Salted Chocolate and Pistachio Rye Babka

Who doesn't love the combination of dark chocolate and pistachio? Whilst a babka is both messy and pretty timely to make I think the idea of this flavour combo wrapped up within a light and springy rye dough is the ultimate in indulgent weekend breakfast baking.

I know we're only on Thursday and a few more working hours away from the weekend, but hear me out. There's a trick to making this guy in advance. Make the dough and the filling on a Friday or Saturday, at the same time or day by day, and leave to prove in the fridge till you're ready. So long as you have the bulk of the work done, all you need to do is allow it to get to room temperature before baking.

I'm already looking forward to starting the next one ahead of this weekend to enjoy with a huge cup of black coffee in bed on Sunday morning. I recently gifted my giant coffee machine to my brother in exchange for an old school coffee dripper, and you know what? Its got me excited for lazy morning coffee rituals all over again!

S A L T E D   C H O C O L A T E   A N D   P I S T A C H I O   R Y E   B A B K A
Serves 6-8, recipe adapted from Olive Magazine

For the babka dough:

500g rye flour, plus extra for dusting

30g golden caster sugar

1tsp salt

7g dried fast action yeast

zest of 1 lemon

275ml full fat milk

75g unsalted butter

2 eggs, 1 beaten and one to glaze

For the filling:

75g unsalted butter

75g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)

2tbsp icing sugar

2tbsp cocoa powder

75g blanched pistachios, roughly chopped, plus extra for decoration

1/2tsp sea salt flakes

Glaze:

75g golden caster sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

• To make the dough, place the dry ingredients including the lemon zest into a large mixing bowl. Put the milk and butter into a small saucepan and gently heat over a low heat. Along with the beaten egg, add the mixture to the flour mix and stir to combine. Using a dough hook on a stand mixer, beat for 5 minutes until a soft, sticky ball of dough has formed. Cover with a tea towel and leave to prove in a warm place for one hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
• To make the filling, melt the butter and chocolate in small pan over a very low heat. Once fully melted, set aside to cool slightly, around 5 minutes. Add the icing sugar and cocoa powder and whisk together until smooth.
• Once the dough has doubled in size, tip onto a well floured surface and roll into a long rectangle about 1/2 inch in thickness. Spread the filling over the dough, leaving an inch around the edge. Scatter over the chopped pistachios and sea salt flakes. Fold in half lengthways and gently roll to seal the filling, until about the thickness of a pound coin.
• To shape the babka, slice the dough rectangle into 4 equal width strips. Then, slice each of the 4 strips into 'trousers', i.e. leaving around 1/2 inch at the top unsliced. For each of the 'trousers' individually, plait together the two 'legs' before finally plaiting each of the 4 strips together. Don't worry this can be rough!
• Place the dough plait into a grease round baking tin, about 8-10", tucking the loose ends underneath.
• Leave to prove once more for around one hour, until the babka has doubled in size again. Alternatively, leave to prove overnight in the fridge and remove at least 30 minutes before baking to allow it to reach room temperature.
• Brush the top of the babka with the remaining egg and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Once cooked, a the babka will be golden, springy and a skewer inserted will come out clean.
• To make the glaze, boil 75ml of water with the sugar until dissolved and of syrup consistency. Remove from the heat before stirring in the vanilla, brushing the top of the cooked babka and topping with some extra chopped pistachios.

Stores well in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Gently warm before serving if you like.

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Cardamom Buns

I'm so excited that we've booked a trip to Copenhagen for February that I just had to bake some buns to celebrate. I love the flavour of cardamom so thought I'd try a variation on the regular cinnamon ones I make.

I must say that sometimes I find making them a labour of love. Although I can't pretend I don't cheat and use the dough hook on my Kitchen Aid. I also leave them to prove overnight in the fridge so they get plenty of time to relax and do their thing. As folding and shaping goes, I've given up trying to tightly roll long lengths of dough and loosing filling whilst slicing.

The method of shaping is a little more relaxed even if it does take more time doing each bun individually.  I take individual strips, cut mostly down the centre to make a dough pair of trousers. Twist each leg, knot a few times and then tuck under and seal underneath.  I prefer this look too!

C A R D A M O M   B U N S
(Makes 12, recipe adapted from BBC)

20 cardamom pods

350ml full fat milk

125g unsalted butter, cubed

500g strong white bread flour

150g golden caster sugar

7g fast action dried yeast

1/2tsp salt

1/2tsp ground cinnamon

vegetable/sunflower oil for greasing

1 egg, beaten

• Break open 10 cardamom pods and add them to the milk in a small pan. Heat gently until the milk starts to steam without boiling. Add 50g butter to the milk and stir until melted. Set aside to cool slightly.
• Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour, 75g sugar, yeast, salt and cinnamon. Add the milk and mix with a dough hook until the ingredients have combined to form a soft ball of dough. Continue to beat for up to 5 minutes until the dough ball is soft, smooth and shiny.
• Lightly oil the edges of the mixing bowl, loosely cover with cling film and leave to prove for 2 hours, until doubled in size. Alternatively, leave to prove overnight in the fridge allowing 30 minutes in the morning for it to get to room temperature.
• Crack the remaining cardamom pods and blitz in a food processing to make a powder. Combine with 75g sugar. In a bowl mix all of the cardamom sugar but 2tbsp with the remaining butter until smooth.
• Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Remove the dough from the bowl onto a well floured work surface. Knock the air out and roll to form a rectangle. Spread the cardamom butter mix over the entire surface of the dough rectangle.
• Longest side facing you, fold the top third down to the centre and the bottom third up, like an envelope. Score 12 even slices before cutting (I find scissors handy). Unfold each individual piece and slice each strip down the centre leaving a little at the end, like a pair of trousers. Twist each half outwards a few times before knotting together and tucking the ends under each bun.
• Place all buns evenly spaced onto the prepared baking trays. Cover the buns with some lightly oiled cling film and leave in a warm place to prove again once again. This time for 30 minutes - 1 hour, until doubled in size.
• Heat the oven to 190 degrees.
• Once the buns have finished their second prove, brush each with beaten egg and scatter over some sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.
• Whilst the buns are baking, tip the reserved 2tbsp of sugar to a pan along with 50ml of water. Bring to the boil and remove to cool. Once the buns are baked, remove to a wire rack and brush with the sugar syrup 2-3 times as they cool.

Buns will keep in an airtight container for a few days, or in the freezer for 6 months - just heat them up in the oven before serving.

Please do send over any Copenhagen recommendations, I'd love to know. In the mean time I'm eating buns every day for breakfast and doughnuts all day long at work because who needs any self control after Christmas? On a more serious note - if anyone has seen my will power...

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Bake Off Bake Along: Week 3 - Chocolate Swirl Babka

I'm hoping that I'll manage to brave the showstopper challenge one week soon. But for now I'm blaming it on the weather. Making a 3 flour beast in my tiny roasting kitchen is most likely to bring on a bread related breakdown. Paul, you are one mean man.

So instead, I opted for a chocolate loaf. A babka to be precise. I think everyone baking along made one of these guys, and you know what? I bloody love a babka. Truth be told I hadn't ever made one before...see baby challenge steps.

A deliciously sweetened loaf, with the softness of brioche and all the fillings you can shake a stick at.

I added some lemon zest into my dough, which proved to give a great flavour punch from the off. Then to the chocolate filling I added some cinnamon for warmth and some hazelnuts to finish the top for a nutty texture boost.

Babs the babka, as I've named her, could have perhaps been more risen. But was most certainly packed full of flavour, soft and pretty simple to make. Simple if you don't count the time invested. Albeit cheating with using a dough hook in my Kitchen Aid.

And there we have it. Bring on the batter for week 4!

C H O C O L A T E   S W I R L   B A B K A
(Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen, makes one large loaf for 12, or 2 small 1lb loaves)

350g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

100g caster sugar

2tsp instant yeast

grated zest of 1 lemon or small orange

3 large eggs

1/2 cup cold waterr

pinch salt

150g unsalted butter, room temperature

sunflower or vegetable oil for greasing

Filling:

130g dark chocolate

120g unsalted butter

50g icing sugar

30g cocoa powder

1tsp ground cinnamon

handful of chopped hazelnuts to top

Syrup:

1/3 cup water

75g caster sugar

• To make the dough, combine together the flour, sugar, yeast and zest in a large bowl of a stand mixer. Add the eggs, water and continue to mix on a medium speed with a dough hook until everything comes together into one ball. Turn the mixer down low, add the salt and butter one spoon at a time. You may need to scrape down the sides to ensure everything is well incorporated. Once the dough has come together, continue to beat on the same speed for 10 minutes. The dough should become smooth and will pull away from the sides of the bowl. Place into a large bowl coated with oil, cover with cling film and leave to prove in the fridge overnight (or 4-6 hours minimum). It won't quite double in size but will definitely rise.
• To make the filling, heat the chocolate and butter over a low heat to melt. Remove from the heat and add the icing sugar, cocoa powder and cinnamon. Stir to form a paste and leave aside to cool.
• Grease either a large baking tray or two 1lb loaf tins. The bread can be frozen if you want to split the dough into two.
• Remove from the fridge and roll the dough out on a well floured surface to a rectangle the thickness of a pound coin. 
• Spread the chocolate mix over the dough, leaving an inch gap round each edge. Brush the length of one of the longest sides with water. Starting to roll from the opposite site, tightly roll the dough into a long sausage and seal with the dampened end.
• You may wish to chill the dough for 10-20 minutes, just to make it easier to cut. To cut the dough for plaiting, slice it in half down the middle lengthwise. Turn each strand cut side up, pinch one end together and gently plait until the bottom, pinching the ends once more. 
• Snake the dough into the prepared tray, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to prove at room temperature for 1-2 hours. It should become plump but won't increase in size too much. Sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts, or whatever you fancy before baking in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. Once baked, the top will be golden and a skewer inserted into the babka will have no resistance. If underbaked, it will still feel stretchy inside.
• Whilst baking, make the syrup in a small pan over a low heat. Allow the sugar to fully dissolve into the water before removing from the heat to cool slightly.
• As soon as the babka is baked, remove from the oven and pour over the sugar syrup to get a good shine. Allow to cool in the pan half way before removing to cool fully.

F O L L O W   M Y   B A K E   O F F   B A K E   A L O N G...

     

Week 1 - Jaffa Cakes
Week 2 - Iced Doughnut Biscuits
Week 3 - Chocolate Twist Babka
Week 4 - Giant Churros
Week 5 - Cherry Bakewell Tart
Week 6 - Brownie Bottomed Coffee Mousse Cake
Week 8 - Cherry, Marzipan and Cherry Cake

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Pretzel Cinnamon Rolls

I'm a sucker for cinnamon buns. But each time I make them they're never Pinterest perfect. I guess with a little practice I could master them, so on the weekend I was feeling a little adventurous and got some dough proving.

I always find that it takes much longer for my dough to double up on first prove than recipes suggest. My flat is warm so I don't know what I'm doing wrong? If you've got any bun tips then help a girl out!

I first spotted these on Pinterest and couldn't wait to try them out. A combination of my two loves, salty pretzels and sweet sticky cinnamon buns. 

Think of those pillowy soft cinnamon coated pretzels you get in shopping centres but swirled into a bun. Instead of quickly boiling the buns like you would with pretzels to give that chewy outside, these are brushed with a bicarbonate of soda solution to do the very same thing. Sprinkled with salt these will turn pretty dark once baked but I promise they'll be squidgey cinnamon pillows on the inside.

P R E T Z E L   C I N N A M O N   R O L L S
(Recipe adapted from The Kitchn, makes 12 rolls)

450g plain flour, plus more for kneading

7g dried packet yeast

4tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 large egg

100g dark brown sugar

3tbsp ground cinnamon

75g unsalted butter, softened

1tbsp bicarbonate of soda

salt for sprinkling 

• Add the flour, yeast, sugar and salt to a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, add the egg and 175ml of warm water. Mix together with your hands to form a sticky lump and tip onto a floured surface. Knead for about 10 minutes until you have a smooth, slightly sticky ball.
• Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for about 1 hour in a warm place.
• Lightly grease a large ovenproof dish or tray.
• Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
• Once the dough has doubled in size, tip out onto a floured surface and roll out to a 20 x 12 inch rectangle. 
• Spread the butter over the dough, reaching all the edges. Sprinkle over the cinnamon sugar.
• Tightly roll the dough into a log starting with the short edge. Cut evenlt into 12 pieces, each an inch thick. Arrange onto the oven dish, leaving space between each roll. Loosely cover with some greased cling film and leave to rise once again in a warm place for about 30 minutes,
• Heat the oven to 180 degrees. 
• Mix the bicarbonate of soda with 3tbsp of hot water and use a pastry brush to brush over the tops of each of the rolls. Immediately sprinkle with salt and bake for 35 minutes, until risen and darkly golden.

These rolls are best eaten on the day, but if by rare chance you've some left, gently warm them and you're good to go.

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Bake Off Bake Along: Week 10 - Chocolate, Amaretto & Morello Iced Buns

Ten whole weeks has flown by. What will we all do with our Wednesday evenings now?

Baking along with the TV series has been both great fun and stressful. From the time my pastry fell apart, the nuts fell off my mokatines and my frangipane literally fell out the oven. I've also gotten over my fear of making pastry, kind of, and also brioche.

I'd have like to have made something more like a showstopper for my final bake. But then again, I'm pretty sure I've said that every week. Instead, for each challenge I've tried to work on things I've never made before as a good excuse to expand my repertoire.

And so, onto the final...

I chose to make iced buns a little differently. Regular iced buns remind me of the time someone once bought supermarket iced buns into the office. They were stale, lacking in jam and the lurid icing was too cloy. And just plain miserable.

I made brioche buns, stuffed them with morello cherry jam and frosted them with my favourite chocolate and amaretto ganache. For the brioche, I used a trusty Dan Lepard recipe and the filling recipe from my last bake for the frosting.

Unfortunately I didn't quite get enough jam in and the ganache was a little difficult to work with. I wanted it to cool slightly before frosting so as not to drip down the buns too much. But then it got too cool and too firm, and therefore a little lumpy once reheated slightly.

Here's a few pointers for brioche...

• ensure eggs and butter are at room temperature and dissolve the yeast into liquids at a warm to the touch temperature
• its best to use regular yeast, rather than a quick rising supermarket one, and the fresher the better
• be prepared to do a lot of mixing. For a long time you may think there's absolutely no way everything will come together to form a dough. Just keep adding small chunks of butter, bit by bit
• when the dough is ready and has come together perfectly, it'll cling onto the dough hook of your mixer and slap the sides of the bowl
• if kneading, the dough will feel sticky and loose. Persevere, otherwise adding more flour in will make the buns pretty tough
• butter helps to give brioche that nice rich flavour but also helps to shape the dough. If you need to shape the dough in some elaborate fashion, chill it for a good few hours to firm up the butter and it'll be more pliable
• the warmer your room, the quicker the dough will rise
• although, for optimum flavour, prove overnight in the fridge and leave to stand at room temperature for two hours before baking
• if you're making regular brioche and not frosting buns, brush the tops with egg yolk before baking for a super shiny top

And so that's it, my final Bake Off bake along recipe for the year!

Here's how I got on with the previous 9 weeks:

   

   

  

Thanks Amanda and Ala for hosting such a fun challenge x

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Bake Off Bake Along: Week 3 - Soda Bread

I am thoroughly enjoying baking along with this series of the Great British Bake Off. Although I intend to try something different each week, I can't help but feel that things have been okay. So far, so good.

Of course, that's getting a little too carried away and week 3 marked bread week. The difference in making bread at home and making bread to be judged is vast. Who am I kidding?

I do make bread from time to time, but mostly nothing spectacular. I've had every result going from the perfect crust but no rise to free-form loaves that never hold their shape. Thing is, you can make toast or a sandwich from any shape of bread. I don't seem to be able to get the best of both: technically good and looks good.

Paul, if you'd like to show me the errors of my way, you'll have to eat a few less buns to fit in my tiny kitchen!

So, it may seem like a bit of a cop out going for the 'easiest' of the recipes from the week. Alas, I have work to do and burgers to eat so a bread sculpture isn't really going to happen. And, baguettes? They scare the life out of me, think I'll leave them to the French for now.

I've heard a lot of people saying that soda bread is easy, so perhaps I should have gone all out and added some moist fillings like cheese or fruit to make things a little more difficult.

But why overcomplicate things! I've never made soda bread before and the fact that its free-formed scares me enough. I used Justin Gellatly's recipe which can be found, here.

So here's my tips in making the easiest loaf ever (as proven by me)

• for dry ingredients, stick to the basics. Wholemeal bread flour, self raising flour, oatmeal, a dash of bicarbonate of soda, salt and brown sugar. Here there's no yeast so everything is much quicker, the self raising flour and bicarbonate of soda give act as the raising agent.
• for wet ingredients, all you need is water and buttermilk. Except I rarely have buttermilk in, and if you want to make a fancy pants loaf at the drop of a hat, then chances are neither do you. So here's where the Internet steps in and offers some buttermilk hacks, here on Epicurious. The easiest of options being to water down yogurt or sour cream, or to add lemon juice or cream of tartar to milk. I chose to whisk in cream of tartar to my milk, pretty nifty.
• for mixing and forming, there's no real knack. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry and you'll get a big sticky mess. Sprinkle with some more flour and then you should be able to flop it out onto your work surface. Get your hands stuck in and work on shaping it into a smooth ball. As previously my loaves haven't had any height to them and have just shrunk down, I ensured to make my dough as tall as possible.
• lovingly rub some oil over the top to ensure a nice crust, sprinkle with oatmeal and score a cross on the top. I always find it easier to use a large serrated knife for this. A bread knife perhaps! This will also allow a little air to escape from the shape you've just worked at. Don't fear, give it a few more prods and squidge in the sides again till it proudly sits a little taller again.

Here's some ideas of what to serve your soda bread with:

The Crafty Larder's pumpkin chutney; Little Sunny Kitchen's 10 minute strawberry jam; Fab Food 4 All's gooseberry and apple jam; Tin and Thyme's chocolate cashew nut spread; Supergolden Bakes' spicy yellow pepper jam; They Called It the Diamond Blog's blueberry jam; The Veg Space's morello cherry and raspberry jam; Its Not Easy Being Greedy's home-churned butter; Recipes from a Pantry's strawberry rhubarb and basil jam.

Take a look at how I got on with the rest of the challenges

Recipe: Focaccia

This may look like a lot of focaccia for one recipe but I've scaled it up in order to make some personal ones for loved ones. It was a good excuse to use some of the goodies I took from my Dad's vegetable patch earlier in the week. Mainly the rosemary...I made the train home smell very pleasant.

I also have a lot of peppers and chilli which I plan to make into chilli jam, a family favourite.

Here I made a classic rosemary focaccia with lots of oil and salt, and a few onions. The other two were more a case of throwing whatever I could find. 

Focaccia
(Makes three 7" individual focaccias or a giant one to 'share', alternatively half the ingredients to make a more regular size)

700g strong white flour
16g salt
6g instant yeast
approx. 500ml lukewarm water
3tbsp oil
toppings of choice

Stir the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

Gently add the water, mixing well with your hands. The dough should become smooth and sticky after working it for 7 minutes.

Cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge overnight to prove. The next day, take out of the fridge and leave to acclimatise at room temperature for 30 minutes. Alternatively, set aside and prove at room temperature until the dough doubles in size, approximately 1 1/2 hours.

Stretch and fold the dough to knock out some air and leave once more for 50 minutes.

Shape the dough to desired shape/size on a floured work surface. Or, if like me you like to make as little mess as possible, press into a sandwich cake tin. Poke your fingers through the surface for air holes. Sprinkle with oil, scatter with toppings and season.

Bake at 200 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes.

And just for fun(ish)...

Recipe: Rye Caraway Bagels

This week I decided to go back to basics. When first starting this blog my intention was to learn to bake at home. I had a long list of everything I wanted to try and over two years on there's still so much I feel like I haven't covered.

Top of said list, bagels. The recipe is from Ruby Tandoh's first baking book, Crumb, which is full of simple, unpretentious home bakes and great flavour combinations.

Rye caraway bagels

(Makes 8, recipe from Ruby Tandoh's Crumb)

325g strong white flour

125g dark rye flour

7g instant dried yeast

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

250ml lukewarm water

1 tbsp oil

2 tbsp caraway seeds

Flour or polenta, to dust

2 tbsp bicarbonate of soda

4 tbsp water

1/2 tsp salt

30g poppy seeds

Oil, to grease

Mix together the flours and yeast in a large bowl. Add the salt and sugar, followed by the water and oil. Combine well with hands or on a medium speed with a dough hook in a stand mixer. Continue to knead for 10 minutes (on a low speed if using a stand mixer). The mix should be much less sticky than regular breads. Gently knead in the caraway seeds before covering the bowl with cling film and leaving to prove for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Turn out the risen dough, divide into 8 and shape. To shape into bagels, roll into a ball, push your finger through the centre and twirl around your finger to widen the hole. Dust a baking tray with flour or polenta, place the shaped bagels on and leave to prove for 30-45 minutes at room temperature. The bagels should have risen to almost 1 1/2 times their size.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 180 degrees and bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the bicarbonate of soda to the boiling water and turn down to simmer. In small batches, cook the bagels in the water for 60 seconds each side. Remove with a slotted spoon and place onto well-greased baking trays.

Mix together the 4 tbsp of water and salt and brush over the bagels. Sprinkle with poppy seeds and bake for 25 minutes.

Marmite Rolls

It's completely true, you either love it or you hate it. In my case, I love it.

   I'm a hoarder of recipes from neatly indexed magazines and books to a bursting folder of internet bookmarks. With the intention of actually getting around to baking them all sometime...Most often, sometime never comes.

   When I spotted a mention of this recipe in Olive's 10th Birthday edition (we're talking Autumn time last year), I'd already sussed the contents of my cupboards in order to bake these cheesy delights the very same day. For some reason, these rolls have stayed in my drafts ever since. This is by no means a reflection on how great they taste, because they truly are quite something.

   If you love Marmite then you'll love these cheesy delights. Although, the half of my family who strangely don't like it enjoyed these rolls just as much as I did.

Marmite rolls
(Makes 12, recipe from Lulu's Notes)
     600g plain flour
     360ml water
     12g salt
     12g fresh yeast
     125g Marmite
     300g grated mozzarella

• For the dough, place the flour, salt and yeast in a bowl and mix well. Slowly add the water and mix until smooth. Leave to rest in the fridge for 5-8 minutes to precent it from proving and becoming too sticky to roll later.
• In a small bowl put the Marmite, add a small quantity of water and mix well until it becomes smooth and runny. This will make spreading the Marmite on the dough a bit easier.
• Lay the dough flat in a rectangular shape. The thickness of the dough should not be above half a centimetre. Start spreading the Marmite evenly over the dough, leaving an empty gap of about a centimetre on the edge that is directly in front of you.
• Sprinkle the mozzarella on top of the dough and then start rolling your dough from the edge furthest away from you. The rolling does not have to be too tight, but also be careful that it's not so loose that Marmite will run down the tray. You can pinch the closure line just to make sure it will stay properly sealed. Cut your roll into individual pieces and lay them flat on a baking tray.
• While your rolls are proving, heat your oven to 210 degrees and add an ovenproof bowl of water inside to create some steam. Once the rolls are about one and a half times their original size, remove the water from the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes. 

Gluten Free Brown Rolls

A simple bread recipe for those gluten and wheat intolerant...