A Basket Full of Focaccia Delights!

'There is a basket of fresh bread on your head,

yet you go door to door asking for crust

Knock on the inner door, no other.'

Rumi

Possibly originating from the ancient Greeks (which may be why this is divine), and devoured across the Mediterranean as well as Argentina (which is almost Europe really!) This focaccia bread is the first, and now my favourite of all the breads; super easy, super delicious, and extremely moreish! 

I completely recommend it to anyone trying something new... 

Jamie's Focaccia

I have to admit... I have a whole list of recipe's just waiting for the right time to be completed. As it turns out I am quite the workaholic in the kitchen, so, the list includes Gnocchi, My First Ever Jerk Chicken, Simple and Delicious Zucchini Soup, the Amazing Pizza's amongst others.... But last night amongst the candle light dinner we shared with some good friends, Focaccia bread not only dazzled the guests, but their tastebuds too ;)

You see, that despite making a delicious bread every couple of days, I wanted to make something special for our guests... I have to thank Jamie Oliver for this recipe. I have to be honest, there was no way I thought that my bread would turn out as delicious and sumptuous as his one. This is his photo (Left). I have this here to provide a comparison!

My Focaccia

I served this as a starter... (what I thought was a starter then it turned out to be one big delicious medly) a small piece of each part on everyone's plates... scattered on the table was baked hummus (I have updates some of the photos on this blog so you can see how it rises!), lebne and fresh yogurt, homemade beetroot Salad (simple boiled beetroot with Lemon and Salt) and cucumbers... Fresh from the oven Potato Wedges and finally once there was was a little room on people's plates, we passed round Jerk Chicken... A winner all over! (I cant forget my unburnt apple cake.. yes.. I mean.. unburnt. Update of how not to burn your cake is now available!)

This bread was devoured and gave the dinner the extra little punch of flavour it needed to blend the vast array of dips, sauces, salads, sides and mains together. Yum!

Crumbs! Tips!

The Missing Ingredients

I knew I wasn't going to have goats cheese at hand or any other fancy cheese (apart from Parmesan of course... I could perhaps die an early death without parmesan in the kitchen... the dervish would never understand!)... So... instead I replaced the cheeses with local handmade Halloumi (cut into rectangles and poked into the dough), and homemade thick Lebne yogurt that had been hanging for two days instead of one (creamed and blobbed on), and had a delicious pungent blue cheese esk taste and smell... Yum! 

I also had no access to any cherry tomatoes... so I just used regular tomatoes.. I should say though, these are fully in season at the moment, and so were full of delicious taste.. which you may not get if you buy regular tomatoes from say ASDA or Tesco... you would have to go for 'Finest'. I would recommend only getting what's local and in Season... God's way of saying 'Its good for you!'

Also, because I just couldn't be bothered to walk to the top of the hill (to be fair it would have been 40 minutes there and back...) I used dry rosemary instead of fresh sprigs...

Jamie says, this serves 10.... well. I am not so sure! Out of the 24 squares I cut this into... only 5 were left, and there were 5 people at the table! The 5 that are left are my little present to myself and I will be having them with some lentil soup this evening! I would say this Serves 5 People comfortably, 6 at a stretch also.. When you have guests... it is well worth making this bread as a complete replacement for normal bread... (double or triple the quantity if necessary if you have a large party of people) It takes less rising time, a tiny little bit more actual hands on cooking, but its so delicious it makes it all worth it!

- Don't get scared by the long list of ingredients... most are readily available in any kitchen!

- I do not have semolina flour and have used normal plan flour instead - as I do with my normal bread and this is still delicious

- I shaved the parmesan rather than grated it, and this created a wonderful later of it all over the cheesy side! Yum 

- This is a great recipe for experimenting with toppings... especially the three cheeses... go on! You know you want to!

- To kill two birds with one stone, I doubled the flour recipe, and used one half for the focaccia, and the other half to make regular white bread (I simply followed the direction notes on rising and baking for regular white bread... using this recipe for the dough)...

Happy Cooking!

Focaccia Delights!

Ingredients:

For the dough

500g strong white bread flour, plus more for dusting

1/2 tbsp Sea Salt, 

1 Sachet of Dried Yeast

1/2 tbsp Caster Sugar

300ml Lukewarm Water

3 tbsp Olive Oil

For the Balsamic Onion Topping

2 tbsp Olive Oil, 

2 Red Onions finely Slices, 

Thyme (I used dry, if there is fresh, then great)

6 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

For the Basil and Tomato Topping

1 Bunch of Fresh Basil

1 large handful of ripe cherry tomatoes halved or 3-4 ripe tomatoes sliced

Sea Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Olive Oil

White Wine Vinegar (I used apple)

2 Cloves of Garlic Peeled and Sliced (crushed)

For the three-cheese and rosemary topping

40g Halloumi Cheese cut into rectangular rods

40g Thick Lebne 

30g Parmesan shaved into thin slices

Fresh or dry Rosemary

Sea Salt

Directions:

1. Mix the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large bowl or on an Italian board. 
2. Make a well in the centre, then add the oil and water, and mix well. If the dough seems a little stiff, add 1-2 tbsp water, mix well.
3. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for around 5 minutes 
4. Once the dough is satin-smooth, place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Leave to rise for 30 minutes until doubled in size.
   
5. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7 and prepare the toppings
6. For the balsamic onion topping, fry the sliced onions and thyme leaves in 2 tbsp of olice oil over a low heat for about 5 minutes, add the balsamic vinegar, reduce for a minute or two, then leave to cool.
7.  For the basil and tomato topping, roughly chop the basil leaves and put them in a bowl with the sliced tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, a little olive oil and apple or white wine vinegar, add the garlic and mix together (by hand is fine, I also squeezed the tomatoes a little to get the juices out
8.  As soon as the dough has risen, pound it, then place it on a baking tray (I put grease proof paper on mine) and spread it out to cover the tray (my tray was around 12x8 inches.. a little larger, or a little sma
   ller is also fine for this quantity). Push down roughly on top of the dough and prod your fingers in it creating little dips and wells. 
9. Divide the onion and the tomato topping over two thirds of the focaccia. On the last third, poke the halloumi into the dough, smear on some delicious tangy lebne, and sprinkle on a generous amount of parmesan (or three cheeses of your choice!) Add the rosemary and season with salt and pepper
10. Leave the dough to rise for a further 20 minutes
11. Bake the focaccia for 20 minutes until Golden on top and soft in the middle (It also ends up being crispy underneath if the tray is lined with Olive Oil... mine always is!
12. Devour!! (or cut into 24 even slices ready for your guests when they arrive!)

Serve it with Love!

This Morning's Tajalli - Coconut Milk French Toast

'This is not a day for asking questions. 

Not a day on any calender

This day is conscious of itself

This day is a lover, bread and gentleness,

More manifest that saying can say'

Rumi

Homemade bread, homemade plum compote... a perfect day , I thought for yummy French toast.. 

'Not a day for asking questions' 

Shall we have French toast or not? Salty or sweet? Ok, lets just have left overs... no.. actually, lets try and have both, hallumi? no.. I can't tell you how much time I spent procrastinating in the kitchen while my Italian coffee was brewing (Lavazza no less..) He may be a dervish, but I, - as he kindly put it this morning - am more of a Sultana. (No not a raisin... more like a queen... or drama queen;)

He had no answers... staring at me blankly, not acknowledging my faint distress when I realised that we had no milk. No half and half. No cream. No butter. Even my alternative information companion - Google - was reiterating the need for these essential dairy items.. and my memories of Homemade French toast included at least some milk and butter... may not fancy pancy cream... 

'This day is conscious of itself....'

Until a breakthrough happened. A lightbulb moment occured and Coconut Milk was found amongst the multifarious wedding gifts that had overwhelmed our new home only 40 days ago when we married... to be honest there really weren't enough reviews of this recipe for me to feel comfortable.. (I'm a Capricorn, if we are gonna do it, lets do it well ) but the picture looked so delicious I had to try it! Silk.com to the rescue! (At least it sounded slick!)

Finally. My drama queen of a morning became calm and all of my wasted time on procrastination didn't seem to matter any more (the new french toast recipe only takes 15 minutes and the coffee was ready!)... simples ;)

Coconut Milk French Toast it is my darling Dervish ;)

'This day is a lover, bread and gentleness...'

Sultana's Tips!

 My adaptations to the recipe as I find it the easiest way to remember that; we don't always have everything at hand, everything can be done slightly differently, and there are some things, that just can never be left out!

- This recipe calls for almond extract (that is even too much of a luxury for this queen right now... so I just left it out!)
- If I had been organised enough, I could have conjured up some almonds or other nuts (I actually think that I have some hazelnuts..) but all that procrastinating made me forget... I am sure they would have been delicious
- I did not have any fresh fruit to hand (gasp!) but the homemade compote was delicious with it.... and I highly recommend having compote handy for almost any (sweet) occasion!

- The recipe calls for 2 eggs, in my experiment, this meant 2 large eggs, all I have interestingly.. is tiny eggs... chicken eggs, but tiny... so I put 5 tiny eggs in, to equal the 2 large eggs... Someone mentioned that maybe these were young chickens and therefore have not acquired the skills of producing large eggs... I leave you with a photo in their memory!
- If you don't have coconut milk I am almost 100% sure you can exchange this for normal milk or cream
- Do not be afraid to experiment! French toast is also delicious savoury (I remember this vividly, just add a pinch of salt to the recipe and leave out the vanilla, nutmeg and cinammon)
- Adding butter instead of sunflower oil, will only increase how delicious this is (in my world, calories do not exist, butter is not fattening, and taste is everything)

Happy cooking!

Coconut Milk French Toast!

'More manifest that saying can say'

Serves 3 hungry Peeps, 4 Normal Peeps

2 Large Eggs (or 5 tiny eggs)
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Pinch Nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla powder)
1/2 tsp almond extract
Sunflower Oil
6 Thick Slices of
home made bread
Homemade Spicy Plum Compote
Any other delicious garnish, fruit, berries, maple syrup, 

Directions

1. Put on oil in pan and put on a medium heat

2. Whisk together eggs, coconut milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla extract

3. Dip each slice of bread in the mixture, soaking well on both sides.

4. Place bread pieces on hot skillet and cook on each side until golden brown.

5. Serve with a selection of spicy plum compote, fresh fruit, toasted almonds, real maple syrup or honey

Deeeeelicious! 

(Remember to serve it with Love ;)

My Bread and Butter

'From the hundreds of times I lost 

the connection, I learn this;

your fragrance brings me back'

Rumi

Easy to make and bake.. this bread is delicious, fluffy and perfect for toast, sandwiches and smothering on jam and butter 

The smell of baking bread gets me all exited! I cant deny it. I have been referred to as Kung Fu Panda on many occasions! My love of food and spirituality somehow go hand in hand. I mean, when I imagine a mystic, sitting there in meditation, connecting to the Divine, in complete peace... the dude has a little tummy... :) 

The smell of fresh bread baking in the morning, is often associated in my mind with a Turkish Supermarket that was at the top of my road. Delicious, soft, fresh. Yum! In more modern households, an electric breadmaker is one of best friend if you can work out how to time it appropriately :) However, I have been granted the time to make my bread by hand.

Unfortunately, in modern society bread has been vilified as the root of all evil, the reason that all women have that little tummy I was talking about, the reason we overeat, we're overweight, its a trigger food, it causes bloating, allergic reations and this whole list of unwanteds... Its no wonder that Boots stacks their lunch time shelves with the stuff... and that children take it to school every day filled with their favourite jams and cheeses...

I have always found the best trick is to have a balance; leave the bread next to my husband's plate so that he enjoys as much of it as he likes, and I use a little, at the end of my meal to clean my plate, take a jam and smother it!

Despite my absolute love for bread, and brown bread more specifically, my recent research (which unfortunately I have no link for here, although makes complete theoretical sense) is that brown bread - despite the myths of it being extremely healthy, may actually be worse for you than white bread - unless it is organic.

Due to chemicals and pesticides being sprayed on the wheat when it is growing on non-organic bread, the pesticides and chemicals are stored, nicely in the outer shell, the fibre, the bit that makes brown bread brown. And then you eat it. Not good!

Unfortunately at present I do not have the luxury of ordering my organic multi-seed brown bread straight to my house.. and I also do not have access to organic brown wheat and flour... but very fortunately, I do have time, an oven, easy access to white flour and enthusiasm to start making my own home made white bread :)

I found this recipe on the BBC Good Food Website, which I have found extremely helpful in last minute crises! It also has a great number of readers, so working out the very best kind of bread to make is easy due to the ratings! It is worth me saying at this point that I absolutely refuse to post anything that I don't consider to have a five star rating... my mouth cannot lie! 

Tips!

My adaptations to the recipe as I find it the easiest way to remember that; we don't always have everything at hand, everything can be done slightly differently, and there are some things, that just can never be left out!

- I chose this recipe because of how easy it is!

- As an Italian... (and also because I copied Jamie Oliver and realised how easy it was...) when I make dough, I make it on an Italian dough board...even in this vast no-man's land where I live, there is still an IKEA within 2 hours selling these badboys for about 12 Euros... so there is no excuse! (I protected mine with 1 cup 1/3 vinegar 2/3 Olive oil and rubbed into the board all over.... instead of buying a chemical alternative that is more likely to give me stomach ulcers than protect my wood... the vinegar smell goes about 1 hour later)

- The flour should be heaped on the board, and a small hole in the middle where the ingredients are scattered i.e. salt and yeast... try and spread them evenly...

- Luke warm or almost hot water is pretty essential to get the yeast working properly... do not underestimate this!

- This bread is light and fluffy, and despite the heat, doesnt go dry quickly - I have been storing mine outside of the fridge for almost three days now, and it still tastes delicious!

Happy cooking!

My Bread and Butter Recipe!

Ingredients

• 500g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2 tsp salt
• 7g sachet fast-action yeast
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 300ml water

Method

1. Mix the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl or on an Italian board. 
2. Make a well in the centre, then add the oil and water, and mix well. If the dough seems a little stiff, add 1-2 tbsp water, mix well then tip onto a lightly floured work surface and knead. 
3. Once the dough is satin-smooth, place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Leave to rise for 1 hour until doubled in size or place in the fridge overnight.
4. Line a baking tray (I used a loaf tin) with baking parchment. Knock back the dough, then gently mould the dough into the desired shape (my was a rectangle).  
5. Place it in the tin to rise for a further hour until doubled in size.
   
6. Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Dust the loaf with flour and cut a cross about 6cm long into the top of the loaf with a sharp knife. 
   
7. Bake for 25-30 mins until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath. 
8. Cool on a wire rack. and then Eat with Butter!

Delicious!