Cakes & Bakes: Walnut and sultana loaf

I’ve decided to make a walnut and sultana loaf this week by tweaking a basic white bread recipe that I regularly use. I didn’t have enough white flour in store so I substituted a quarter with wholemeal. It was a good decision as it added to the nuttiness of the finished loaf.

Sliced or torn pieces of this bread will go amazingly well with a mild, creamy blue cheese such as Dolcelatte, Saint Agur or Roquefort.

Another good option would be a couple of dipping bowls of good quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Once the loaf’s a couple of days old, have it toasted and spread with butter and honey.

Walnut and sultana loaf

2017-03-10 18:29:46

Ingredients

7g/¼oz fast action yeast
1tsp sugar
300ml/10½fl oz warm water
500g/18oz strong bread flour
1tsp salt
50g/1¾oz chopped walnuts
50g/1¾oz sultanas

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Instructions

In a measuring jug, stir the yeast and sugar into the warm water. Leave for 10 minutes for the yeast to begin working
In a large mixing bowl add the flour. Make a well in the centre
Add the liquid and knead until a smooth ball of dough is formed (I used my Kenwood mixer with dough hook attachment on a low speed for about 10 minutes, but you can do it by hand on a floured work surface for about 20 minutes)
Cover the mixing bowl with cling film or put it into a large, clear plastic bag and leave in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size.
Add the salt, chopped walnuts and sultanas and knead lightly until the fruit & nuts are evenly distributed through the dough
Place in a greased loaf tin (or in a well-floured banneton like I did) and re-cover and allow to prove again until doubled in size
Preheat the oven to 260ºC/500ºF/Gas mark 10, put an empty roasting dish on the bottom shelf of the oven and fill a cup with cold water and set aside
Once the loaf has risen, if using a banneton, grease a baking sheet and gently decant the loaf on to it, trying not to knock any air out of it
Quickly & carefully pour the cup of water into the roasting dish before putting the loaf into the oven
After 10 minutes, turn the oven down to 200ºC/ 400ºF/Gas mark 6
Bake for a further 20-25 minutes before taking it out of the oven
Leave to cool on a wire rack for at least half an hour before use

H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/

Cakes & Bakes: Panipopo

I’ve been seeing recipes for panipopo sweeping by on my Pinterest feed for quite a while. I’ve never really stopped & clicked because I thought that the sweetened coconut bread would be too wet and sickly sweet.

How wrong I was! I’m glad I read some of the comments remarking on how delicious it is and how ex-pat islanders hanker after it when they’re far away from home.

Panipopo (or pani-popo or pani popo) is a Polynesian bread originating from Samoa or Hawaii – depending on who you believe.

I thought that all that liquid would make for a soggy bread, but most of it is absorbed by the dough in cooking. The liquid that is left turns into a thick, unctuous, syrupy sauce. We weren’t sure what to eat it with – I chose to have it as it comes, dunking it in more of the sauce that I’d reserved. Justin went all adventurous and had his with a little bit of Cambozola… he reckons it’s a winner.

Here’s the recipe – why don’t you have a go? Let us know what you think!

Panipopo

SamoaFood.com

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Cook Time 25

Course Bread

Cuisine Polynesian

Ingredients

For the dough

7 g/¼oz active dry yeast
240 ml/8½ fl oz warm water
450 g/16oz plain or bread flour
50 g/1¾oz caster sugar
½ tsp salt
1 egg
2 tbsp vegetable oil

For the coconut sauce

200 ml/7 fl oz tinned coconut milk check the tin, mine was already diluted to 50% coconut milk, 50% water
200 ml/7 fl oz water omit this if your coconut milk is already diluted
100 g/3½oz caster sugar

Instructions

For the dough

In a measuring jug, stir the yeast into the warm water and leave for 10 minutes
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt
In another measuring jug, lightly mix the egg and vegetable oil
Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Combine well, adding a little more flour if the dough is too sticky
Empty out the dough on to a floured surface and knead for 10-20 minutes until smooth and elastic
Put the dough back into the mixing bowl, cover with cling film or put inside a large plastic bag. Leave in a warm place to prove until doubled in size
Grease a large, deep rectangular or round baking tin. Set aside
Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface
Roll the dough into a long rectangle, roll it up and slice it into 2.5cm/1-inch or any even-sized rounds
Put the rounds into the baking tin, cover with cling film or put into a large plastic bag and allow to prove until doubled in size
Wile the bread is proving, preheat the oven to 180ºC/375°F/Gas mark 4

For the coconut sauce

In a large measuring jug, combine the coconut milk, water (if using) and sugar and stir until all the sugar has dissolved
When the dough has doubled in size, pour the coconut sauce evenly over the dough
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top of the bread is has turned a golden brown
Allow them to cool in the tin for at least an hour before serving

Keyword bread, coconut, Panipopo

Cakes & Bakes: Daktyla

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a small jar of black onion seeds with the plan of using it in and sprinkled on a home-made loaf of onion bread. Little did I know that onion seeds aren’t actually… onion seeds! I tasted a pinch expecting a blast of onion flavour, it had a slight onion/black pepper/earthy taste, not altogether unpleasant though.

When I looked it up, black onion seeds are actually nigella seeds; they’re also commonly known as black cumin or kalonji. Love in a Mist, which grows on our allotment, is a very close relation. I wonder whether it’s seeds are also edible.

Anyhow, since my onion loaf idea was scuppered (at least for the time being) I looked into what I could make using my black onion seeds. That’s when I came across daktyla, a Greek/Cypriot/Turkish rustic bread.

The seeds are mixed with sesame seeds both in and atop a sort of tear-and-share loaf made up of rows of dough. Δάχτυλα, (daktyla in Greek) means ‘fingers’.

I just happened to have a large bag of black sesame seeds that I bought in a Chinese supermarket, so I already had all the necessary ingredients in stock.

There was quite a lot of proofing time involved – an hour for the sponge, 90 minutes for the first proof, another 90 for the second – but it meant that I could get on and do other things in between time.

It was delicious with baba ganoush and salad. I imagine it would go down well with hummus, feta and Anari cheeses, olives and cured meats.

Click here to save this daktyla recipe to Pinterest for later!

Daktyla

King Arthur Flour

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Course Bread

Cuisine Turkish

Servings 8

Ingredients

For the sponge

130 g/4½oz strong white bread flour
70 g/2½oz cornmeal/polenta
7 g/¼oz instant yeast
300 ml/10½ fl oz warm water

For the dough

240 g/8½oz strong white bread flour
1½ tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
30 g/1oz toasted sesame seeds + 1tbsp to sprinkle over the loaf
1 tbsp nigella seeds + 1tsp to sprinkle over the loaf

Instructions

For the sponge

In a large mixing bowl, combine the strong white bread flour, cornmeal, yeast and warm water making sure there are no lumps (A Danish dough whisk is perfect for this job). Allow the mixture rest for an hour, or until it's foamy and full of bubbles

For the dough

Combine the remaining ingredients into the sponge and knead - by hand, mixer, food processor or bread machine - to form a soft, supple dough, adding a small amount of extra water or flour as needed
Place the dough in a greased bowl, and cover it with a proof cover or cling film. Allow it to rise for 1½ hours, or until almost doubled in size
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured or greased work surface and divide the dough into 8 pieces. Round each piece into a ball, then shape each into a baton about 10cm/4-in in length
Grease or line with parchment, a 46 x 33cm / 18 x 13-in baking sheet
Place the ovals of dough side by side (long sides almost touching each other) on the sheet, leaving about 2½cm/1-in between each; they'll fill the pan end to end
Cover the baking sheet and allow the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until it's expanded enough so that the ovals are touching each other
Brush the top of the dough very lightly with water (or spray it gently), and sprinkle with a mixture of toasted sesame seeds and nigella seeds
Bake in a preheated oven at 190ºC/375°F/Gas mark for 25-30 minutes, until it's golden brown
Allow to cool completely on a wire rack

Keyword bread

Cakes & Bakes: Flatbread

I’ve made a few different types of flatbread in the past, but this one is by far the quickest and easiest to date – probably the best tasting too!

Being a flatbread, there’s no added yeast – so no long proofing times; there’s also no heavy kneading.

You can make the dough in advance and then fry off when required. You could even roll out each flatbread, layer between parchment paper, wrap in cling film and freeze for up to 6 months.

It’s so flexible when it comes to serving suggestions, we don’t know where to start. You can have it with a selection of dips or fill with salads, roast vegetables, kebabs etc. They’d be great served alongside Indian, Mediterranean or Middle Eastern cuisine – they’re so versatile

For today’s first outing I tried it with a delicious smoked humous and Justin plumped for a spicy Moroccan chicken affair. We both really fancy it with babaganoush – so it just might be on the menu again tomorrow!

Click here to save this flatbread recipe to Pinterest!

Flatbread

2018-07-23 15:58:03

Yields 4

Ingredients

300g/10½oz strong bread flour flour (level cups, unsifted, not packed), plus extra for dusting
½ tsp salt
50g/1¾oz ghee
180ml/6 fl oz milk
2-3 tbsp olive oil or ghee (for frying)

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Instructions

Put the butter and ghee into a measuring jug and heat in the microwave until the ghee is just melted. Stir to combine
In a large mixing bowl, bring together the flour, salt and ghee/milk mixture into a smooth dough. Add a little more flour if sticky
Lightly sprinkle a work surface with flour, turn out the dough and knead for a minute or two
Wrap in clingfilm and rest at room temperature for about half an hour
Sprinkle the work surface again with a little flour, remove the dough from the clingfilm and divide the dough into 4 equal pieces
Form each piece into a ball and roll out into about ⅛" / ⅓cm thick rounds
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil/ghee in a heavy-bottomed skillet pan over a medium-high heat
Carefully lay one of the flattened dough rounds in the pan and fry for about a minute. Flip over and cook the other side, pressing down with a spatula where it puffs up
Stack the cooked flatbreads on top of each other - the moisture helps soften the surface, making them even more pliable
Serve straight away or they can be reheated by re-frying on low heat, 30 seconds each side

H is for Home Harbinger https://hisforhomeblog.com/