Lightweight Tea Bread

Sometimes, you just have to have dessert... And when you're a lightweight rower or cox attempting to be smaller, you need to tweak recipes!  Here is my latest tweaking attempt... A rather British one, I daresay.

Lightened Tea Cake

- 400g dried fruit of choice (I used currants and candied peel)

- 250g whole wheat strong flour 

- 250g all purpose flour

- 2 teaspoons baking powder

- 4 eggs

- 600ml brewed black tea

- Stevia or other sweetener (calorie free sugar) to taste, about 25g

Bake in a fan oven at 160C for 40min, or in a non-fan oven at 180C.

Makes 20 slices. Rough nutrition per slice: 176 calories, 5g protein, 35g carbs, 1.5g fat.  Compare to normal tea bread, a slice of which is usually around 320 calories with 10g fat (mmmm butter + sugar + oil)

This makes an absolute huge amount, so I ended up overflowing my cake pan and having to make mini tea cakes...

Darn?

Enjoy!

Bagels!

If there's one thing I miss from the states, it's the bagels.

Bagels are meant to have a chewy crust, doughy inside and be pleasantly plump.  Here, I find them lacking a bit in the chewy crust, and they're often more bread-like than bagel-like on the inside.  I decided to have a whack at attempting the fabled bagel...

They turned out a wee bit small and the holes shrunk, but taste-wise, spot-on.

Bagels

• 4g dried, active yeast + 50ml warm water
• 225g self-raising flour
• 150ml warm water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

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Dissolve your yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar in the 50ml of warm water.  Stir and wait until it's frothy.

In the same bowl, add the 150ml of warm water, followed by the flour, in 50g increments.  Work together with a fork, then use your hands to mold it into a ball.  This is going to be a very soft dough, compared to the other bread doughs you've seen on this blog, so you might have to create your own new 'kneading' technique.  For this one, I oiled my hands, picked up the ball and simply threw it down into the bowl, over and over again.  It both stretched it and prevented the soft dough from sticking to my fingers.

Plus, it gave me an excuse to throw things.  Awesome.

Form into a ball, oil the sides of your bowl, and cover in clingfilm.

Let it rise for about an hour, or until it's at least doubled in size.  

Stare out the window while you wait.  Admire this strange 'sun' object.

Begin boiling a large pot of water.  Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar to the water.  Re-oil your hands, and divide the mixture into 5 roughly equal sized balls (I totally failed at this).  To create the hole, I "spun" the dough around the handle of a spoon.  You definitely want the hole to be a bit bigger than you think, as it'll shrink massively during cooking.  Massively.

Also, click that oven on to 220C.

The key to getting chewy bagels is to boil them before baking them!  When your pot of water comes to a low boil, add one or two formed bagels to the water.  They'll rise to the top of the pot pretty quickly.  Give them about 1 minute on each side, flipping with a slotted spoon or spatula.

Drain them on the spoon/spatula, then place on your oiled baking sheet.  I used foil because my baking sheet ran away.

Repeat the boiling process with all of your dough balls/bagels-to-be.  

Make sure to add any toppings at this stage.  You can sea that I put sea salt on two, and drizzled honey on one.  The other two I left plain.

Such a weird texture pre-baking.  But it makes for the chewiness, so we'll deal with it.

Chuck 'em in the 220C oven for about 15 minutes, then turn down the oven to 200C for another 15-20min. I accidentally left them on 220C for a wee bit too long... 

They still taste nice!

The one on the right seems to have grown a horn... interesting...

Mmmmmmmmm butter.

These are pretty small sized bagels, so if you wanted ginormous ones (maybe for sandwiches or the like), you could do only 2 or 3 bagels out of this recipe.  

Tastes like home.

Honey Oat Bread

It's been awhile - here's a simple recipe to add to your bread repertoire!

I made a wee mistake with baking this baby and turned up the oven a bit too hot off the start, so it took longer to cook all the way through.  I'd suggest getting a good crust by baking at 200C/400F for 10 minutes, then letting it cook through at 180C/350F for another 30-45 minutes.  To see if it's done, turn it over and "knock" on the bottom.  If it sounds hollow, you're good to go!

Honey Oat Bread

• 1 1/4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons oil (vegetable is preferable, it has the mildest flavor)
• 3 cups bread/strong flour (you could easily use whole wheat or white)
• 1/2 cup jumbo oats (plus extra to sprinkle on top!)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons oatbran (optional)

My outdated oven, yay!

To get that nice golden-brown crust, I'd suggest rubbing milk or a beaten egg over the top of your bread before you bake it.  That also gives you a nice surface to sprinkle oats for some added crunch!

Enjoy!

See my other post for tips on bread-making!

Stuffed Wholemeal Loaf

Let's feed an army!  An army of ex-lightweight rowers, that is.

This recipe was inspired by this good looking thang.

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The Loaf

• 600g wholemeal flour (+ extra for kneading)
• 2 cups water
• Dash salt
• 1 tablespoon runny honey
• 2 tablespoons good quality virgin olive oil

The Extras

• 400g new potatoes, boiled & peeled
• 250g lean bacon, chopped
• 175g extra mature cheddar, shredded
• 1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped
• 1 bunch spring onions, finely chopped
• 450ml creme fraiche (I used 50% fat)

Follow the usual dough preparation, which you can find in one of my original posts: here.  Since it's a wholemeal loaf, it will take longer for the yeast to do its job, so cover it with oiled cling wrap and let it rise for at least 2-3 hours in a warm place.  This thing will become massive.

Punch down the dough, just to get rid of the excess air bubbles.  Take a little less than half of the dough and roll it out to a nice circle, about as big as a 9" pie pan.  Again, I don't play the 'rolling pin' game - just use your hands to push/pull/punch the dough into your shape.  Gives it way better texture, anyway.

Place this circle in your oiled and lightly floured pie pan.  Let it rest while you bring a big pan of water to a boil.  Plop in your 500g of new potatoes and let 'em go for 10ish minutes or until they're tender enough to get pricked by a fork.  Drain and let them cool in a colander before you peel them.

While they're cooling, mix your creme fraiche, cheddar and chopped parsley in a large bowl.  Season well with salt & pepper.

NOW WE LAYER!

Leaving a 2" border around the bottom, layer the ingredients (in this order) onto your bread base:

• Diced, peeled potatoes
• 1/2 of the creme fraiche mixture
• Spring onions
• Chopped bacon
• Other 1/2 of creme fraiche mixture

Note: I didn't end up using all of the creme fraiche mixture.  

Roll/punch/shape out the rest of your dough.  Obviously it will need to be a bit bigger than your base, so you can crimp the edges and make sure nothing leaks out.  Brush the outside edges of this half with water, and lay that side face down on your pie.  Trim off the excess, pinch the edges and then crimp with a fork.  "Crimping with a fork" = shove the pointy bit of the fork down around the edge to seal the top and bottom together.

Bake for ~20 minutes on 220C, then another ~40 minutes on 180C.  If it starts to go wayyyy too dark, cover the top with foil.

The masterpiece.

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There were also delicious things on our "picnic..."

Happy spring, folks!

Sugar Rush

I apologize if this recipe gives any of you early-onset diabetes or, in a slightly less serious case, a raging sugar high.

I'm really only half sorry though, cause these are worth it.

Cue American cinnamon rolls!  These babies don't really exist here.  Sure, there's Cinnabon (the ooey-gooey, heart attack bit of heaven), but in general, most Brits think of the "cinnamon roll" as being more danish-like.  I don't like those flat danishes.  Where's the doughy fun?  Okay, so I do have a dough obsession, but let's be honest - who doesn't?

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

The Dough

• 1/2 cup milk of your choice (I used almond milk, actually)
• 1/6 cup unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons dry active yeast
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 medium eggs

The Filling

• 1/2 cup soft, light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour
• 3 1/2 tablespoons of butter, room temperature

The Icing

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/8 cup butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon milk (add more to make it thinner)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• dash salt

This recipe made about 8 rolls, I think.  I used a 9" round pan.

You can also these babies with a cream cheese icing, if you have that on hand.  Equally delicious.

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In a small sauce-pan, melt the 1/6 cup butter and 1/2 cup milk over medium heat.  

Remove from heat right as it comes to a boil.  In the mean time, in a medium/large bowl, combine 1.5 cups flour and all of the sugar, salt and yeast.  Combine.  Crack in the two eggs; mix well.  

Pour the now lukewarm milk/butter mixture overtop and mix well.  It will be quite wet at this stage.  Start adding the remaining 1.5 cups of flour into the mixture, half a cup at a time.  When it came to add in the last half cup, I discarded the mixing spoon and dove in with my hands... knead away!  Knead until smooth - about 5 minutes.

Let that dough rest in the bowl for 10 minutes.  In the meantime, make your delightful filling.  Combine the filling ingredients in a small bowl, cutting the tablespoons of butter into small pieces.  

Flour your workspace.  Plop the dough onto the surface and begin to punch it into a large rectangle.  I don't do that rolling pin thing... why roll when you have a great excuse to punch things?  Not even a question.

Spread the filling mixture evenly, leaving about an inch of space around the outside of the doughy rectangle.  

Now comes the fun part.  ROLL BABY ROLL.  Make the first roll a very small one, to pinch in the end, and then gently tug/roll until you have one large log.  (I have just realized that "log" might be the most unappetizing word, ever...)

Be smarter than me and actually use a sharp knife to cut the log into segments (you could get 6 large rolls, or about 8 medium rolls).  I couldn't find one and had to opt for a butter knife, which made a lot of the filling go everywhereeeeeeeee.  But that's okay, I just smooshed all of that brown sugary goodness back onto the top of the rolls.  Like a boss.

Place the rolls into a greased 9" round pan, cut-side-up.  

Cover in cling film and place in the fridge overnight.  Now you have to wait.  Probably the longest night of your life.

Alarm goes off.  

Take the cinnamon rolls out of the fridge.  They should've risen a fair bit.  Remove the plastic wrap and place on the counter for about 30 minutes.  I know, I'm pretty much a villain for making you wait so much.

Preheat your oven to 190C/375F.  Bake 'em for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.  While they're baking, mix up your diabetes-inducing icing.  Melt your butter, then stir in the rest of the ingredients, leaving the milk for last.  Keep adding milk until you have your desired consistency.

Remove cinnamon rolls and immediately douse in icing.  Mmmmmmmmm melty goodness.  Eat them now.  Don't wait.  Are you insane?!

You don't want the nutrition information on these.  

Trust me.  

Eat it, enjoy... then go workout.  A lot.

No phones were harmed in the making of this delicacy

Elvis Presley (Protein) Bread

Everyone knows that Elvis Presley's favorite sandwich in the entire world was fried bananas with peanut butter.  It's a classic.  Well, in America, at least.

So, why not make it into a quick-bread and add some protein, for fun?!

Yes, that is my idea of fun.

Elvis Presley Bread
** = optional

Dry Ingredients:

• 240g (~2 cups) all purpose flour

• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• **100g your favorite granola (I recommend nutty, rather than fruity)

• **60g your favorite vanilla protein powder (trec is great); if you don't have this, add another tablespoon of flour, plus a teaspoon of vanilla extract

Wet Ingredients:

• 4 small bananas, mashed

• 300g (1/2 cup) chunky peanut butter

• 135ml (1/3 cup) milk of choice

• 15ml (1/4 cup) oil

• 2 eggs

Preheat your oven to 180C/350F.

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Mash bananas with fork and add to mixture.  Add milk, oil and eggs.  Last, plop (I know, very sophisticated) your peanut butter into the mix.  Mix well.

Generously grease your loaf pan.  I think mine is the normal 9x5 pan?  This baby will stick if you let it, so either line your pan with parchment paper, or use oil to coat the sides.  I use some kind of spray oil that boasts only 1 calorie a spray... what are these miracles?!

Right.  Pour mix into the pan.  It should look something like this:

Place in the oven for roughly 45 minutes.  After 45 minutes, if the top is getting too brown, place a little foil "tent" over top and continue cooking.  It should take roughly 60-75 minutes, in total.  You'll know it's done when a fork, inserted into the middle of the bread, comes out with just a few crumbs attached.

Promptly remove and let cool for 15 minutes.  Once it's semi-cool, turn it over and place on a wire rack, or somewhere where it can "breathe" (aka, not gather any condensation on the bottom) and continue to cool down.  Slice into 20 slices, or, if you're a monster of a human, eat the whole thing.  I'm looking at you, Chris.

Calorie Breakdown:

Per slice, if you cut it into 20 slices

Without optional ingredients: 176 calories, 9.3g fat, 1.5g sat fat, 20g carb, 1.6g fibre, 5.8g protein

With optional ingredients: 210 calories, 10g fat, 1.65g sat fat, 21.4g carb, 1.7g fibre, 8.3g protein

Enjoy!  And, bear in mind the sugars & fats coming from this buddy are from honey, banana and peanut butter - hardly equivalent to most banana breads, which boast tons of brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter and margarine.  This one's a surefire winner.