Posts tagged breakfast

Marmite Bread

Jess - Marmite bread

 

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ove it or hate it bread perhaps would be a more fitting name? Now if like my family you’re partial to the odd toasted crumpet with marmite then you’ll understand the inspiration behind this bread. A rival to match an English muffin with soft poached egg is an airy warm and marmite covered crumpet with its pillowy wholes allowing the unctuous yolk to ooz through the gaps. So why not make use it in bread?

And trust me, if you’re a ‘love it’ personality then simply the act of toasting a cheeky slice of this hearty bread invites an aroma throughout the house that will have your most mature cheddar running from the fridge, willing at mercy to be sliced and lathered onto this tempting creation…..don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

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Makes 1 loaf

  • 480g brown wholemeal strong bread flour
  • 40g molasses
  • 7g dried yeast
  • Large pinch salt
  • 2 tbsp marmite
  1. Start by combining the flour, a large pinch of salt and the molasses in the bowl of a food processor and blend until combined.
  2. Measure out 100ml of warm water and mix in the yeast, whisking until combined and fully dissolved.
  3. Add this to the mixer with another 200ml of water or so and mix until just combined.
  4. Add the marmite and pulse until incorporated
  5. Tip the mixture out onto a floured surface and knead for a good 10-15 minutes until the dough is springy, elastic and soft.
  6. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with cling film and place in a warm place until double in size (around 2 hours). I like to turn the oven on low before beginning the recipe then switch it off when its warm and this way it creates an ideal environment for the first prove.
  7. Once doubled in size, turn out onto a floured surface and knock out the air. Knead again for about 5 minutes before shaping into an oblong and placing in a greased loaf tin. Prove again until doubled in size.
  8. Preheat the oven to 180°C when ready to bake and bake the loaf for about 35-40 minutes until cooked and hollow sounding when tapped on the base. Leave to cool before slicing.

You can certainly be creative on the options for serving this bread! Toasted topped with smashed avocado and a soft poached egg as done here, or for a more decadent choice butter the outside of two slices and fill with grated mature cheddar and griddle in a pan or on a panini maker until toasted and melted.

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Blackcurrant Bran Breakfast Muffin

 

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I hate the way recipes for these types of muffins seem to stress them as being ‘healthy’ breakfast muffins- they’re not healthy (note the sugar and oil content) but they are great for breakfast once in a while! They’re fantastic devoured warm, fresh from the oven if you’re organised or satisfying a spontaneous lazy craving on a Sunday morning. Alternatively, leave to cool and then toast/grill and slather with trowel-fulls of creamy salted butter. Have I got your attention yet?

NOTE: The recipe was lovely but quite oily, next time I may reduce the oil content to about 200ml but if anyone does in the meantime, let me know how they taste!

Makes 18 man muffins

  • 100g bran
  • 300ml milk
  • 300g self raising flour
  • 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 3 eggs
  • 160g caster sugar
  • 85g muscovado sugar
  • 300ml sunflower oil
  • 200g blackcurrants (or blueberries)
  • 1-2 tbsp demerara sugar
  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C and line a muffin tray.
  2. Pour the milk over the bran and leave in a bowl to soak (when I first wrote that step, I wrote ‘brain’…..don’t do that).
  3. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl and then incorporate the oil until combined.
  4. Into this, sieve the flour, bicarb and baking powder and fold in gently but don’t overmix. Leaving the odd lump of flour is fine. Lightly fold in the bran (I just wrote ‘brain’ again…) and milk mixture and lastly add the blackcurrants and mix until just combined.
  5. Spoon generously into the muffin cases, sprinkle each with a little demerara sugar and bake for 25 minutes until golden and cooked. Once cooked, leave to cool on a wire rack to firm up a little before serving warm with an optional scoop of cooling vanilla bean ice cream or a spicy cinnamon infused mascarpone cream dolloped on the side. These are also dreamy cooled and then toasted for breakfast and smothered in salted butter.

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Banana and Coconut Flapjacks

Whenever my fruit bowl is harvesting some compost worthy bananas I peel and bag them and shove them in the freezer ready when I need them when banana bread calls. So, never throw your poor bruised bananas in the bin, stick them in the freezer….consequently mine is full of bags of random bananas. I always make my standby banana and walnut loaf but with a hankering for something new this time, I tried whacking them into my flapjack recipe…..! I dabbled with the idea of  ‘banoffee flapjacks’ but with a hate of banoffee pie, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. But if you’re a fan, a handful of toffee or a drizzle of caramel on top would probably be your best bet.

  • 130g unsalted butter
  • 50g golden syrup
  • 50g soft light brown sugar
  • 250g oats
  • 50g dessicated coconut
  • 2 ripe bananas, mashed
  • Pinch ground cinnamon
  • Pinch ground ginger
  1. Line a baking/brownie tin with parchment and preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a saucepan until melted and glossy.
  3. Whisk in the mashed banana and the spices (as liberally as you like)
  4. Tip in your oats and coconut and stir to combine before pouring into the lined baking tin. Bake for about 25-35 minutes. They should be golden on top and still soft. The banana will keep them from drying out like some flapjack recipes.

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Gingerbread and Apple Pancakes

The perfect start to a sunny Autumnal Sunday morning. I saw a version of these recently on a cookery show, however I always like to get some fruit into my breakfast in some way so I added some grated apple for texture and nourishment!

Pillowy, light and spongy pancakes are always satisfying. I haven’t got a huge sweet tooth so I appreciate homemade pancakes that haven’t been drowned in maple syrup or criminally, bacon…..! I had mine simply with Greek yoghurt and a spoonful of my pumpkin butter jam for sweetness. Drizzled with some sticky honey (the pancakes not me), I was ready to start the day……

  • 225g self raising flour
  • 3 tbsp light muscovado sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • pinch salt
  • ½ lemon, grated zest
  • ½ vanilla pod, seeds. Or a few drops of vanilla extract
  • 300ml milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 apple, grated and drained in a colander
  1. Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
  2. Add the lemon, vanilla and then whisk in the milk.
  3. Whisk in the egg and then add the apple. My apple was quite moist so it made the mixture a little thinner so I suggest draining the apple in a colander first or patting dry. I just added a little more flour and it still worked out fine!image
  4. Pour a little oil in a hot frying pan and fry large spoonfuls of the mixture for a few minutes until it begins to turn golden brown underneath and bubbles appear on top before flipping and frying for a few more minutes.
  5. Serve warm with yoghurt and honey or any other favourite accompianment!

These are also open to experimentation! Add any flouring, spice or fruit but be aware that wet fruit will add a lot of moisture. Try it with my pumpkin butter jamimage

Breakfast Granola

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There is ALWAYS a jar of this in our cupboard, except this morning when we ran out…… a small tantrum was thrown before butter, oats and honey were scavenged from the pantry and a batch was in and baking before you could say ‘granola!’. This sweet jar of toasty crumbs is perfect for topping yoghurt, fruit salad, compote or just simply with milk. Its delicious and is free for adaptation depending on what your shelves depict and what your taste buds request…

  • 250g oats
  • 50g sunflower seeds
  • 50g pumpkin seeds
  • 50g flaked almonds
  • Handful of mixed nuts (I use chopped walnuts/hazelnuts)
  • Zest of 1 orange
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt
  • Handful of dried fruit i.e.cranberries, blueberries, raisins, apricots etc
  • 5 tbsp runny honey
  • 50g unsalted butter
  1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl except the dried fruit, butter and honey
  2. Melt the butter and honey in a saucepan until liquid
  3. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix
  4. Place on a lined baking tray and spread out thinly
  5. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes at 180°C turning every 5 minutes to get an even bake
  6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Don’t worry, once it cools, it will crisp up.
  7. Once cool, mix in the dried fruit and store in an air-tight container where it will keep for weeks!