Danny’s yummy homemade garlic bread
Spaghetti bolognaise is one of our staples. Our recipe is more like the traditional Italian one with lots of vegetables and not so much meat as the UK version. It tastes delicious, you are not aware of the vegetables and isn’t as sickly and dense as some UK recipes can be. The great thing about our recipe is that it already has loads of veggies in it so there’s no real pressure to serve veg on the side. Although I do like a really fresh green salad. Danny loves it too but insists on garlic bread. Up until last week we always bought...
read moreQuick no knead white bread rolls to bake from scratch for breakfast
Gradually Danny and I are eating more whole grain bread. It does taste good, is better fuel and doesn’t have one dashing to the car to search for a forgotten bar of chocolate mid morning. But sometimes there’s nothing like a crusty white loaf for breakfast. We woke to an empty bread bin this morning. I had a longing for fresh white rolls. Small warm puffs of happiness lavished with butter. So I decided to try and make some. With two hours to spare before work, I probably just had enough time to make some no knead bread dough and let it...
read moreQuick and delicious spelt soda bread recipe
The no knead spelt bread that I mentioned last week was finally finished today. It was eaten for four days by me and Danny joined me for the last two days. So with six breakfasts and lunches the loaf achieved a good innings. I sliced it ultra fine (3mm) as this loaf could be aptly described as condensed bread. The bag containing my packed lunch was easily slipped into a back pocket rather than filling a chunky lunch box. These slimline sandwiches were far more satisfying than their chubby forbears. And there was no yearning to lift the lid...
read moreNo knead spelt bread
Every time Danny goes away on business I make bread. I suppose it’s because I have more time on my hands and there’s not the rush to rustle up supper the instant that I get in from work. I prefer to eat much later than my paramour and tonight it’s the cottage pie that I made on Saturday. As my fingers fly across the keyboard a baby pie is heating through in the oven along with my first attempt at no knead spelt bread. It’s snug in the kitchen, a warm haven away from the chill of the rest of the cottage. The dogs loll beside the wood...
read moreWhite soda bread with oatmeal recipe
Just before I met Danny I attended a bread making course at Darina and Tim Allan’s cookery school in Ballymaloe. It was a great course covering a vast swathe of bread making from brioche to Irish soda bread. The days were packed with information and practical sessions. Set in the heart of the Cork countryside, it was an unforgettable experience. After the course finished I spent the weekend at Ballymaloe House. The food was so good that, even ten years later, I still remember the amazing dishes on the massive hors d’oeuvre table in the...
read morePane Basso. Quick Italian homemade bread
Bread making has become a bit of an obsession. I baked every evening while Danny was away, trying out different recipes and methods. Lots of late nights for me and the trusty old Kenwood Chef that has been eased out of semi retirement to do the kneading. She’s a trooper and as she kneads she gives me the time to prise stray bits of dough off the kitchen worktops and sweep the daubed flour off the tablecloth. I have the book that Veronica suggested on order from Amazon. Waiting for the bread to rise is fine on a day off but when I get...
read moreBest Bread Recipes
I mentioned that I was making bread last night. I was going to make Atomic Shrimp’s recipe (I even have the Tesco Value flour!) But at the very last fence I shied away and tried this recipe for French bread. I cut my first slice at one this morning from the loaf in the photograph. Then another as the dogs sampled a bit, drawn down to the kitchen by the warm bread smells. Delicious waistline expanding stuff. This morning as I toasted a slice for breakfast (excellent) I made a sandwich for lunch for my lunch box. Tomato, parma ham and...
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