Cheese and Bacon Rolls

My children love cheese and bacon rolls, which can be bought at any bread shop around Sydney (and probably all over the place, although not much comes up if you do a search, so maybe not - can you get them or something similar where you live?).

They're a good snack while you're out and about, and they're also good for lunchboxes.

I've been planning to try and make them for ages, and recently my friend Carol gave me a cheese and bacon roll recipe that she uses to make them for her children.

First make some bread dough and leave it to rise. (See this bread recipe if you need it to get to this stage.)

Push out the air from the risen dough, then divide it into several pieces - I made 12. Roll them into oval shapes, put them on baking sheets and cover them.

Leave them for half an hour or so to puff up slightly. (Ideally put them all straight onto baking sheets so you don't have to disturb them again. I usually do, but on this occasion my second baking sheet was already in use!)

Brush the tops of the breads with beaten egg, then sprinkle over diced bacon...

...and grated cheese.

Cook at 200 C for around 15 minutes until the bread is golden.

Best eaten still warm from the oven, but also pretty good the next day.

They freeze well, so you can make them, freeze them, and put them still frozen into lunch boxes, where they should defrost in time for morning tea or lunch.

Easy Bread Rolls

These are so easy that every time I hear someone say they can't make bread, I feel like bringing them into my kitchen and showing them how to make these rolls.

They are just basic rolls that I often make for lunch time sandwiches or to go with a meal. Sometimes I give my children a blob of dough each and they make their own bread roll to go with their dinner.

Put bread flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a large bowl. I also add a couple of tablespoons of oat or wheat bran to add bulk to the rolls and make them slightly more filling, but you don't have to do this.

Stir up the dry ingredients, then add 300 ml warm water (it should feel comfortably warm to your fingers) and 3 tsp of olive oil.

Stir it around with a spoon until most of the flour has been moistened, then put your hand in and finish bringing the dough together. It may need a few more drops of water to get the last bit of flour, but add gradually so it doesn't become too sticky.

Knead the dough for a few minutes until it's smooth and springy. I do this in the bowl (I have a 3L bowl so there's quite a lot of room) but if it's easier, get it out and knead it on a work surface.

Leave it to stand - in the bowl with a plate or plastic wrap over the top - in a warmish place for one or two hours. (Usually one and a half hours is fine.)

I left this dough standing for 2 hours as I was a bit busy - it doesn't always puff up this much. Push the air out and remove the dough from the bowl.

Divide into portions, give each one a quick knead around in your hands, then form into whatever shape you like.

Dust with some flour, then leave in a warm place for about half an hour, while you warm up the oven to 200 C.

Cook for 15 minutes until the tops are slightly golden and the bottoms of the rolls sound hollow when knocked with your knuckles.

My children made a roll each with the above dough. I sometimes make a whole loaf (on the tray, not with a loaf tin) but more often I halve the dough and make two 'batard' style loaves (see below).

Ingredients:
500 g bread flour
2 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
(2 tbsp oat bran or wheat bran if you like)
300 ml warm water
3 tsp olive oil

Two unglamorous (but very useful) long loaves - great for slicing and sharing out at dinner time.

Refrigerator Naan

I often make naan for my children to take to school. Recently I've been making my naan dough the evening before and leaving it in the fridge overnight, and then I just cook it in the pan in the morning. Ta-dah! Fresh naan for the lunch boxes.

This is a small amount of dough that makes 6-8 little naans.

I've started using some wholemeal flour in my naan to make it a bit more substantial. Put flours, yeast, salt and a little sugar in a large bowl. In a jug mix together warm water, yogurt and oil.

My kitchen clock showing the time I was making the dough - nearly 11 pm. Yes I suppose I am a bit mad.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry with a spoon, then when it's looking shaggy start mixing by hand. It helps if you rub a little oil onto your hands to stop it sticking too much.

Bring it all together into a ball, adding a couple more drops of water if necessary, and knead for a few minutes (I do this in the bowl).

Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, get the dough out and remove it from the bowl.

Break it into the number of pieces you need, roll each piece into a ball, then roll them flat with an oiled rolling pin.

Heat a heavy-based pan to a medium heat and then lay some of the dough ovals in (don't add any oil to the pan).

Cook for a few minutes until golden underneath, then turn over. Turn the heat down if they are browning too quickly, or they will burn before they are cooked through.

Cook the other side for a few minutes, then cool on a wire rack.

Ingredients:
150 g plain white flour or bread flour
100 g wholemeal flour
1 level tsp instant yeast
1/2 tsp fine salt
1/2 tsp sugar
150 ml warm water
1 tbsp plain yogurt
1 tsp vegetable oil (I use olive oil)

My original naan recipe is here

Chinese Pancakes

I was reading about Chinese Pancakes on George's blog and she included a link that showed how to make your own. I was suddenly inspired yesterday to give them a go.

Mix flour and sugar in a bowl, then mix in boiling water to make a sticky dough. Sprinkle more flour over the dough, and over the work surface then knead until smooth, elastic and no longer sticky. Cover and leave for half an hour.

With a floured rolling pin, roll out dough to half a centimetre thickness then cut out circles. Once cut, cover circles to avoid drying out. Re-roll leftover dough and continue cutting until used up.

Lightly brush each circle with oil, and stick circles together in pairs, oiled sides facing each other. Roll each pair of circles out with a floured rolling pin until paper thin.

Heat a pan to medium-high heat (don't add oil) then put a pancake in. Cook for about 1 1/2 minutes and then turn over and cook the other side. Some of the pancakes puffed right up like little balloons.

The idea is that you separate each pancake into two thinner pancakes while they are still warm. When separated, one side will have the cooked and slightly charred look, and the other side will be smoother and softer looking.

As I made these on the spur of the moment, I didn't have any delicious fillings prepared, but as the frying pan was already warm, Stephen had the bright idea of eating them with fried eggs as a filling. He added a sprinkle of salt to his, and to mine I added some soy sauce. Tasty!

Ingredients:
300 g flour
1 tbsp sugar
240 ml boiling water
sesame oil for brushing (I used olive oil)

Kuchen

This is from Nigella Bites, and in the book it's topped with blackberry, apple and an oaty crumble. I decided to make the sponge base and top it with demerara sugar instead.

Kuchen is German for cake, so is a very general term. This cake is made with yeast and is half bread and half cake - not overly sweet, and slightly lemon and cinnamon-tasting.

In one bowl combine 350 g of the flour, the salt, sugar and yeast. In a jug combine milk, eggs, vanilla, zest and cinnamon.

Stir the liquid into the flour mixture, to make a medium-soft dough. Add more flour if it's too sticky.

Work in the soft butter and knead for several minutes until dough becomes smooth and springy. Cover and leave to rise for 1 hour or so until doubled in size.

After it has risen (mine didn't rise much), punch the dough down and gradually stretch it over the base of a Swiss roll tin (20 x 30 cm).

I spread it out over the base of the pan, lifted up the dough and added a piece of baking paper to avoid any sticking. Leave to prove for 15 - 20 mins while oven is heating to 200 C.

Just before putting the dough in the oven, brush it with a mixture of egg, cream and cinnamon. Sprinkle demerara sugar over generously and put in oven. Cook for 15 mins, then turn oven down to 180 C and cook for a further 20 mins until slightly risen and golden.

Cooked and ready to cut with a bread knife. (I had to stop myself 'trying' pieces as I was slicing it up!)

Really good eaten with ice cream, and on its own - with a hot drink - and would be lovely topped with fruit and crumble, like in the original recipe.
At its best when fresh out of the oven, but still good when cool. I'll definitely be making this again.

Ingredients:
350 - 400 g strong white flour
1/2 tsp salt
50 g caster sugar
3 g (heaped half-tablespoonful) instant yeast
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
grated zest of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
125 ml milk, lukewarm
50 g butter, soft
Topping:
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp cream
pinch of ground cinnamon
demarara sugar for topping

Buns au Chocolat

I really call these chocolate buns, which sounds a bit more sensible, but they are a lunchbox-friendly version of pain au chocolate - made as a sandwich alternative for school lunches.

They are based on a fruit bun recipe, but with a square of chocolate instead of the fruit.

Put flour in a large bowl and rub in the butter. Stir in salt, cinnamon and sugar, then mix in the water and milk. Make a soft dough and knead for a few minutes, then leave, in the covered bowl, to double in size for an hour or two in a warm place.

When risen, punch down dough and divide into eight or so pieces. Give each piece a quick knead in your hands then seal a square of chocolate in the middle of each piece. Put on baking sheet, join side down.

Leave buns covered, to rise, while you heat oven to 200 C, then cook for around 20 minutes until tops are browned and bottoms sound hollow when tapped.

Good when still warm from the oven, as chocolate is soft and melted, but still nice when cool.

Ingredients:
450 g bread flour
25 g butter
1 tsp salt
30 g caster sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp instant yeast
150 ml lukewarm water
150 ml milk, lukewarm
chocolate squares, 1 for each bun (I used cooking chocolate, but normal would probably be good too)

Naan

This has to be the easiest yeast recipe ever. I made these naans tonight to go with our chicken and corn korma (Patak's sauce) and they turned out perfectly.

A few nights ago I made the naans for the first time and didn't add enough flour (I mis-weighed, if that's a real word!), so that I was dealing with a sloppy, very sticky dough that was impossible to roll, so I squashed blobs of dough into the pan with my hand. And they still turned out very well.

Tonight though the dough was just right and very easy to work with.

Mix flour, instant yeast and salt in a large bowl, and in a small bowl or jug blend together warm water, yogurt and oil. Stir the wet into the dry ingredients, then use your hands to form into a soft and slightly sticky dough. Add a few extra drops of water if necessary.

Knead the dough for a few minutes (I do this in the bowl but you can knead on a flat surface if you prefer). Cover the bowl and leave for an hour or so in a warmish place until the dough has doubled in size. Knock out the air and give the dough a very quick knead.

The dough risen and ready to be divided up.

Divide the dough into four pieces (or eight if you'd prefer smaller breads like the ones in my photos) and roll them out to about 5 mm thickness. Putting a little oil on your hands, work surface and the rolling pin will stop any sticking.

Leave to rest for 5 minutes while you heat a heavy-based pan over a medium-high heat. Do not add any oil to the pan.

Cook each piece of dough for 4 - 5 minutes until a crust has formed and it is golden and patched with brown.

Turn it over and continue cooking until the other side is golden.

Ingredients:
500 g plain white flour
2 level tsp instant yeast
1 tsp fine salt
300 ml warm water
1 generous tbsp plain yogurt
2 tsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

Adapted from a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe