Garlic Butter Candle
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
- 1 head garlic
- 1 tablespoon oil plus extra
- 200g/7ozs butter, very soft
- 4 tablespoons finely chopped chives
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
- You will also need a paper cup and kitchen twine
Step 1 - First make the caramelised garlic. Preheat oven to 180C/350F fan forced. Chop the very top off the garlic so that the tops of the cloves show but keep the whole head intact. Place on a sheet of foil and drizzle with oil with salt and pepper and wrap up tightly. Bake for 35-40 minutes until soft and garlic turns a caramel colour. Cool. You can make the garlic 2-3 days ahead of time and store in the fridge.
Step 2 -Blend the garlic in a food processor and then add the butter, chives, garlic powder and salt and pulse to combine well. Place in a piping bag and leave at room temperature while you do the rest. Cut a piece of kitchen twine that is two inches longer than the height of the cup and dip it in oil. Cut a hole in the base of the paper cup and thread the twine through it. Pipe the butter around the twine stopping to gently tap the cup against the counter to get rid of any air bubbles. Smooth down the top of the candle and then keep tapping the cup against the counter. It should even out the top even further. Cover and place in the fridge until needed. You can make this 4-5 days ahead of time.
Step 3 -When needed, trim the wick to leave 3/4 a centimetre/0.3inch of wick and cut the cup and remove the cup. Place inside a wreath bread or you can cut out a little round of a cob loaf to snugly fit it. Light and serve. This works best if the butter has sat at room temperature for a bit but still works if the butter is cold (it just takes longer for it to come to a spreadable temperature).
Bread Wreath
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Makes 21 bread rolls
- 4 cups/600g/21ozs plain all purpose or bread flour
- 1 cup/250ml/8.8flozs milk
- 1/4 cup/90g/3ozs honey
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon instant dried yeast
- 2 eggs
- 60g/2ozs butter, cubes, softened
- 1 egg, beaten
- 3 tablespoons each of white sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, chives, tajin seasoning and caraway seeds in separate bowls
Step 1 - Make the tangzhong or water roux. Take 1/6 cup/25g/1oz of the total flour from the whole measurement and whisk with 1/2 cup/125ml/4flozs of water in a saucepan until smooth. Heat on low to medium heat and stir until it thickens to become a roux. You want it to reach 65ºC/149ºF and it will take about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the milk, honey and salt and whisk until the honey melts and you get a smooth mixture. Cool to 45ºC/113ºF.
Step 2 - Place the rest of the bread flour (use 3 1/2 cups and then add the extra if you need it) and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix to combine. Whisk the eggs into the milky tangzhong mixture and add to the flour mix and knead until elastic. Add a bit more flour if the mixture is too wet. Finally add the butter cubes one at a time. It needs to be elastic and stretchy but not break. You should be able to pull it apart between your fingers and see through it without it breaking. Roll it into a ball making sure that there are no cracks on top of the ball and allow it to rise in a warm place to triple the size - this may take around an hour or so depending on how hot it is.
Step 4 - Preheat the oven to 180C/350F fan forced. Line a baking tray with parchment and place a second paper cup in the centre to leave room for the butter candle. Flour your hands and a surface and divide the dough into 21 portions (I like to use a digital scale for this). Your dough will be sticky but try not to add too much flour. A little is fine because flour varies from supplier to batch but adding too much will affect the texture of the buns. Instead, add a little flour and then lightly oil your hands just before shaping them.
Step 5 - Brush each roll with beaten egg and dip in the seeds alternating between each topping and leaving some plain. Place them around the paper cup but not quite touching (they will expand). Cover and allow to rise for 30 minutes or until puffed up. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool and then remove the paper cup from the centre. Place the butter candle in its place and light and serve.