Weekend breakfasts

To be brutally honest, weekday breakfasts are normally just fuel for the day ahead. Never rubbish, but washed down by coffee that is always too hot or too cold and slotted in between all the pre-work chores, it's generally a rushed affair.
It's a far cry from the primary school days when I got up at stupid o'clock, made the kids' packed lunches, checked the homework, packed the PE kit, signed the reading record and then sat down en famille for bowls of cereal.  Even when they moved up to secondary school, there were still lunches to be packed, but these days the only one taking lunch with them is Neil.
Weekends on the other hand are a different thing altogether; a time for treats and, more often than not, experimentation.  There are all the usual suspects, served up in succession; pancakes, waffles, muffins, a fry up, omelettes and then there are the experiments.  These are generally variations of baked goods, adding new flavours and textures to family favourites and classics.
Unusually for me, I have had a bread free week, so by Friday night the cravings had set in and in anticipation of a leisurely Saturday morning breakfast, I got to work.
September is upon us and with it the first whiff of Autumn, so the first things that came to mind were fruit and spice, both wonderfully evocative of the coming season.  Close your eyes and you can almost smell the apple and clove crumble, Christmas cake, chutneys, bramble vinegar and damson gin.  There will be apple recipes coming up shortly, so I have opted for something a little more exotic. This is a light, almost cakey (is that a word?  If not it should be) loaf, subtly flavoured with cardamom and orange. 

375g bread flour

125g rice flour

1 egg

60g butter

100g Orange sugar (grate the zest of 2 oranges or 4 mandarins, add to a kilo of sugar and store in an airtight jar)

Zest of 1 orange

The seeds from 3 cardamom pods

250ml milk

1 tsp dried yeast

1 tsp salt

1 tblsp marmalade, warmed

Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature and put them all, except the marmalade, into a food processor or use a food mixer fitted with a dough hook.

Beat thoroughly, it should be smooth and rather sticky.

Cover and leave to prove for at least an hour, I left mine overnight.

Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC

Generously grease a 1lb loaf tin and pour in the dough.

Place in the oven - no, I haven't missed anything out, I didn't give it a second proving - and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven, turn down the temperature to 175ºC and brush the top of the loaf  with the warmed marmalade.  Return the tin to the oven for another 20 minutes.

Carefully take the loaf out of the tin - you should be able to lift it out quite easily, but it will be HOT - and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Serve warm, not hot, with lashings of butter.  I found a 2 year old jar of peach and rose jam in the cupboard, which added to the doughy, buttery joy.

                                      © Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2017

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Apricot and cardamom buns

Hygge is everywhere: the Danish concept of cosiness.  Whilst I love the thought of it, I have been trying to avoid jumping on any fashionable bandwagons.  I have yet to attempt to make the cinnamon buns that fill the pages of every magazine at the moment, although I will admit to a scented candle or two - but there again, these have long been a feature in our house.

However, these fragrant, tasty buns, which are ideal for a relaxed Sunday breakfast on a wintry morning seem to fit the bill.  The aroma of them baking fills the kitchen with the most appetising of smells.

But, hands up, I admit I did not make these wearing beige cashmere and fluffy slippers and I don't expect you to do so either.  Just let me know if you try them and what you think of them.
You will see that one of the ingredients is orange infused sugar - this is one of my #wastenot tips.
If you are only going to use the juice of an orange, or simply eat it, grate the zest first and add it to a jar of sugar.  The sugar will absorb the orange oil and take on a beautiful flavour.  This has a myriad uses and you can even blitz it in a food processor to make flavoured icing sugar, ideal for glazing or sprinkling on these buns.
And whilst we are on the subject of #wastenot, always grate the zest from your lemons, even when you only need the juice.  The zest can be stored in the freezer until needed.

10oz bread flour

12 fl oz milk
Juice of 1 lemon 

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried yeast

2 dessertspoon orange infused sugar (or plain sugar and the grated zest 1 orange)

6 green cardamom pods

2 oz soft butter

4 oz dried apricots

Egg white

Sugar

Heat the milk to blood temperature in a saucepan and add the lemon juice.
Remove from the heat.

Split open the cardamom pods and take out the seeds.  Grind to a powder with a pestle and mortar.
Chop the apricots.

Put all the ingredients, except the egg white and extra sugar into a food mixer or food processor (with dough blade fitted) and mix thoroughly for around 30 seconds.
Alternatively, place all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and beat well with a wooden spoon.
Ensure the dough is covered, use cling film or a damp cloth and leave to rise for at least 2 hours. (You can leave it overnight and bake them in the morning if you are more organised in the morning than I am.)

Place a griddle plate in the oven and pre-heat to 200ºC

Shape the dough into 8 equal sized rolls and place on the hot griddle plate.
Paint the tops with egg white or milk and sprinkle with sugar.  You can omit this stage and glaze them with a thin drizzle of orange icing whilst still warm if you prefer.

Bake for around 15 - 20 minutes until they sound hollow when tapped on the base.

Serve warm with butter and plenty of coffee.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk