Non Bread Tasty Loaf Thingy

A friend likes to call this cinnamon and apple soda bread, because it uses soda as a raising agent, but my dad disagrees as it doesn't use buttermilk. He likes to call it a tea bread because that's generally when he eats it, but because it isn't made with tea and doesn't contain yeast I disagree about the whole tea bread theory or even the bread bit to begin with.

It's closest relative is the muffin but because of the size almost everybody disagrees with me. Though if I make individual ones in muffin cases, they'll happily play along.

What everyone does agree on is that it tastes really good, warm or cold and it gets even better as each day passes. It's the perfect little loaf to make in the evening so you can drift off to sleep to the smell of warm cinnamon (perhaps with a slice already in your belly) and wake up to a fat slice for breakfast, spread with a little butter or jam.


Ingredients

Preheat oven to 180C (350F)

1 1/2 cups plain flour (dug in cup fulls from the bag)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white caster sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar (packed firmly)
1 teaspoon bicarb/baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon (we love cinnamon but you can half this amount for a more subtle flavour)

1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 cup applesauce

Place all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix to combine. It's usually easier to scrunch the brown sugar through the rest of the ingredients with your hand.



Place the wet ingredients into a jug or another bowl and again give them a good mix.



Dump the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined, don't worry too much about little lumps, especially where the brown sugar is concerned. Pour the batter into a 2lb loaf tin and spread it around a bit to level it.



This batter starts to rise pretty quickly, even in just the time it takes to mix in the bowl and pour into the tin, the batter will have become almost mousse like. Place the tin in the preheated oven and bake for at least an hour.

It takes about an hour and 15 minutes in my oven, slighter longer in mum's and as much as 90 minutes at a friend's house, but after an hour test for doneness with a skewer. It's ready when moist crumbs cling to the skewer rather than any batter.



Leave it in the tin to cool for about ten minutes and then turn out. It will have a light fluffy crumb on the inside and a crisp crust which softens once it is completely cooled.

Serve hot from the oven, cold the next day or warmed slightly under the grill with or without butter and jam.

You can of course make up this recipe and make individual muffins. It will make about a dozen large muffins and they take about 30 minutes to bake and make a great breakfast on the go.

Enjoy!

Homemade Doughnuts

Or Gravy Rings in Northern Ireland.

After much faffing, fiddling and finger licking I've finally found a recipe for gravy rings that we love.

I try not to make them too often because enriched dough + deep frying + sugar coating = lardy butt. Well, I try at least.

These are risen doughnuts so you'll need to plan a bit of time to make them.

Raid the larder for;

1 pack quick or instant yeast (1/4 oz - 7g)
1/8 cup lukewarm water
3/4 lukewarm milk (scald and cool or bung in the micro for 30 secs like I do)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup shortening
3 1/2 cups plain flour*

Add yeast to lukewarm water and add the milk, sugar, salt, egg, shortening and one cup of flour.

Using a whisk or handheld beater, beat these ingredients until well combined. It shouldn't take more than a minute and scrape down the bowl as necessary.

Fold in the remaining flour and then cover the bowl and leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour.

Once the dough has risen and is roughly doubled in size, turn out onto a well floured surface (and I mean well floured). Using your hands press the dough out until it is approximately 1/2 inch thick, then using a doughnut cutter, cut out doughnuts as economically as possible, try not to leave large pieces of dough in between each cut. Alternatively you can do as I do and using a sharp knife cut the dough into squares roughly 2in x 2in, tastes the same and no waste**.

Transfer the doughnuts to a greased baking sheet and leave to rise again for 30 - 40 minutes.

Once the doughnuts have risen again, fill a pan with vegetable or canola oil and place over a medium/high heat (approx 180C/350F). The oil will need to be at least two inches deep, you can use a smaller pan and cook the doughnuts one or two at a time and save oil.

Once the oil has heated, using a spatula, slide the doughnuts gently away from you into the oil and cook on either side for 2-3 minutes or until deep golden brown.

Remove the doughnuts to a wire rack*** to drain and cool slightly before rolling in caster sugar.

* - Its quite humid in Northern Ireland, but if you live somewhere drier then bear in mind that you may only need as little as 2 1/2 cups of flour so add the flour a cup at a time. The dough should be very soft, but you should also just barely be able to handle it. If you get the feeling that you can work with it quickly, but stay in contact too long and you'll stick like glue, the dough's perfect.

** - You will need to put down a good thick layer of flour before turning the dough out and flour your hands well before handling. Once you have cut the doughnuts out, lift each one and quickly toss from one hand to the other to remove some of the excess flour. Because of the amount of flour needed, you can't re-roll this dough as all that extra flour would be incorporated into the dough and you'd end up with a handful of dry, tasteless doughnuts. If waste is an issue for you, cut them into squares.

*** - Try not to pierce the surface of the doughnuts when lifting them out of the oil or they'll absorb the excess oil.

Irish Boxty Bread or Potato Bread

Boxty on the Griddle,
Boxty in the pan,
The wee one in the middle,
It is for Mary Ann.
If you don't eat boxty,
You'll never get your man.

I'm not entirely sure where this little rhyme came from, but it does make me laugh.

Boxty Bread (makes 16 farls)

1lb raw grated potato
1lb cooked mashed potato
12oz plain flour
1/2 oz baking powder
1 tsp salt
4oz softened butter.

Preheat oven to 180C (350F).

Grate the raw potatoes and squeeze out some of the excess liquid.

Place all ingredients in a large bowl or basin and mix with your hands until well combined.

Empty dough out onto a flour surface, divide into quarters and roll each portion of dough into a circle about 1/4 inch thick.

Place onto a greased baking sheet and mark into farls (quarters).

Bake for 35-40 minutes and serve straight from the oven, swimming in butter.

Enjoy.

Chapatis

I've been absolutely addicted to these lately.

I only learnt how to make them a few weeks ago (shameful I know) but I haven't stopped since. I figured since I'm a very nice person, I'd pass on the world's simplest recipe.

We're having a bit of a potato famine in the SeetheWoods House lately because of price and quality and I've replaced the humble spud with these.

Chapatis (makes 12)

12oz plain or wholemeal flour

1tsp salt

water

Mix salt with flour in a bowl, add a little water and start to mix with your fingers. You just add enough water so that it comes together in a ball. It should feel similar to play dough, soft but not so soft it sticks to your hands.

You can make the dough and cover until you're ready to use.

When ready, divide the dough into 12 portions, roll into 5-6 inch rounds (or squares or misshapes, I'm not fussy).

Add enough vegetable oil and a small amount of butter (don't worry if the butter burns a bit, it only makes them taste better) to a heavy frying pan and fry each one over a medium/high heat for about 45 seconds to 1 minute per side.

They puff up slightly when they're done. If you're feeling really adventurous you can hold them over a naked gas flame and they puff up to look like little balloons.

They can be kept warm in an oven until you are ready to serve, but I wouldn't recommend letting them cool and reheating.

This is the basic recipe, feel free to play around with it. I almost always add some garlic power or some dried herbs.

They're also good layered in a casserole with chilli and covered with some grated cheese, like a mock lasagna with a kick.

Let me know if you have any other good ideas on how to use these (Have I mentioned I'm addicted).