greedybread's blog

You are going to LOVE LOVE LOVE this one…

Very fruity

mmmmm Crusty!

Look at the crumb!

I just love Rustic breads…

The crust on this bread is DIVINE….

Chewy but crunchy…lovely, multi layered.

Wait till I do the pumpernickel and Black breads!

The sours are brewing now:)

Rye a soaking:)

Give it to me!

Are you Ready?

2 cups of Wholewheat flour

2 cups of Strong Bread Flour

I good tbsp of Nev’s malt powder (fabulous and made in NZ)

3 tsp of dried yeast

1 cup of raisins

1/2 cup of cranberries

1 cup of sultanas

pinch of salt

1 and 1/2 cup of fruit water.

1/2 cup of molasses sugar (Billington’s is good)

soaking the fruit…

What do you do?

Soak the fruit in a bowl and cover with 2 cups of warm water.

Leave for about 2 hours or do the night before and leave overnight.

Drain the fruit well and keep all the fruity water in a bowl.

Set fruit aside.

Slightly warm the fruity water and add in the yeast and stir well.

Allow to stand and become frothy- usually about ten minutes.

Put all your dry ingredients in a bowl (flours, salt,sugar, malt powder, aniseed) and mix through.

Make sure the sugar gets distributed well through the mix as it is quite moist and clumpy.

First prove…

Add fruity water to dry mix and form a soft dough..add a little more water if need be.

You want a nice moist dough because the whole-wheat in the bread can make it a little dry.

Knead for about 5-6 minutes until the bread is nice, smooth and elasticy.

Add in the fruit (lightly dusted with flour first) and knead through for a further 2-3 minutes.

Some time I do this after the first prove but in the few times I have done it at this stage lately, the fruit has not been damaged by kneading.

Place in a well oiled bowl, cover and leave to sit for 2 hours.

After first prove… slight rest before shaping…

Turn dough out on a lightly floured bench/board.

This dough is enough for 2 good sized loaves or a giant one as I made today.

I roll the dough into the shape I want, making sure it is nice and tight.

This one, I made like a oval.

Place dough on a baking tray with baking paper that has been lightly dusted with very fine polenta.

Cover and allow to rest for 1 hour.

resting before the oven…2nd prove.

ready?

About 35 minutes before the 2nd proving is done, pre heat the oven to 245 Celsius.

Place a roasting dish or cast iron fry pan at the bottom of the oven so you will be able to create stream.

Why is this important?

The steam allows the outside of the bread to stay moist so it can expand and spring as long as possible..creating volume.

Once a bread hardens(crust forms) then you will get no further spring or volume:)

When proving is done, then place bread in the oven.

Chuck 2-3 ice cubes in your roasting pan and close the oven.

After 6 minutes, turn the heat down to 210 celsius and bake for a further 40-50 minutes depending on your oven.

gorgeous!!

double crusty!

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack.

I would allow this to cool somewhat before diving in!!

You should have a lovely firm crust but still a little chewy…

You won’t even need butter or anything ….

I still think it will retain its moisture after a few days….

Lovely toasted and again without butter:)

But a smear of ricotta is heavenly!

This is such a gorgeous bread…

ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY.

FRUITY….

Crusty too…

lovely….

dig in…

the finale!!

Did you like this yeasty beasty?

Have you tried?

Gorgeous Tramvai bread?

Tremendous Trecchia with orange and choccie!!

Buccellato ?

Don’t forget to get in and enrol @ the Greedybread evening classes  starting in August, October and November.!

Or treat yourself for a Greedybread adventure?

treccia

Rosewater, Cardamom & Fruit Challah…Posted on June 26, 2013 

Gorgeous!!

5 braided Challah

half poppy seed half fruity

Sliced….mmmmmmm

3 braided…fruity

I am still eating this bread and I made it on Sunday!!

Nice, moist but not too rich….

A  little bit of effort required but well worth it.

Plus there is so many variations on the challah breads, you could make them for ever!!

What will you need?

6 cups of flour

4 tsp dried yeast

1 cup of warm water

1 cup of castor sugar

twist of salt

4 eggs plus 1 yolk

1/2 cup of olive oil

1 egg for glazing:)

2 cups of mixed fruit (I used cranberries, sultanas and raisins)

3 tsp cardamom

4 Tbsp of Rosewater .

the dough resting…

ready to shape …

dough ready to be shaped…

ready to be rolled…

What do you need to do???

Warm water, add in a tsp of the sugar with the dried yeast and mix well.

Add in 2 cups of flour and mix until resembling a smooth paste.

Cover and allow to stand for 40 minutes until soupy and frothy.

Whisk the eggs, oil, and extra yolk together with the sugar in a separate bowl.

Place all the dry ingredients (flour, salt, cardamom) into a bowl and combine well.

Add the eggy mix to the spongey yeast mix and combine well.

Add wet mix to the dry ingredients forming a dough.

Knead the dough for about 8-10 minutes, adding in lightly dusted with flour fruit in the last few minutes.

Place dough in a well oiled bowl and cover, allowing to rest for 90 minutes.

rolled and resting

3 braid…

5 braided …

glazed and ready to bake…

half and half…

Peeking half way baked:)

Turn rested challah out onto a lightly floured board.

Punch down and knead for 1-2 minutes and shape into a ball.

Cut into the pieces you want.

I made 2 loaves,  1 x 3 braid and 1 x 5 braid (so 8 pieces).

You can do 1 loaf or 3 loaves ….up to you.

Have a play and maybe do 1 this time and 3 next?

Experimenting with flavours too.

To make this plain, do not add in the rosewater, pistachio and cardamom.

MMMMMM cooling…

5 braid cooling…

fruity….

Roll your pieces into balls (as shown above) and cover with a tea towel and rest for 30 minutes.

This will relax the gluten and make it easier to work with:)

Roll each ball out into a long sausage or baton.

Join braids together at the top of the top and plait (if doing a 3 braid), or use an under over formula.

I will post a braiding video that Alex and I did in the weekend.

Secure the ends of the braid and transfer loaf to tray with baking paper and cover with damp tea towel.

Allow loaves to sit for 60 minutes.

Brush with beaten egg and a little milk…wait 2 minutes and repeat.

Add on poppy seeds or sesame seeds at this point if you are using.

Pop into the oven and bake for about 35-45 minutes depending on your oven.

Remove from oven and allow to cool on wire racks.

Leave for at an hour before slicing.

When ready, slice a piece or pull off a piece …

 ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY.

lovely…

have a slice…

The grand finale…

Yummm!!

Want more?

Have you tried these bready delights???

Gubana?  The Festival bread of Friuli Venezia

Pandoro?  The festival bread of the Veneto.

 I would sell my children for this!!

or Lovely Flat breads?

Scoop up that yummy winter stew!!

mmm Gubana

Gorgeousness adapted from the ever wonderful recipes in ” Inside the Jewish Bakery” by Stanley Ginsberg & Norman Berg…

Check it out…Wonderful..

A Wee Yeastie……Sultana, Aniseed & Cognac Bread… 

Very crusty…

Fresh from the oven….

A slice perhaps?

Nice flakey,  slightly crunchy crust on it with a pillowy soft inner crumb..

Just as I like it.

That doesn’t sound very scrumptious, does it?

Hmm, I think my elaborate describing has gone out the window this morning:)

This bread certainly tastes spectacular!

So I won’t digress today as I feel I will just dig a deeper hole:)

BUT MAKE IT, IT IS A STUNNER.

bite into it…

What will you need?

1/4 of a cup of cognac

1 & 1/2 cups of Sultanas

2 Tbsp of aniseed

1 tbsp of mixed spice

4 cups of High grade flour

2 tsp of malt powder ( I get mine from Nev)

Salt

2 tbsp of Molasses or honey

3 tsp dried yeast

2 cups of warm water.

crush that aniseed!

all the dry ingredients together….

Fruity dough ready to rest:)

What to do, What to do….

Get those sultanas , put them in a bowl and pour on the cognac, and leave to soak for an hour or so…

Put all your dry ingredients in a bowl and mix through.

Grind the aniseed if you need to, if you have seeds.

After an hour, drain the sultanas…there will not be much to drain really…and put aside, saving the cognac in a bowl.

Seriously, it was about 1-2 tbsp if that.

Warm the water and stir in the molasses and then the yeast.

Stand for about 15 minutes until it is all frothy, I then put in the remaining cognac.

Mix the yeasty mix into the dry ingredients, forming a nice dough.

Knead for about 5-6 minutes and place dough in an oiled bowl.

Cover and let it rest for about 2 hours.

ready to play shape almost…

shaping….

After 2nd resting….

After resting, turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured bench/board and knead a little, knocking it back…

I have shaped the bread this time into a boule type and a baton type..

But you can do as you please, make a big monster one??

Make sure the dough shape is tightly formed though.

Transfer bread onto tray .

Today I lightly scattered the baking paper with very fine polenta as it gives a nice taste on the base but else a tray with paper is just fine:)

Let the bread rest for another 45-60 minutes covered with a tea towel.

15 minutes before the bread is ready, heat the oven to 220 Celsius.

Brush the bread with a little cream or a little beaten egg to give it a nice finish.

Pop in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, then rotate the tray and turn oven down to 200 celsius and bake a further 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack if possible.

ready!

very nice:)

slice a piece..

up close..

fabulous crust and crumb!

lovely polenta bottom..

A lick of butter as hubby says!!

Enjoy!

While warm, gently slice a piece…

ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY!!

Nev’s Malt &  other fabulous bready products

Liked this slice of gorgeousness? Try these….

Pane al latte

Maritozzi buns

Rosemary & raisin buns

Rosemary and raisin

Ja danke!!

Today in case you haven’t guessed we are off to Germany. Not a country I have been to apart from a short stay at Munich airport and Frankfurt Airport in the dead of night and early early morning!!

So without further ado….  What are we aiming for today?

I was a DUH and forgot that Kuchen means cake in German so I have used my kuchen ring piccies as no other piccies gave a good indication of what I wanted to portray prior to showing what I baked.

Apricot, Raisin and Apple Kuchen

This recipe was adapted from the stunning recipe by Ruth Joseph in her Delightful and beautiful book “Warm Bagels & Apple Strudel” . I will be working on and testing a few more of these wonderful recipes. I understand the Hairy Bikers tested this and gave it the thumbs up!!

Shabbat Apricot, Apple and Raisin Kuchen.

Dough:

• 200 mls of warmed milk
• 3 tsp dried yeast
• 4 cups of strong bread flour
• dash of salt
• 100g butter (or dairy free margarine)
• 100g castor sugar
• 2 beaten eggs
• 4 tbsp orange/ lemon zest
• Extra egg and 2 tsp milk for egg wash

Fruit all ready to go

• Filling :
• 1 can (440g) of Apple slices or pieces (not cubes though)
• 1 can of drained apricot pieces
• 1 cup raisins
• lemon/orange zest to taste
• 1/2 cup walnut pieces

• 1 cup of icing sugar
• lemon juice to mix

• Add 3 tsp of the sugar to the milk , mix well until slightly dissolved 
• Add yeast and leave in a warm place until creamy and frothy. Usually 10-20 minutes.

While yeast is feeding:

• Put all dry ingredients into a bowl , Flour and salt.
• Rub in the butter to the Flour mix
• Stir in sugar and zest
• Remove yeast from warm place. 
• Add beaten eggs to the yeasty mix and beat well
• Pour into the dry butter mix and combine until a smooth dough
• Turn out on floured area and knead well for 6 minutes.
• Place in lightly oiled bowl and cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place for 1-2 hours or doubled in size. 

   

  

  Rolling up the Kuchen

• Mix apple, walnuts, apricots, raisins and zest together
• Tip dough out on floured area and roll out into a rectangle.
• I think mine was 40cm by 20cm.
• Spread the apple filling over the dough and fold the edges all around the dough in slightly  and then roll up like you would cinnamon buns,Chelsea buns or a Chocolate log.
• Place on Baking tray
• Slash a few slits along the top of the Kuchen.
• Cover and leave in a warm place for 45-60 minutes.
• Pre heat oven to 200 Celsius.

Rolled up and ready for egg wash and baking!!
oops and slashing:)

• Brush beaten egg wash over the kuchen and place in the oven.
• Bake for 30-40 minutes (dependant on your oven)

ready to ice

• Remove from oven and cool on the tray.

Very delicious

• When cool, make up Icing by combining 1 cup of icing sugar and enough lemon juice to make a paste
• Drizzle over the kuchen when cold.
• As soon as icing is set, cut a HUGE slice, pour a large cuppa and enjoy!!

http://greedybread.wordpress.com/2012/05/27/kuchen-anyone-ja-danke/

https://www.facebook.com/greedybread

Ohh, just digress a minute, I saw "song of the bakers" Rosemary Ficaccia on here..

LOVELY, LOVELY ,LOVELY...

Spaghetti looked good too....

This is one of my favourite breads.

Very yum

Fresh from the oven..

tasty…

Ok, I lied, all bread is my favourite…

This is one of the ones I eat more often:)

This bread reminds me visually of the fly cemetery slice that my gran would make…which I HATED!!

Schiacciata though is divine !!

It is traditionally made with fresh grapes and its name,  Schiacciata all’uva.

In Comegliano, in the Veneto, they make it with raisins and sugar, thus not reliant on the grape season.

This is the version we will make today

 Schiacciata con L’uva.

I like that!!

It can be made ALL year:)

Schiacciata is the Tuscan word for what we would call or recognise as Focaccia.

History lesson over….Lets get yeasty!!

lovely…

What will you need??

For the sponge:

3 tsp of dried yeast

3 tablespoons of muscovado (or normal sugar)

1 cup of warm water

2 large eggs

2 cups of Bread flour.

For the dough:

1/4 cup of Olive oil of Olive oil

2 cups of Bread Flour

Big Pinch of salt

75 g butter.

For the filling:

3- 4 cups of raisins

1.5 cups of muscovado sugar (white is fine too)

sponge..

Combine the yeast and sugar in a bowl and add in warm water, mix well and stand, allowing to froth (about 10 mins).

Beat in the eggs and then add in the flour.

Mix well.

Cover with gladwrap and rest for 45 minutes.

When resting is complete, add in the

olive oil to the sponge and mix well.

Add in the flour and the salt and combine well.

Slowly add in the butter, a tablespoon at a time.

This is quite a stiff dough in comparison to other doughs.

Similar to my focaccia, if you have made that.

Knead for 5 minutes, then place in a well oiled bowl, cover and allow to rest for 90-120 minutes.

the dough…

2 bits…

gently stretch out..

While the dough is resting, soak the 1/3 of  the raisins in water (these will go on top )and drain well after an hour.

You could soak them in rum or the like:)

Kidding…well the inner raisins you could:)

I like to use a well oiled used big roasting dish for this or a well used etc tray.

Turn rested dough out on the floured bench,

Cut in 2 pieces and stretch dough out to the rectangle shape you need for your tray…(see above).

I usually do 30 x 45 cm…

But lets not get anal about it:).

Place the first piece on the tray/dish and then sprinkle with raisins and sugar (2/3′s of the raisins/sugar).

Place the 2nd piece on top of the first, like a sandwich and cover (see below).

Sprinkle soaked raisins and remaining sugar on the top of the dough and poke holes/indents all over the bread with a knife tip to allow steam to escape.

Cover and rest for 1 hour.

Raisins on…

add the muscovado…

covering….

All covered:)

Final Sprinkle…

Rested and ready to bake

Fresh as…

Pre heat oven to 210 Celsius and bake for 40 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly and then remove to racks for final cooling.

Ready to slice…

Perfecto!

lovely…

Stack em high

Needless to say the greedyboys LOVE THIS!!!

Hopefully you and yours will too!

ENJOY,ENJOY, ENJOY!

Parnell community centre

If you enjoyed this recipe, KEEP those eyes peeled for my up coming bread workshops @ Parnell Community Trust in term 3/ 4 this year.

Italian Breads

NZ breads

World Breads.

I will also host a bread workshop @ Epsom Community centre in October along with Onehunga Community Centre in November.

Details to come:)

Perfect for after school..

Don’t forget to try the Greedybread Focaccia if you liked this!

Adapted from the ever wonderful Carol Fields ” The Italian Baker” 2nd ed.

My Bible!!

Focaccia in question…. enjoy!

http://greedybread.wordpress.com/2013/06/09/schiacciata-with-raisins-muscovado/

When I was a kid, thats what you used to say to each other!

Strange kids....

Without any further ado.....

What more can I say?

Beautiful…

Beautiful…

Beautiful….

Where to start?

These tasted like nothing I can describe…

Fresh, tasty, light, bready, doughy, yummy, warm and delicious!!

I don’t like to blow my own greedy trumpet but they simply were fantastic!!

Gone within 2 hours of making them…

I was even tempted to make more the night before going to work and getting up early to make them before work!!

That is how good they are.

Only alteration would be to make the poppy-seed and cheese ones, a little smaller, more like the fruity ones, that had the perfect bagel shape:)

Even though it’s a 2 day process, its simple really and the 2nd day part is over really in an hour…

Baked, all done!!

Ready to scoff….

Bagel sponge..

Split in 2, ready for flour and spices etc…

Cranberry dough

Plain dough…

Spiced pre bagel…

Plain pre bagel..

Slight rest…

What do I need?

Sponge:

2 tsp dried yeast
4 cups bread flour

2 tsp sugar

2 & 1/2 cups warm water

Dough:

4 cups bread flour
3 tsp  salt
2 tsp malt powder

OTHER:

1/2 cup of muscovado sugar

1 cup of cranberries

3 tsp mixed spice

1/2 cup of grated cheese

1/2 cup of poppy seeds

1/2 cup of fine polenta.

A bit of this…

Plain rested ):

Fruit rested

The Night Before CHRISTMAS…..

Just kidding.

Take your sponge ingredients and mix the yeast into warmed water along with the sugar.

Cover and allow yeast to become frothy, usually 10 minutes, then add in the flour.

Mix well and cover with gladwrap and then a tea towel and rest for 2 hours.

Stir in the 2nd lot of flour, malt powder and the salt.

Make sure it is well blended and knead for 10 minutes.

Cut dough into pieces  (I did 12 BUT next time I will do 14-16).

Roll each piece into a smooth tight ball (as above) and place on lightly floured bench and allow to rest for 30 minutes, covered with a tea towel.

Holey…

Holey moley…

Holey guacamole

Cover and into the fridge…

When rested, poke your thumb into the middle of the ball and then rotate round using finger and thumb until the shape is reached.

Its easy peasy…serious, do one and you will be sweet!!

Place on a lightly oiled baking paper/tray, allowing lots of room between the bagels.

Cover with gladwrap, ( I used 2 foodtown plastic bags on each tray ) and pop into the fridge overnight.

Boil, Boil, toil and trouble…

Ready….

Polenta….or very fine semolina flour is ok too.

NEXT DAY!!!

Are you excited????

I am….

Pre heat your oven to 250 Celsius.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil, salted well.

Remove bagels from the fridge.

Get your toppings ready, I had my poppy seeds and grated cheese..

Also some polenta to scatter on the baking tray.

The fruit beasties well already to go:)

Boiling…

Getting fruity…

Poppied!

cheesy too…

Ready to bake….

Carefully place 2-3 bagels in the boiling pot at one stage.

Allow 1-2 minutes cooking on one side, then turn over and allow the same on the other side.

Remove from the water, a slotted spoon is good, and place on your baking tray that is sprinkle with polenta that will go in the oven.

Top whilst the bagel is still damp.

Place in the oven for 5-6 minutes and then rotate the tray round, also turning the heat down to 220 Celsius and baking for a further 5-6 minutes.

A slight goldy tinge is good:)

Remove from the oven and cool (if you can wait that long) slightly and EAT!!

I made the plain bagels a little larger than need be so that is why above is I suggested 1-2 more bagels.

Dig in….

Cheese???

Mmmm Fruity

Underneath…

Yummmmm

Lovely Texture

Inner Cheese…

Almost all gone…

Tasty…

ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY!!

Recipe adapted from the lovely folks @ the fresh loaf.

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/bagels

Don't forget to check out greedybread on Facebook now!! 

https://www.facebook.com/greedybread

See you there:)

Toad in the hole!!

Delish…so yummy and wonderful for winter.

Perfect for the cold!!

Veggies & gravy too

Peeking out!!

Ok, not truly a yeasty but a battery type bready/dumpling concoction…

Plus I am not really a savoury girl so you know for me to post it, it has to be good!!

Bonus is that its easy, quick, and you could do a variety of things with this recipe actually..

I used Lady Gouda’s recipe as a guide and tweaked it accordingly…

The dry’s

Bit of this!

Eggy mix

batter ready to rest…

You can of course add onions, etc one of my greedyboys would not have a bar of onions….

so no onions…

But caramelised onions with rosemary in a gravy actually baked in the batter would be scrummy!!

Mmmm nom nom nom..:)

And and and if you don’t use gourmet sausages, a cheap wee tasty meal:)

Browning…

Some batter on…

Covered

Bit of me old mate, parmy!!

So what do you need ?????

For 6 people

12 sausages, decent quality would be fab but mr cheepy is ok too….

3 cups of flour

2 tsp baking powder

big pinch salt

1 tbsp mustard powder

good dash of ground pepper

4 eggs

2 cups of milk

wee bit oil oil to start

1/2 cup of grated parmesan.

butter for greasing.

For the GRAVY:

Dash of soy sauce

Enough flour to make a roux

salt and pepper

beef stock 2 cups

Fresh rosemary.

Mmmmm Goldy

Love bangers!

I cooked this recipe in the roasting dish and I would recommend the same BUT any dish is ok.

Heat saucepan/frypan, add in oil and then add in sausages and cook until 3/4 done and brown.

While cooking add all dry ingredients into a bowl and combine well.

Mix eggs and milk together and whisk well.

Tasty

Battery…Mmmm

Remove sausages from frypan but keep the fat from bangers in the fry pan, you will use it for gravy roux starter.

Grease roasting dish and place sausages in the dish.

Add milky egg mix into dry ingredients and beat until smooth.

Cover lightly and allow batter to rest for 30-60 minutes.

A large slice?

Pre heat oven to 220 celsius and pop roasting dish in the oven when temperature is reached, removing sausages first though:)

After 5 minutes, place sausages into the roasting dish again and pour batter over them, covering them totally.

Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of grated parmesan.

Bake in the hot oven for 20-25 minutes and remove when golden brown and puffy.

Lots of sauasges

Whilst baking, heat the sausage fat in the frypan and add in enough flour to make a dry paste.

Cook out the roux and brown it a little.

Remove from the heat and add in 1/2 cup of beef stock .

Whisk till smooth and add in s & p and a dash of soy sauce.

Add 1 cup of stock and whisk until smooth, return to the heat and allow to come to slow boil, whisking away.

Where’s my sausage??

Add in last stock amount and whisk in and turn down heat a little and bring to slow simmer.

Season more if needed, slow simmer until Toady batter is cooked.

Slice toad in the hole, pour on that gravy, have some veg or salad and you are away laughing!!

ENJOY!

Cause I did….

Almost need a grappa afterwards as a digestive as I ate toooooo much!!

Lovely…..

http://greedybread.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/winter-warmer-toad-in-the-hole/#more-3382

Dolce Milanese Take 2!!

Been AWOL, as lost bready mojo for a bit…:(

Yumminess!!

Fruity, fruity, fruity, fruity!!

Still warm…

BUT IS ALL GOOD NOW!!

As you know, I am partial to fruit breads:)

I made this bread last year but felt I could improve on what I had done, so here we are!!

Dolce Milanese 2013!!

Almost brioche in taste, as it has 250 g of butter in it!!

But it’s not too much…

The fruit & rum , just add to the over all wonderful taste and help preserve it:)

This bread is still good after 5 days UNTOASTED!!!

That is how moist it is, and then still good after 5 days toasted or in a bread and butter pud or or or or…..

Endless opportunities there:)

I would like to say that there were two loaves and i gave one away and went away for 3 days, hence why i EVEN had it last more than 2 days!!

Use the recipe here to make your own!!

HOP TO IT!!

Buttery dough..

Full of citrus zestyness!

Ready to lightly roll out:)

Add the fruit in and roll it baby!!

Roll it

Ready to rise!!

rising, rising…rising:)

Almost ready to bake!

Ready to munch!!

Sliced while warm:)

Nom Nom Nom

Big Bite!!

Rich and buttery….

Mmmm fruity

Have a lovely coffee and  ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY!!

No butter on it as hubby suggested!

http://greedybread.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/dolce-milanese-take-2/

One of my greedyboys had been hassling me for weeks to make some Raspberry sticky buns.

So after much umming and arghing and thinking “plain, sugar, Plain and mascapone, Ricotta, brown sugar”  and many variations here they are in all their glory.

Stunningly Scrumptious…

Without any adornments at this stage:)

Chock bun of raspberries….Simply delicious…Brekkie, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea..

Toasted, wonderful in a bread pudding after a few days…

Warmed up with cream or custard…endless, endless possibilities…

Not sweet enough the greedyboys said…

Hmm you be the judge.

I think they are:)

Almost all gone

Chock full

What will you need?

Use my base sticky bun recipe but add in 2 eggs and change the butter amount to 150 g.

Apart from that, it is the same.

So follow the same procedure.

You will need 400g of Frozen raspberries

1/2 cup of sugar

2 tsp of cornflour.

Add altogether in a bowl and toss.

You want the berries to be frozen as long as possible.

Dough waiting to rise…

Some of these…

Make the dough according the above recipe.

Allow to rest for specified time and then place on lightly floured bench/board.

Roll out into a sort of rectangular shape (see below) and sprinkle with berries.

Then roll up as tightly as possible.

Lightly grease a roasting dish, or a big, high sided dish.

Slice the sticky buns into 12-14 pieces.

I did 12.

I laid these out 4 x 3 , as you can see below.

Cover lightly with a tea towel and place in a warm place and allow to rise for 2 hours.

Pre-heat oven 20 210 celsius about 30 minutes before rising is finished.

Place in the hot oven for 10 minutes and then reduce heat to 180 and bake a further 25 minutes.

After 15 minutes, ,make a sugar syrup of 1/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of sugar and let become syrupy.

Spoon over the buns about 10 minutes before removing them.

It acts as a glaze.

Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan.

NB: RASPBERRIES WILL BE VERY VERY HOT!!!!

Allow to cool fully and then pull apart and munch.

Mmmmm, very very very yummy….

The greedyboys felt more sugar was needed in the raspberry mix.

I did not.

You could also make a white icing and drizzle across the raspberries buns but i really feel this maybe too much.

But as usual I will leave it totally up to you.

ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY!!

Pizza Civitavecchia …Last of the Easter Breads…

Pizza di Pasqua….Pizza Civitavecchia…Pizza di Pasqua…

Lovely….

Tasty!!

Mmmmmm

Too hard!! I can’t choose…

Both are too lovely…

I need to be very greedy and have both…with Pandoro and all my other bready lovelies…

Now this gorgeousness is deceptive.

By the 2nd day, it looked a little dry but it wasn’t, when I ate it, it was lovely, spongey and moist and the aniseed aroma….Divine:)

I am now on day 5 and it is still ok to eat with out toasting but I have been toasting it and having it with greek yoghurt!!

Simply sublime….

Hints of rum, aniseed and the moist ricotta:)

So let us get yeasty beasty as this is the last of the summer breads…err Easter breads!!

Start with the sponge…

Ground the aniseed…

Almost batter like..

rising….

Rising….

What will you need?

A bloody lot of eggs!!:)

For the sponge:

4 tsp of dried yeast

1/2 cup of warm water

3/4 cup of flour.

For the Dough:

3.5 cups of Flour

1/2 cup of castor sugar

Pinch of salt

4 eggs

9 egg yolks!!! (yep- meringues coming up later or almond cookies)

200g ricotta

1/2 cup of rum

3 tbsp of aniseed powder

Grated Zest of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp of cinnamon

250g of butter

rising…

Place dried yeast in the warm water and stir until combined.

Allow to stand and become frothy, usually about 10 minutes.

Add flour and mix in well.

Cover tightly with Gladwrap and allow to stand for an hour and become soupy.

almost ready….

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and combine well.

Add the egg yolks and eggs into the yeasty mix, combine well.

Add the ricotta and rum  into the eggy yeast mix, combine until smooth.

Grate zest directly into the dry ingredients to get the oils of the lemon into the mix as well.

Mix well and pour the eggy mix into the dry, forming a dough.

Knead for 6 minutes until golden and springy.

Add in the butter, 30-40g at a time until well combined into the dough.

The dough will be very soft, almost batter like.

Place in a well oiled bowl and rest, well covered for 2 hours.

Place / pour dough when risen into 1 or 2 well greased moulds.

Cover and allow to rise for a further 60-90  minutes until doubled in size.

30 minutes before finishing, pre heat the oven to 200 celsius.

You can brush the top with egg white and sprinkle with sugar pellets if you wish.

Place bread into the oven and bake for 15 minutes, reduce the temperature and bake a further 40 minutes at 175 celsius.

Cover tops of the bread if need be, if they get too brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Place on a wire rack after 15 minutes to cool fully.

Slice and ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY!!

This bread is gorgeously moist but not so delicate as the Pizza di Pasqua.

As Carol Field says ” it has an unusual taste”…

Which it does but its gorgeous, not overly sweet, you could almost have it with cheese but that hint of sweetness is there.

A Fig jam would be divine on it, after toasting…I can verify it is heavenly with greek yoghurt:)

Sit down, have a coffee and Enjoy!!

Adapted from the ever Fabulous Carol Fields “The Italian Baker” 2nd Edition, 2011.

http://greedybread.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/pizza-civitavecchia-last-of-the-easter-breads/