Sunflower Seeded Cobs

Sorry one more bread recipe, but it is so easy and tasty that it would be wrong for me not to share.

Ingredients for the Recipe:

• 600grs of bread flour (white)
• 1/2 soup spoon of medium grit seasalt 
• 1 tea spoon of instant yeast (or 30gr fresh east)
• 1 pkt of skinless sunflower seeds
• 1 soup spoon of extra virgin olive oil
• 400ml of hot water (not boiling)

In  sift the flour into a bowl, make a well in the middle in that hole place the olive oil and baking powder and on the flour edge the salt so that it does not mix with the yeast killing it. Pour the water into the hole (can be all at once or gradually) as you prefer. And mix the water with the flour slowly, the baking powder and oil will dilute with the flour, gradually continue to mix until you reach the salt and then all gets mixed into the dough, once done pour the contents of the bowl into a floured surface and knead well about 5 to 10 minutes.


Cut dough into pieces of about 45grs + or- to obtain what is called here "bakers dozen" 13 cobs shaping these into rectangles brush them with water on the top, and dip the top in the seeds which will attach themselves to their surface, place them in a floured tray, and put the tray into a preheated oven to about 50 degrees (wich is now off), and let them stand about 1 hour to rise.


Remove the tray from the ovwen and preheat it to 190 degrees reinsert the tray back in the oven for about 30-35 minutes until they are golden brown. 


Their smell and taste is unsurpassed even better because the seeds on top will roast provide these breads with an exceptional nutty flavor. 
Remove breads from oven and place them to cool on a wire rack.

Bon appetit!

Spelt Bread Easy Recipe

To make the above two loafs of spelt bread i used:

Ingredients:

1Kg spelt flour

2 sachets (7or 5grms each ) of dried quick yeast

1 tablespoon full of fine marine salt

3 tablespoons of sunflower oils

1 tablespoon of sugar

650 mls of warm water

The process of making the bread i found quite easy. I placed the flour in a bowl and the dried yeast mixing this well, then I made a well and on on one wall side of the well I placed the salt, on the opposite wall the sugar, I then proceeded to add half of the water and the oil and mixing it with my had, and as it got dryer i kept adding more water until all was gone.

You should end up with a soft and very sticky dough, which then on a table top I squeezed and stretched repeatedly for around 20 minutes bringing it together every time i carried that motion, this is to get the gluten working well, finally I dusted another bowl with a little flour and placed the dough inside, covering this recipient with cling film, then a cloth finally inside a plastic carrier bag and placed it in the warmest place in my house for about 4 hours.

I returned to it later, removed coverings kneaded it again for about 3-4 minutes placed it in the baking tins pre-dusted with flour placing each tin inside a tied up plastic bag and than placed it in a warm oven (to get oven warm i switched it on for about 2 minutes and switched it off) and let them to rise again for around 40 minutes.

Than I removed the loafs preheated the oven for at 200 Celsius (also placed a little ramekin with a little water in the oven, helps making a crispier crust) and baked the bread for 40 minutes until golden brown and when knocked make a hollow sound, removed them from the oven placed them on a cooling rack until cold covered with a cloth.

 I love the smell of fresh baked bread is fantastic, this bread was the best one so far... consistency slightly elastic it bounces back when pushed, nice formation of bubbles, dense yet light, nice fresh or toasted...and a wonderful crispy crust (for those who like, for less crispy do not put ramekin with water in the oven)

Happy baking!!!

Orange Cake "Large" for Slicing

Recipe Ingredients: (was enough to cut 70 rectangular slices)

• 300grs of butter (or baking margarine)
  
• 300grs of sugar
  
• 4 oranges (2 cut in slices and 2 "whole" blitzed into creamy pulp)
  
• 6 eggs
• 300grs of flour
  
• 2 soup spoon of baking powder
  
• 2 teas spoons of orange essence
  
• a little of dememera sugar
  

Couldn't be easier... Beat the sugar with the butter, until you obtain a light and whitish cream, once that is done put the eggs (pre-mixed) in, a little at the time keeping the beating of the cream, this way attaining even a more creamy and full of air dough.

Once that is done, add the two oranges in pulp + the orange essence, (mix the pulp in well with a wooden spoon in a folding gentle action to try not to release any of the air contained in the dough), lastly add the flour, a little at the time as well, again folding action and gentle, until all is incorporated in the dough.

Then place the dough in a large tray previously greased and floured, I also used a Teflon baking sheet to avoid the cake sticking to the pan (worked a treat). On top of the dough lay the orange slices and cover the top of each slice with some dememera sugar, to allow them to crystallize and not burn as that would leave a bitter taste, (also if you think the taste of the orange skin may be too strong for you, you can always peals the slicing oranges prior to slicing).

The whole thing goes in a preheated oven at 180ºC for around 20-25 minutes, once done remove the cake from the oven, and let it cool a little before attempting to remove it from the container, this is where the Teflon came in handy as I just picked the four corners of it to remove the cake from the container to a cooling rack.

Optionally at the end, you can also squeeze a further two oranges and boil the juice with some sugar to make a liquid syrup to pour over the cake and get it even more moist, as this is a moist cake already, and very spongy and light. Then let it cool completely and slice it into rectangles.

Light Orange Loaf Cake

Recipe Ingredients:

• 300grs self raising flour
  
• 200grs sugar
  
• 100grs butter
• 2 eggs
• 3 small oranges (set aside the zest of 2, and the juice of the same 2, the 3rd one thinly slice it)

In a large bowl, put the sugar and the (soft) butter, beat it until is a whitish cream, then add the juice of one orange, and continue to beat for a further 2 minutes, then add the two eggs and beat it further 2 minutes more, the remaining orange juice and the zest of the 2 oranges and beat a further 2 minutes.

Finally add bit by bit the self raising flour, while still beating the dough, until it is all incorporated, at this stage stop and you can now place half on the dough in a loaf tin (previously greased and floured) on the top of the half of dough place half of the sliced orange, put the remaining dough on top and cover it with the remaining orange slices (see picture) and on top of each orange slice cover that with a little sugar, that will caramelize once cooked giving it an extra delicious taste.

Now it will take 25-30 minutes in medium oven 180c. and is ready to eat, so lovely with some green tea, as is very fluffy and light, if you prefer heavier add 2 more eggs at the egg stage.

I was inspired by Mary blog moist orange and lemon cake.

Pecan, Honey and Greek Yoghurt Tart

This Tart was adapted from "Tarte Delicia de Iogurte" from Luisa Alexandra blog recipe which she also adapted from other blog, and so on. But believed to have the original recipe from a blog called Gulosices but is in Portuguese.

Receita em Português AQUI

Recipe Ingredients:

• 250grs Sugar
• 2 eggs
• 500grs Greek Yoghurt (you can use normal plain yoghurt, for a softer texture)
• 50grs Margarine
  
• 1 tea spoon of vanilla essence
• 100grs of flour
• 50grs pecan nuts (ground)
• 12 pecan halves
• 2 soup spoons of honey (and a little extra honey for glaze)

This tart was originally made with 350 grs of sugar no nuts or honey and plain yoghurt, also was made in individual small tart containers rather than a large one, result was a more moist and light tart. I went for a more dense and zingy tart to contrast with the fresh cream and the honey glazed pecans.

The preparation is simple. Beat the sugar and the eggs until the sugar granules disappear (around 2 minutes with a machine or 4 by hand), then add the melted margarine, vanilla essence and flour (little by little to not form lumps), mix these until homogeneous (around 30 seconds machine or 1 min by hand).

Finally add the yoghurt the ground pecans and the 2 soup spoons of honey (plain), just mix these well. then put the dough in a large baking tart dish (previously greased with margarine and floured) and bake for about 35 minutes at 180c, until golden brown on top, before I put it in I placed on a frying pan a soup spoon of sugar about 2 soup spoons of water and a soup spoon of honey, turned the gas on and let it start bubbling, at that stage I added the pecan halves, and let these cook until it started to caramelize (but not caramel just syrupy) placed 8 pecans on top of the tart drizzled some of the syrup on top in a circle around the pecans. The rest I used to put on the whipped cream also making a little more surup the same ways with a few chopped pecans, see picture.

The texture is that of a baked cheesecake crossed with a cake, is quite unusual and zingy from the greek yoghurt, however is delicious, and the pecan and honey come through as real stars. This cake/flan is in the class of "Queijada" which is a portuguese tipe of cake that is neither a cake or a flan but something in between. :D