German-style Pretzels

Ingredients


1 1/2 cups warm water (110 - 115 degrees)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 package dried yeast (7g)
22 oz (4 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
2 oz (60g) unsalted butter (melted)
Veg oil for bowl
10 cups water
3/4 cup baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)

Method

1. Combine 1 1/2 cups warm water, sugar, salt and sprinkle with dried yeast, allow to sit for 5 minutes
2. Add flour and butter, using a dough hook, mix on low speed until combined. If not using a mixer, knead until elastic.
3. Change to medium speed and knead 4-5 minutes.
4. Remove from bowl, cover bowl with oil then place the dough back into bowl. Cover with plastic wrap for 50 - 55 minutes.
5. Divide mixture in 16 even pieces and roll into a long sausage, create a pretzel shape.
6. Bring 10 cups of water and bicarb soda to the boil (will only be gentle boil). 
7. Place each shaped pretzel into the boiling water for 1 minute. 
8. Place on prepared baking tray, sprinkle with sea salt and cook for 12 - 14 minutes.
9. Place on drying rack until cool.

Hot Cross Buns

As you are getting ready for Easter, here is my 'Tested and True' Hot Cross Buns recipe. Although it is easy to purchase these, it is so satisfying to make them yourself.

There looks like a lot of steps but the original recipe I use only has 6 steps. I just like to work with recipes that have it listed in more steps (I don't like reading a step 5 times for 5 things to do).

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (375ml) warm milk
2 tsp dried yeast
1/4 cup caster sugar
60g butter, melted
1 egg, lightly whisked
4 1/2 cups plain flour (I usually use a little more)
1 tsp salt
3 tsp mixed spice
1 cup sultanas
1/4 cup currants
1/4 cup mixed peel
1/3 cup cold water
1/2 cup apricot jam

Note: instead of sultanas, currants and mixed peel I usually just use packet dried fruit or just sultanas (but make sure if you just use sultanas to put 1 1/2 cups)

Method

1. Combine milk, yeast and 1 tbs of sugar in small bowl. Set aside in warm, draught-free place for 10 minutes or until frothy.
2. Combine the milk mixture, butter and egg in a jug and whisk to combine.
3. Combine 4 cups of flour, salt, mixed spice and remaining sugar. Add sultanas, currants and mixed peel and stir to combine.
4. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk mixture and use a wooden spoon to stir until just combined then use your hands to bring the dough together.
5. Turn into a lightly floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
6. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl covered with a tea towel in a warm, draught-free place or 1 hour or until dough doubles in size.
7. Grease a 23cm square cake pan. 
8. Punch the dough down with your fist. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic.
9. Divide dough into 16 even pieces and shape each portion into a ball. Arrange side by side in prepared pan. Set aside in warm draught-free place for 30 minutes or until dough has risen 2cm. Preheat oven to 200 deg. 
10. Meanwhile, mix the remaining flour and water together in a small bowl until a smooth paste forms. Place in a small plastic bag (zip lock bags are stronger), and snip off a corner. 
11. Pipe a continuous line down the centre of each row of buns length and width to create the cross.
12. Bake in preheated oven for 10 mins then reduce the temp to 180 deg for a further 20 mins. Bake until golden brown.
13. Turn onto a wire rack. Place the jam in a small saucepan over high heat. Cook, stirring for 2 mins or until jam melts. Strain through a sieve. Brush hot jam over the buns. 

Brioche

"Brioche (pronounced: [bʁi.ɔʃ]) is a highly enriched French pastry, whose high egg and butter content give it a rich and tender crumb. It is "light and slightly puffy, more or less fine, according to the proportion of butter and eggs"^[1] It has a dark, golden, and flaky crust, frequently accentuated by an egg wash applied after proofing. "

Referenced from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brioche

While home at on my Christmas holidays I found this recipe for Brioche in a cookbook of Mums. I have always wanted to cook it so I thought I would spoil the family for breakfast. I love dipping brioche into a strong coffee, soooo good.

Ingredients

7g dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup lukewarm milk
3 cups plain flour (I had to use plenty more)
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup (200g) butter, cut into small pieces and softened

Egg wash:
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon milk (I used the whole egg, not just yolk).

Method

1. Mix the yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and the milk in a small bowl. Set aside for 10 minutes until frothy.
2. Combine the flour, remaining sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Make a well in the center and pour in the eggs, milk and yeast mixture.
4. Gradually draw the flour into the eggs and yeast mixture with a plastic spatula. Mix until you have a soft dough (until 15 minutes).
5. (see note below) Work small pieces of butter into the dough with your hands, rubbing and squeezing the butter in.
6. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 15 minutes.
7. Form into a ball and place into an oiled bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave for 2-3 hours, until doubled in size. (Make sure the room temperature is no more than 24 degrees C).
8. Punch out the risen dough, turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 2-3 minutes.
9. Return to the bowl, cover and place in the fridge overnight.
10. Next day, divide the dough into 18 pieces (around 57g each), three quarters and a quarter.
11. Roll into balls, place into prepared muffin or brioche molds (quarter ball on top).
12. Cover and leave to rise for about 20 minutes.
13. Lightly glaze the brioche tops with the egg wash.
14. Preheat the oven to 220 deg C.
15. Bake for around 8-10 minutes. If the top starts to burn, cover with foil. Cook until when a a skewer is inserted into the center it comes out clean.
16. Remove from the mold immediately and let cool on a rack.

Note: This step was very messy and I ended up with a buttery blob. I kneaded the mixture for 15 minutes before adding the butter in case it was a mess. Next time I will roll out the mixture and place the butter in it, fold it over and roll again (like making croissants) then cover and prove for the first time.

This recipe is from The Golden Book of Patisserie, McRae Books

Christmas Morning Crown (fruit bread rolls)

I made this for Christmas morning but it looked so good we started it Christmas Eve (see the 3 missing rolls in the photo). This would be fantastic to make if you want to have something yummy for guests for breakfast (not necessarily for Christmas).

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups strong flour (I used plain)
7g dried instant yeast
125g unsalted butter, chopped
1/2 cup warm milk
1 egg beaten
50g brown sugar
2 tbs chopped hazelnuts (I used pecans)
1 tsp mixed spice
1/3 cup chopped mixed peel
1/3 cup sultanas
1/4 cup glace cherries, chopped
(instead of the last 3 ingredients above, I added a cup of mixed dried fruit)

Method

1. Sift flour into a large bowl, add yeast and 1/2 tsp salt.
2. Rub in 40g butter to form coarse crumbs.
3. Mix in warm milk and egg to form a dough (I had to add more flour).
4. Place in a greased blow, cover with a tea towel and leave for 1 hour in a warm place until doubled in size.
5. Beat remaining butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until combined.
6. Add nuts, spice, mixed fruit and stir to combine.
7. Punch down to expel air, knead briefly then roll out on a floured surface to form a 30cm x 23cm rectangle.
8. Spread fruit mixture over dough, leaving a 2cm border on the long sides.
9. Roll up from one long side then cut into 9 equal pieces.
10. Place slices, cut-side up on the lined or greased baking tray so it forms a circle with the slices just touching.
11. Cover with a clean towel and leave in a warm place for 1 hour or until slightly  risen (I placed a piece of baking paper between the roll and towel as the roll is sticky).
12. Once risen, you can cover the crown and chill overnight, then bring back to room temperature before baking.
13. Preheat over to 180 deg c. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

The original recipe from the taste website made an icing with 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 3/4 cup icing sugar and drizzled over the crown before serving. I didn't think it needed more sugar so I left it out.

Also, when I make this again, I will put less butter in the fruit and nut mix as there was a lot of melted butter in the middle of the crown after it cooked. I will also add more nuts as this tasted fantastic.

Olive, Herb & Garlic Focaccia

Welcome back to the blog. It has been a while since I have uploaded recipes and life got on top of me and it fell to the way-side. Since watching the movie Jule &Julia I have been inspired to cook again. Yesterday afternoon I decided to try this focaccia recipe. It was plain and I added the extra bits which I feel made it better.

If you cook it, I would love to know what you added to the top (or inside). Please reply to this thread or on Facebook.

If you have made anything interesting over Christmas - New Year break I would love to know and upload onto the blog. Remember, this blog is about sharing 'tested and true' recipes. Enjoy.

Ingredients

Olive, Herb & Garlic Focaccia



4 cups bakers flour (or plain flour)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 sachet (7-8g)s instant dry yeast

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 - 1 1/4 cups (250 - 300 ml) lukewarm water (-40 deg C)

1 teaspoon mixed herbs (I put a lot more than 1 teaspoon, also put mixed pepper)

1 teaspoon crushed garlic



Method

1. Mix yeast and water in a small bowl until yeast has dissolved. Put aside for 10 minutes until foaming.
2. Mix together flour, salt, mixed herbs and garlic into a large bowl.
3. Pour in the yeast mixture and the olive oil*. Gradually mix with a wooden spoon.
4. Lightly flour the work surface and knead the dough until soft and elastic (approx. 5 minutes).
5. Place dough into an oiled bowl, cover and stand in a warm position until dough has doubled in size (approx. 1 hour).
6. Punch out the air. Pull out to make rectangle shape and place on a lined baking tray
   (you can roll with a rolling pin but that makes more washing up).
7. Dimple the surface with your fingers. Rub olive oil over the top of the surface. 
8. Cut olives in half and push into the dough. Break up fresh parsley and push into the dough (optional).
9. Sprinkle dried herbs and sea salt over the surface, patting on so they stick (also a variation is chili flakes).
10. Place in the oven at the lowest temperature and allow to rise again (approx 15-20 minutes).
11. Turn the oven up to 200 deg C and cook for 15-20 minutes (slightly brown on the top).



*Notes: I forgot to put the oil into the mixture which is why I put it on top. By putting it on top it used less oil but was not dry. It also helped it turn brown and keep the herbs on the top.

Most of this recipe came from the back of the Defiance White Baker's Flour packet although I used plain flour (bought the bakers flour, brought it home, opened it and it was full of bugs- thanks Defiance!).