Rustic rosemary - garlic bread

 

The original idea of this bread is not my own, Jamie made something like this in Jamie at home, and it made me think that I could do a different version with more herbs and not only with plain flour. I'm sure it's totally different than the one he made, but it is really delicious. Not very complicated, can be easily made in the oven and even if you don't have anything else to eat, it's perfect for lunch or dinner. 

Ingredients for a big oven pan

• a total of 75 dkgs of flour, the percentage of plain and whole grain flour depends on your taste
• 420 mls of warm water
• 2 packets of dried yeast
• 3 teaspoons of salt
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• one big handful of chives
• a couple of thyme springs
• 5-6 springs of fresh rosemary
• 4-5 cloves of garlic chopped
• olive oil

Measure the flour and mix it with the yeast, the sugar and the salt plus the finely chopped herbs. If you are using a break baking machine, you only have to pour the flour in and then the water and the machine will do the rest. If not, make a whole in the middle of the flour for the water and then you can start kneading the dough until you get a flexible but soft dough. When it is ready, let it raise until it becomes double the original size. Line some baking paper into an oven pan and roll the dough to the size of the pan, lay it onto the pan and sprinkle the olive oil, the garlic and the rosemary leaves onto the dough. Then press your fingers into the dough all over the surface, but not all the way in, just make little "craters". Then put it in the oven at 200 degrees and bake it until the top becomes golden brown. 

Homemade bread with red onions and thyme

Ingredients:

• 20 dkgs of plain flour
• 20 dkgs of whole grain flour
• 5 dkgs of fresh yeast
• 1 dl of milk
• 1 dl of lukewarm water
• 3 coffee spoons of salt
• 2 middle sized red onions
• 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves
• a bit of olive oil
• an egg for the wash

I'll confess: I don't always knead the dough manually, I sometimes let the machine do its part because it's a lot more efficient and also quicker than me... :)

First of all, the yeast has to be dissolved in the warm (but not hot!) milk with a bit of sugar. Stir it until the yeast is combined with the milk and let it rest, and work. Meanwhile chop the onions fine and caramelize them in a bit of olive oil, until they become brown and sweet. Let it cool down. Until then you can mix the two types of flour in the machine, add the salt, the thyme leaves, a bit of oil, the onions, and the yeasty milk. Then start kneading and if it falls apart, add some lukewarm water but pay attention because you don't want to soak the dough. It has to be a non sticky, flexible dough at the end. When done, let it rest for an hour in a warm place, so it grows double the original size. At 180 degrees it will bake in 25 minutes, you can check it with a needle or knife.

Homemade bread with paprika and seeds

This was my first attempt to bake homemade bread without a bread machine, luckily it turned out to be good, maybe a bit saltless but you can always set that off with delicious things on the top :)

Ingredients:

• 25 dkg of plain flour
• 25 dkg of full wheat flour
• 1,5 tablespoons of paprika powder
• 1 dl of milk
• 5 dkg of yeast
• 2 dl of lukewarm water
• a bit of oil
• sunflower seeds
• linseed
• salt, pepper

Warm the milk up a bit and add a bit of sugar, sprinkle the yeast into it, and let it run up. Meanwhile mix the two types of flour, the paprika powder, the salt and the seeds. I used the bread machine to knead the dough, cause my hands aren't that strong :) So pour the flour mixture, the oil and the milk with the yeast in it into the machine. Start kneading and add the water carefully, only add as much as it needs to be "flexible". When its done, put it in a bowl with a bit of flour on the bottom, and let it raise for an hour. Then knead it again a bit and put it into the baking frame. Bake it at 180 degrees for 45-50 minutes, and you'll get a nice bread that you can slice up nicely.