Sometimes instead of running out to the shops for a new loaf of bread, I find that if I have the time, I prefer to make it. I would never have ordinarily done this a few years ago, pre-KitchenAid and its wonderful dough hook attachment. My arms simply don’t have the stamina for kneading (although carrying shopping bags seems to be an exception to this rule), nor does my mind have the patience so I always bought bread thinking that the rising yeast and kneading was too much of a production. Indeed the feeble attempts that I had made warned me off baking it myself as I’d often give up mid-knead resulting in a cake more than a bread. But now since I have the Dough Hook, bread is no longer my bête noire. I adapted this recipe from Nigella’s How to be a Domestic Goddess, which has to be my favourite ever cookbook, and heeded her comment about how this bread really came into its own with cheese so I thought why not add some cheese throughout the bread?
I’ve often heard real estate agents purport that the smell of baking bread or freshly brewing coffee is a good way to sell a house and whilst I’ve never needed to sell a house, I have been lured by the smell of freshly baking bread. It’s something that even a hardened carb phobic like me finds hard to resist. When this came out of the oven, I took to it with a bread knife and cut myself a couple of slices and slathered them with butter. It was perfection. I then proceeded to cut off some more pieces before I realised that a good third of the loaf was gone. And I enjoyed every minute of being part of its disappearance.
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January 14, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
I adore Saffron, there’s something just so luxurious and heady about using this spice, the delicate little scarlet tendrils emitting a lovely honeyed distinct flavour. As soon as I saw this recipe in Dan Lepard’s “The Handmade Loaf”, a gorgeous book that will inspire any wannabe baker, I knew I had to make it. Or at least my version of it. He is a baker so he gives complex instructions on how to do it right from the very beginning but some are time consuming. So I’ve kept the essence of the loaf while tinkering with the method.
His recipe specifies 100g of currants, I used sultanas but found that 100g was way too much for the size of the loaf and that after mixing and rising, most of the sultanas were on the outside and therefore burned in the oven. Some were easy to pick off and perhaps it’s the difference in method. Nevertheless I was annoyed, mostly at myself, when I took it out of the oven to see all of the sultanas burnt on the top and the loaf resembling a dark bronze rather than a light gold pictured.
But once I sliced a piece of this spongy delicious bread and slathered it with butter and my last jar of Spiced Grape Jam, I realised that all was not lost, the bread was so gorgeously soft and soaked up the liquidey jam and went so well with the mixed spice so well that I would even suggest adding a teaspoon of mixed spice into the recipe if you wish. I’m still not quite sure why the sultanas all remained on the outside, with very few on the inside. But this gorgeous spongey bread is ideal for breakfast, to soak up a honey or liquidey jam. Be warned, it’s not one of those loaves that will keep well for several days, after all it has no preservatives, but even after the first day the texture changes but toasting it will help in this respect.
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October 10, 2008
by Not Quite Nigella
I was in two minds about putting this recipe in, mostly because, despite the clear warning, it wasn’t anywhere near as good as I wanted it to be. That is to say, I knew that it was undoubtedly a bread, despite its chocolate cake looking exterior. And even though I knew this, it still wasn’t as good as I wanted a chocolate loaf to be. It just wasn’t sweet at all, with more than a hint of bitterness from the cocoa. So I would suggest either having this with some jam or nutella or adding more sugar into the dough. Or going all out and making this a chocolate studded bread, much like those thick toast loafs that you can get a bakeries with tiny choc chips.
Otherwise, be prepared for some possible disappointed expressions, especially if you are serving this to kids for breakfast (or chocoholics). Because once a chocolate loaf cake appears on a breakfast table, some may think that they are still in bed dreaming, only to find that it tastes nothing like it looks. I’ll give a recipe for a chocolate studded sweeter loaf.
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September 21, 2008
by Not Quite Nigella
I remember when Foccacia first came to the masses in Australia. And by the masses, I mean me and other non Italians who had never tasted this delicious, slightly oily but delicious bread before. I remember some confusion as to how to pronounce it. My friend called it “Fok-ar-CHI-ya”. And no-one laughed because no-one else knew how to pronounce it.
One of the best kinds of breads you can eat is an Olive bread. It just cannot be beat for taste with the salty black olives giving the bread the perfect occasional flavour punch. This is great for sandwiches with the olives digging in deep into the dough and when sliced in half horizontally it gives two slices of olive dotted bread. It’s also wonderful with soups or to soak up a great sauce. The recipe is an adaption of Nigella’s Garlic and Parsley Hearthbreads. As a relatively new but enthusiastic baker, I cannot go past How to be a Domestic Goddess for a reliable bread recipe.
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September 7, 2008
by Not Quite Nigella
OK I’m not being serious, this is not only just for Shut Ins although sometimes during the cold of Winter, I definitely feel as though I qualify. I am not sure why there is such a stigma to hibernation, the bears do it and you hardly hear cries of “anti social bears” and mutterings that there’s something wrong with them. If you feel like the world is just too cold or cruel a place and that stepping out the door would be as appealing as sawing your own arm off, these recipes are for you. And I don’t want to hear from people who say that they’ve never felt like that and that they love socialising and interacting. Don’t get me wrong I do too. But there are just some days that you just want to barricade yourself indoors. An example of why everyone at some stage has felt this way is the great Australian tradition of a sickie. Sometimes you just cannot be bothered and slobbing around the house is the best you can do.
I like to celebrate my shut-in days by making the most of them. I watch the DVDs I’ve never gotten around to, read or at least start the books I’ve got gathering dust by the side of my bed and read trashy magazines *ahem* … I mean keep up with Current Affairs.
This Tessa Kiros recipe for chicken soup is from her book Apples for Jam, a cookbook/storybook with some gorgeous pictures and home recipes with a comforting edge to them. It interested me as it looked great in the photos. Yes, I am that superficial. I also liked the idea of a thick chicken soup – there’s nothing wrong with a thin broth but I like more sustaining soups, particularly if they are the main and only course at dinner.
As for the Potato Bread, I admit I fiddled with Nigella’s recipe. I actually got the idea from a friend Maria from Foodie Wanderings in which she told me about a bakery that made bread rolls with a whole boiled potato and mayonnaise inside. So I thought what bread recipe would better apply to this than Nigella’s potato bread. Call it potato on potato. And if you’re walking around in your Juicy trackpants, thermals and wooly socks, what better way to celebrate not having to wear your jeans than with an unashamed carb fest.
The soup was lovely on it’s own but like all great partnerships, it becomes so much more moreish when partnered with the spongy yet crunchy crusted bread. And if you think that it’s all too much of a production making the bread along with the soup, the smell of it baking in the oven should convince you otherwise. I’m pretty sure you could fit this in amongst your busy at home schedule. I managed to between appointments with Oprah and Entertainment Tonight.
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August 7, 2008
by Not Quite Nigella
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