough away from you

2. Lift it back up over itself into the middle of the dough

3. Press into the centre of the dough with the heel of your hand

4. Turn the dough 45 degrees and repeat - simple!

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Dough halfway to smooth!

For a standard bread recipe of 1-1.5lbs flour your dough will need to be kneaded for approx. 10 minutes to make it smooth and elastic.

Leaving the dough in a warm place for approx. an hour should be sufficient for it to double in size – but don’t be afraid to leave it for longer if it hasn’t quite doubled yet. I find the top oven over a main oven which is preheating for the actual baking event is the best place to leave your dough to rise.

In oiled bowl ready to rise

The risen dough

Once you've mastered this technique a whole world of dough cookery opens up to you, it really is worth trying to perfect!

Happy Baking!

The Baking Ginger xx

Pizza Plait and Baking with a Toodler...

Today's produce!

Today I embarked on a mission with Kate to make my new favourite thing - bread.

Don't get me wrong - bread has always been a favourite of mine; 'man cannot live by bread alone'... well this woman would give it a damn good try! It's only recently that I've started to bake my own though. I've always seen it as temperamental beast, but actually it's not, it's easy as 1, 2, 3... literally... if you follow three easy steps you'll get good bread every time, and open up a whole new world of baking experimentation!

Rule 1: Look after your yeast! Keep it away from the salt in your bowl, give it lots of food in the form of butter or sugar and keep it toasty warm by adding lukewarm water to your dough and proving your dough in a lovely warm place (I find the top oven over a main oven which is preheating for the actual baking event works really well).

Kneading in action!

Rule 2: Perfect your kneading technique; practice makes perfect here, so get baking! If you want your bread to have a good texture and not resemble a house brick this is the place to put in the work. My Gran's technique is very reliable; form your dough into a circle, push out from the centre of the dough away from you and then pick up the furthest edge and lift it back up over itself into the middle of the dough. Turn the dough 45 degrees and repeat - simple! (I've since added a blog about this here)

Rule 3: Do what you like! Once you've found a good basic recipe (credit goes to Mary Berry for this one again) experiment! Dried garlic and herbs are a good place to start as they're dry ingredients so won't change the consistency of your dough, but once you get more confident you can start to add more exciting things like sundried tomatoes (particular favourite of mine), olives or cheeses, which will make your dough wetter, but this can combated with extra flour, but take care not to add too much or your bread will have a denser texture.

So, onto today's recipe... I started off making a basic white loaf dough, which I then divided between myself and Kate. I turned mine into an 8 stranded pizza plait whilst Kate reverted to toodler-hood and made a gorgeous array of mini buns in all shapes, sizes and flavours (including her pet cat in bread form... not sure if she'll be eating that one though!). Like I said, once you've got your basic dough you can make it into any flavour or shape you like; 8 stranded plaits have the wow factor, but classic rolls, loaves or even a crown loaf (think tear-and-share) can be just as effective.

 Tomato, basil and mozzarella doughs

8 Strand Pizza Plait

Ingredients:

1.5lbs strong white flour

1oz butter

2tsp salt

7g dried yeast

¾ pint (approx) lukewarm water

oil for greasing

Additions:

-          Tomato Strands: 1tbsp sundried tomato pesto

-          Cheese Strands: 5oz cubed mozzarella (1cm cubed)

-          Basil Strands: 2 large handfuls basil (shredded)

210oC fan oven, 230oF all other ovens

Method:

1. Preheat your oven - also makes your top oven a good place to leave your bread to rise like I mentioned before.

2. Add you flour, yeast and salt into a large mixing bowl - keeping your salt and yeast on separate sides of the bowl until you're ready to mix them all together and add the lukewarm water (think too cold to have a bath in).

3. Add the water gradually as you use one hand to bring the dough together; you might not need all of the water depending on your flour's moisture content so go steady with it until you have a dough that just holds together - if you go too far and get a sticky mess gradually add flour until you get back to something workable.

The doubled dough

4. Tip your dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead using the technique I mentioned before until you have a smooth and elastic dough - it shouldn't look the dough is tearing as you're kneading it, then you're there!

5. Place your dough into an lightly oiled bowl and cover with oiled cling film and place in a warm place until it's doubled in size. This should take an hour to an hour and a half, but can take longer - don't be afraid to leave it longer if your dough hasn't doubled in size yet.

6. Once your dough has doubled in size you need to knock it back - in other words knead it again for 2/3 minutes to knock the air out of it - now for the fun bit!

7. Divide your dough into 3, with one portion slightly smaller than the other two - this will be made into 2 of your eight strands for the plait, and the others will be two lots of three strands.

Plait preparations

8. Now you need to work your flavourings into each dough; in this case the addition of pesto and mozzarella to their respective doughs will make the mixture wetter so add a handful of flour and just keep kneading the flavourings in - it'll look messy but it'll come good again if you persevere! The basil is simple to knead into the dough.

9. Once your flavourings are thoroughly mixed in cut your smaller portion into two and your larger portions into three - you should end up with 8 equal size portions. One at a time flatten the strands into sausage shapes and begin roll it backwards and forwards, working from the centre outwards so you don't get lumpy strands.

Stuck to the bench and ready to plait

10. This next bit is slightly more technical, but take your time and you'll be fine; the plaiting! Place your strands next to each other and bunch them up at one end. Squash the ends to your work surface so they're firmly anchored.

11. For the plaiting sequence each strand is numbered 1 to 8, the strand will take on a new number every time you move it. 

a. place 8 under 7 and over 1 

b. place 8 over 5 

c. place 2 under 3 and over 8 

d. place 1 over 4 

e. place 7 under 6 and over 1 

f. Repeats steps b- e, until all the dough is braided

Once you reach the end of the strands (they might not all finish at the same time, so do this when one gets too short to work with) cut the remaining length off the strands, bunch them together and tuck them under the plait. Unstick the top of the plait from the bench and tuck it underneath too.

Ready to bake!

(With any off cuts you combine them to make a roll of leftovers, which is treated the same as the plait for the rest of the method.)

12. Carefully lift onto a baking tray, cover with oiled cling film and leave to prove in a warm place for another 30 minutes.

13. After 30 minutes remove the cling film, glaze your plait with milk and place your baking tray into the centre of your preheated oven. Bake for 30 minutes, check after 20 to make sure your loaf isn't getting too brown - cover with foil and continue to bake if it is.

14. To tell if your plait it cooked flip it over and tap on the base - if it sounds hollow it's done, if not put it back in the oven for another 5 minutes, and then check again - repeat until it does sound hollow.

The finished article!

15. Once you have the hollow sound put your plait onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely - it's massively tempting to have a slice now, but it won't slice very well, so if you can resist it is definitely worth the wait!

This is a fairly time intensive recipe, but it is SO worth it! It looks amazing, smells great and tastes even better!

I mentioned earlier that Kate was also baking with me... she had some fun experimenting with flavour combinations and shapes, so far the caper roll has been a big success, as has the garlic, parsley and cheese knot. Below is a selection of the very cute treats she made, my little protege :)

Bread can seem intimidating - even the amount of detail in a blog like this can be scary, but once you've got the little things mastered the rest is easy - and so blooming satisfying! I'm off to have some pizza plait for tea... so.much.win!

Marbled slices through plait

Happy Baking!

The Baking Ginger xx

Kate's Cat Roll