Breakfast Cookies

Time can be short in the mornings and whilst I always ensure that my family have a good breakfast, I find myself sometimes forgetting to eat or waiting until after the school run to have breakfast at which point I am ravenous.

To solve this conundrum, on the mornings when I can't manage a decent breakfast, I baked these Breakfast Cookies and eating one is enough to get me through until after the school run.  My daughters like them in their lunchboxes for an energy boosting snack.  They are also great for an afternoon pick-me-up.  

These are also much cheaper than the breakfast biscuit offerings in the supermarket, and I know exactly what is in them.  I vary the dried fruit depending on what we have in the cupboard and also add some seeds for extra texture and nutritional value.  You can use vegetable or rapeseed oil instead of coconut oil if you prefer.  

Breakfast Cookies

150g rolled oats (use gluten free if necessary)

70g unsweetened dessicated coconut 

60g toasted slivered almonds

100g dried fruit, roughly chopped if necessary

30g mixed seeds

3 medium over ripe bananas, mashed 

1 Tblsp coconut oil, warmed 

1 Tblsp honey or maple/golden syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (optional)

1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Heat oven to 180C/160C Fan. Line two oven trays with non stick baking paper.  Combine the oats, coconut, slivered almonds, dried fruit, and mixed seeds in a large bowl. In a separate bowl or jug combine the bananas, oil, honey/syrup and vanilla.  Pour into the dry ingredients then mix until totally combined.  

Roll tablespoonfuls of the mixture into balls, put onto prepared trays and flatten slightly.  I made approximately 15 - 18 cookies.  Bake for approx 10 - 12  minutes, or until golden on top.

FoodCycle Breadline Challenge

FoodCycle is brilliant, I have volunteered several times at my local branch cooking a three course lunch for the local community from food which would otherwise go to waste.  There are FoodCycle hubs around the UK and I wholeheartedly encourage you to check them out and help out if you can.   For information on all things FoodCycle, browse their website.

I was asked to compile a Meal Plan to promote the FoodCycle Breadline Challenge 2015 which will entail supporters living off a food budget of £2.86 a day for one week.  The Challenge will run from 16th – 22nd November and is aiming to raise awareness of rising UK food poverty and also raise vital funds for FoodCycle's work across the country.

My budget was £20.02 for 7 days worth of food, I overspent by 7p.  Here's my shopping list:

29 items: £20.09

Packets and Cereals

1x ASDA Smartprice Muesli (1Kg)                                                    £1.18

1x ASDA Good and Balanced Pearl Barley (500g)                             64p

1x Whitworths Granulated Sugar (500g)                                           49p

1x ASDA Smartprice Self Raising Flour (1.5Kg)                                45p

1x ASDA Lemon Juice (250ml)                                                         55p

1x ASDA Smartprice Long Grain Rice (1Kg)                                     40p

1x ASDA Smartprice Pasta Shapes (500g)                                       29p

Frozen

2x ASDA Smartprice Mixed Vegetables (1Kg)                                   £1.54

1x ASDA Cook from Frozen Pollock Portions (368g)                         £1.75

Tins, Jars and Cooking

2x ASDA Chopped Tomatoes with Garlic in Tomato Juice (390g)      80p was 50p

1x ASDA Good and Balanced Black Eye Beans in Water (300g)        40p Buy any 5 FOR £2.00

1x ASDA Good and Balanced Chilli Beans (290g)                              40p Buy any 5 FOR £2.00

1x ASDA Smartprice Dried Mixed Herbs (18g)                                  25p

1x ASDA Smartprice Strawberry Jam (454g)                                    29p

1x ASDA Good and Balanced Green Lentils in Water (400g)              40p Buy any 5 FOR £2.00

1x ASDA Good and Balanced Red Kidney Beans in Water (400g)      40p Buy any 5 FOR £2.00

1x ASDA Chosen by You Vegetable Stock Cubes (12x10g)               75p

2x ASDA Chopped Tomatoes with Chilli and Peppers (390g)             80p was £1.00

1x ASDA Good and Balanced Mixed Bean Salad (290g)                    40p Buy any 5 FOR £2.00

Dairy and Eggs

2x ASDA British Whole Milk 4 Pints (2.27L)                                      £1.78

1x ASDA Butter - Unsalted (250g)                                                    85p

1x ASDA Mixed Weight Free Range Eggs (6)                                   85p

1x Anchor Grated Mature Cheddar (200g)                                         £1.00 was £2.38

Fruit and Vegetables

3 ASDA White Baking Potatoes by Weight (430g)                             86p

7 ASDA Grower's Selection Bananas by Weight (170g)                     69p

300g ASDA White Cabbage by Weight                                             17p

1x ASDA Grower's Selection Carrots (1Kg)                                       49p

1x ASDA Brown Onions (1Kg)                                                          74p

Drinks

1x   ASDA Smartprice Instant Coffee Granules (100g)                      47p

My Meal Plan is as follows:

Breakfast
Muesli, with grated carrot, a banana. and milk

Lunches
Onion Soup with Cheese and Herb Soda Bread x 2
Mixed Vegetable, Herb and Pearl Barley Soup with Cheese and Herb Soda Bread
Pearl Barley and Mixed Vegetables Risotto x 2
Black Eyed Peas Patties with Rice, Cabbage, Carrot Stir Fry
Rice, Chilli Beans and Vegetable Bake

Dinners
Fishcakes with Mixed Vegetables
Mixed Bean and Vegetable Stew with Pasta
Egg Fried Rice with Vegetables
Fish and Chips with Vegetables
Kidney Bean Patties with Vegetables and Champ Mash
Twice Baked Potato with Cheesy Chilli Bean Topping and vegetables
Lentil Bolognese with Pasta

Treats
Flapjacks
Rice Pudding
Oat and Fruit Soda Bread with Jam

Soda Bread

300g/2 cups self raising flour
30g butter
1/2 cup grated mature cheddar cheese (leave out if making sweet version)
1 or 2 tsp dried mixed herbs or a handful of muesli
250ml milk
2 tsp lemon juice

Mix the lemon juice and milk together and leave to stand whilst you grate the cheese and measure out the other ingredients.  Sift the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter. Add the grated cheese, herbs  if you are making a savoury version or muesli if you are making a sweet version.  Add milk then mix until mixture forms a sticky dough.

Knead on a lightly floured board until smooth, don't over knead it or your bread will be heavy. Form into a round loaf then mark into four with the handle of a wooden spoon. Dust with a little flour.

Bake at 180°C for 40 minutes or until golden brown and cooked. Serve warm or cold.

Mixed Bean and Vegetable Stew

Heat one tin of drained mixed beans with one pack of Chopped Tomatoes with Chilli and Peppers and 100g of frozen mixed vegetables, add a pinch of mixed herbs if you want.  Simmer until the vegetables are cooked then serve over 100g of pasta cooked according to packet instructions.

Kidney Bean Patties

1 tin kidney beans
1 carrot, grated
1 onion, grated
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 Tblsp flour

Drain and rinse the kidney beans then add mixed herbs, grated onion and carrot.  Mash together until a lumpy puree mixture forms.  Mix through the flour then form into patties. Chill in the fridge for half an hour to firm up if you have time.  Cook over a moderate heat in a frying pan for 3 - 4 minutes each side. 

Onion Soup

Mixed Vegetable Pearl Barley Risotto

Rice Pudding

600ml whole milk
65g long grain white rice
50g white sugar

In a medium sized, heavy bottomed saucepan combine the milk and rice.  Place saucepan over a fairly high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the rice is tender. This usually takes about 25 minutes. Stir the milk mixture frequently using a heatproof rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stop the rice from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.

When the rice is tender (al dente) take the saucepan off the heat and sugar to taste.  Return the saucepan to the heat and cook until the rice pudding thickens, this should take about 5 - 10 minutes. Remove from heat and spoon the pudding into a bowl to cool, cover with clingfilm to stop a skin forming. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days. To make into a Mullerrice type treat mix in some jam.

What are your favourite budget meals?  Will you be taking part in the Challenge? 

Quick Sweet Pumpkin Bread

I had a pumpkin that needed eating so roasted it and baked Pumpkin and Chorizo Bread with some of the delicious cooked pumpkin.  I also wanted something quick to bake using cooked pumpkin that was a sweet treat, suitable for afternoon tea.  

This loaf was delicious, spread with some butter and drizzled with a little maple syrup.  It was also great sliced and plain, with a cuppa of course.  My 3 girls took some in their lunchboxes for an after lunch treat and the friends they shared it with liked it too.

Quick Sweet Pumpkin Bread 

50g butter

450g self raising flour

100g light soft brown sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground mixed spice

1 large free range egg

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

125 ml buttermilk, or 115ml milk with 10ml lemon juice added

200g cooked pumpkin, roasted or steamed and cooled

2 Tblsp light soft brown sugar

Preheat your oven to 210C/190C Fan/425F/Gas Mark 7.  Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.  Stir through the sugar, baking powder and spices.  In a separate jug measure the buttermilk and beat in the egg, vanilla, and pumpkin.  Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and gently mix until combined.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and shape into a 20cm/8 inch round.  Transfer to a lined baking tray.  Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of light soft brown sugar.  Bake for 25 minutes until golden and cooked through.

I'm entering this delicious bake into Extra \Veg, the blogging challenge created by Helen and I to encourage us all to eat extra servings of vegetables.  Helen is hosting this month.

Pumpkin and Chorizo Bread - Bready, Steady, Go November

It's my turn to host Bready, Steady, Go this month and I cannot wait to see all of your fabulous yeasted bread bakes! 

I have some chorizo in the fridge that needed using up and also a pumpkin that needed to be eaten so I thought, rather than make a risotto or soup, that I would attempt a pumpkin bread with chorizo chunks dotted through it.  I baked the recipe three times, to make absolutely sure it the recipe worked, and because it is rather delicious and we wanted to eat more of it.

This recipe makes a 2lb/1kg loaf so make sure you use a large loaf tin so the dough doesn't overflow the tin.  You could steam your pumpkin but I decided to roast it because I find it easier to cook pumpkin that way, no need to peel and faff about cutting it into chunks.  Just cut your pumpkin or squash in half, scoop out the seeds, then roast until tender.  I also cooked the chorizo and left it to cool before mixing it into the dough.

Pumpkin and Chorizo Bread

200g cooked pumpkin or sweet potato
500g strong white bread flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp fast action/instant yeast
2 tsp sugar
300ml lukewarm water
100g finely diced chorizo, cooked and cooled

Mix all the ingredients, apart from the chorizo, together in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer until a dough forms.  Knead the dough, either by hand or in a mixer, for 5 - 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.  Leave the dough to prove in a lightly greased bowl, covered in cling film, for an hour or until doubled in size.  

Knock back the dough and knead through the chorizo.  Put the dough into a greased 2lb/1kg loaf tin and leave for 45 - 60 minutes until almost doubled in size again. 

Preheat your oven to 200C/180C Fan/400F/Gas Mark 6 and cook the loaf for 40 minutes.  To check if the loaf is cooked, carefully slide it out of the tin and tap the bottom which should sound hollow.  If the loaf does not sound hollow when tapped, return it to the oven for another 10 minutes.  

Challenge Guidelines

Bready Steady Go! will run from 1st until the 28th of each month and then a round up will be posted by the hosting blog at the end of the month.

You can link up any bread recipe, sometimes we may also run themed challenges, and feel free to join in with other challenges if your post also meets their guidelines. If you really love baking bread then you can add multiple entries up to a maximum of 3 per blog each month.

Please link back to Jen’s Food and Utterly Scrummy Food For Families and include the badge to help spread the word.

We’d prefer to see entries from new blog posts where possible but you can also add old posts if you add the badge and link back to our blogs as well.

You can tweet your entries to @JensFood and @UtterlyScrummy using the hashtag #breadysteadygo and we will retweet all that we see.

All entries will also pinned to our new Pinterest board as they come in.

If you make a recipe from a book/magazine/website etc please respect copyright and do not reproduce the recipe verbatim. Instead of copying out the recipe from the book, describe it in your own words and if it’s from an online source please link to the original content rather than copying full recipe.

So what are you waiting for?! Bready, Steady, Go bake some bread!

An InLinkz Link-up

;

Bready, Steady, Go! Round Up for September

It was my turn to host Bready, Steady, Go! Round Up in September and as always it is a pleasure to see all the delicious bakes linked up.

Onions and Paper baked these stunning Turkish Bread Twists.

Fuss Free Flavours created an ingenious loaf to use up leftover sourdough leaven, delicious!

Family, Friends, Food baked gorgeous Rosh Hashanah Spiced Apple Challah Bread shaped 3 ways.

Baking Queen 74 baked Wholemeal Olive Focaccia, a scrumptious lunch.

Sarah's Tasty Buds baked delicious Bublik, Russian Bagels

Sarah's Tasty Buds also baked some scrumptious Armenian Lavash, great as a side dish

Sarah's Tasty Bubs entered a third delicious bake, Yeasted Banana Sandwich Bread, perfect for peanut butter sandwiches.

Thanks so much to all those who baked and linked up this month.  I cannot wait to see what you come up with next month!  Lovely Jen is hosting.

One Pot Chicken Casserole

The weather has definitely changed to blustery and much cooler as we usher in Autumn.  Comfort food has been craved this past week and will continue to be a feature on our Meal Plans until the Spring.  I do love dinners that can just bubble on the stove, or cook in the oven with minimal preparation and fuss.

Evenings are busy in our household with after school activities, homework, and the general humdrum of weekdays.  Dinners of course need to be nourishing and also quick and easy.  This casserole is comforting and suitable for us all, including bubs, and takes a little preparation before it bubbles away on the hob until we are ready for dinner.  Perfect!

Chicken Casserole - Serves 6

1 large onion, peeled and finely sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 large carrots, diced

2 sticks celery, finely diced

2 tablespoons oil

8 - 10 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on

400g tin chopped tomatoes

200ml red wine

400ml chicken stock, made with 1 stock cube

2 tsp dried mixed herbs 

Put a large casserole pan over a low heat. Add the oil, garlic. onion, carrot and celery. Cook, stirring often, until the onion softens and the carrot and celery have started to soften. Increase the heat to medium/high then put the chicken into the pan, skin side down, cooking for 5 minutes (or until the skin is golden and crispy), before turning over and cooking the other side for a further 5 minutes.

Pour in the tinned tomatoes, wine, stock, and add the herbs. Bring the pot to the boil, increasing the heat if necessary. As soon as the pot comes to the boil, put the lid on, reduce the heat, and simmer for 60 - 90 minutes. Should you want to thicken the sauce, put 1 or 2 tablespoons of corn flour into a small cup and add 1 or 2 tablespoons of cold water, stir until smooth then add to the casserole. Stir gently and the sauce should thicken. I usually serve this casserole with a large helping of steamed greens and mashed potato.

Courgette, Sausage, and Rice Stuffed Squash

I was delighted to be asked by Debbie and Andrew's Sausages to create a harvest themed recipe to celebrate their #MakeMySausage Competition.  

They're inviting everyone from food bloggers to sausaholics to describe their perfect sausage – something out-of-this-world fantastic – a sausage dreams are made of, following Andy Bates mantra of ‘quality ingredients, freshness and superb taste’.

Debbie and Andrew's will choose their favourite entry and get to work making the winning sausage dream come true, using only the best British meat, made from farms that meet the Red Tractor standard.

The winning sausage will be sold during the 2016 roadshow, reaching 500k people around the UK. The winner will also receive one pack of their winning flavour, and a years supply of Debbie and Andrew's sausages of their choice! Enter here or post your entry on twitter with the hashtag #MakeMySausage

Our favourite Debbie and Andrew's sausage is the Harrogate 97% Pork Sausage which is wheat, gluten, and dairy free.

We have had rather a lot of courgettes to use up in our late Summer harvest and I was fortunate to be able to purchase a couple of small round squash from the local market for a very good price.  I decided to combine the two with some other delicious ingredients to make Courgette, Sausage and Rice Stuffed Squash.  A delicious dish to usher in the start of Autumn whilst using up the last of some Summer produce.  

My husband and I devoured this dish for a hearty lunch, with plenty of leftovers stashed in the freezer, so it would easily feed all 6 of us for dinner.  Quick to make, filling and thrifty, a great weeknight or weekend dinner option when it's chilly outside and comfort food is required.

Courgette, Sausage, and Rice Stuffed Squash

2 or 3 small round squashes, depending on how many people you are feeding

6 good quality pork sausages

2 large courgettes, finely sliced

2 peppers, finely diced (any colour will do)

2 tins chopped tomatoes, I used 440g tins with added chilli but plain would be fine

1 pouch microwave rice, I used wholegrain brown rice

Preheat your oven to 200C/180C/Gas Mark 6/400F.  Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.  Slice your round squash in half.  Scoop out the seeds and stringy bits in the centre.  Rub a little oil onto the cut surfaces of the squash then place face down on the baking tray.  Bake for approximately 30 - 45 minutes or until the squash is tender.

Whilst the squash are baking, make the filling.  Squeeze the sausage meat out of the skins into a large pan set over a moderate heat.  Break the sausage meat up as it cooks, you want a fairly fine mince like consistency.  Once the sausage is no longer pink, add the finely sliced courgette and diced pepper, cook until tender.  Pour in the tinned tomatoes and add the pack of cooked rice.  Cook for 5 minutes until slightly thickened.

Spoon the filling into the squash halves.  Sprinkle over some grated strong cheddar then bake for 15 minutes until the cheese is bubbling, the filling has heated through, and the squash are really tender.  We served ours with a large helping of steamed greens.

** Commissioned Post **

Our #thriftyorganic Meal Plan for this week

I was delighted to be asked to compile a thrifty Meal Plan for Organic UK to celebrate Organic September which is part of the Organic Trade Board’s ongoing ‘Organic. Naturally Different’ campaign.  I've joined in with their #ThriftyOrganic challenge and swapped my regular weekly shop for an organic one, to see how much of a difference there is in cost and taste.

We grow as much of our own organic produce as possible and it does taste better, perhaps due to the work that went into producing it, or maybe because it has been freshly picked.  At the moment we've got an abundance of late summer produce so I have included some of that in our Meal Plan this week.

A budget of £80 was set to feed all 6 of us this week, using as much organic produce and products as possible. I have supplemented our shop with homegrown produce such as greens, salad, herbs, and foraged berries and other fruits.

Breakfasts will be porridge with apple compote, made with apples from the trees in our back garden.

Packed Lunches will be Versatile Vegetable Pasties with homemade hummus and vegetable crudites, yoghurt with homemade fruit compote and a small baked treat.

Bubs and I will be having Root Vegetable and Red Lentil Dhal and Red Lentil Bolognese for our lunches at home.

Weekend Lunches will be Mini Frittatas and Twice Baked Potatoes.

Dinners

Green Goddess Pasta - Meatfree Monday

500g organic wholewheat pasta
380g organic chickpeas, drained (reserve 80ml chickpea water)
80ml olive oil
juice of 1 organic lemon

200g orgaic spinach
100g organic kale
2 handfuls fresh basil leaves
4 cloves organic garlic, peeled and minced
75g grated cheddar cheese

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Cook pasta according to packet instructions.  Whilst the pasta is cooking make the sauce.  Put all the ingredients in a power blender or food processor in the order listed then blend until smooth.  Add a little of the pasta cooking water to thin the sauce if necessary.

Drain the pasta, pour over the sauce and mix to combine.  Serve with a little finely grated parmesan and sliced cherry tomatoes if you wish.

Roast Chicken with steamed greens and roast vegetables

Chicken Soup packed with vegetables and added brown rice to fill us up

Muffin Tin Chicken Tarts with steamed greens and baked potatoes

Sausage, Summer Vegetable and Potato Traybake 

Onepot Vegetable and Chickpea Curry

Brown Rice and Vegetable Bake

Shopping List

32 items: £80.20

Packets and Cereals

2x   Sainsbury's Organic Porridge Oats (750g)                                          £3.20

1x   Doves Farm Organic Fine Plain White Flour (1Kg)                              £1.75

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Fairtrade Golden Granulated Unrefined Cane Sugar (500g)       £1.10

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Brown Rice (500g)                                              £1.45

1x   Crazy Jack Organic Red Split Lentils (250g)                                       90p

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Wholewheat Fusilli (500g)                                   £1.05

Dairy and Eggs

2x   Sainsbury's Organic 2% Fat Natural Yogurt (500g)                              £2.40

4x   Sainsbury's Organic Fresh Whole Milk 4 Pints (2.27L)                         £7.40

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Butter - Unsalted (250g)                                      £1.60

2x   Sainsbury's Organic Grated Cheddar (200g)                                       £3.70

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Woodland Free Range Mixed Eggs (12)              £3.70

Frozen

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Garden Peas (750g)                                           £2.20

Tins, Jars & Cooking

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Chopped Tomatoes in Tomato Juice (400g)         80p

3x   Sainsbury's Organic Chick Peas in Water (380g)                                £2.25

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Naturally Sweet Sweetcorn (150g)                       65p

Fruit and Vegetables

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Full Flavoured Garlic Bulbs (3)                            90p

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Salad Spring Onions (100g)                                85p

2x   Sainsbury's Organic Mixed Peppers (3)                                              £5.00

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Savoy Cabbage                                                  £1.40

2x   Sainsbury's Organic Courgettes (3)                                                    £4.00

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Lady Balfour Potatoes (2Kg)                               £2.50

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Sweet Potatoes (750g)                                        £2.00

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Baby Salad Potatoes (750g)                                £1.50

1x   Sainsbury's Lemons Loose                                                                 35p

2x   Sainsbury's Organic Carrots (750g)                                                    £2.00

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Leeks (400g)                                                      £2.00

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Butternut Squash Loose (Approx 655g)               £1.24

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Celery                                                                £1.20

2x   Sainsbury's Organic Cucumber                                                          £2.50

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Medium Flavour Red Onions (500g)                    £1.00

3x   Sainsbury's Organic Fairtrade Bananas (Approx 800g)                        £2.88

Meat, Fish and Poultry

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Pork Sausages (6 per pack - 350g)                     £3.00

1x   Sainsbury's Organic Whole Chicken (Approx 1.75Kg)                          £11.73

Prices and special offers reflect those of the online grocery websites, and are correct as of 6 September 2015.
Prices may vary in different in-store locations.

We shopped at Sainsbury's this week, mostly from their So Organic range. At the moment Tesco have a 3 for 2 offer on organic vegetables.  Keep a look out for other supermarket offers which make shopping organic more affordable.

You can also check out Organic UK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with their campaigns and find out more information about organic farming and produce.

** Commissioned Post **

Giraffe/Tiger Bread and Bready, Steady, Go! - September Linky

It's my turn once again to host the Bready, Steady, Go! linky and I can't wait to see all the delicious bakes.

My 3 daughters are heading back to school this week and to ease some of the inevitable nerves at getting back to routine, we baked a couple of loaves to make school lunch sandwiches with.

We baked a plain white round loaf topped with cheese, it was delicious! We of course taste tested it, and the second loaf, quality control is very important.

The second loaf we made was a long loaf topped with a paste to give the top of the bread a cracked appearance.  This is called Tiger Bread or Giraffe Bread.  It is very simple to make and bake.  I was given the topping paste recipe by a baker friend, he scaled it down for me from his usual bulk/commercial quantities.

Tiger/Giraffe Bread

500g strong white bread flour
2 tsp salt, I sometimes use garlic salt for more flavour
7g sachet instant yeast
2 Tblsp oil, I used sunflower as that's what we had
1 tsp sugar
275ml - 300ml lukewarm water

Topping
1 sachet instant yeast
4 Tblsp/60ml water, or more if needed
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp oil

1 or 2 tsp onion powder
60g rice flour

Put the flour into a large bowl.  Measure the salt and sugar on one side of the bowl and pour the sachet of yeast onto the other side of the bowl.  You don't want the yeast and salt to meet until the liquid is added.  Add the oil to the water and pour into the bowl, mixing until a soft dough forms, either with a stand mixer or by hand.

Once a dough forms, knead until smooth and elastic.  This usually takes 10 minutes by hand and around 5 minutes in the stand mixer with a dough hook fitted.

Put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave until doubled in size.  Mix together the topping ingredients and leave to stand for 15 - 20 minutes before spreading onto the top of your loaf.  Add a little more water if necessary to get a spreadable consistency.

Knock back the dough then shape into a long rugby ball shape.  Put onto a baking tray lined with non stick baking paper.  Spread the dough with the topping paste and leave to prove, uncovered, for around 30 - 40 minutes.  

Whilst the dough is proving, preheat your oven to 220C Fan/240C/Gas Mark 9/475F.

Bake the bread for 10 minutes to get a good oven spring then turn your oven down to 180C Fan/200C/Gas Mark 6/400F and bake for another 10 - 15 minutes.  When properly cooked through, the bread should sound hollow when tapped on the base.  Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Now it's your turn! Link up all of your delicious yeasted bread bakes.

The Rules:

Bready Steady Go! will run from 1st until the 28th of each month and then a round up will be posted by the hosting blog, which is me this month, at the end of the month.

You can link up any yeasted bread recipe, sometimes we may also run themed challenges, and feel free to join in with other challenges if your post also meets their guidelines. If you really love baking bread then you can add multiple entries up to a maximum of 3 per blog each month.

Please link back to Jen’s Food, and this post, and include the badge to help spread the word.

We’d prefer to see entries from new blog posts where possible but you can also link up old posts if you add the badge and link back to our blogs as well.

You can tweet your entries to @JensFood and @UtterlyScrummy using the hashtag #breadysteadygo and we will retweet all that we see.

All entries will also pinned to our new Pinterest board as they come in.

If you make a recipe from a book/magazine/website etc please respect copyright and do not reproduce the recipe verbatim. Instead of copying out the recipe from the book, describe it in your own words and if it’s from an online source please link to the original content rather than copying full recipe.

So what are you waiting for?! Bready, Steady, Go bake some bread!

An InLinkz Link-up

Share Your Baking Fails and Win With Renshaw

We all have baking disasters from time to time.  Recipe development can be a tricky business and for every success there are more than a few failures.  My successful recipe developments are tested thoroughly before I blog them, my failures usually don't make it to my blog.

I did confess a baking failure once though, in order to help others who may have suffered the same fate.  The cake I baked for my middle daughters birthday was taken out of the oven too soon, despite it being put back into the oven it sunk in the middle.  I saved it by stuffing the dent with sweets.  You can read all about the sorry tale here.

Renshaw want to see your baking disasters.  Share your collapsed cakes, bakes with soggy bottoms, lopsided pies, celebrate the imperfections!  There are 4 fabulous £25 Renshaw Vouchers to be won, just share your baking fails on social media with the hashtag #mybakingfail to be in to win.

You can find Renshaw on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

** Commissioned Post **