chocolate banana bread

Before I arrived in Thailand I was often thinking about what food I might miss from home with cheese, proper fish and chips and good quality baked goods always pretty high on my list. What I wasn’t prepared for was the abundance of excellent and delicious baked cakes, breads and pastries that seem to be available everywhere. This sweet, enriched bread recipe is inspired by Thai flavours and ingredients and happens to be almost entirely vegan if you used a vegan chocolate. It is essentially an enriched dough with the egg replaced by banana and the coconut oil and milk replacing dairy butter and milk. This chocolate banana bread makes a delicious treat breakfast or is good with a cup of tea of coffee any time of day.



Ingredients
2 medium bananas (approx. 1 cups mashed banana)
200ml coconut milk
55ml coconut oil
380g/3 cups bread flour
2 tsp fast action yeast
200g dark chocolate cut into rough chunks
generous pinch of salt
50g palm sugar (or brown sugar)

1. Mash together the bananas and stir in the coconut oil then place into a large mixing bowl along with all the other ingredients apart from the chocolate and bring together into a rough dough. 
2. Turn out onto an oiled surface and kneed for a few minutes then place into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap then leave in a warm place to rise for around 2 hours. You may need to adjust the flour or moisture level at this stage but do this with care adding a spoon of flour or water as needed. 
3. After the first rise add in the chocolate chunks and gently fold the dough over them creating before turning out on to a baking tray lined with parchment or a loaf tin. I quite like the free form style with this bread but feel free to shape as you wish. Sometimes I mix the chocolate chunks through the dough making sure it is evenly spread or, as I have done in this version I have kept most of the chocolate contained in the centre of the dough so you have yummy almost solid chocolate centre to bite into. I was going for the kind of bite you get with a good pain au chocolat. 
4. Cover with plastic wrap and leave for another hour or so until it has risen to almost double the original size. 
5. Pre-heat the oven to 230C then place a roasting pan filled with some water in the bottom of the oven to create some steam during the baking process. 
6. Place the bread in the oven, reduce the heat down to 200C and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until you have a golden crust. 

kaiser rolls

These are quite possibly my favourite bread rolls ever, I have always loved the knotted shape since I first saw them in Germany. They are the sort of bread roll that I always wish I could find more easily in the shops here but they seem to be everywhere in mainland Europe. They have a good crust and don't just fall apart, a bit of a bite but still very light. They're perfect with anything and make especially good burger buns too. This is not a truly authentic recipe but it works well.



Ingredients (for 8-12 rolls depending on size)
3 cups of strong white bread flour
1 cup of wholemeal bread flour
1 1/2 tsp dried yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp butter, softened
1 cup warm water (approx)
1 beaten egg

egg wash and seeds for decoration if wanted. 

1. Place all the dry ingredients and the butter into a large bowl, make a well in the centre pour in the egg and the water and mix together with your hands until a rough dough is formed. You may need to add extra water to bring it all together, do this a tablespoon at a time to avoid making the dough too sticky.
2. Turn dough out on to the work surface and knead for around 10 minutes or until you have a smooth and silky dough. Place in a greased bowl, cover with cling film and a tea towel then leave in a warm place to double in size. This will take around 1 to 2 hours. 
3. Once the dough has risen, knock it back then break off small nuggets that are about golf ball sized and roll between your hands until you have a long rope. Make a loose single knot in the rope then tuck the ends into the central hole so that they are concealed. Place each knotted roll on to a floured baking sheet. When you have formed all the rolls, cover the baking sheet and leave to rise again for around 30 minutes to an hour. 
4. Preheat the oven to 230C. Place a roasting pan with water in the bottom of the oven to create steam while the rolls cook. 
5. If you want to, brush the rolls with egg wash and sprinkle with seeds. Poppy or sesame seeds are particularly good. 
6. Bake in the oven for around 20-25 minutes.

easy rye bread with caraway seed

Rye bread with caraway seeds is a flavor straight from my childhood and could not be any more Polish. Make this bread into any shape you like. Typically it would be bloomer shaped or round, however I couldn’t resist go for a pretty plaited shape. Try this bread with sliced cheeses, ham, Polish sausage, herring or any fish. It also makes wonderful open sandwiches. 

Ingredients Makes 1 huge loaf or two large loaves.

1 cups milk

1 ½ cups water

2 tbsp butter

3 Tbsp sugar

1 ½ tsp salt

3 tsp active yeast

2 cups rye flour

2 cups wholemeal bread flour

2 ½ cups strong white bread flour

2 tbsp caraway seeds (optional)

1 beaten egg white for egg wash

1. Put the butter, milk and water in a saucepan and heat over a gentle flame until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat and set to one side until it is cool enough for you to bare putting a finger in it for a few seconds.
2. Put all the remaining ingredients (yeast, flour, sugar, salt, caraways seeds) into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre then pour in the milk, water and butter mixture. Using your hands bring the mixture into a rough dough then turn out on to the work surface. Knead for 10 minutes until you have a smooth ball of dough. Place in a large bowl, cover with cling film and a tea towel then leave in a warm place to rise for around 2 hours or until doubled in size.
3. Once the dough has risen, knock it back again and knead it briefly. Form into your chosen shape or place into your prepared tin. I made mine into a large 3 strand plait.  Cover again and leave to rise for around another hour or until roughly double in size.
4. Preheat the oven 230C. Brush the bread with beaten egg white, sprinkle with additional caraway seeds if you wish then bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 170C and cook for a further 35-40 minutes or until the bread has a golden brown crust.
5. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once cooled either store in an airtight container or freeze for later use.
6. This bread is particularly good buttered and served with soup. We had ours to accompany some tomato and rice soup. I'll post my recipe soon.

tortas de aceite

These crispy, sweet flat breads are incredibly moreish and ever so easy to fall in love with. Ever since I first tried them in Spain several years ago I get regular cravings for them. You can get them over here but they're so expensive that they're difficult to justify. However, I have recently found out how to make them for myself and I can't believe how simple they are. With a straight forward method and cheap ingredients there's no doubting that these tasty treats are going to be making a regular appearance in my house. If you can get your head around a simple bread dough you'll have no difficulty with these. The literal translation is 'oil cakes' but that doesn't sound as good as the Spanish original. My understanding of their history is that they are a traditional sweet from Seville in southern Spain but are now enjoyed all over the world. 

Ingredients These quantities yield around 22 biscuits

100ml of olive oil
large pieces of lemon zest from a whole lemon (or equivalent amount of orange/clementine/tangerine zest)
1 tbsp aniseed (I couldn't get hold of any so used fennel seeds - I reckon you could also use fresh or dried rosemary for a different but equally yummy flavour combo)
1 tbsp sesame seeds
360g plain flour
20g fresh yeast*
80ml warm water
20ml anise (I used ouzo but use what aniseed flavoured alcohol you have to hand or increase the quantity of water)
30g sugar
pinch of salt
Beaten egg white and granulated sugar for finishing.

*My yeast comes in 50g blocks. So I used the other 30g to make my cardamon bread.

1. Put the oil in a saucepan over a low heat. Add the zest and geat until it sizzles and darkens in colour. Add the seeds, turn off the heat and leave to cool. You need to be able to handle it within the dough so leave to cool for at least 15 minutes. Don't rush it and end up burning yourself.
2. Combine the yeast and the warm water until thoroughly mixed. Put the remaining dry ingredients in a large bowl, make a well the pour in the water and oil (once cooled).
3. Mix together until you have a rough dough then turn out on to the counter. Flour the surface if needed then knead the dough until smooth and silky.
4. Place the dough in a large bowl, cover with cling film and a clean tea towel then leave for around an hour until it doubles in size.
5. Preheat the oven to 220C and line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Once the dough had risen knock it back down then break off walnut/golf ball size pieces. Roll out each piece  on a lightly floured surface to around 2-3mm thick, rough circles (as thin as you can basically). 
6. Place each rolled out circle on to the baking sheet, brush with the egg white then generously cover with sugar. Bake in the oven for 7-10 minutes (depending on the size of your oven and the number of baking sheets you have you will probably need to do this in batches). Keep a close eye on them. You want them to turn a rich brown colour and for some of the sugar on top to have caramelised. 
7. Remove from the sheet as soon as they come out of the oven and leave to cool.

stollen

Whilst stollen may be most usually associated with German Christmas feasting it has always been part of the festivities in my family. I get a little sad if there is no stollen around at Christmas. This year I'm attempting to make my own for the first time. How hard can it be?? My version is based on a few different ones in an attempt to find the flavour I remember from childhood. As usual I've gone to Dan Lepard for some inspiration from his book Short and Sweet as well as Helga's Christmas Stollen which can be found here. Essentially stollen is a bread dough enriched with milk, butter and/or eggs with dried fruit and marzipan and spices. You can vary the type and amount of dried fruit and spices to your preferences. Many recipes have no cardamon or cinnamon, much less spice or sometimes much more. This is not set in stone. There are also some lovely sounding versions around that contain glace or dried sour cherries. Use your imagination. Be creative and come up with a stollen that satisfies your taste buds.

My recipe is not at all difficult to make so please don't be put off by the quantity of ingredients or the number of steps included. However, you will need to have a day spare to make it. Once made it will keep for several weeks if stored properly.  Very festive and super delicious.

Ingredients 

NOTE: I made 3 smaller stollen so that I could give them to my mum and sister but you could just as easily make two larger ones or one mega stollen! Just make sure you adjust the cooking times accordingly.

1kg strong bread flour

500ml milk

5 tsps fast action yeast

200g caster sugar

1/2 tsp salt

450g unsalted butter

grated peel of 1 lemon

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cardamon 

650g dried mixed fruit (I used 350g raisins, 150g currants and 150g italian mixed peel)

5 tbps dark rum/brandy/vodka/amaretto

500g marzipan

STAGE 1

1. Mix together the dried fruit and the rum and set to one side to allow the flavours to mix together. You could even do this over night if you remember.
2. Reserve about 2 tbsps of the flour to one side then put the rest into a large bowl with the sugar, salt, spices and yeast.
3. In a saucepan put the reserved flour and lemon zest and gradually beat in the milk until it is thoroughly combined with no lumps. Then bring the mixture just to the boil. Remove from the heat and place in another bowl to one side. 
4. Using the same saucepan gently melt the butter so it just becomes liquid then beat it into the milk and flour mixture. 
5. Now, make a well in the centre of the flour and spices and pour in the milk and butter mixture. Bring everything together so that you've got a sticky dough. This is easiest with your hands. Then leave for 10 minutes. 
6. For the next stage your arms are going to get a bit of a work out but turn on the radio and flour the work surface then get stuck into kneading the dough for 15 minutes or until you have a smooth dough. You may need to add some additional flour but try not to add any more than is absolutely necessary. 
7. Now stretch the dough out so that you've got a fairly large rectangle. Put the dried fruits and rum mixture on top then carefully knead the whole lot together gathering together any stray bits as needed. 
8. Divide the dough into the number of stollen you want to make then place in to separate buttered bowls, cover with cling film then leave to rise in a warm place for around 3 hours or until tripled in size.

STAGE 2

1. Punch down the dough, knead for a couple of minutes then cover and leave it to rise for another 30-50 minutes.
2. Once the dough has risen again, form each one into a rough circle and add 1/3 (or equivalent proportion for the number of loaves you're making) of the marzipan filling in a line through the centre. Fold the edges of the dough over the marzipan so that it is fully enclosed. Place on a greased baking sheet, cover and allow to rise for another hour or more.
3. Bake in the oven at 180C for about 45-55 minutes until brown.
4. Once cooked, remove from the oven, brush with melted butter then cover generously with icing sugar and pat on to the loaf to form a solid coating and to seal them.