Our Family Favourite Banana Bread

 

This banana bread is often half eaten before it even leaves the cooling rack.  And is adored by the whole family – just like a bunch of flowers from a lovely friend...

You can use 120g all butter but I find the coconut butter adds a nice lightness to the mix.

delicious straight from the oven.. often half is gone before it leaves the cooling tray!

Our Family Favourite Banana Bread

60g butter

60g coconut butter

70g raw sugar

2 tbls golden syrup

1 tsp vanilla

2 free range eggs

3-4 bananas

½ mc milk

250g SR flour

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp bicarb soda

• Add butters and sugar to Thermomix bowl and cream 10 sec speed 6, scrap down if needed and repeat

• Add golden syrup, bananas, eggs and vanilla and mix 10 sec speed 4

• Add flours and milk and mix 10 sec speed 4
• Bake 180° for 50 min in a lined loaf tin

Basic steps to beautiful bread!

The most common question I get from fellow Thermomix connoisseurs is how do I bake my bread? So it’s time to share my hot (bread) tips for successful home cooked, healthy bread that can be enjoyed every day!

Olive bread

1.       Fresh yeast - dried yeast needs to be kept fresh so should be stored in the fridge or as I do freezer.  Yeast is also a little fussy.  It prefers sweet to salty so it’s best to keep salt away from the yeast when adding ingredients and its activation is enhanced by a little honey, agave, molasses or even vitamin C!

2.       Lukewarm water - Yeast is an active ingredient and while it lies dormant in storage it needs the right environment to be awoken.  If your water is too hot it will burn, if it’s cold it won’t activate.  I find just slightly boiling the kettle works well and I have the luxury of a digital kettle so can boil it to 40° or warm to 37° in your Thermomix

3.       Time – your dough needs time to grow.  Wrapped up and placed in a warm, cosy and draught free place for plenty of time is just what it needs.  My kids take turns in putting the dough “nigh nighs” just like a little baby.  The amount of time will depend on the season and where you live.  The hotter the quicker so down here in the midst of winter in Torquay, a few hours works well.  After knocking down your dough to get rid or air bubbles, and shaping as desired, allow the dough a 2^nd rise of about 30 minutes in the baking tin or tray to avoid a dense and heavy bread

4.       Hot, hot, hot – Your oven needs to be really hot before you start baking for the best bread.  Preheating your oven to 240° while your bread has a 2^nd rise works well and preheating a pizza stone to bake on works a treat too.  To develop a crust, toss a little water on your loaf or throw a few ice cubes in the oven


 

Pumpkin bread

 

So with that in mind the world is your loaf!  And while I love trying different bread varieties I often stick to my trusty few.  It’s based on a recipe I once found for olive bread (Summer’s favourite) but I simply leave out the olives and play around with the grain and flour variations.  As long as the flour total is 500g you can use milled grains and seeds as coarse or as fine as you like for around 100-200g with the remaining unbleached bakers flour for best results.  Then a loaf, rolls or even scrolls it’s up to you.

So here’s a few I’ve made in the last 2 days, great with soup or straight from the oven with a little butter and vegemite.  (please note that I wasn't quick enough to take pictures of these exact loaves so I given you a sample of others for inspiration!)

Fruit and Nut bread

A little bit of wholemeal bread

8g dried yeast

300g lukewarm water

10g olive oil

100g wheat, spelt or other grain (or wholemeal flour)

400g unbleached bakers flour

½ tsp Himalayan salt

• Place yeast and water in Thermomix bowl and mix for 1 minute on speed 2 for yeast to activate
• Add oil, flour then salt and mix for 10 seconds on speed 4
• Set to knead for 3 minutes
• Place in a large bowl then cover with cling wrap or wrap in your Thermomat and leave in a warm place for several hours or until doubled in size
• Preheat oven to 240°
• Meanwhile remove dough from bowl, shape to the size of a large plate then roll to fit into a lined loaf tin and rest for about 15 minutes
• Bake at 220° for around 30 minutes or until golden and sounds hollow when knocked
• Remove from tin and let cool for a few minutes before devouring!

A little wholemeal bread

Multi grain rolls

150g mixed grains and seeds eg; flaxseed, spelt, oats, sunflower seeds

8g dried yeast
300g lukewarm water
1 tsp honey
350g unbleached bakers flour
10g olive oil
1 tsp Himalayan salt with a pinch of dulse

• Place grains and seeds in Thermomix bowl and grind for 30 – 60 sec
• Add yeast, honey and water and mix for 1 minute on speed 2
• Add oil, flour and salt and mix for 10 seconds on speed 4
• Set to knead for 3 minutes
• Wrap in a silicone mat followed by a towel or place in a covered bowl ( I used a lettuce crisper as I was taking the dough to a friends house to bake fresh for lunch!)
• Leave in a warm place to rise for at least 2 hours or until doubled in size
• Preheat oven to 220°
• Take handfuls of dough and shape into balls but slightly flattening, folding into center then pushing through letter O made with 1^st finger and thumb to stretch gently
• Arrange balls just apart on a floured or lined try, sprinkle with a little water and bake for 20 -25 minute or until golden and hollow when knocked

Once you've mastered the basics of these breads you can venture out into varieties of these recipes - some of my favourites include Pumpkin Bread and Fig and Walnut Bread.  From there get more adventurous with Ciabatta and Artisian style loaves.  What ever bread you bake just put some love into it then you'll love eating it!

Pesto and feta scrolls

Chai Spiced Hot Cross Buns

I love Chai in any form and I love home made Hot Cross Buns.  So what better marriage than Chai spiced hot cross buns.  My favourite is a Chai Spice mix of cinnamon, ginger, cloves and cardamom.  In fact just like variations of chai you can play around with the spices (freshly ground is best) and I’ve even infused the warm milk with some leaf chai tea.

Chai Spiced Hot Cross Buns

I use the Everyday Cookbook version of Hot Cross Buns as a base and reduce the sugar to about 10g of rapadura making them a great snack for the kids.  And there's plenty of other variations to try.  With or without citrus, a handful of cocoa nibs, a hint of espresso, wholemeal, with or without crosses...    All delightful and hard to resist straight from the oven with homemade butter of course.

And these are so delicious you'll want to make them all year round so just omit the cross and you won't feel guilty a bit.
 

 

Easter is early this year so what are you waiting for? Start baking!

Chai Spiced Hot Cross Buns

250g milk

70g unsalted butter

10g rapadura sugar

1 free range egg

½ tsp salt

10g dry yeast

100g wholemeal bakers flour

400g bakers flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground cloves

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground cardamom

80g sultanas

70g currants

• Place milk into Thermomix bowl and heat for 1 minute at 90° on speed 1
 
• Add butter and sugar and mix for 10 seconds on speed 2
 
• Place remaining ingredients excluding sultanas and currants and knead for 2 minutes on Interval Setting
 
• Add sultanas and currants and knead for a further 1 minute
 
• Wrap in Thermomat or place in a covered bowl and leave to prove in a warm place for 2 hours to approximately double in size
 
• Break off 1/3 cup size pieces, shape into rolls and place on a lined baking tray and let them prove for a further 30 minutes (we like them small in size as they go further!)
 
• Pipe with crosses if desired (a mix of 80g flour, pinch salt, 1tsp oil, 100g water in a piping bag or zip lock bag with the end snipped off)
 
• Bake in a preheated oven at 220° for 15 minutes
 
• Brush with sugar syrup (a mix of 1 tbls rapadura sugar and 1 tbls hot water) while still warm

 

Enjoy!

Spinach, Pesto and Feta Scrolls

We love visiting family and friends on the weekends and I can’t help myself but to always take a yummy treat to share.  Today we were visiting close friends in their new home.  They wanted to see my Thermomix in action and had a beautiful home grown pumpkin to use so we planned to make my Morrocan Pumpkin and Red Lentil Soup followed by a Torta Caprese from the Thermomix EDC.  Too easy and a great way to inspire. 

Spinach, Pesto and Feta Scrolls

I decided to whip up my very popular Spinach, Pesto and Feta Scrolls to go with the soup and they were the best yet!  It’s basically a simple bread recipe shaped into a rectangle after the first rise, spread with a pesto of your choice, sprinkled with plenty of feta, and followed by a some fresh baby spinach leaves.  This is then rolled, sliced and baked and most importantly enjoyed fresh straight out of the oven.  While I usually cook these at home before venturing out to visit, today I left them to have a second rise during the car ride so they were super light and fluffy. 

The scrolls didn’t quite make it as a side for the soup.  More of a delicious entree and could easily be a lunch on their own.  I’ve also made these successfully with a tomato based pesto.  Yum!

 
100g wholemeal bread flour or other milled grain
400g unbleached white bread flour
300g lukewarm water
7g dry yeast
20g olive oil
½ - 1 tsp salt
¼ cup home made or store bought basil pesto
100g feta
Handful baby spinach leaves

• Add wholemeal flour to Thermomix bowl and further mill 5 seconds speed 6
• Add yeast and water and mix for 1 minute speed 2 to activate yeast
• Add remaining flour, oil and salt and knead for 2 min 30 sec on Interval Setting
• Wrap in Thermomat or other silicone mat and allow to rise in a warm place for an hour or until doubled in size (remember the longer the rise the better the final product)
• Gently stretch and shape to a long rectangle about 1.5cm thick on mat or floured surface
• Spread with pesto, sprinkle with crumbled pesto and spinach
• Carefully roll from long edge to form a long roll then using back of spatula cut into approximately 7 pieces
• Arrange in a springform tin lined with baking paper and allow to rise for a final 30  minutes
• Bake at 220° for 25-30 minutes until golden and hollow sounding when knocked

Best eaten straight from the oven

Enjoy!

Olive, Cheese and Rosemary Bread

Now that I’ve been baking my own bread for some time now I’m really looking for different and tasty variations.  Today’s delight started as a Rosemary and Cheese loaf but my gorgeous daughter Summer insisted on her favourite which is Olive Bread. The result was all of the above and it turned out just great.  It even looked quite pretty as the olives I used gave the bread a rather purple tint – perhaps that’s why Summer loved it so much!

Fresh from the oven...

Some rosemary out of the garden, home cured olives and a combination of grana pandano and tasty cheese in a wholemeal and white bread kept the whole family coming back for more.  Of course we all started with a piece fresh out of the oven with home made butter then I had to send them all outside to enjoy the spring sunshine so I could compile some lentil burger and salad sandwiches for the crew. 

A delicious lentil burger and salad sandwich

And of course being outside included playing in the sandpit so when lunch arrived the joke of the day was... “what do witches eat at the beach?”......... “ sandwitches!”

A great accompaniment to home made baked beans

We enjoyed this bread straight from the oven, for a sandwich and lightly toasted to accompany our delicious home made baked beans. Yum!  This recipe could also make fantastic rolls.  Notice there's no added salt as there's plenty of flavour from the olives, cheeses and rosemary. A delicious change from everyday bread.



can you smell the fresh rosemary?

Olive, Cheese and Rosemary Bread
2 tsp fresh rosemary
40g Grana Pandana (or parmesan) cheese
50g tasty cheese
50g pitted olives
300g lukewarm water
8g dry yeast
100g wholemeal flour or milled grains of choice
400g white bakers flour
20g olive oil

• Add rosemary to Thermomix bowl and mill for 20 seconds speed 8
• Add cheeses and mill for a further 10 seconds speed 6 then set aside
• Add water and yeast to thermomix bowl (no need to clean between) and  mix for 1 minute speed 2
• Add flours and oil and knead 2 minutes on Interval setting
• Add rosemary, cheese and olives and knead for an extra 1 minute on Interval setting
• Wrap in Thermomat or lightly oiled bowl and place in a warm spot to double in size
• Shape into desired loaf shape and place on a tray or tin lined with baking paper (I tried a lined springform tin today and this worked just great) and allow a 2^nd rise of about 30 minutes
• Meanwhile preheat oven to 220°
• Spray loaf lightly with water and bake for 30 minutes or until sounds hollow when knocked

Enjoy!

Dough waiting to rise...

Super Soft Buttermilk Rolls

I’m so excited to share that I today I have made the softest, fluffiest bread rolls that not only have I ever made but ever had the pleasure of eating!  And a special thanks to Tenina who provided this recipe on her website which I only changed a little.  And the result was light, melt in your mouth bread rolls that disappeared very quickly.

 

Like many others I had made a fresh batch of butter this morning and while I usually make the Buttermilk bread in the Thermomix EDC I ventured for something a little different and am certainly glad I did. Tenina provides a link which discusses the science of buttermilk and the effect it has on the bread.  The recipe is also a little different in that it starts with a roux.  My variations included reducing the sugar and I used half buttermilk / half water for the dough just because that's how much buttermilk I had from my butter.  And as there was a little butter left in the bowl to start with, I reduced it for the dough to balance out.

It is truely devine!

Super Soft Buttermilk Rolls

Roux:

30g flour
10g sugar
120g buttermilk

Dough:

350g bakers flour
Pinch salt
25g butter
110g buttermilk
100g water
1 sachet dried yeast (2tsp)

• Place Roux ingredients into Thermomix bowl and cook for 3 minutes at 80°C on speed 3. Cool slightly. Leave in Thermomix bowl.
• Add all dough ingredients except yeast to cooked Roux in Thermomix bowl and mix for 10 seconds on speed 6
• Add yeast and with dial set to closed lid position, knead for 4 minutes at Interval speed
• Leave in bowl with lid on in a warm place to  prove until doubled
• Shape into rolls with wet hands. (This makes the stickiness easier to cope with.) Place onto lined baking sheet or Thermomat and dust with flour
• Cover and rise again
• Place into cold oven and bake for 15-20 minutes at 200°C

Enjoy! (especially with fresh butter straight from the oven!)

Veggie Focaccia

So who said it's too cold to go to the beach in winter...

Finn at the beach

This morning Summer (maybe it's her name that blew away the winter chills) said she wanted to go swimming at the beach.  So how could a surfing mum and dad say no.  With wetsuits adorned and little Finn rugged up in warm clothes we headed to our local beach for a fun splash and play in the sand. 

Summer and daddy  - so brave!

We had the beach to ourselves and while the rain and wind visited for a little while, it wasn't long before the sun shone.  The kids dug a hole on the sand and as it was low tide they had the perfect little splash pool.  It was rather balmy!

An hour later we dragged the kids home for a warm shower and a fresh focaccia for lunch.

As you will get to know, we rather like homemade bread in our house.  Fresh bread straight from the oven and our weekend favourite at the moment is focaccia.  We find the recipe from the Thermomix EDC works well with a variety of toppings.  Sometimes just rock salt and rosemary from the garden, otherwise a scatter of home cured olives works a treat.  It’s hard to resist fresh bread straight from the oven with butter, nut butter or even just on it’s own.  If we can wait we’ll fill with variety of veges such as roasted capsicum, eggplant, pumpkin, baby spinach and pesto and feta.  Sometimes veggie daddy will cook some homemade chips while the oven is on (sweet potato are my favourite) and we all agree this is better than going to a café for lunch.