I have made 2 baking resolutions for this year 1) bake bread 2) be more adventurous.
I only believe in making resolutions that you can really try to keep, so for me both these are resolutions are one and the same. The only time I have ever made bread (let alone yeast cookery) was in November 2014 with Breakfast Bagels. Absolutely delicious and they're a healthier recipe than most, so go go go! Bake them! But yes, for me baking bread is adventurous so BOOM! Both resolutions done! As my first bake of 2015 is........
Kentish Huffkins!!
To help me with my new years resolutions I am using Paul Hollywood's British Baking. My brother bought it for me for Christmas and the book is sub-sectioned into the various bakes from around Great Britain: The South West, The South and South East, The Midlands, The North, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. Paul is the man to go for bread and this book is perfect to make me bake things I wouldn't normally bake. I've already got my eye on a few recipes but im struggling to choose!
I started with where I live, The South and South East. I really wanted to make bread, so ended up choosing to make Kentish Huffinks. Paul Says 'These large, flat bread rolls are made from fairly standard dough. I enjoy them with butter and cherry jam but they're also very good with filled ham or cheese'. My mum had made some vegetable soup for lunch so I thought these bread rolls would be the perfect accompaniment. We had them fresh out of the oven, slightly cooled. They smelt delicious! Tasted delicious too.
Ingredients
500g Strong White Bread Flour
1tsp Salt
2tsp Sugar
7g Sachet Instant Yeast
50g Unsalted Butter, Diced and Softened
150ml Milk
150ml Water
1) Put the flour in a large bowl. Add the salt and sugar on one side, the yeast on the other. Add the butter, milk and three-quarters of the water, then turn the mixture round with the fingers of one hand. Add the remaining water a little at a time, continuing to mix until all the flour is taken in and the dough is soft and slightly sticky; you may not need all the water.
2) Coat the work surface with a little oil to prevent the dough sticking. Turn out the dough and knead for 5 minutes, until it is smooth and no longer sticky. Lightly oil the bowl, return the dough to it and cover with cling film. Leave to rise for at least an hour, until doubled in size.
3) Line two baking trays with baking parchment. Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it inwards repeatedly until all the air is knocked out and the dough is smooth. Divide into 8 pieces.
4) Roll each piece into a ball by placing it into a cage formed by your hand on the work surface and moving your hand in a circular motion, rotating the ball rapidly. Flatten the top by pressing with your hand.
5) Put the balls of dough on the prepared baking trays, spacing them slightly apart. Place each tray in a clean plastic bag and leave to prove for about 40 minutes, until the huffkins have doubled in size. Heat the oven to 220oC/Gas 7.
6) Just before baking, dust the huffkins with flour and make an indentation in the centre of each with your floured thumb. Bake for 15 mins, until golden brown. Immediately wrap the rolls in a clean tea towel, to achieve their characteristic soft crust.
Sarahs Tips:
Read this recipe numerous times before you start and have everything ready and organised!
To divide the dough, I used a very sharp knife.
I don't have proving bags so I just used lots of cling-film! Make sure you leave the cling-film very lose otherwise it will stop the dough from expanding and proving further.
If you have a fan oven, lower the temperature around 10 to 15oC.
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