Quick savory bread

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Carmen

I love bread but sometimes one just doesn’t have the time for kneading and proving! That’s why I like this recipe. It is quick and the bread turns out ever so tasty and moist.

Preparation time: 20-30 mins
Baking time: 30-40 minutes, 180 °C
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

  • 175g flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tbs sugar
  • 3-4 tbsp sundried tomatoes (out of a jar)
  • 2 gloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp rosemary
  • A good pinch freshly ground pepper
  • 1 egg
  • 150ml milk
  • 1 ½ tbsp oil (a mild olive or nut oil)
  • 3 tbsp parsley (or basil or chives)
  • 50g black pitted olives
  • 25g grated Parmesan

Method:

  • Grease and line a loaf tin, preheat the oven
  • Mix the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and sugar in one bowl and put aside
  • Drain the sun dried tomatoes, keep the oil in a small pan
  • Chop the sun dried tomatoes, garlic, olives and parsley
  • Fry the garlic with the rosemary and pepper until golden brown (not too dark as it will turn bitter); add the chopped tomatoes, stir in and put the mixture onto a plate to cool a little
  • Whisk the egg, milk and oil in a bowl
  • Add the garlic-rosemary-tomato mixture
  • Add the dry ingredients
  • Add the chopped olives, parsley and Parmesan
  • Stir together until smooth but not too much, otherwise the tomatoes and olives will get too mushy
  • Put the dough into the loaf tin and bake until golden brown and skewer comes out clean

The bread tastes nice warm but also cold and is great for freezing. It is delicious just with a salad or soup or with some hearty cheese.

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Unicorn…

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Carmen

I have not tried this one. And I am pretty sure I won’t either. I’m not sure whether it is because of the shape or the colors…
Unicorn poop

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Party Bread

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Carmen

This is not just a bread….

Preparation time: 30 minutes + time for dough to rise
Baking time: 30 minutes, 200 °C
Serves: 2-4 (depending whether there are side dishes)

Ingredients – dough:

  • 180g milk
  • 20g fresh yeast
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • 300g flour
  • 30g vegetable (or light olive) oil
  • 1/3 tsp salt

Method – dough:

  • Heat the milk and oil slightly, just lukewarm
  • Add the yeast to dissolve
  • Mix the flour and salt, add the milk-oil mixture slowly and then the sugar. Knead to a smooth non-sticky dough (if too sticky add a little flour)
  • Form a ball, leave it in a bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and let it rise for 45 minutes
  • Prep the filling in the meantime

Ingredients – filling (can be varied of course!):

  • 100g sundried tomatoes – finely chopped
  • 100g grated cheese (edam or gruyere)
  • One small red chillie – finely chopped
  • 1-2 gloves of garlic – minced
  • 2 tbsp of tomato or pepper pesto
  • ½ red pepper – finely chopped
  • 2-3 tbsp black olives – finely chopped
  • A pinch of pepper or cheyenne pepper
  • 1 tsp oregano (dried)
  • Mix it all together to a thick paste

Assembling the bread:

  • Roll out the dough (approx. 40×30 cm)
  • Smear the filling onto the dough until approx. 1cm  from the edges
  • Roll the dough to a long sausage and put onto a lined baking tray (diagonal)
  • Cut into the roll in an approx. 45 degree angle good half way through
  • Flip the half cut pieces to the left and right
  • Beat an egg and give the dough an egg wash (you can also take milk)
  • Leave the roll sitting on the tray for another 15 to rise
  • Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 °C for approx. 30 minutes. Depending on your oven it’ll cook and brown quicker, you can always cover it lightly with a silver foil sheet to prevent it from burning
  • Serve at a bbq, with salads, with a cheese board or just to a nice bottle of wine

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Cherry-Chocolate-Vanilla Cheesecake

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Carmen

This is not an ordinary cheese cake. ..

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 60 minutes at 180 °C
Number of servings (yield): 12 (depending how large you cut the pieces!)

Ingredients – base:

  • 100g butter (room temperature)
  • 180g plain flour
  • 75g sugar
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1 heaped tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 egg
  • 700g preserved cherries, without stones and well drained. I use the one which you can buy in a glass, they are usually in syrup or fruit juice. I get them of course from the German Deli :-) But you can also find some similar ones for example at Waitrose or  Tesco

Instructions – base:

  • Mix the butter, egg and sugar and beat well until creamy.
  • Add the flour, baking powder and cocoa and mix until you get a smooth consistency. The sugar should be dissolved.
  • Add the cherries and stir in by hand.
  • Line a round baking tin (26cm) with baking paper, grease the edges.
  • Spread the chocolate dough onto the bottom of the tin.

Ingredients – filling:

  • 250g butter (room temperature)
  • 5 eggs
  • 300g sugar
  • 1000g quark (you can also use a light cream cheese but it just doesn’t taste the same) Note: If your tin is not very high or if it is even smaller reduce the amount of quark.
  • 1 tbsp vanilla sugar (alternatively you can add some good vanilla essence)
  • Seeds of 1 vanilla pod
  • 3 tbsp corn or potato starch mixed with 3 tbsp sugar

Instructions – filling:

  • Mix the butter, eggs and 300g sugar and beat well until creamy.
  • Add the quark, vanilla sugar, vanilla seeds and stir.
  • Add then the starch-sugar mix and beat for another few minutes.
  • Pour the filling onto the chocolate dough.

The chocolate dough rises slightly up during the baking, so it creates some sort of marble effect.

Depending on your oven the baking time of 60 minutes might vary. To avoid burning you can cover the cake loosely with a sheet of silver kitchen foil as soon as it is lightly browned.

Once baked leave the cake to cool in the tin. Be careful, if you are impatient and want to cut it before it has been cooled down, it might be a bit runny in the middle!

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Twice-Baked Aubergines

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Carmen

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium aubergines
  • 200g tomatoes (peeled normal size or slow roasted cherry size)
  • 1 glove of garlic
  • 1 red chilli
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • 1 small/medium red onion
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds (or a bit less ground cumin)
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1 + 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp fresh herbs (coriander or parsley work well, but any other herbs you like will do)
  • 100g goats cheese
  • Salt & pepper for seasoning

Method:

  • Heat the oven to 200 C
  • Wash the aubergines, rub dry and cut of the stems.
  • Half the aubergines length wise and scoop out the flesh with a tea spoon, leave them about 1cm thick
  • Drizzle the aubergines with olive oil (1 tbsp) and lay cut side down on a non-stick baking tray, bake for 15-20 minutes until they are al dente
  • In the meantime chop up the aubergine flesh you have scooped out, add the chopped tomatoes, minced glove of garlic, de-seeded and finely chopped chilli, grated ginger, finely chopped onion, cumin, lemon juice, 3 tbsp olive oil, finely chopped fresh herbs and season with salt & pepper
  • Place the pre-baked aubergine halves and place into a flat oven dish, cut side up. Fill with the mixture and top with crumbled goats cheese.
  • Bake for 15-20 minutes until browned.

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