Naan Bread

 

MUNCH RATING: 4.5/5

 

I copied this recipe into my recipe book ages ago, but I didn’t write down where I got it from. After the nice naan bread that I’d made using the Hairy Bikers’ recipe, Steve was reluctant for me to try a different recipe. But I love to try new recipes, particularly as the Hairy Bikers’ one wasn’t perfect enough to warrant a 5/5 Munch Rating!

 

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:

The only thing I changed was the amount of yoghurt I used. The recipe said to use 4 tablespoons, but when I measured it out from a 150g pot there was only about another tablespoon left and I didn’t want to put it back in the fridge or in the bin so I just added it to the mix.

 

I also only used ½ teaspoon salt as I always try to cut down on salt. Perhaps that’s why they weren’t as tasty as they could have been, but I would rather add healthier flavourings, like herbs and spices, than add more salt.

 

TASTE TEST:

I made 6 small naans that were about the size of a small side plate. They were just the right size when served with curry and rice.

 

Steve said these were the closest I’ve got to making naan bread like you get from a restaurant or from a packet from a shop. They had a lovely soft texture and went really well with the curry we had (leftover from a Keema Pie I made). They didn’t get a full 5/5 because they needed more flavour, as we couldn’t really taste the garlic or onion seeds.

 

But this is definitely going to be the naan bread recipe that I’m going to stick to and just experiment with different flavourings. Not only does it taste better, but it has less ingredients than the Hairy Bikers’ recipe.

 

• Makes: 4 large or 6 small naans
• You will need: a large bowl, a large non-stick frying pan

 

Ingredients:

• 250g plain flour (plus extra for dusting/kneading)
• 7g sachet fast action dried yeast (I used Allinson Easy Bake Yeast)
• ½ – 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 level Tablespoon black onion seeds
• 1x 150g pot natural yoghurt
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 100ml warm water
• sunflower oil for greasing

 

Directions:

1. Sift the flour, stir in the yeast, salt and black onion seeds.
2. Mix together the yoghurt, garlic and the warm water, then pour this onto the dry ingredients.
3. Mix to form a soft dough, then knead on a floured board for 5-8 minutes until the dough is soft and elastic (you may need a couple of handfuls of extra flour).
4. Place the dough back in the bowl and cover with cling film/plastic bag and leave to prove for 30-45 minutes until roughly doubled in size.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl and split into 4-6 pieces. Flatten and stretch the dough until approx. ½ cm thick (cover with a tea towel if not cooking straight away).
6. Lightly grease the frying pan with the oil (use a piece of kitchen towel to mop up any excess oil and use this to continue oiling the pan) then fry the naan in batches over a medium heat for 3-5 minutes on one side until golden brown, then use the oiled kitchen towel to lightly oil the naan on the uncooked side and flip over and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

 

COOK’S TIPS:

• Cooked naans can be frozen. Store them in an airtight container with greaseproof paper in between them. To reheat: bake in an oven from frozen at Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C for about 5-7 minutes.
• The warm water that you add to the dough should be quite hot, but cool enough to be able to stick your finger in it for a few seconds.

 

NUTRITION:

• 150 calories, 0.6g fat per large naan

Easy Hot Cross Buns

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

Although I've made Chelsea Buns using James Martin’s Hot Cross Bun recipe, I’ve never actually made Hot Cross Buns.

This recipe is from the April 2009 issue of BBC Good Food magazine and it prompted me to try as it was hailed as easy. They were quick and easy to make as no kneading was involved, but I’ve just read the comments on the website (they’ve been missing for such a long time and I didn’t realise they were back before making this recipe!) and most people said the buns were too heavy because of the lack of kneading.

They were mainly heavy because they are so big! The amount of dough could easily of made 12 ample sized buns (as the good folk say, more than a handful is too much). We found them a bit dry, even when spread with butter. But they were ten times better when toasted, hence the 4/5 munch rating. We couldn’t really taste the mixed spice either, so I would add more next time.

Some of the comments stated they thought the crosses on the buns were horrible. We had no problem with them, but I did add more water to the flour paste than the recipe suggested as I thought it was far too thick for piping. I added just enough extra water so that the paste could easily drop off the spoon and into my piping bag, which I made from greaseproof paper made into a small cone.

I would make this recipe again as it was so easy to make, but next time I might knead the dough for a few minutes. I would also try baking it in a loaf tin and then it would be easier to slice and then toast.

Happy Easter everyone!

• Makes: 8 buns (but better off making 10-12)
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 7/425°F/220°C
• Oven shelf: middle

Ingredients:

FOR THE BUNS:

• 500g strong white bread flour
• ½ teaspoons salt
• 2 heaped teaspoons mixed spice (needs more!)
• 50g caster sugar
• 50g butter, chopped into cubes
• 200g mixed dried fruits (I used ½ currants and ½ raisins)
• 7g sachet easy-blend dried yeast
• 200ml milk
• 2 eggs

FOR THE CROSSES & GLAZE:

• 3 Tablespoons plain flour
• 2-3 Tablespoons water
• honey or golden syrup, for brushing

Directions:

1. Tip the flour into a bowl and stir in the salt, mixed spice and sugar.
2. Rub in the butter with your fingertips. Stir in the dried fruit, then sprinkle over the yeast and stir in. Gently warm the milk so it is hot (30-45 secs in the microwave), but still cool enough to put your finger in for a couple of seconds. Beat with the eggs, then pour into the dried ingredients.
3. Using a blunt knife, mix the ingredients to a moist dough, then leave to soak for 5 mins. Take out of the bowl and cut the dough into 8 equal pieces (this was about 140g per bun).
4. Shape the dough into buns on a floured surface. Space apart on a baking sheet, cover loosely with cling film, then leave in a warm place until half again in size. This will take 45 mins-1 hr 15 mins, depending on how warm the room is.
5. When the buns are risen, heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Mix the flour with 2-3 Tablespoons water to make a paste. Pour into a plastic food bag and make a nick in one of the corners. Pipe crosses on top of each bun.
6. Bake for 12-15 mins until risen and golden then brush all over with honey or golden syrup (whilst the buns are still warm). The buns will keep fresh for a day. After that they are best toasted and served with butter.

Chelsea Buns

 

MUNCH RATING: 3/5

 

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:

I made these using the dough from James Martin’s Hot Cross Buns recipe (April issue of BBC Good Food magazine), but I used a different filling as I didn’t fancy the apricots and almonds that he used. These were better than my last attempt as they were big and soft, but they did taste a tiny bit too yeasty. This recipe used twice as much yeast as most other dough recipes, which would explain the yeasty flavour and also why the dough rose at an accelerated rate and resembled a B-movie blob monster!

 

I had a hard time fitting all the buns into the tin and after the second proving they were even more squashed and attempting to make a break for space and freedom.

 

After the 10 minutes baking at Gas 6 they were very golden brown and on the verge of burning and I was afraid they would become rock hard like my last attempt. So I kept a careful eye on them for the 10 minutes baking at Gas 4. I’ll admit that I did open the oven door a few too many times to keep checking and therefore I did need to bake them for another 5 or so minutes as they weren’t cooked properly. Even though I’d checked with a skewer to see if it came out clean, the middle bun was a bit underdone but the others were fine.

 

TASTE TEST:

The buns were incredibly large, so I would make them smaller if I used this recipe again. I think there was too much yeast which gave them a slightly funny taste, so we weren’t that keen on the flavour. They were also quite a lot of hard work and the reward wasn’t really justified! So I’m still on the hunt for the perfect Chelsea Bun recipe.

 

• Makes: 8 very large buns
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C then reduced to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• Oven shelf: middle
• You will need: a deep 21 or 23cm cake tin, greased

 

Ingredients for the dough:

• 450g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2 x 7g sachets easy-blend yeast
• 50g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 150ml warm milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 50g unsalted butter, melted
• 50ml warm water

FOR THE FILLING:

• 50g light brown sugar
• 100g mixed dried fruit (I used currants and sultanas)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 25g butter, melted

GLAZE:

• 1 Tablespoon apricot jam
• ½ Tablespoon water
• caster sugar for sprinkling

 

Directions:

1. Put the flour, yeast, caster sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl and mix well. Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm milk, warm water, beaten egg and melted butter. Mix everything together to form a dough – start with a wooden spoon and finish with your hands.
2. Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes until it becomes smooth and springy. Transfer to a clean, lightly greased bowl and cover. Leave in a warm place to rise until roughly doubled in size – this will take about 1 hour depending on how warm the room is.
3. Meanwhile make the filling by mixing all the filling ingredients together.
4. Top the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few seconds. Roll out the dough to a rough 20 x 30cm rectangle. Spread the filling evenly over the dough, then roll it up firmly like a Swiss roll from one of the long sides – dampening the open edge to help it stick if necessary. Cut into 8 even slices with a sharp knife, shape into 8 round pinwheels, then arrange in the tin, cut-side up. Cover and leave to prove in a warm place for 20 minutes until roughly doubled in size.
5. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C. Bake the buns for 10 minutes, then lower the oven to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
6. Melt the jam with the water and brush all over the buns, then sprinkle with a little more caster sugar.

Naan Bread – Hairy Bikers

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

 

In their ‘Hairy Bakers’ series Simon and Dave made naan bread when they visited the Peak District. I’ve made flatbread before, which was good, but their naan bread looked really lovely and more authentic. So I looked up the recipe online and found it on the bbc.co.uk website.

 

CHANGES TO THE RECIPE:

I had to halve the recipe because I only had a 150g pot of natural yoghurt (which worked out as 100ml) but it worked out fine. It was a really sticky dough and I only used about 100ml of the 150ml of milk. With most bread recipes you have to use the recipe quantities as a loose guide and adjust them as different types of flour need a different amount of liquid.

 

The website recipe said to knead for 20-25 minutes, which I thought was really excessive, so I only kneaded for about 10 minutes and it was fine. I decided to double check the recipe by watching the episode again on YouTube. I found that the method was completely different, in that they added the ingredients in a different order. Plus on the show Si says to knead for 15-20 minutes, which I think is still quite a long time for bread.

 

It was an easy dough to work with because it was so soft and kneading it was easy, apart from the stickiness. I had to add quite a lot of flour, but if you watch the video of the episode then you will see Dave spill flour all over the board because the top falls off the flour duster and Si says “That’ll do, that’s perfect that dude!” so I wouldn’t worry if you need a lot of flour.

 

I would advise to add the milk to the dough very gradually, so I would follow the “wrong” BBC recipe as it tells you to add the milk at the end.

 

TASTE TEST:

Despite the BBC website providing the “wrong” method, my naan bread was actually really nice. But it wasn’t like proper naan bread from an Indian restaurant, it was more like focaccia, which is still delicious! So I would make this recipe again, but I would treat it like a focaccia bread or pizza and load it with toppings.

 

So here’s the BBC recipe that I’ve adapted to show the half recipe:

 

• Makes: 4 or 8
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 9/475°F/240°C

 

Ingredients:

Full recipe – makes 8	Half recipe - makes 4
500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting 2 tsp dried yeast 2 tsp poppy seeds* 2 tsp fennel seeds* ½ tsp salt ½ tsp baking powder 1 free-range egg, beaten 2 tsp olive oil, plus extra for glazing 200ml (300g) plain yoghurt 300ml whole milk, warmed	250g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting 1 tsp dried yeast 1 tsp poppy seeds*  1 tsp fennel seeds* ¼ tsp salt ¼ tsp baking powder ½ free-range egg, beaten 1 tsp olive oil, plus extra for glazing 100ml (150g) plain yoghurt 150ml whole milk, warmed

* I substituted the poppy and fennel seeds for cumin seeds.

 

Directions:

1. Mix the flour, yeast, poppy and fennel seeds, salt and baking powder in a large bowl until well combined.
2. Add the egg, olive oil and yoghurt and stir with a plastic spatula until well combined.
3. Add two thirds of the warm milk to the dough mixture and stir until well combined. Gradually add the remaining milk as necessary until the dough is smooth and soft (you may not need all the milk).
4. Using floured hands, knead the dough on a clean, floured work surface for 10 minutes, or until soft and elastic. Put the dough into a clean lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for one hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
5. When the dough has risen, divide it into 4 or 8 parts. Using your hands, stretch and flatten each of the naans until they are thin and even, then transfer to a baking sheet. Brush each naan with olive oil.
6. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 9/475°F/240°C.
7. Bake the naan breads for 7-10 minutes, or until pale golden-brown but still soft inside.

 

COOK’S NOTES:

• You can freeze them after they have been baked. Defrost and then reheat in the oven at Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C for about 5-7 minutes.

Flatbread/Naan

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

I made these last night to go with my Massaman Curry and they were really nice, just like naan bread from an Indian restaurant! I got the recipe from BBC Good Food and the dough is basically the same as for pizza or foccacia, you just cook it in a dry frying pan. They’re really easy to make so I’ll definitely be making these again, although I put the rest in the freezer (uncooked) so I have a ready-made supply to last me a while!*

I read the comments that other people had left about the recipe on the Good Food website and I tried cooking them both slowly on a low heat and faster on a higher heat. The results were much better on the higher heat, as the bread puffed up so it got the distinctive air bubbles and it was crispy on the outside by still nice and soft inside. On the low heat it just became too crispy. I followed everyone else’s advice and rolled my breads as thinly as possible and I agree that the recipe does not give you 250g portions!

Next time I will probably add some garlic or crushed coriander seeds to jazz them up a bit.

• Makes: 8 flatbreads

Ingredients:

• 500g strong white flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 7g sachet fast-action yeast (I used 1 tsp Doves Farm Quick Yeast)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 300ml lukewarm water

Directions:

1. Mix the flour, salt, yeast and oil in a large bowl and add enough water to make a soft, but not sloppy, dough.
2. Knead well (for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and springs back when gently pressed).
3. Put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl to rise for 1 hour until doubled in size (I find the airing cupboard is a good place!).
4. Divide the dough into 8 pieces (about 100g each) and use a rolling pin to flatten each one into a circle, 15cm in diameter. Try to roll them as thinly as possible, about 2-3mm thick. Then leave the pieces on a lightly floured baking tray to prove for 5 minutes.
5. Heat a large frying pan to a medium heat and dry-fry each piece until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes in total. Set aside to cool slightly before serving.

* FREEZING:
The recipe on the website says you can freeze these, but it didn’t say whether to freeze them cooked or uncooked. I froze mine uncooked, with layers of greaseproof paper between them. Unfortunately I think you’re supposed to freeze them cooked, because they have been a disaster when I’ve tried to cook them! I did defrost them before cooking. The first time I left them to defrost on the greaseproof and they stuck like mad, so that was a mistake. So the second time I peeled them off the greaseproof and laid them on some Magic Non-Stick liner to defrost. I tried cooking them in the oven for 15 minutes at Gas 4, but they were like cardboard. Dry frying them in the pan didn’t work either. So I’m going to try freezing them cooked next time!

Focaccia with Mozzarella (and pesto)

MUNCH RATING: 3/5

This recipe is from BBC Good Food – I had the mozzarella but I didn’t have the pesto! The bread was easy to make, but it was a bit bland as the cheese didn’t have any flavour and I really wished I’d had the pesto! I should have put some caramelised onions, herbs or roasted cherry tomatoes on top – that’s for next time! This dough would make a good pizza base though as it had a really nice texture.

Ingredients:

• 500g strong white bread flour, plus some for dusting
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 7g sachet fast-action yeast (I used 1 tsp Doves Farm Quick Yeast)
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling
• 125g ball mozzarella , drained
• 5 Tbsp pesto

Directions:

1. Put the flour into a bowl and mix in the salt. Mix the yeast into 325ml tepid water. Add the water and oil to the flour, then mix well with a plastic scraper or your hands. When most of the liquid is incorporated, use your hands to bring all the ingredients together into a ball of dough.
2. Tip the dough out onto a worktop lightly dusted with flour and work it by pulling and stretching for at least 10 mins. Try to get as much air into it as possible. Put the ball of worked dough into a well-oiled bowl, cover with a little more oil and a tea towel or cling film. Leave to rest for 1 hr or so in a non-draughty warm spot, until doubled in size.
3. Now stretch the dough out onto a baking sheet until it's about 20 x 30cm. Leave the dough to rise again to about half as high again, about 30-40 mins in a warm draught-free place, loosely covered with a tea towel.
4. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. When the dough has risen, press your fingers into it gently to make some holes. Bake for about 15 mins, then remove from the oven. Tear over the mozzarella, then bake for another 5-10 mins until golden and cooked through. Drizzle over the pesto and scatter with sea salt, if you like. Serve straight away.

New and improved pizza!

MUNCH RATING: 4/5
 
I used a different recipe for the dough and I think it tasted much better than the recipe I tried from BBC Good Food. It’s just as easy to make and I made it quicker by cheating and using a ready made tomato sauce. I also used a different brand of yeast, so the pizza didn’t have the funny aftertaste that I got when I used Tesco’s Fast Action Dried Yeast. I used Doves Farm Quick Yeast, which comes in a packet so you can easily measure out the amount you want, rather than have half used little sachets everywhere.

Although it was much better than my other attempt at pizza, there is still room for improvement! It was crispy around the outside but still a bit stodgy underneath and in the middle, but Steve likes it like that!

I used my new Prestige Baking Sheet, which was the perfect size and it was so easy to clean – even the tomato sauce that got burned onto it. I didn’t bother putting it onto another tray that had heated in the oven (as the BBC Good Food recipe suggests) and I got exactly the same results.

• Makes: 1 large pizza
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C
• You will need: a large bowl, 1 large baking sheets
• Prep Time: 15 mins plus 30 mins to let the dough rise
• Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:
FOR THE DOUGH

• 175g (6oz) strong white flour
• 1 teaspoon dried yeast
• pinch of salt
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 120ml (4 fl.oz) lukewarm water
• 2 Tablespoon oil

FOR THE TOPPINGS

• Tomato Sauce (I used half a 350g jar of Lloyd Grossman’s Sweet Red Pepper Sauce)
• 125g mozzarella, roughly torn into pieces
• 2 mushrooms, finely sliced
• 1 sweet orange pepper, finely sliced
• 2 slices of bacon, roughly chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed or grated
• small handful of mature cheddar cheese or parmesan, grated
• fresh basil leaves

Directions:

1. Sift the flour, dried yeast, salt and sugar into a large bowl.
2. Make a well in the centre and add the water and the oil.
3. Use a round-bladed knife to mix into a ball of dough and then tip out onto a lightly floured board.
4. Knead well for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and will spring back when lightly pressed.
5. Place into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and put in a warm place to prove for about 30 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size (I put mine in the cupboard next to the tumble dryer whilst it was on!)
6. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C.
7. Take the proved dough out of the bowl and carefully place on a lightly greased baking tray. Spread your fingers and gently press the dough down to flatten it (this is knocking back the dough) and create either a circle or square shaped pizza. I made mine into a 10x10 inch square pizza and it was quite thin.
8. Spread the tomato sauce over the pizza, leaving a space around the edge.
9. Carefully arrange your toppings over the tomato sauce – I like to overlap the mushrooms and peppers with the mozzarella cheese and then have the bacon and garlic on top to get crispy. I then finish with the grated cheese and some black pepper.
10. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. I added some fresh basil leaves in the last 5 minutes of cooking.

You might also be interested in:

• Homemade Pizza
• Calzone and Dough Balls

Granary Knots

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

These rolls taste nice, but when you shape the dough into knots (which was harder than it sounds) they end up looking quite ugly!

They include granary flour we used (which is a trademark of the Hovis brand) so I would definitely make these again, but just shape them into normal rolls!

• Makes: 12-16
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 7/425°F/220°C
• You will need: 2 greased baking sheets

Ingredients:

• 225g (8oz) strong white flour
• 1 level teaspoon salt
• 225g (8oz) granary flour
• 1 teaspoon dried yeast
• 150ml milk mixed with 150ml hot water
• half teaspoon malt (this is for flavour, so optional)
• 20g butter, melted
• beaten egg or milk to glaze
• poppy or sesame seeds to top

Directions:

1. Sift the white flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and then add the granary flour.
2. Blend the yeast with a little of the milk/water and add to the flour together with the melted butter, the remaining liquid and the malt. Mix to a soft dough.
3. Place on a lightly floured board and knead well for about 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and will spring back when lightly pressed (make sure your hands are clean before you start kneading otherwise the dough will just remain sticky).
4. Fold the dough back on itself towards the centre a few times, then place the ball of dough into a bowl with the seam side down. Cover and leave to prove in a warm place until doubled in size.
5. Knock back the dough by gently pressing down with your fingertips to release the air.
6. Cut the dough into equal size rectangular pieces and flatten out. Fold the edge furthest away from you into the centre and do the same with the edge closest to you, then fold the whole rectangle in half lengthways so you have a sausage shape. Roll this on the board a few times so you it is about 15 cm long, then tie it into a knot (sorry if this didn't make much sense but it's quite hard to explain!).
7. Place your knots onto your greased baking sheets and leave to prove in a warm place until doubled in size.
8. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 7/425°F/220°C.
9. Carefully glaze the rolls with the beaten egg or milk and sprinkle with seeds.
10. Bake for about 10 minutes. To test if the rolls are cooked, tap the bottoms, they should sound hollow. Cool on a wire rack.

Silicone Baking Mat & Rolling Pin

My Mum was kind enough to buy me this set from QVC and it’s brilliant! The mat is massive and has loads of useful information on it like measurements, weight and temperature conversions.

The best thing is it sticks to the table so that when I’m kneading or rolling dough it doesn’t move about, unlike the pastry board Steve’s Mum uses.

The circles in the middle are great as I can easily see how big to roll out my circle. Because the mat and the rolling pin are silicone I didn’t need to add extra flour to prevent sticking.

It was also a breeze to clean them in soapy water.

You can also put the mat in the oven but I didn’t try that as it’s a bit big!

All in all though, a fantastic addition to my cooking! Thanks Mum! x

Mandy’s ‘Healthy’ Cajun Calzone & Dough Balls

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

I totally made up this recipe for the filling and I’m calling it ‘healthy’ because there’s no fattening cheese. I basically used tomatoes and ½ fat crème fraiche to make a creamy sauce so that the filling ingredients wouldn’t be dry. I have to say that for a total experiment it worked really well! I will definitely make this again as it’s a great way to use up leftovers and it was actually tastier than the pizza.

I made up the dough as per this pizza recipe and I used half the dough for the calzone and the other half I used to make dough balls (like the ones you get from Pizza Express).

• Makes: 1 calzone to serve 2 people and 8 dough balls
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 8/450°F/230°C
• You will need: at least 2 baking trays 

Calzone Filling Ingredients:

• 1 small chorizo sausage, chopped into small pieces
• 4 mushrooms, sliced
• 3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
• handful leftover roasted butternut squash chunks*
• leftover sliced and roasted red onion*
• 2 large handfuls of spinach
• 2 heaped teaspoons Cajun seasoning (I used Bart’s)
• 2 heaped Tablespoons ½ fat crème fraiche 

Calzone Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 8/450°F/230°C and place a baking tray in the oven to get hot (or ideally use a pizza stone!)
2. In a large non-stick pan fry the chorizo (no need to add oil) until crispy and the chorizo has released its oils.
3. Add the mushrooms and fry until soft.
4. Add the tomatoes with a splash of water, cover with a lid and cook for about 10 minutes until they have broken down.
5. Add the butternut squash, onion and spinach (or any other vegetables you want), the Cajun seasoning and the crème fraiche and mix thoroughly. Set to one side to cool whilst you roll the dough.
6. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to a 10 inch/25cm circle and so that it is about 3mm thick.
7. Spread the filling onto one half of the circle, brush the edge lightly with water, then fold over the dough and pinch to make a semi-circle pasty shape.
8. Lift the calzone onto a baking tray and place this tray on top of the preheated one in the oven.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown (I spread some leftover garlic butter over the calzone 5 minutes before the end of cooking). 

DOUGH BALLS:

1. Portion the other half of the dough into 8 even sized balls and roll so they have a smooth surface.
2. Place on a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes until golden brown and they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Serve with garlic butter (1 clove of crushed garlic mixed with 1 Tablespoon softened butter). 

*To roast the butternut squash and onion I just cut the squash into chunks and the onion into 8 wedges, tossed in a little oil and dried rosemary, then roasted on Gas mark 6/400°F/200°C for 45 minutes, turning occasionally.

You might also be interested in: Homemade Pizza

Homemade Pizza

MUNCH RATING: 3/5

It’s been a while since my last attempt at cooking with dough (Chelsea Buns in March) and I thought I’d try something a bit simpler, so I found this pizza recipe on the BBC Good Food website.

The dough was incredibly easy to make and had a really good texture, so I’ll definitely be making it again. I imagine these would taste even better if cooked on a pizza stone!

This might seem like a really long recipe, but so many things can be prepared in advance and apparently the dough can be frozen.

The original recipe called for passata for the sauce, but I didn’t have any and we had some tomatoes that had gone soft, so I used those instead to make my own sauce. Unfortunately my basil hasn’t grown big enough otherwise I would have added some! I would of also added garlic, but I’d run out! Plus I was making this pizza with Steve’s mum in mind and as she doesn’t like garlic I was trying to make it as plain as possible. She doesn’t normally like pizza as she doesn’t like the tomato sauce, but she tried some of my sauce and said it was very nice! I had some sauce leftover and this was great mixed with some creme fraiche to make a sauce for pasta.

I also added lots of extra topping ingredients as I find margherita a bit boring!

• Makes: 2 pizzas
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 8/450°F/230°C
• You will need: a large bowl, 2 baking sheets plus 1 in the oven
• Prep Time: 25 mins plus time if you let the dough rise
• Cook Time: 10-15 mins per pizza

Ingredients For The Base:

• 300g strong bread flour
• 1 tsp instant yeast (I used Tesco’s Fast Action Dried Yeast)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 200ml warm water

Ingredients For My Sauce:

• 2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes
• 3 large tomatoes, quartered
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 100ml vegetable stock
• 1 Tablespoon tomato ketchup
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Black pepper to season

Ingredients For The Topping:

• 125g ball mozzarella, chopped into small pieces
• 100g mature cheddar cheese, grated
• 4 mushrooms, sliced
• 2 sweet orange peppers, sliced
• cooked Cajun chicken, chopped into small pieces*

Directions:
1. Make The Dough: Put the flour into a large bowl, then stir in the yeast and salt. Make a well, pour in 200ml warm water and the olive oil and bring together with a wooden spoon until you have a soft, fairly wet dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 mins until smooth. Lightly oil the bowl before you put the dough back into it, then cover with a tea towel and set aside. You can leave the dough to rise if you like, but it's not essential for a thin crust. (I left my dough to rise and the middle photo shows it after 1 hour and the photo on the right is after 2.5 hours).

2. Make the sauce: Put all the sauce ingredients into a saucepan and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down and the stock has reduced and you have a nice thick sauce. Pass through a sieve to strain out the tomato skins. Leave to stand at room temperature whilst you make the base.
3. Roll out the dough: If you've let the dough rise, give it a quick knead, then split into two balls. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into large rounds, about 25cm across, using a rolling pin. The dough needs to be very thin as it will rise in the oven. Lift the rounds onto two floured baking sheets.
4. Top and bake: Heat oven to Gas mark 8/450°F/230°C. Put another baking sheet or an upturned baking tray in the oven on the top shelf. Smooth sauce over bases with the back of a spoon. Scatter with your toppings (drizzle with olive oil and season). Put one pizza, still on its baking sheet, on top of the preheated sheet or tray. Bake for 8-10 mins until crisp (mine took between 10-15 mins as I made my bases quite thick). Repeat step for remaining pizza.
* To make the Cajun chicken I took the skin off and deboned 2 small chicken thighs and marinated in 1 Tablespoon olive oil and 1 Tablespoon of Cajun seasoning (I used Bart’s). Then I cooked in a George Foreman grill for about 5 minutes so it was crispy and charred as if it had been on the BBQ!
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• Calzone and Dough Balls
• New and improved pizza!

Chelsea Buns

MUNCH RATING: 1/5

Steve loves Chelsea Buns and they’re his top choice when his Mum goes to the bakery, so I thought I’d try and make them. This is the first time I’ve ever used yeast and made a dough, so I was a bit apprehensive about the results.

The first batch of dough I made went in the bin as I forgot to add the butter, but I only realised after I’d kneaded the dough for 10 minutes and kept wondering why the dough didn’t look or feel right. Kneading dough is pretty tiring, but I persevered and made another batch which looked smooth and felt elastic.

The recipe I used was by Allinson from www.bakingmad.com, but I tweaked it slightly as I didn’t use any mixed dried fruit as Steve doesn’t really like it and I added cinnamon in the ‘filling’ as the Chelsea Buns we’ve eaten always have that.

I’m not sure I’d use this recipe again as the tops of the buns were quite crusty and hard and the buns were really small, so they weren’t really soft and squidgy, which is the texture we were hoping for. Next time I’d make the buns bigger and bake on the middle shelf instead of near the top.
I’m definitely excited about using yeast more in the future and I’m going to try making hot cross buns for Easter! Plus kneading dough is really good exercise!

• Makes: 12
• You will need: 7inch square tin, greased
• Prep time: 30 mins plus 1 hour proving time
• Baking time: 30 mins 

Ingredients:
FOR THE DOUGH

• 250g / 9oz Strong White Bread Flour
• 5ml / 1 tsp salt
• 5ml / 1 tsp Unrefined Golden Caster sugar
• 5 ml / 1 tsp Allinson Easy Bake Yeast (I used 1 sachet of Tesco Fast Action Dried Yeast)
• 25g / 1 oz butter, diced
• 100-120ml / 3-4 fl oz warmed milk (45 seconds in the microwave)
• 1 egg, beaten

FOR THE FILLING

• 50g / 2oz Unrefined Light Muscovado sugar
• 15g/ ½ oz butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• Runny honey to glaze
• Golden Caster sugar to sprinkle

Directions:

1. Grease an 18cm / 7 inch square shallow cake tin. Sift the flour, salt, sugar and yeast into a large bowl. Rub in 25g / 1oz butter.
2. In a bowl, mix together the milk and egg. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and stir in the liquid. Bring the mixture together with a round bladed knife and knead for 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface until the dough is smooth and elastic. If the mixture is sticky add a little more flour.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll out to a 30 x 23 cm/ 12 x 9 inch rectangle.
4. Prepare the filling: Mix the soft light brown sugar with the cinnamon. Melt the remaining butter and brush over the surface of the dough. Scatter the cinnamon sugar evenly over the dough.
5. Starting at the long side of the dough, roll it up like a Swiss roll. Pinch the edges together to seal and then cut into 12 slices (or less slices for bigger but fewer buns).
6. Place the rolls cut edges uppermost in the tin. Cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size. (they will be separated at first, but once they have doubled in size they will be touching each other).
7. Pre heat the oven to 190ºC/ 375ºF/ Gas Mark 5. Bake for 30 minutes (on the middle shelf) or until risen and golden.
8. Remove from the oven and brush with honey and sprinkle with Golden Caster sugar whilst they are still hot. Then cool on a wire rack. 

You might also be interested in this other Chelsea Bun recipe.