The Knobbly Plate

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Bread

Maneesh, Arabic Bread

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It’s been quite a long week this week. With me having to travel from here on the south coast to London for work. I hate travelling to London, it’s 2 hours each way and London as always is just so, so busy with people. I decided to make this flat bread to go with a paneer masala curry for my dinner this evening. It’s so easy to make with no time wasted waiting for the dough to rise. I particularly like the sesame seed topping which adds so much flavour and texture to the final bread.

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Maneesh
Author: 
Recipe type: Bread
Cuisine: Arabic
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • * 500g/1lb 2oz strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
  • * 10g/¼oz salt
  • * 25g/1oz caster sugar
  • * 10g/¼oz instant yeast
  • * 20ml/4 tsp olive oil, plus extra for kneading
  • * 360ml/12fl oz tepid water
  • For the topping
  • * 6 tbsp sesame seeds
  • * 4 tbsp dried thyme
  • * 2 tbsp dried marjoram
  • * a little olive oil
Instructions
  1. Method
  2. Mix together the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Add the olive oil and 270ml/9½fl oz of the water. Using your fingers, mix the ingredients together. Gradually add the remaining water until all the flour has come away from the sides of the bowl and you have a soft dough (you may not need all the water; the dough should be soft and not sticky).
  3. Pour a little oil onto your work top. Place the dough on top and knead for 5-10 minutes. The dough will be wet in the beginning but will form a smooth dough once kneaded.
  4. Once a smooth dough is achieved, place into a clean oiled bowl, cover and leave to double in size.
  5. Line three baking trays with parchment paper.
  6. Tip the dough onto an oiled work top. Knock the dough back by folding it on itself, repeating this until all the air is knocked out and the dough is smooth. Split the dough into three and roll into large circles.
  7. Place onto the lined baking trays and cover each tray with a carrier bag. Leave to rest for 20 minutes.
  8. Mix the topping ingredients with a little olive oil until you have a thick paste. Preheat the oven to 230C/450F/Gas 8.
  9. Just before baking, brush the surface of the breads with olive oil. Spread the topping over each of the breads and bake for approximately 15 minutes.
  10. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

 

IRISH TREACLE BREAD

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Irish treacle bread is quite simply delicious straight from the oven with a cup of tea and lashings of butter. There is no proving required to make this bread as soda is substituted for yeast. I first came across this bread whilst searching for a basic soda bread recipe and I have been hooked ever since, making it regularly through the summer months to eat outside with a cup of tea in hand.

We are into August now which for me signals the start of the foraging season so I am looking forward to collecting lots of blackberries and sloes to make everything from jams to flavored vodkas. I really do love this time of year especially with summer being at its height. I love my long walks along the shoreline with my camera hoping to get that killer sunset shot that I seem to manage to do every year. This summer a new micro brewery has opened up in the village offering all sorts of wonderful cask ales and real ciders to taste. So I am sure I will post a review of some of their wares in the coming weeks.

For now though sit back and enjoy a nice summer afternoon lazing in the garden with some of my delicious Irish treacle bread.

 

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IRISH TREACLE BREAD
Author: 
Recipe type: bread
Cuisine: irish
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 Persons
 
Ingredients
  • 500 g or 1lb plain flour (sieved)
  • 2 Tbsp treacle also known as molasses in america .
  • ½ pt butter milk or cows milk (approx)
  • 2 tsp cream of tarter
  • 1 tsp bread soda
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 200c/400f.ligth dust a flat baking sheet with flour. Leave the tin of treacle in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes, this will help soften treacle and make it easier to spoon out of tin. Heat the treacle and butter milk in a low heat just slightly warm .
  2. Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl.
  3. Add sufficient liquid to mix ,to a soft dough then onto a floured surface and lighting knead.
  4. Shape into a round circle, place onto the flat baking sheet and make a cross on top of dough with a knife.
  5. Place into pre-heated oven and bake for about 40 minutes.
  6. Treacle bread is a traditional Irish favourite.
  7. When baked the bread will have a hallow sound if trapped on the base.
  8. cool on wire tray for 5 minutes.
  9. Then get a clean ,dry tea towel and wrap the treacle bread up in it, this will help to give a softer crust on your bread..

 

Lazy Days Beetroot & Raisin Tea Bread

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Well the weekend seems to have flown by and on these lovely hot sunny days what could be nicer than a nice refreshing cup of tea and some freshly baked beetroot and raisin tea bread.

The beetroot season has just started and it is a vegetable that I feel is particularly unused. Mostly bought in jars pickled in vinegar but it is so much more versatile and good for you too. Beetroot is a good source of iron and folate (naturally occurring folic acid). It also contains nitrates, betaine, magnesium and other antioxidants (notably betacyanin). More recent health claims suggest beetroot can help lower blood pressure, boost exercise performance and prevent dementia.

There that’s the science out of the way which I have to confess I copied from the internet to save you all the bother of going to look it up for yourselves. This weekend was a true lazy weekend for me as I didn’t really do anything at all except a bit of baking and lounging around in the sun eating the fruits of my endevours. There is a new micro pub opening up in my high street in the coming weeks so I will be sampling some real ales before too long and hope to write a review here in this blog about all my “hard” work in sampling said beers.


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Lazy Days Beetroot & Raisin Tea Bread
Author: 
Recipe type: Bread
Cuisine: Baking
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6 persons
 
Ingredients
  • 200g Light Muscova Sugar
  • 4 Large Eggs, Separated
  • 200g Finely grated beetroot
  • Zest and Juice of a Lemon
  • 100g Raisins
  • 100g Ground Almonds
  • 200g Self Raising Flour
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp Grated Nutmeg
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 3 and lightly grease a loaf tin. Then line with baking parchment.
  2. Using a whisk beat together the egg yolks and sugar until soft and fluffy.
  3. Stir in the beetroot, ground almonds,lemon zest and juice and the raisins.
  4. Sift in the flours and spices and fold in gently.
  5. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks and slowly fold into the cake mixture.
  6. Pour into the loaf tin and bake for around an hour until you can insert a skewer and it comes out clean.
  7. Allow to rest for 10 mins in tin before removing to cool.

 

 

Rosemary & Garlic Focaccia

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So here we are again! A year after The Knobbly Plate was hacked out of existence we rise from the ashes once again to bring you the very best in vegetarian and vegan cooking for your everyday life at an affordable price.

So what has been going on in the year that we have been away? Well sadly I have split from my wife but there is a silver lining in that. I don’t have to answer to anyone being single so have been able to develop and experiment with recipes to my hearts content. This Focaccia recipe though is an old favorite in this house with everyone who has tried it and has never lasted long enough to go cold being eaten usually within minutes of it coming out of the oven. So I felt that it was a very good recipe to start off the new blog with.


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Rosemary & Garlic Focaccia
Author: 
Recipe type: Bread
Cuisine: Italian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 500g Strong White Flour
  • 4 Garlic Cloves Crushed
  • 4 Tablespoons Rosemary Chopped
  • 10g Fast Action Yeast
  • 10g Sea Salt Plus More for Dusting
  • 50ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 300ml Tepid Water
Instructions
  1. Place all the ingredients in a food mixer with a dough hook and mix until smooth and elastic.
  2. Oil a bowl and transfer the dough to bowl, cover and prove for 1 hour until doubled in size.
  3. Knock back and roll out to around 1 inch and cover and prove until doubled in size again.
  4. Dust with salt and drizzle with extra olive oil.
  5. Bake in an oven at gas mark 9 for 10 minutes
  6. Turn the oven down to gas mark 4 and cook for a further 20 minutes.