The Cookbook Challenge Week 48 - Bread - Simple White Loaf - 2 - V

Today I got my nails done and watched Mad Men DVDs and baked bread. Just call me Little Susie Homemaker! I do love Mad Men and I do love Christina Hendricks. Even though women's rights obviously left a whole lot to be desired back when the show is set, it sure is nice to see gorgeous, curvy women who aren't afraid of a carb or two. When I grow up I want to look like Joan...I've got red hair and a round behind so I guess I'm part of the way there.

So, to this week's Cookbook Challenge. I have NEVER baked bread, in fact the idea of making it terrified me before today. I think it stems from my inability to make scones very well and I didn't want to bugger up something that people have been successfully making on a daily basis for thousands of years. This recipe comes from Maggie Beer's book Maggie's Table and is brought to you by the delightful Cathie who writes Melbourne Epicure. I've been hanging on to this post in anticipation because Cathie is an excellent baker and I figured if she said it was easy then I could trust her judgement. Keep an eye on Cathie's blog if you live in Melbourne so that you can find out which markets she's selling her wares at, her herb and haloumi bread will change your life!

Before I even got started I had a mini meltdown in the stupormarket over this recipe. The ingredients listed baker's flour but there were only 10kg bags of it on the shelves! I was not going to buy that much to try this out but then I remembered reading a Jamie Oliver bread recipe once that listed Italian 00 flour and there was a 1kg bag of that. Now that I've done some research I can tell you that this kind of flour is usually used for making pasta or pizza dough but my bread tastes alright so I think it was OK this time around.
Also those little 7gm packets of yeast mean you are just short using one and have far too much left over when using two - a bit annoying but what can you do? This is a learning experience after all so hopefully my post will help some of you first time bakers. I can tell you that the time spent in front of the shelves umming and aahing over which flour to buy is long enough for your nail polish to dry.

The process is simple and even though it's long it is so worth it just for the smell that wafts around the house. I have read about many people who find baking bread really therapeutic and I now totally understand where they are coming from; I don't think I've had such a sense of pride pulling something hot and gorgeous from the oven like I did today.

Thank you Cathie for the post and good luck bakers out there. I can't wait to make some toast in the morning.

Enjoy!

Reader Recipe - Cheese and Onion Bread- 1 - $ - V

Luckily this afternoon I found an email from the lovely Erica at Recycled Fashion with a recipe to share. It's lucky because I had a little bit too much sake at the fantastic Ichi Ni last night and the likelihood of me making any food worth blogging about today is not too high! Although perhaps a Top 10 of hangover food could be something worth writing about...

However, I digress. Erica has a love of op-shop cookbook collecting just like I do and she found a real gem recently - The Vegemite Cookbook. Thank you Erica for sharing your rainy day baking and photos with us!


Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of milk
1tbs Vegemite (Marmite would probably do just as well)
3 1/4 cups self-raising flour
250gm grated tasty cheese
1/2 cup chopped spring onions
(Erica also added some corn to hers which I think is a clever addition)

Preheat oven to 200C degrees.
Warm 1/2 cup milk in a pot and dissolve the Vegemite in it. Combine the flour, cheese, spring onions and remaining milk in a bowl. Stir in the Vegemite milk and mix all ingredients until well combined. Divide the dough into three portions.
On a lightly floured surface make three rounds and then place them side by side in a lightly greased loaf tin.
Bake for 55-60 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Reader Recipe - Zucchini/Banana Bread - 1 - $ - V

It has been a weekend of high drama around here: lost mobile phones, emergency departments, found mobile phones, my cat needing surgery. After all that I'm feeling a little shaky and I haven't been near my kitchen for days.

Thank goodness I have a reader recipe to share! The ever-generous Duncan has given us this one. It is supposed to be zucchini bread, but he put bananas in it instead. He's a bit cheeky like that.
I guess it will be depend on whether you're feeling a little bit fruity or a little bit veggie; or what you have handy at your place, as to how you bake this loaf.

Ingredients

2 large zucchinis, grated OR 4 large, very ripe, mashed bananas
¾ cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
½ cup dried cranberries OR sultanas
2 2/3 cups plain flour
1 1/3 cups caster sugar
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
200ml olive oil
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp mixed spice
2 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 150C.
Grease and line a 2 litre loaf pan.
Sift flour, bicarb, baking powder, spices and salt into a large bowl. Stir in sugars, then add egg, oil, vanilla, zucchini/banana, nuts and cranberries/sultanas. Stir with a wooden spoon, until well combined. Spread into the prepared pan.
Bake in the oven for 1¼ hours or until a skewer comes out clean.
Cool slightly in the pan before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Cullen Skink Soup - 1 - $ & Soda Bread - 1 - $ - V

On my recent trip to the UK I spent some time in the Scottish Highlands, which were truly breathtaking and truly freezing. I mean actually freezing. The below zero kind. My cockles were in need of some serious warming and this soup was just the ticket.

The salty, smokey flavour of the fish cuts through the creaminess of the milk and the potatoes give it enough bulk to fill you up. The recipe is really simple, but as with many things, simple and fresh is best. I would put this soup up there with a classic minestrone or chicken and sweetcorn. It really is that good.
Mine was served with cheesy soda bread, so I've added Jamie's Cheesy Mustard Soda Bread recipe at the bottom if you feel so inclined.
The tricksy part of making this soup might be finding smoked haddock if you live in Australia, so ask you local fishmonger to point you in the right direction and if all else fails you could substitute with smoked cod.


Ingredients

50gm butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1200ml full cream milk
750gm potatoes, peeled and finely diced
450gm smoked haddock fillet/s (or cod if need be)
2tbs flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
salt and pepper to season

In a large pot melt the butter and cook the onion on a medium-low heat for about 8 minutes until it softens and becomes translucent.
Add the milk and gently bring to the boil. Add the potatoes, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until they are soft. Don't let them go to mash though.
Add the fish fillet/s to the pot and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove the fish and flake off the flesh. Be careful to remove any bones and not burn your fingers.
Put the fish pieces back into the soup, stir well to combine and then spoon into bowls for serving. You can add some chopped parsley to pretty it up or just dig in.


Jamie's Cheesy Mustard Soda Bread Ingredients

350gm wholemeal flour
175gm plain flour
1tsp mustard powder
1tsp bi-carb soda
1/2tsp sea salt
50gm grated cheddar
350ml milk
80ml sour cream

Preheat oven to 200C degrees. Dust a baking tray with some flour and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, mustard powder, bi-carb, cheese and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk the milk and sour cream together.
Make a well in the bowl of dry ingredients and pour in the milk. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon to make a wet dough. Divide the dough in half and place on the baking tray.
Put some flour on your hands and use your fingertips to push each lump of dough into discs about twenty centimetres wide. Score a cross on the top and bake for 30 minutes or until the bread is brown and crusty on top.
Cool on a wire rack and serve with your delicious Cullen Skink.

Enjoy!