Herb Fougasse

A beautifully formed Provençal bread can be made plain with a topping of poppy and sesame seeds, or with a rosemary onion topping. Its a light and versatile bread that's a great accompaniment to soups or to mop up a gravy and its a fairly flat bread so can easily be stored away. The bread has a very light crust and can be cut into a number of other patterns. I used dry rosemary, chopped tomatoes and stewed onions to top, and kneaded some of the onion into the dough.

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour (I used 2 cups of white flour with 1 cup of wholewheat flour)
• 1 tbsp dry yeast
• 1 cup water, warm
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp olive oil, and a little more for brushing
• 1 tbsp dry rosemary
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 medium tomato, chopped into large, rough chunks

Method

1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar into the warm water, and leave aside to activate.
2. Add the activated yeast to the flour, mix in the salt and 2 tbsp of olive oil and make a soft dough.
3. Leave the dough aside in a warm place to rise and double in size. It should take an hour or so.
4. Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onions, stew them until they start to brown around the edges. Add the rosemary and take it off the heat.
5. Add half the onion-rosemary mixture to the dough and knead it into the dough. Add a sprinkling of flour if it seems a little too wet.
6. Roll the dough out into a thick rectangle, and take a knife or dough cutter and make a single incision down the middle of the rectangle. Leave at least an inch from the incision to the short edge of the rectangle. Make three more incisions on each side of the middle one, equally spaced, and an inch from both the long edge and the middle incision.
7. Pick the dough up and lightly set it down, to open up the incisions. Brush the top lightly with olive oil and add the remaining onion-rosemary mix and the tomatoes to the top. Leave aside in a warm place to proof, for at least an hour.
8. Once risen, place in a pre-heated oven at 240 degrees C/gas mark 8 for 15 minutes.
9. After 15 minutes, lower the heat to 180-190 degrees C/gas mark 6 and let it cook for another 15 minutes, for it to develop a light brown crust.
10. Let it cool before slicing. Serve it with a sweet relish or with garlic-parsely butter, to cut through the bitter onion and rosemary. 

Hefekranz

Hefekranz is a wondefully light and sweet german bread that's often made on festive holidays, like easter or christmas. The bread is made with a simple wheat dough and the sweetness comes from the raisins and dried cherries and that are embedded into the dough. It has a very light crust and can be braided or made into a wreath, and with strong black coffee and an egg, makes for a great breakfast.

Ingredients

• 3 cups white bread flour
• 1 cup milk, warm
• 4 tsp sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp salt, and a pinch to sprinkle over
• 1 tbsp dry yeast
• 10-15 raisins

Method

1. Mix the milk, yeast and 2 tsp sugar together and leave aside to turn frothy.
2. Add the frothy mixture to the flour, and add the remaining sugar, raisins and the eggs, with the tsp of salt. Keep a little of the egg aside for an eggy-wash.
3. Make a soft dough and leave aside in a warm place for an hour to proof.
4. Once the dough doubles in size, split into 3 equal parts, and roll out into three equally long ropes and braid them together. If you want to shape it into a wreath, gently turn the braid and attach the ends together.
5. Leave aside for a further 1 hour to proof, and double in size. 
6. Pre-heat an oven to 160 degrees C/gas mark 5-6.
7. Once the dough has doubled, brush the top with the beaten egg left aside and sprinkle a pinch of salt over. Push any stray raisins back into the bread and place it in the pre-heated oven. 
8. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the bread has a light golden crust and is cooked through. 
9. Let it cool, and then slice or tear into chunks to serve. This can be served up as it is, with a soft-boiled egg and coffee, or with a sugar frosting made with powdered sugar, butter and vanilla for a little extra-sweetness.

Herb Tomato Focaccia

I love the smell of fresh focaccia, it mixes the warmth of fresh bread with wonderful aromatic herbs, like thyme, rosemary and basil. To make a wholesome rustic bread, I've topped this focaccia with chopped tomatoes, garlic, thyme, rosemary and basil. This bread is great with a simple dip of just extra-virgin olive oil; I used one infused with oranges, and it makes a great 4 o-clock munchie with a hot mug of tea. I used dried herbs for this, as they were all I had available, but if you have fresh herbs available, use double the listed amount of dried herbs for that little extra oomph.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup fine semolina
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tsp sugar
• 1 cup luke warm water
• 1 tbsp dried yeast
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary
• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
• Olive oil for drizzling
• salt to taste

Method

1. Mix the flour and semolina together and add the olive oil and some salt to taste.
2. Add the sugar to the lukewarm water and dissolve the yeast in it. Once it starts frothing, add it to the flour mixture and make a soft dough.
3. Knead the dough to release the wheat's gluten to make it elastic, where when stretched it recedes slightly.
4. Place the dough in a warm place to rise; it should take around an hour to double in size. You can place it in a warm oven to rise, by heating an oven at the lowest gas mark for 5 minutes, then switching it off and leaving the bread in it.
5. For the topping, add the chopped tomatoes, garlic, basil, thyme, rosemary, vinegar and a tablespoon of olive oil to a mixing bowl and toss it around.
6. Add some salt and leave aside for 10 minutes.
7. Once the dough has doubled in size, beat it down and flatten it out on a baking tray. Use you palms to push and stretch it out to an even thickness of about half an inch. Add a few indentations and wells with your fingers. 
8. Toss the topping mixture over the dough and spread it around. Drizzle the dough liberally with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and set aside for about an hour, in a warm place, for it to proof.
9. Once the dough has risen a second time, place in a preheated oven at 210 centigrade (gas mark 7) for 30 minutes, or till a golden brown crust appears on top and the bread is cooked through.
10. Pull it out once cooked and leave aside for 10 minutes to cool. Then cut it into thick slices and serve with olive oil.

Baguette and Braided Bread

Warm bread lathered with fresh butter and served up with scrambled eggs; show me a person who can resist that. I left the dough to rise over-night, so it had a little sourness through it, but it can be made with just 4 hours of resting time. Also, I used a mix of wholewheat and white flour, to make just that little bit healthier. The same dough can be used to make braided bread, baguettes, pain d'epi or any other artisan bread. The preparation time is around 30 minutes for the kneading and 4 hours (minimum) to rest, and the cooking time is 25 minutes.

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 2 cups white flour
• 1 cup luke warm water
• 1 tsp dry yeast
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp sugar
• salt to taste

Method

1. Mix the sugar and yeast in the lukewarm water, and set aside for a few minutes.
2. When the yeast mixture starts frothing, add it to the flours and salt.
3. Make a soft dough, and knead it, punch it and roll it around to release that gluten.
4. Once the dough is elastic and contracts when stretched, roll into a ball and place in a large bowl.
5. Cover with a cloth and keep aside in a dry and cool place to rise.
6. Set aside till the dough doubles in size, about 4 hours or overnight.
7. Once the dough has doubled, punch it down and split into four equal parts.
8. Roll out the each part into any desired shape and keep aside for 30 minutes.
9. Beat the egg and once each part has doubled in size, baste with the beaten egg.
10. Place each part on a floured board and in a pre-heated oven at 190C.
11. Cook for 20-25 minutes, till the bread gets a golden brown crust.
12. Lather with butter and serve up warm with soup or scrambled eggs.

Pain d'epi

I love the smell of fresh bread and the warmth of a loaf fresh out of the oven. I initially thought of making a baguette and sticking some emu mince in it, but remembered seeing this wheat stalk shaped bread being made on the Hairy Bikers. With the dough having risen, it was just a matter of hitting it with a pair of scissors and shaping the loaf to resemble a wheat stalk.

Add a touch of butter and watch it disappear.



Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup luke warm water
• 1 tbsp yeast
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt

Method

1. Dissolve the yeast in the luke warm water and set it aside to activate and turn frothy.
2. Mix the flour, sugar salt and yeast mixture and make a soft elastic dough.
3. Knead the dough by pressing down and stretching it with the base of the palm to get the gluten out for at least 10 minutes and leave covered in a warm place to rise.
4. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and roll into a thick rectangle.
5. Roll the longer sides inwards and roll the dough to produce a baguette and place, seam side down, on a floured baking tray.
6. Use a scissor to cut into the dough at an angle of 45 degrees and through half its thickness. Turn the cut portion one way and continue down the length of the dough, turning each cut in the alternate direction as the previous one.
7. Now that the wheat stalk is ready, let it rest covered for at least 1 hour.
8. Pre-heat the oven to 190-200 degrees centigrade. Once heated, pour 1/2 a cup of water into the oven and stand back to let the steam escape.
9. Add the baking tray to the oven to cook for 20 minutes.
10. Halfway through the cooking time, pour another 1/2 cup of water below the baking tray and stand back from the steam. Close the oven door and let the bread cook.
11. After 20 minutes, the bread should have a golden brown crust. Take it out of the oven and serve buttered.