Baking Made Easy. Lorraine Pascale
day that it is baked – but if you have any left, it does make good toast.
Doris Grant
Loaf
A ‘No-need-to-knead bread’, adapted from a 1940s recipe by healthy-eating evangelist Doris Grant, who believed white flour – and its lack of nutrients – was the enemy. Making bread one day, Doris forgot to knead it. On tasting the loaf, she discovered it had a very fair taste and decided never again to bother kneading her bread. The resulting loaf is heavy but quicker to make than other types of bread. Makes 1 small loaf
225g (8oz) strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
225g (8oz) strong wholemeal flour
1 tsp salt
1 x 7g sachet of fast-action dried yeast
1 tbsp honey
300ml (11fl oz) warm water
Vegetable oil or oil spray, for oiling
A little milk, for brushing
Dust a medium baking tray with flour.
Sift the flours into a large bowl and reserve the grain – the brown bits that are too big to fit through the sieve. Add the salt and yeast, then make a big hole in the centre and pour in the honey and water. Mix well to form a smooth dough, working it gently with your hands if necessary. If the dough feels a bit stiff, add an extra 2 tablespoons of water. Shape into a ball and place on the prepared baking tray. Make sure the top is smooth and wrinkle-free. Cover the dough loosely with oiled clingfilm, making sure it is airtight, and leave to rise in a warm place for a good hour, or until it has almost doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6. Remove the clingfilm from the dough and make a few slashes in the top with a sharp knife – I use a sharp serrated knife and saw gently. Brush the loaf with milk, sprinkle with the reserved grain, then place in the oven. Throw about 10 ice cubes into the bottom of the oven – they will produce steam, which keeps the crust from hardening too quickly. (A quickly hardened crust prevents the bread from rising well.) Bake the bread for 30–40 minutes, or until it has risen, sounds hollow when tapped underneath and comes easily off the baking tray. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray. Eat as soon as it is cool enough.
Serve fresh from the oven with loads of butter. These loaves do not keep well. However, if the whole lot does not disappear in one sitting, slice up the remainder and put it in the freezer. When ready to eat, pull out a slice and pop it in the toaster. Breakfasts for the next few days…? Sorted.
Pumpkin & rosemary
Muffins
I wrote this in November, when pumpkins had been whisked away for Halloween, so I had to substitute a butternut squash. To cook a small amount of pumpkin, dice into cubes and place in a pan with just enough water to cover. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and pop on a lid, slightly askew. Boil/steam for 5–10 minutes and top up with water if needed. Drain and use. These muffins don’t rise loads but they have a flavoursome, moist crumb. Makes 12 muffins
Vegetable oil or oil spray, for oiling
180g (6½oz) self-raising flour
130g (4½oz) wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
Good pinch of salt
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary, very finely chopped
240g (8½oz) cooked pumpkin (about 1 small wedge), cut into 0.5cm
(¼in) dice. Ready-cubed, uncooked squash is available in the supermarket
2 eggs, lightly beaten
100ml (4fl oz) plain yogurt
275ml (10fl oz) milk
3 big squidges of honey
60ml (2½fl oz) vegetable oil
Handful of pumpkin seeds
Equipment
12-hole muffin tin
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6.
Cut out 12 squares of baking paper measuring about 14 x 14cm (5½in). Oil the muffin tin and push the squares down into each hole so the paper sticks up just like the muffins you can buy in the coffee shop. The squares have a habit of popping up out of the holes, which is OK for now as once the muffin mix is spooned inside the squares will stay down. Alternatively, use ready-made paper muffin cases.
In a large bowl, sift the flours, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, stir in the salt and rosemary. If there is any wholegrain left in the sieve from the wholemeal flour, keep this for the topping.
In a medium bowl, put the rest of the ingredients, apart from a third of the pumpkin, and stir well so all the liquid is well combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and, using a large spoon and no more than 8 turns, mix all the ingredients together. It does not take much to over-mix muffins at this stage and although the end result will still taste sublime the texture will not be as tender. Leave the mixture to stand for 5 minutes, then spoon the mixture into the paper cases.
Sprinkle the wholegrain, reserved pumpkin and the pumpkin seeds over the muffins. Bake in the centre of the oven for 20–25 minutes, or until the muffins are well risen and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Good for breakfast, good for lunch and good for just about any time of the day for a snack. For canapés these can made in mini muffin cases as mouthful morsels of scrumbunctiousness.
Chapter 2: Cakes
For me, cakes say cosiness and contentment, home, warmth and love. Whatever the occasion, there’s always room for a cake: there are ‘just like mum would make’ cakes, ‘someone’s getting wed’ cakes, ‘I don’t give a damn’ cakes and pretty little tea cakes. Most people’s first baking memory is of making a cake, side by side with their mother, helping out but ultimately wishing she would be quick and put the cake in the oven so they could get on with licking that spoon or bowl.
‘There is no love sincerer than the love of food.’
George Bernard Shaw
Playwright 1856 – 1950
My big fat
Carrot Cake
A no-holds-barred cake with three moist spiced layers of pure excess. If you don’t fancy making this sky-high cake, which takes a whopping nine eggs, then knock off a third of the ingredients and make a more humble two-layer cake instead. Makes a three-tier 23cm (9in) round cake (V)
525ml (18½fl oz) vegetable oil
9 eggs, lightly beaten
525g (1lb 3oz) soft dark brown sugar
420g (15oz) carrots, peeled and grated
Grated zest of 3 large oranges
525g (1lb 3oz) self-raising flour
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
1½ tbsp mixed spice
Seeds of 1 vanilla pod or 2 drops vanilla extract
Cream cheese frosting
200g (7oz) icing sugar
40g (1½oz) butter, cubed
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Seeds of ½ vanilla pod or 1 drop vanilla extract
115g (4¼oz) low-fat cream cheese, chilled
Handful of pecans or walnuts, toasted