Bagels

My family really enjoy bagels, especially for hearty packed lunches.  They are expensive to buy, usually costing between £1 and £1.60 for a 4 or 5 pack from the supermarket.  I baked a dozen bagels and they cost 47p to make, not counting energy/cooking fuel costs.

You could add chopped, finely cooked onion and garlic to make the bagels more flavoursome, or for sweet bagels add some ground cinnamon and a couple of handfuls of raisins.  I used white bread flour to make these bagels, if using wholemeal bread flour you will need to add a little more water (3 - 6 tablespoons) and they will take longer to rise.  

Bagels

500g strong bread flour - 32p

7g instant yeast - 11p

10g salt - 1p

1 Tblsp golden syrup or sugar - 3p

250ml lukewarm water - free

Mix everything together to form a dough and then knead it really well, for about 15 minutes in a mixer or slightly longer by hand. It is quite a firm dough. Leave to prove until almost doubled in size.  

Knock the dough back then divide into 12 portions, my plain dough weighed 65g a portion. Roll each piece of dough into a long sausage shape then join the ends and roll to seal the join. Leave to prove again for around 30 - 40 minutes. 

Thanks to my husband for being the hand model

Preheat your oven to 240C/220C Fan/Gas Mark 9. Put a pot of water on the stove and bring the water to just simmering, not actively boiling, and cook the bagels for a minute each side. Drain then put on lined baking trays. Cook the bagels in the preheated oven for around 15 - 18 minutes.

Leave a Comment Basics, Bread, Breakfast, FFTO, Lunches, Make it yourself, Snack, Snacks, Vegan

Cinnamon Tea Ring - Afternoon Tea Treat

I decided to bake something delicious for afternoon tea this afternoon to cheer us up and distract me from the ton of dirty laundry piling up due to the Property Management Company taking longer than expected to replace our condemned washing machine.  I will be traipsing to the local laundrette again tomorrow.

This Cinnamon Tea Ring was sweet but not overly so and went down very well indeed with a cuppa.  I baked a second one so I can take some along to the laundrette with a flask of coffee.

Cinnamon Tea Ring

225g strong white bread flour

25g butter, cubed

25g caster sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp instant yeast

75ml/5 Tblsp milk, lukewarm

1 free range egg, beaten

Filling:

30g/1Tblsp butter, melted

50g light soft brown sugar or caster sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Icing:

100g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 or 2 Tblsp water

Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

Put the flour and butter in a bowl and rub the flour into the butter.  Stir in the sugar, salt and yeast.  Make a well in the centre an add the milk and beaten egg.  Mix until a soft dough forms.

Either in a mixer or by hand, knead the dough until smooth and elastic.  This should take about 10 minutes.  Put the dough into a lightly greased bowl and cover with clingfilm or a shower cap.  Leave to  prove until doubled in size.

Once the dough has doubled in size, knock it back and roll it out to a 40cm x 25cm rectangle.  Leaving a 1cm border around the edge of the dough, spread the melted butter over the dough then sprinkle over the cinnamon and sugar.

Roll the dough up tightly like a Swiss Roll from the long edge.  Put the dough log onto your prepared baking tray.  Seal the join well and then squish the ends together to form a ring.  Use scissors to cut into the dough every 2 inches or so, stopping about 1cm from cutting all the way through to the middle.

Cover the dough and leave to prove until once again doubled in size.  Preheat your oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas Mark 6 and bake the tea ring for 15 - 20 minutes until golden.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool then ice.

To make the icing: Put the icing sugar and vanilla bean paste into a bowl, add enough water to form a spreadable icing.

4 comments Basics, Bread, FFTO, Party, Snacks

Fresh From The Oven November - Wholegrains and Wholemeal

I decided to make the challenge for this month Wholegrains and Wholemeal because we are craving filling breakfasts and breads now the weather has colder here in the UK.  I usually make wholemeal or half and half breads for my family because it is an easy way to introduce fibre to our diet.

Whether you choose to use oats, barley, quinoa, rye, spelt, wheat, or other wholegrains the options are endless for delicious bready breakfast bakes.

You can use a breadmaker, bake bread by hand or use a mixer to do the kneading. If you bake a yeasted wholegrain or wholemeal loaf, buns or rolls then link up.

Wholemeal Bread

500g Wholemeal Bread Flour

1 tsp light soft brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 sachet instant yeast

2 Tblsp oil

375ml lukewarm water (approximately)

Combine the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Make a well in the centre then add the oil and enough water to make  a soft dough.  Knead the dough for 5 - 7 minutes until smooth.  Put in a lightly greased bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to prove until doubled in size.  

Grease a 900g/2lb loaf tin.  Knock back the dough, shape into a rectangle then put into the prepared tin.  Cover with clingfilm and leave until the dough has doubled in size once again.  Whilst the dough is proving preheat your oven to 220C/Gas Mark 7.

Bake the loaf for 30 - 35 minutes.  Cover with foil if the top is browning too quickly.  Remove from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Now it's your turn! 

Have a go at baking the challenge recipe, or one of your own, that fits the Wholegrain and Wholemeal theme.  Blog about it and link up by 28th November at the latest, and attach the Fresh From the Oven logo as shown on this page. 

The recipe you use for the Challenge can be one of your own or one you have seen elsewhere. Please be mindful of copyright and do not reproduce recipes verbatim that are not your own or that you have not obtained permission from the author to reproduce. Posts can include a link to the original source of the recipe if necessary.

You are welcome to republish old recipes/posts but please add the information about this challenge. 

Mention Fresh From The Oven in your post and include a link to this post.

If you do not have a blog but still want to take part, email me a photo of your bake and you will be included in the round up.

If you tweet about your post please mention @utterlyscrummy and #freshfromoven in your message and I will retweet all those I see.

Have a go at baking bread using Wholemeal flour or Wholegrains, make sure it is a recipe that uses yeast, and link up using the linky tool below.

Leave a Comment Basics, Bread, FFTO, Vegetarian

Bara Brith - Fresh From The Oven Challenge for October

Bara Brith was baked by Beca Lyne Pirkis on The Great British Bake Off last week and I thought it would be a fab recipe for Fresh From The Oven this month. Beca is one of my favourite contestants because she seems like someone you could have a right laugh and natter down the pub with, and she's a busy Mum like me.  Bara Brith is a Welsh speciality and translates to ‘speckled bread’. It is a rich fruit loaf made with tea, there are a great many recipes, some use yeast and some do not.  I asked a couple of Welsh Mums that I know how they make theirs and combined/adapted the best bits of both recipes into the recipe outlined below.  My house smelt lovely whilst the loaf was baking and it was a welcome and tasty after school snack for my 3 daughters.

The Fresh From The Oven Challenge took a break over the summer and I thought this recipe would ease us all back into the loveliness of bread baking now the heat of the summer has been replaced with crisp autumn mornings and chillier evenings.  See details of how the challenge works here.

This loaf is deliciously rich and fruity, great with an afternoon cuppa or a treat for breakfast.  Eat the loaf within 1 - 2 days of baking or freeze for later.

Bara Brith

450g strong white bread flour

80g brown sugar

1 tsp mixed spice

50g unsalted butter, chopped
250ml milk, warmed

2 sachets instant dried yeast
170g sultanas

50g mixed peel (I leave this out if baking for my children as they dislike it with a passion!)

375ml freshly brewed tea (I usually use English Breakfast or Earl Grey)

Oil to grease proving bowl

30ml/2 Tblsp honey, warmed to glaze baked loaf

Combine the flour, brown sugar and mixed spice in a large bowl.  Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Make a well in the centre. Pour in the milk and yeast then mix until well combined and a soft dough has formed.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Alternatively, knead the dough in a stand mixer for 7 - 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.  Put the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with clingfilm.  Set aside in a warm, draught-free place to prove until doubled in size, this usually takes about an hour in our house.

Whilst the dough is proving soak the sultanas and mixed peel, if using, in freshly brewed tea.  Set aside for 1 hour for the fruit to soak up the tea and swell.  After an hour drain the fruit really well, if the fruit is too wet tip it out onto paper kitchen towel and gently pat it dry.

I used a 22cm x 11cm loaf tin to bake my Bara Brith in.  Grease the tin lightly with a little oil then line the base and 2 long sides with baking paper, this will make the loaf much easier to remove from the tin once cooked.  Alternatively, use a paper liner like I did, they are really handy to have if you bake often.  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Shape the dough into a rough 25cm square then sprinkle the prepared sultanas and mixed peel over the top.  Fold the sides of the dough over the fruit mixture and gently knead the dough for 5 minutes to evenly distribute the fruit through the dough.  Transfer the dough to the prepared loaf tin and cover loosely with clingfilm.  Set aside to prove again until doubled in size.

Whilst the dough proves a second time, preheat your oven to 190°C.  Bake the loaf for 1 hour.  Check the loaf after 30 - 45 minutes and cover the top loosely with foil if it is browning too quickly.  Once baked the loaf should sound hollow when turned out and tapped on the bottom.

Leave the loaf to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.  Brush with the warmed honey. Set aside the loaf to cool completely. Cut into slices and serve.

Now it's your turn! Have a go using this Bara Brith recipe or your own, make sure it is a recipe that uses yeast, and link up using the linky tool below.

1 comment Basics, Bread, Breakfast, FFTO, GBBO, Snacks, Vegetarian

Science Museum London - The Energy Show and Chelsea Buns

We love the Science Museum in London and I was tweeting about how much we enjoy it when lovely Racheal from the Science Museum emailed me.  Apparently she had seen my tweets raving about how fab it is and offered to give us tickets to The Energy Show which was taking place during the Summer School Holidays.  I may have done a happy dance in the lounge before excitedly replying that we would be delighted to go along.

My Mum had never been to the Science Museum in London so she was even more excited than us!  We were delayed on the train journey in to London by overrunning engineering works on the tracks so arrived almost 2hrs later than we had planned.  Luckily we had booked in for the later show so could fit in some lunch before we sat down to enjoy The Energy Show. 

 The show was brilliant! Annabella and Phil, two students who are on the brink of failing their Science course, present the show and it is their task to work together as a team and to demonstrate to the audience nine types of energy live on stage using only the equipment and characters they have to hand.

The problem is, the two students are painfully mismatched and they have been send to an old fashioned Steam punk style lab in the middle of a storm.  Whilst Annabella is focused, uncompromising and overly fond of lists and plans; Phil is a mischievous die-hard Star Wars fan who loves blowing things up more than anything else. Fortunately, the two ‘students’ are joined by two helpers, a virtual helper named I-stein and Bernard a silent lab drone.

Although the show is recommended for children 7 years and older my 6 year old loved it, as we all did. Star Wars references were much appreciated by my 10 year old and my husband. The welcome help from I-nstein who explains the chemical reactions that make up the chain of events in each demonstration means that parents and children can enjoy the show without being too dazzled by science and physics.

The show is fast paced without feeling rushed and was so entertaining that 70 minutes passed quickly. We were enthralled by methane bubbles exploding into a big fireball, hydrogen balloons popping with very loud bangs and liquid nitrogen that froze everything that came into contact with it and produced clouds of steam which would make a witches cauldron seem passé. The finale of the show was a hydrogen powered rocket launcher that fired plastic bottles into the audience.

You can watch a clip of the experiments from the show here.

After The Energy Show we explored some of the rest of the museum, watched the Flash! Bang! Wallop! Show and then let the kids play whilst learning in the Launchpad area.

We took our own lunch and snacks to save money and also make sure we had plenty of goodies to fuel our busy and brilliant time at the Science Museum.  Along with some Wholemeal Savoury Scones, crudites, fruit, and drinks I packed some Chelsea Buns which went down very well indeed for afternoon tea.  Here's the recipe:

Our Favourite Sticky Chelsea Buns

450g plain flour
1/2 sachet instant yeast
55g sugar
1/2 tsp salt
30g butter, melted and cooled
180ml warm water
2 free range eggs, lightly beaten

Filling:
1/3 cup light soft brown sugar
30g butter, melted
2 tsp mixed spice
1/2 cup sultanas
2 Tblsp honey, warmed until runny

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large mixing bowl if making by hand, combine the flour, sugar, yeast and salt.

Mix the water, melted butter and egg together.  Pour into the flour mixture and mix until a soft dough forms.  Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, this usually takes 5 - 7 minutes in a stand mixer or around 10 minutes if kneading by hand.

Put the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with cling film and leave to prove until doubled in size.

Preheat your oven to 190C/170C Fan.  Line an oven tray with non-stick baking paper.

Knock the dough back and roll it out on a well floured surface to a rectangle approximately 40cm x 30cm.

Brush the dough with the melted butter.  Put the light soft brown sugar and mixed spice in a jar and screw on the lid.  Shake to mix then sprinkle over the dough followed by the sultanas.

Roll up the dough like a Swiss roll then cut the dough log in to 12 equal pieces.  Put the slices of dough fairly close to each other on the baking tray cut side up.  Cover with greased cling film and allow to rise for 15 minutes before removing the cling film and baking the buns in the preheated oven.

Bake the buns for 15 - 20 minutes.  Once the buns are cooked and golden remove them from the tray, brush them with runny honey, then leave them on a wire rack to cool completely.

Leave a Comment Bread, FFTO, Lunches, Review, Snacks

Fresh From The Oven - Ciabatta Round Up

Firstly an apology to those who wanted to link up but found the linky closed. I made a mistake with the dates and the linky was offline for a couple of weeks in the middle of the month.  Thank you to Jen from Blue Kitchen Bakes for letting me know.  In future I shall not set up linkies post night shift and before I have slept.


Thank you so much to those who baked, blogged and linked up.

Tandy from Lavender and Lime baked this delicious Sourdough Ciabatta

Jen from Blue Kitchen Bakes made these three gorgeous loaves.

I look forward to seeing bakes from the June Challenge, details can be found here.

Leave a Comment Basics, Bread, FFTO, Vegetarian

Fresh From the Oven Challenge - Pitta Breads

We adore Pitta Bread in our household because it is so easy to make and so versatile.  You can eat it freshly baked and warm from the oven, fill it with salads and sandwich ingredients, make pitta chips to have with dips or own their own and pitta makes a fab pizza base for a quick lunch.  You can also eat pitta with soups, stews or curries as well.

Perfect for picnics or packed lunches, pitta bread freezes well so why not make extra to keep on hand.

Making pitta bread is SO easy and you’re likely to already have the ingredients in your store cupboard or pantry.  I used bread flours but normal flour works just as well.  Use all white flour or half and half wholemeal and white flour for a different flavour and a slightly healthier option.  Homemade pitta taste much better than the sometimes cardboard textured varieties available in shops.  You can flavour your pittas by adding seeds or herbs to the dough if you want.

Pitta Breads

260g white bread flour

155g wholemeal bread flour

1 sachet instant yeast, mine weighed 7g

1 Tblsp sugar

310ml - 350ml lukewarm water

2 Tblsp olive oil

Preheat your oven to 250C/230C Fan.  This is the hottest temperature my oven will reach.  Put an oven tray upside down or a pizza stone into the oven to heat up.  You'll need a very hot surface to bake your pittas on, they cook very quickly.

Mix all the ingredients together until a soft dough forms.  I added 300ml water then added more water a tablespoon at a time.  You want a soft but not sticky or wet dough.

I kneaded the dough in my stand mixer for 10 minutes but you could knead it by hand.  When I make them by hand I take turns kneading with my daughters and we knead the dough for about 15 minutes.

Put the kneaded dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap, and leave until doubled in size.  This took about an hour in our house yesterday (a fine and sunny Spring day in the UK) but in the winter it can take somewhat longer.

Once the dough has risen, knock it back then take pieces of dough and  roll them out to 3mm thick.  Try not to dry out the dough by using too much flour to roll it out otherwise you won't get a lovely puffed up pitta.

I cooked two at a time, for about 2 - 3 minutes until puffed up and lightly golden. You can see Paul Hollywood cooking pitta and get some more tips here.

I look forward to seeing loads of Pitta Bread blog posts linked up using the linky below.  You can link up old or new blog posts but please link back to this post and use the FFTO badge.  Once you've linked up please share the post with me on twitter (@utterlyscrummy) and I shall retweet all those that I see.  You can find the challenge rules and badge here.  Linky will close on 30th June 2013.

Leave a Comment Basics, Bread, FFTO, Lunches, Snacks, Vegetarian

Fresh From The Oven Challenge - Ciabatta

One thing you can rely on here in the UK, the weather is always changeable.  We had glorious warm spring days lasts week and after four days the weather changed back to being rather cold, damp and chilly.  The weather had me thinking about picnics and BBQs but then with a change to colder weather I was planning warming soups.  What could I bake that would suit both? 

After much pondering I decided on Ciabatta.

This bread is a non bread bakers bread.  The method is simple, children love the mixing and beating process and it is relatively quick to make and bake.  Ciabatta is brilliant for sandwiches or as an accompaniment soups and stews, it is also a fab breakfast on the go option - you don't even need to toast it.  You can make this dough the night before and leave it to prove overnight in the fridge so you can bake it in the morning.  I do this often as I have to fit my bread baking in around everything else and I have a very busy family life to live.  Dough will still rise in the fridge, just at a much slower rate than usual.  If you do decide to prove the dough in the fridge make sure you take the dough out of the fridge an hour before you want to bake it.  This will allow the dough to come to room temperature and will result in a better loaf.

Ciabatta

500g strong white bread flour or 500g wholemeal flour or 50/50 mix of both

450 ml water, lukewarm

½ tsp sugar

7g sachet of yeast

1 ½ tsp salt

15ml/1 Tblsp olive oil

Put the yeast, flour and sugar into a large bowl.  Pour in the water and salt.  Mix for 5 minutes, either with a mixer or a wooden spoon, until everything is well combined and a dough has formed.  The dough will be very wet, do not panic!  It will have the consistency of thick pancake batter or cake batter rather than the consistency of a sandwich loaf dough.

When the dough is well combined, oil or flour your hands, stick them in the bowl of dough and pull parts of the dough up above the bowl then slap it back down into the bowl.  Do this for another 5 minutes.  

Making the dough by hand using this lift, stretch and thwack method is not only a good work out and a great way to work out the frustrations of the day; it will push air bubbles into the dough and create the airy texture of the Ciabatta as it bakes.  You could knead it with a dough hook for an extra 5 minutes but to be honest the texture of the finished loaf isn’t as good and it certainly isn’t as much fun as thwacking the dough around by hand.

A word of warning - the dough will stick to even the most thoroughly floured hands.  Should you make this with your children they may have the overwhelming urge to stride about the house with dough covered fingers pretending to be a monster from Scooby Doo. Should this happen deal with the situation calmly and quickly.  March them to the sink to clean up whilst making sure they don't go near soft furnishings.  Don't say I didn't warn you!

Once the dough has had a good 5 minutes of grab, lift, stretch and thwack treatment put it into a large oiled bowl then drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil over the top.  Cover with clingfilm and leave until doubled in size.  This usually takes about an hour in our house.

Preheat your oven to 200C/180C Fan.

Line a baking tray with baking paper, then sprinkle it liberally with flour.  Carefully transfer the dough to the tray, do not knock it back!  You want all the lovely air bubbles to stay in the dough.  Fold the dough into thirds to create the classic Ciabatta shape.  Sprinkle the top of the loaf with a dusting of flour.

Bake for 30 - 40 minutes, until the bread is lightly golden and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.  Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and leave it for at least 30 minutes before attempting to slice into and devour your lovely loaf.

Details of the challenge rules can be found here.  Link up your bakes using the Blog Hop tool below:

As well as my Ciabatta being the Fresh From The Oven Challenge for this month, I am entering it into other blog challenges as well.

Credit Crumch Munch is a thrifty recipe blog hop created by Helen and Camilla.  Janice from Famersgirl is hosting this month.  This Ciabatta recipe is perfect for Credit Crunch Munch because it's so much cheaper making your own Ciabatta than buying one from the supermarket.  A 1.5kg bag of strong white/bread flour costs me 80p from Asda and I can bake 3 loaves from it.  To buy a Ciabatta from Asda costs £1.30 or between 25p - 33p for Ciabatta rolls.  Clearly making bread yourself is well worth it from a money saving point of view, not to mention it is loads of fun and you know exactly what goes into it.

Breakfast Club was created by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and is being hosted this month by Katie over at Feeding Boys.  We have Ciabatta cut into soldiers and dipped in soft boiled eggs for breakfast, it is delicious!  I am also a fan of a slice of Ciabatta spread with Vegemite, sprinkled with cheddar and lightly toasted until the cheese melts or spread with homemade jam and devoured in a hurry as an easy breakfast on the go.

I have also submitted my Ciabatta to Yeast Spotting which is a weekly showcase of yeasted baked goods and dishes with bread as a main ingredient.

And finally I have submitted my Ciabatta to Bake Your Own Bread which is similar to Fresh From The Oven but is US based.

10 comments Basics, Bread, Breakfast, Dinners, FFTO, Lunches, Snacks

Fresh From The Oven April Round-up - Knackerbröd

Thanks so much to the lovely Jen from Blue Kitchen Bakes who hosted the Fresh From The Oven Challenge last month.  She challenged us to make Knackerbröd   A few brave bloggers attempted the Challenge with delicious results!

Ness from Jibber Jabber UK made these tasty morsels:

Gill from Tales of Pigling Bland, who recently completed the London Marathon, baked these:

Tandy from Lavender and Lime made these delectable after dinner treats:

And finally our April host Jen from Blue Kitchen Bakes whose fab Knackerbröd were our inspiration this month:

Thanks to all those who took part in the challenge!  The next challenge will be announced on my blog tomorrow, 1st May.

1 comment Bread, FFTO, Snacks, Vegetarian

Fresh from The Oven March Round Up

It was a very quiet month this month, perhaps the reasons were the weather being dreadful, Easter falling early and everyone succumbing to illness at one point or other.  

Nevertheless I completed the challenge to bake English Muffins which was set by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and so did the lovely Tandy Sinclair from Lavender and Lime.

Here are my English Muffins:

And here are the delicious Sourdough English Muffins from Tandy:

The April Challenge is being hosted by Jen from Blue Kitchen Bakes and is Knackerbröd which should be a brilliant bake to try!  Do give it a go and I shall post the roundup on my blog no later than 2nd May.  I look forward to seeing your bakes.

Leave a Comment Basics, Bread, Breakfast, FFTO, Snacks, Vegetarian

English Muffins - Fresh From The Oven Challenge

Thank you to Helen from Fuss Free Flavours for hosting the challenge this month.  I love English Muffins, both for breakfast and for lunch as quick mini pizzas.

I used Helen's recipe but adapted it slightly, using 100g wholemeal flour and increasing the milk measurement to 150ml.

The muffins were delicious and we enjoyed them with poached eggs for brunch on the weekend.

1 comment Bread, Breakfast, FFTO, Vegetarian

Bread for Lunches - FFTO February Roundup

The challenge this month was to you this month is to bake and blog your favourite bread, rolls, bagels, swirls, pizza, calzone or other yeasted bake that you have - or would like to have - for lunch.  Thank you so much to those who took part this month and joined in the linky.  

Please visit the following bloggers who took part:

There was a delicious Simple Rye Loaf from Camilla at Fab Food 4 All.

Tandy from Lavender and Lime baked Seed and Oat Rolls, perfect for everyday.

The Honey and Seed Bread from Gill at Tales of Pigling Bland is definitely on my to do list!

I will also try baking the Japanese Milk Bread from Super Golden Bakes.

Kate from Turquoise and Lemons baked this innovative Celeriac and Brie Bread.

Thank you so much to all those who baked and linked up.  The Challenge for March will be hosted by Helen over at Fuss Free Flavours.  I cannot wait to see what she has baked!

Leave a Comment Bread, FFTO, Lunches, Vegetarian

February's Fresh From the Oven Challenge - Bread for Lunches

Two loaves and two different types of rolls baked for my family's lunches this week

When I was pondering a suitable challenge to set for Fresh from the Oven this month I was sat having lunch with a friend and she suggested why not make it "Lunch", so I have.  My challenge to you this month is to bake and blog your favourite bread, rolls, bagels, swirls, pizza, calzone or other yeasted bake that you have - or would like to have - for lunch.  

It could be a bake suitable for a leisurely lunch with friends, a Valentine's lunch for your lover, packed lunches to take to work and/or school, or a special occasion lunch, the choice is yours!

Versatile Bread Swirls

415g self-raising white or wholemeal flour

1 Tblsp dried yeast (1 x 7g sachet)

2 Tblsp caster sugar

50g butter

125ml milk, warmed

125ml buttermilk

Savoury Fillings:

Red Pepper and Goats Cheese

150g goats cheese

1 roasted pepper, diced

fresh orgegano

Sprinkle the filling ingredients over the rolled out dough.

Cheese and Vegemite

¾ cup grated cheese

2 or 3 Tblsp Marmite or Vegemite

Spread the marmite or vegemite over the rolled out dough then sprinkle the cheese over the top.

Sweet Fillings:

Spiced Apple

2 medium eating apples cored, peeled and finely chopped

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ cup brown sugar

Mix ingredients in a bowl and scatter over the rolled out swirl dough.

Apple and Berry

100g fresh berries or frozen berries that have been slightly thawed

1 apple peeled, cored and diced

150g mascarpone

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tblsp icing sugar

Mix the mascarpone, vanilla and icing sugar together and spread over the rolled out dough.  Sprinkle the apple and berries over the top.

To make the dough:

Put the flour, sugar and yeast into a large bowl.  Stir in the salt, sugar, yeast,  herbs and oil. Add the warm water and mix everything together well to form a soft dough.

Put the flour, sugar and yeast in a bowl and stir to combine before making a well in the centre.

Gently heat the milk, buttermilk and butter in the microwave until lukewarm, and the butter has melted.  Add to the dry ingredients.

Mix everything together well to form a soft dough.   Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for up to 10 minutes until a smooth and elastic dough has formed.  Otherwise do what I do and knead it in a stand mixer with a dough hook for 5- 7 minutes.

Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl with clingfilm or a clean shower cap and sit it in a warm place for about an hour or until the dough doubles in size.

Make sure you flour your bench well then roll out the dough into a large rectangle about 30cm x 20cm.  Put your desired filling on to the dough, leaving a 2cm border around the outside.

Roll the dough up from the longest side, like a Swiss Roll, and slightly wet the top 2cm to help seal the dough swirl.

Cut the dough swirl into 3cm slices and put 2cm on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper.  Leave to prove for about 30 minutes whilst you preheat your oven to 200C/180C Fan.

Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool slightly before separating and serving.

These swirls are suitable for freezing for up to a month and are best individually wrapped before freezing as this makes it much easier to pop them into lunchboxes.

Happy baking everyone!  I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Guidelines for entry:

Post your recipe on your blog with a link to this post and Claire at Purely Food.  Don't forget to mention the relevant month’s host, that’s me this month, and attach the Fresh From the Oven logo as shown on this page.

The recipe can be one of your own or one that you have seen elsewhere.  Please be mindful of copyright and do not reproduce recipes verbatim that are not your own or that you have not obtained permission from the author to reproduce.  Posts can include a link to the original source of the recipe if necessary.

You are welcome to republish old recipes/posts but please add the information about this challenge.

Be as creative with the theme as you like!  You can post as many times as you like just make sure you follow the guidelines each time.

If you tweet about put your post on twitter please mention @utterlyscrummy @purelyfood and #freshfromoven in your message and we will retweet all those we see.

You do not need to enter every month to join in with the challenge.

Your post can be submitted for other blogging challenges, just make sure this complies with the rules of the other challenge.

And finally . . .

To make entering easier, simpler and more convenient I have created a Blog Hop Linky so you can add your recipe post whenever you like throughout the month.  It will also make compiling the round up and visiting all of your delicious posts much easier.

Leave a Comment Bread, FFTO, Lunches

Fresh From The Oven Round Up - January

Thank you so much to Claire from Purely Food (my Fresh From The Oven partner) who hosted the challenge this month which was to make Flatbreads.

I enjoy making Flatbreads because they are so quick, versatile and tasty - great for feeding family, friends and they make a great addition to any lunch or dinner.

I've previously blogged about making and baking flatbreads with my 3 daughters, you can read that post here. 

We made them once again and here is one of our cheese and tomato flatbreads, we made giant 'tear and share' versions this time.

There were many delicious entries this month, click on the blog name below the photo which will take you to their recipe post. 

Tango Like Raindrop

Blue Kitchen Bakes

Searching for Spice

Valentina

Lavender and Lime

Turquoise Lemons

Blue Kitchen Bakes

Penelope's Pantry

Thank you so much to all those who took part in January's Challenge. Should anyone like to host a Challenge you would be most welcome!  I do love seeing all the delicious Challenges you come up with and trying new bakes.     Please email me if interested utterlyscrumptious at gmail dot com.

The Challenge for February will be hosted by me and will be posted tomorrow,  1st February, on this blog.  It will have a blog hop linky so that you can all link up and easily see each others posts throughout the month.  I will of course still do a round up but it means you can enter/publish your post and link up whenever you are able.  The more posts the merrier, feel free to link any recipe that fits the Challenge.

All will be revealed tomorrow!

4 comments Bread, FFTO, Vegetarian