| A bread
maker could save you money if you are sure you
will use it regularly - many people have bought
one and it gathers dust in the corner! Discount
stores and supermarkets' basic breads are very
cheap but if you like fancier breads and don't
want to do all that kneading this might be for
you - shop around for the best price.
|
Herb and
Garlic Bread
This is a
very quick and easy recipe to make because we
cheat and leave out the second kneading and
rising times that most bread recipes call for and
really don't let it rise much to begin with! It
works very well though - you will have lovely
soft bread that is a perfect accompainment to
casseroles, soups or anything else really. It can
fill the gap of potatoes, pasta or rice in any
meal.
Ingredients:
500g. of
plain flour (remember discount shops have it at
around 12p a kilo)
1 packet of
easy blend dried yeast
half a
pint/500ml/about 2 cups of warm water
2
tablespoons of olive oil (for a stronger taste)
or sunflower oil (milder)
1
tablespoon of mixed herbs
2 cloves of
garlic, crushed
a little
salt to taste
Turn your
oven on very low, no more than 50C/100F. Mix the
flour and yeast together and gradually add the
warm water mixing all the time (with your hands
is best though messy - fun!) until you have a
good dough. Knead until fairly smooth and place
in an oiled baking tin or two and flatten out to
fill tin (this makes lovely flattish bread a bit
like pizza if well spread out). Place into the
oven and prepare the topping: mix the oil with
the herbs, garlic and salt and then spread over
the bread. Turn the oven up to 190C/380F - the
bread will continue rising as the heat increases
- and bake for about 25 minutes.
You can
experiment with different toppings: add a
tablespoon of tomato puree for a pizza style
bread - sliced onions add flavour. Sprinklings of
poppy or sesame seeds go well too.
|
If you have a bread making machine
you can make lots of speciality breads easily as
this book shows. The only essential ingredients
for basic bread are flour, yeast and water - the
machine manufacturers recipes seem to put in a
lot of un-needed things!
Buy from Amazon.co.uk
or
Buy from
Amazon.com (USA)
Lots
of different loaves and rolls to try, traditional style in this
comprehensive title.
Buy from Amazon.co.uk
or
Buy from
Amazon.com (USA)
|
