Saffron Buns

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Having come across a jar of saffron in the spice cupboard, I decided to have a go at making saffron buns. I remember these from camping trips to Cornwall at Easter as a kid. We used to get up very early in the morning on Good Friday and drive down the M5, stopping at the first bakers we could find in Cornwall.

You need to allow a bit of time for prep for this recipe as you need to infuse the saffron in the milk.

As with the hot cross bun recipe I use a Panasonic bread machine to make the dough and do the first rise. If you're going to do this by hand, or using a mixer, use easy blend dried yeast, melted butter & warm milk.

Ingredients

1.5 tsp of fast action dried yeast
1lb strong white bread flour
1.5 tsp salt
1 teaspoons of mixed spice
2oz butter
2oz caster sugar
5oz mixed fruit
1 egg, beaten
250ml milk
1 tsp dried saffron threads

Put the milk into a saucepan and heat until almost boiling. Take off the heat. Put in the saffron threads and leave for about 30 minutes.

Put the yeast into the bread machine, then the flour, then the rest of the ingredients except the dried fruit. I have a fruit & nut dispenser on the bread machine, so put the fruit in there if you have one. Otherwise you add it in according to the instructions on my machine. I set mine to the raisin dough cycle.

If doing by hand Mix all the dry ingredients together including the fruit, add the butter, egg & enough milk to get a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured surface & knead till dough soft & elastic. Put in an oiled bowl topped with oiled clingfilm or a clean tea towel and leave to rise somewhere warm till doubled in size.

Knock down the dough and split into 12 equal sized balls. I arrange them on a large oiled baking sheet. I put them quite close together so you get that lovely batch baking effect of soft sides when you pull them apart.

If I'm doing these for breakfast I'll put them in the fridge overnight covered with clingfilm. I then take them out the fridge in the morning and allow to rise somewhere warm until doubled in size ( about 30-45 mins )

I cook them for 15-20 minutes at 180 degrees in the fan oven.

We prefer our buns non sticky. The easiest way to get a sticky bun is to melt some local honey and brush it over the buns when they're just out of the oven. Or you can use apricot jam, warm it gently & sieve out the bits

Apple Cinnamon Butter

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I often make apple butter with the glut of apples from our orchard in the autumn ( the rest I leave for the fieldfares & blackbirds to feast on )

I've had an unopened pot of apple butter on the breakfast buffet table for a few months and all of my UK guests have looked at it suspiciously and moved onto the marmalade. It has taken some guests from Bermuda to dive in and announce it delicious :0)

In my opinion it is best served spooned onto warm homemade brioche. Though it would also work well in the middle of a rice pudding!

500ml strong dry cider
500g cooking apples, peeled, cored & sliced
500g eating apples, peeled, cored and sliced
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
700g granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Put cider in preserving pan and boil till it is reduced by half. Add the apples, lemon juice and rind.

Cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes, then cook uncovered for 20-30 minutes till the apples are very soft. Leave mixture to cool. Puree with a stick blender, then add 275g sugar for every 600ml of puree.
Add cinnamon and stir.

Heat gently till all sugar dissolved then bring to the boil for about 20 minutes, stirring regularly until the mixture forms a thick puree and holds its shape when put on a cold plate.

Spoon into warm sterilised jars and store in cool dark place.

Breakfast Pizza from Cally @countrygate

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Sometimes you meet people online and just click with them instantly and, for me, Cally @countrygate, is one of those people.

I can't quite remember when I first "met" Cally - it was the days before Twitter - I think through WiRE.

Here Cally shares her great idea for breakfast pizza for teenagers - I agree with her about the homemade English muffins and the process of getting the kids involved with making the dough the night before is a great way to get them cooking. But if you really don't have the time - some shop bought ones can be nearly as good.......

Here's a little of what drives Cally, in her own words, followed by the recipe.

"Most of the work I've done cooking with and for kids has stemmed from running the gardening club at the school my three attend. In the last three years I've tried to breathe a bit of life into the way the kids relate to food - snacking and sipping garden full of munchies  for the little 'uns; salad bags full of leaves and edible flowers sold to parents; homemade lemonade and ginger beer at school cake sales, cooking historical recipes to tie in with what they're studying in history (the Anglo Saxon feast with veggie stew cooked outside on an open fire was a big hit) bread making, cooking cakes with vegetables, classes for parents on low incomes showing them how to grow and cook simple stuff - pasta sauces, pizza, bread... 

The breakfast pizza was the result of a discussion with another Mum about the numbers of kids leaving going onto secondary school and having a breakfast of chocolate from the local newsagents as they rushed to get to school on time. I am hoping to provide a pop-up breakfast bar on a more regular basis in the future. My own kids love making the dough the night before and in essence can manage to make the pizza themselves for breakfast."

Breakfast Pizza
Can be eaten on the go - though what mother wouldn’t prefer their offspring to sit and chat over breakfast? Great for both occasions.

To make your own muffins...and I have to admit I do - you’ll need.....

500g strong bread flour, wholewheat or plain
5g powdered dried yeast
10 g fine sea salt
325ml warm water
A drizzle of sunflower oil and a bit more for coating
A handful of semolina flour

Add flour, yeast, salt and water to mixer bowl. Mix on low speed with the dough hook fitted until combined. Then add the oil and leave to knead for 10 minutes.

If mixing by hand, mix the flour, yeast, salt and water to form a sticky dough. Mix in the oil and then turn out onto a clean surface and knead until smooth and silky.

Shape the dough into a round, coat with a little extra oil and place in a clean bowl. Cover with a plastic bag and leave to rise until doubled in size.

Tip out onto the work surface and knock back. Divide into 9 pieces, shape each into a round and flatten to about 1-2cm. Dust all over with semolina flour. Leave to prove on a linen cloth or wooden board, covered with a plastic bag until doubled in size.

Heat a large heavy based frying pan over a medium heat. Lay the muffins in the pan and cook for a minute or two. Then turn them over gently. Cook slowly for a further 10 minutes, turning every now and then. If using an Aga, cook directly on the warm plate for up to 15 minutes, giving them a quick blast on the hot side at the end, if you think they need it. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

To assemble your breakfast pizza, slice a muffin in half; top one half with a couple of large thin slices of tomato and then ¼ cup shredded mozzarella.

Place it on a baking sheet, along with the other half of the English muffin. Grill until the cheese is melted and browned in places.

Remove and add a few leaves of finely chopped or torn basil. Top with the other half of the English muffin and you’re ready to run.

My children are rather conservative in their tastes but you could add some fried sliced mushrooms, a fried egg or ham for more adventurous types. Simples!

Blueberry Pancakes

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The most popular special I serve is American style pancakes.

I’ve tried lots of different recipes for these pancakes and have finally settled on one I like. I have Nigella to thank for the idea of making up pancake mix in advance but the recipe itself is from an American cookbook, with some adjustment.

The great thing about this is that you make a large batch of the dry mix in advance, then just scoop out some mix when you feel like pancakes, mix with the wet ingredients and hey presto!

You can make the pancakes up with milk but using buttermilk creates the most sublime fluffy pancakes imaginable.

You can use fresh or frozen blueberries but only add them to the pancakes once you've put them into the frying pan or they'll turn the mix blue!

Bear in mind that the cups mentioned here are measuring cups, available from any good cookshop or supermarket, not teacups.

Pancake Mix

• 4 Cups Plain Flour
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 8 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Put all of the ingredients into a large jar – I use a large kilner jar. Put on the lid and shake really well to ensure all the ingredients are well mixed. Repeat this when you come to use the mix.
When you’re ready to make the pancakes. Mix the wet ingredients together.

• 1 pot of buttermilk ( just over 1 Cup ) or 1 Cup of milk
• 1 tablespoon of melted butter
• 1 egg

Take 1 Cup of the dry ingredients and put in a bowl and mix well. Add the wet ingredients gradually. You’re looking for a fairly thick batter as thick as greek yoghurt. You may not need all of the wet mixture.

Put a large frying pan over a medium high heat. Brush with melted butter or oil then drop the pancake mix in large spoonfuls ( I use an ice cream scoop to measure them out – thank you Ina Garten for that suggestion ).

Sprinkle 5 or 6 blueberries on each pancake.

Cook on first side until small bubbles start to appear on the upper surface and the edges are set, about 2 minutes. Then flip over and cook for 2-3 minutes until you have a nice golden brown colour.

Serve with crispy bacon and maple syrup – some English folks need persuading about this combination but you really need the bacon, pancakes & syrup to get the perfect taste.

Hot Cross Bun French Toast

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This is a good way of using up any leftover hot cross buns. This recipe serves one person but you can double up.

Ingredients

1 hot cross bun - a couple of days old, not too fresh
1 egg
2 tablespoons of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 large knob of butter
A drop of oil

Beat together the egg, vanilla & milk really well.

Slice the hot cross bun in 2 and put into the egg mixture to soak for 3 or 4 minutes on each side.

Heat the butter with a drop of sunflower oil until the butter is foaming ( the oil helps prevent the butter from burning ). Add the bun & fry until golden brown on both sides. Best served with maple syrup ( and for me a bit of crispy bacon )

Gluten Free Muffins Recipe 2

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I posted the gluten free muffin recipe I normally use last week but this morning decided to to risk just using my standard muffin recipe with gluten free flour.

On advice from Twitter friends @forfeng & @canalviewbnb I added extra milk as the flour is more absorbent than wheatflour. Roland @canalviewbnb also said that using butter provided better results than using any margarine type spreads, if you were thinking of using them.

I tested one & I thought they were barely distinguishable from a normal wheat flour muffin. But I knew my daughter, back from university for Easter, would jump on the muffins as soon as she came down so I waited, without telling her they were GF, for her reaction. She didn't notice - yay!

Dry Ingredients
1.5 cups Doves Farm Gluten Free Plain Flour
0.5 cups caster sugar
2 tsp gluten free baking powder

Wet Ingredients
1 pot of buttermilk ( ST Ives is 284ml )
0.3 cup milk
0.5 cup melted butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Streusel topping
0.25 cup Doves Farm Gluten Free Plain Flour
0.25 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
0.25 cup of melted butter

1 cup frozen or fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius ( for fan oven  )

Mix together the dry ingredients well.

Beat together the wet ingredients

Add the wet to the dry and mix quickly not over-mixing until ingredients only just combined. Quickly fold in the raspberries.

Divide the mix between 10 muffin cases in a muffin tin.

Mix together the dry streusel ingredients and then add just enough melted butter till you get crumbs - don't add all the butter at once as you may end up with sludge. Sprinkle the crumbs over the muffins and bake for 25 minutes.

Gluten Free Orange Shortbread

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I have some guests arriving with a wheat and gluten allergy. I'm baking the gluten free lemon drizzle cake for them but some people prefer biscuits in the room.

I got the original recipe from the Doves website but have adapted a little. I used orange rind and juice instead and baked in a 20 cm loose bottomed round sandwich tin as I suspected they would be quite crumbly. I also baked them for longer than the original recipe said.

Leave them in the tin to cool completely before cutting

You can't tell these aren't normal shortbread and I would quite happily have eaten them all.

200g Gluten Free Plain Flour
150g Softened Butter
100g golden caster sugar
rind and juice of 1/2 orange

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C ( for a fan oven ), 180 degrees for normal oven

Beat the butter and sugar together till it looks creamy in colour.

Add the rind, juice and flour and beat until it all comes together into a very soft dough.

Line the base of the cake tin with greaseproof paper, then grease the whole pan well with butter.

Press the dough into the pan, prick all over with a fork and cook for about 30-35 minutes until pale golden.

It does rise rather alarmingly but did settle down. Take out of the oven and just run a knife round the outside, then leave to cool completely in the tin.

Carefully take out of the tin and cut into wedges - easier to do quarters, then eighths then 16ths.

Asparagus topped with poached eggs & hollandaise

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Local Shropshire asparagus is now available at the Ludlow Food Centre and on Ludlow Market. I got a bit of a telling off by several people last week for eating it too early but as we also have it growing in our garden I'm guessing it's now in season!

I was reading today that asparagus can grow 5 inches in a day in hot weather.

I put it on as a breakfast special this weekend as I had a number of guests who seemed to be avoiding the meatier options.

To serve 4 people you need to make some hollandaise sauce - recipe here and poach 8 eggs - recipe here.

Steam the asparagus for 3-5 minutes. How long it takes will depend on how thick it is. test with a small sharp knife. I prefer mine on the crunchy side of just cooked.

Place 4-5 spears of asparagus on a hot plate, top with 2 eggs and a quarter of the hollandaise. Would be nice with some toasted crusty white bread or sourdough.

Orange & Rhubarb Muffins

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I bought some new season rhubarb from Ludlow market last week - half I turned into rhubarb compote and the other stick I used to make rhubarb muffins. I've never made rhubarb muffins before and, though I say so myself, they were very nice.

I was thinking of putting ginger with them but I already had ginger in the compote so I decided on orange instead. You could put a teaspoon of dried ginger into the streusel mix or even grate some fresh ginger into the muffin mix.

I think muffins need to be eaten warm from the oven but they will last a day & can be reheated.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

Line a 12 hole muffin tin with 10 muffin cases

If you don't have buttermilk use milk and add a tablespoon of lemon juice a few minutes before using ( thanks to @ashtonlancaster for that tip ). You could also use natural yoghurt. You can just use milk & this works fine but I find the muffins are much lighter when you use buttermilk.

Muffin Ingredients

Dry Ingredients
1.5 cups plain flour
0.5 cup caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
grated rind of 1 orange

Wet ingredients
0.5 cup melted butter
1 cup plus 2tbs buttermilk ( this is a St Ivel 284ml pot )
1 egg

100g rhubarb ( about 1 large stick ), sliced lengthways then chopped into small pieces

Streusel Ingredients
0.25 cup plain flour
0.25 cup brown sugar
0.25 cup melted butter

Mix all the dry ingredients together well.

Whisk all of the wet ingredients till well combined.

Add the wet to the dry ingredients - mix it all together quickly until only just combined. You really mustn't overbeat muffin mix. Then quickly fold in the rhubarb. Divide between 10 muffin cases. I use an ice cream scoop.

Mix together the flour & brown sugar for the streusel topping. Add the butter slowly, mixing until ou get crumbs. You may not need all the butter. If you add it all in one go you may end up with sludge instead of crumbs.

Sprinkle the streusel topping over the muffins. Then bake for about 25 minutes until just golden but not too burnt.