Pull Apart Picnic Bread and Thomas Knives Review

I was delighted when the lovelies at Tesco offered to send me a new set of kitchen knives.  Our kitchen knives are old and blunt and are constantly driving me mad.  It is so much easier to prepare foods when you have good quality sharp knives instead of muttering and cursing whilst trying 3 different knives with limited success.  The Thomas Knives that Tesco sent me come in a sturdy wooden block and there are different knives for various food preparation tasks that most of us undertake.

Finely dicing the vegetables to make the delicious savoury bread was quick and easy with the new sharp knives. I cannot believe we muddled along for so long with the old blunt ones!

Tesco are running a sticker promotion between 3rd March – 1st June 2014 where you can save up to 70% on exclusive kitchenware products at Tesco. For every £20 you spend online or in-store you can collect a sticker, once you’ve collected five stickers you can use these to save up to 70% off professional kitchenware items. Check out this page for more details.

Pull Apart Picnic Bread

450g strong bread flour (I used ½ wholemeal bread flour and ½ white bread flour)

1tsp salt

1tsp caster sugar

2 sachets fast acting/instant dried yeast

300ml lukewarm water (if using wholemeal bread flour add an extra tablespoon or two of water)

1 Tblsp oil

100g mature cheese, grated

Additions:  I added ½ a finely diced red and orange pepper, diced courgette and finely sliced spring onion

Topping:

100g mature cheese, grated

Put the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl, stir to combine.  Add the water, oil and yeast then mix until a dough forms.  Knead the dough until smooth and elastic.  This usually takes 10 – 15 minutes by hand or 5 – 7 minutes in my stand mixer.  Put the kneaded dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with cling film then set aside until doubled in size.

Knock back the dough then knead through your vegetables and cheese.  Press the dough into a lightly greased cake tin, cover with clingfilm, then leave for 30 – 45 minutes to rise again.  

Preheat your oven to 200C Fan/220C/Gas Mark 7.  Sprinkle the risen dough with the extra grated cheese.  Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden and cooked through.