AS THE wind picks up and the temperatures drop, there are few things more warming, literally, than baking your own bread in your kitchen at home. Much like playing with kittens or painting, bread making is a very therapeutic pastime and is a great way to relax.
So, this January, forget about the gym or running in the rain – try something completely new and have a go at baking your own bread. Of course, you can get some excellent bread machines in the shops but sometimes it’s good to get your hands dirty and enjoy the spoils of your own efforts.
I know quite a few people who make their own bread on a daily basis and love nothing more than devoting 20 minutes from their busy schedules to make their daily bread. In Northern Ireland we have a very rich heritage of bread making and in all our restaurants our chefs make bread daily too. So as much as January is about fad diets and going carb free, you can still enjoy everything in moderation.
This week’s recipes are two very untraditional bread recipes but are sufficiently moreish, really easy and both go perfectly with an equally warming lentil soup for lunch or a curry or pasta dish for dinner.
OLIVE AND OREGANO PASTRY
(Makes one large flat bread or 4 small pizza-sized breads)
450g white flour
½ tsp yeast
1 tblsp sugar
1 tblsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
For the filling:
30g fresh oregano leaves, chopped
2 tblsp olive oil
Start by combining the flour, water, yeast and sugar in a mixing bowl; using a food mixer with a dough hook, mix the ingredients slowly for about four minutes. Add the salt and the olive oil and mix again on a slightly higher speed for another five minutes.
Remove the dough from the mixer and lightly oil a clean bowl and place the dough in the bowl; cover with a clean tea towel. The dough should rise and double in size. Once risen, lightly flour a work surface and divide the dough into four equal pieces. Roll into a ball and let each one rest for 15 minutes. Flour your rolling pin and roll each ball out to as thin as you can get it.
In the centre of the rolled-out pastry add a quarter of your chopped herbs and the olive oil and fold back into itself. Let it rest for a further 15 minutes and roll it out again and fold it back into itself. Heat a non-stick pan on a high heat; place the pastry on top and cook for three minutes on each side until golden brown.
FOUGASSE WITH OLIVES
(Makes one)
500g bread flour
1 tblsp of salt
20g fresh yeast
80g mixed olives, pitted and chopped
1 sprig fresh thyme, destalked
1 sprig fresh rosemary, destalked
Start by preheating your oven to 220C. Sift together the flour and the salt in a large bowl. Dissolve the yeast in 300ml of warm water; add the flour and mix to a dough. Knead for about 10-15 minutes in a food processor using the dough hook. Cover and leave to prove/rise for 45minutes.
Lightly flour your work surface and turn out your dough. Add in the olives and the herbs and shape the dough into a ball. Roll out with a floured rolling pin to 1.5cm in thickness. Place on a floured baking tray and make six incisions into the dough along the length; cover again and leave to sit for 30 minutes. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes. Serve warm.
