Cinnamon Star Bread

Starting the year off correctly with one of my favourite things I’ve ever made! This cinnamon star bread is delicious and super impressive and once you’ve cracked the dough-making, it’s a fairly easy process!

This is the same recipe as my individual kanelbullar but with a different assembly at the end which just turns it into a show stopper. This would make a great centrepiece dessert, sliced up and served with a dollop of ice-cream or custard. 

Serves 8, realistically. But you will find no judgement here if you keep it all to yourself.

Some tips:

• It is really easy to overheat the milk and butter mixture at the start, so I reserve about 60ml of cold milk and add it after heating to quickly bring the temperature down.
• Making a miniature yeast “slurry” with some of the milk mixture and a little sugar boosts the rising. Too much sugar kills yeast, but a little will help feed it.
• A round baking tray makes this a lot easier – for example a pizza tray. Bonus – these are cheap and easy to find
• It’s fine if you don’t roll out perfect circles (I never do), everything kind of comes together ok in the oven.
• Cutting into strips is easiest if you cut into quarters and then cut each quarter again twice to get four strips per quarter, so 16 strips total.

Tear and Share Cheesy Garlic Bread

Okay, I know that it's Easter, which basically means chocolate season. And I am all about the chocolate. I don't do much sweet Easter baking because I'm too focused on yumming chocolate eggs into my face.

But if you're anything like my family, Easter is a time for people to come together and eat. So I've found the perfect side for your Easter buffet. Everyone does an Easter buffet, right?

It is an acknowledged truth that everyone loves garlic bread.

It’s like the universal amazing starter/side – carbohydrate-loaded, highly flavoured, a wee bit greasy.. It ticks all the boxes.

I'm literally salivating right now

But, like all awesome things, it is also ridiculously decadent and should really be saved for special occasions. Oh, hello, Easter.

I could eat all of these right now/

This bread is really really simple to whip up. It takes a little time while you’re allowing the dough to rise, but that’s good if you’re also cooking lots of other things at the same time. This is why it is the perfect dish for a party, imagine throwing this down in the centre of a table – people would be so happy.

Serves.. well, it makes about 24 individual garlic bread balls. So that could serve 2-12, depending on how much the people at your table love garlic bread. I'm not judging.

Quick Cinnamon Pretzels

One evening I thought to myself.. I want some pretzels. I've never made them before, but I want them NOW. And what is a girl to do, but rummage through her baking cupboard for the ingredients and just get cracking! There are no complex ingredients here, all of the bits needed are readily available to buy in any grocery shop, and I keep all of them on hand in my kitchen.

Aside from being no-nonsense from an ingredients point of view, it's also quick as anything, because it doesn't require any rising time for the yeast. You just mix, kneed, shape, blanch, bake and dip. It literally took less than an hour to have a tray full of cooling pretezels ready to be demolised.

And that's important when you have a craving to satisfy. We've all been there. Don't pretend.

DONUTS!

Lets go nuts, for donuts! 

Little mini donut holes

OMG, I love donuts. Is there anything that makes people smile more than a pile of donuts, getting your fingers sticky from the sugar-crusted goodness?

I had to give these a go, because I was procrastinating other things. Plus, I’ve never made donuts before and I wanted a challenge. They are not difficult, I swear. You just need some patience and common sense around boiling oil.

Everyone who knows me knows that mint and chocolate is my FAVOURITE. And I think part of the reason for that is because it reminds me of Christmas. Yes, orange and cinnamon and nutmeg and cloves are traditionally Christmassy flavours, but for me, it is all about the mint: After Eights, mint matchmakers, that minty box of Thornton’s chocolates. I never eat those unless they’ve been sitting under a Christmas tree for AT LEAST a week.

So, that’s why I’m serving up some mint chocolate realness. But just after I had finished making them, I had the bright idea that I could have put some cinnamon in the sugar coating and rolled the donuts in that. Next time.

Garlic Pizza Bread with EVERYTHING

When you say "garlic pizza, with everything," this is what you end up with.

I normally make this at the same time as I make my Neapolitan pizza, because I always end up with tons of dough. Because "portion control" is just a fantasy phrase to me, like "getting up early to go to the gym." Who even knows what that means? Crazy.

I really really like pesto on my pizza. I like it on anything. Everything. But it works well on pizza and especially on garlic pizza bread.

Chelsea Buns

Well, it's Sunday, and for me that means only one thing: baking! These fruity and sweet little buns are the perfect way to start your day, the way they make the kitchen smell is a bonus delight.

I think these are an English creation. I’d certainly never heard of them before moving here. A treat for the senses, with a light and filling dough, delicious fruity filling, and sweet sugary topping. Really bloody lovely, and would make a great addition to a chunky afternoon tea spread, or hot from the oven for breakfast.

I kind of see these as a British equivalent of the Swedish cinnamon buns I posted before. My boyfriend, who doesn't get their deliciousness, does not agree. More for me!

You can use whichever fruits or nuts you want in the filling. 

I went with dried apricots and cranberries which went really well with the orange zest. However, something like raisins and walnuts could also work. Raisins are evil, so that’s why I haven’t included them in mine. I will not have them in my house.

Kanelbullar

Or, cinnamon buns.

Shall we continue the Swedish theme? Okay, then!

Hmm, that name looks familiar, you might be thinking. Well, if you have visited IKEA lately and hung out by the grocery section, you will be right.

These are amazing little pastry blobs of sweet cinnamon delight, Swedish-style. Now, Sweden doesn’t often get sweet things right. They have an affinity for cardamom, for one. And those lime-green marzipan abominations.. Don’t even get me started.

But these are wonderful. Smaller than their American cousins, and less in-your-face sweet too. I took this recipe from a great little red gingham Swedish cookbook which my Swedish boyfriend assures me is a staple in any Swede’s kitchen.

Frankly, any Sunday where I get to mess around with dough is just swell by me. If you’re the same, you need these in your life.

Neapolitan Pizza, Kind Of.

Taken at a crafty angle so you don't see how non-circular it is.  Totally nailed it.

I love this recipe. It’s pretty easy to prepare it in advance as the dough needs to sit in the fridge for 24-72 hours. THE DOUGH NEEDS TO BE MADE DAYS IN ADVANCE. I’m only highlighting this because I don’t even want to count the times that I have started a recipe for the night’s dinner only to discover that it required careful and lengthy marinading.

Makes about 3 decently sized pizzas

                                                                            

Dough recipe

• 3 cups bread flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1.5 tbsp yeast (pretty much one 7 sachet of the dried stuff)
• 250ml lukewarm water

Dough Method

To make the dough, place the flour, salt and yeast in a bowl and mix. Make a well in the middle and add in the water, stir well to combine. In the bowl, knead for a few minutes. Coat the inside of the bowl in oil and roll the dough around. Let rise in a warm place for about 8 hours, then divide into three balls, place in separate plastic food bags and put in the fridge. 

Leave in the fridge for 24-72 hours. WHEN READY TO USE, ALLOW TO COME TO ROOM TEMPERATURE (1-2 hours). Again, highlighting, because I have forgotten that morsel of information twice.

Pizza Sauce

• 200ml tomato pasatta (sieved tomatoes)
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1tsp Italian mixed herbs, or fresh oregano if you have it.

Pizza Sauce Method

For the pizza sauce, place the above ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Let simmer for a few minutes until thickened.

Toppings

I am not going to tell you how to top your pizza. That’s sacrosanct to people.

My typical toppings:

• Pepperoni and caramelised onions and peppers with mozzarella
• Ham and pesto with regular cheddar cheese and mozzarella
• Pesto, pepperoni and chillies with spicy Mexicana cheese 

To Assemble the Pizza

Oven at 230 degrees celcius

Preheat some baking trays in the oven, or use a pizza stone if you’re fancy.

To form the pizzas, roll out the dough balls into thin circles (if you can make a circle, more power to you, mine always end up slightly blobby). 

I always roll my dough out on a large tray to save on cleaning. Because I am an old lady.

Place on a square of greaseproof paper and add enough sauce to cover. Top with whichever toppings and cheese take your fancy and pick up using the greaseproof paper.

Place on top of the heated baking tray and cook for 10 or so minutes until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling.

 

Pesto, ham and onion (mine)