Classic Bread Loaf

A beautiful classic bread loaf...

This bread is tall, puffy, and soft! But it isn't too soft, it's just right! In this bread, you will basically find everything that you may need in a homemade bread loaf. I added a little bit of oats and wheat germ just to make it healthier but you can also add different kinds of seeds if you wish. (Flaxseed, chia seeds…)

Let me tell you the secret to the beautiful crispy crust… Just add a handful of ice cubes to a shallow oven tray and place it to the bottom of your oven. While baking, it will release steam and give your loaf a good rise and a crispy crust!

This bread can also be baked in a free-form loaf, just place it on a greased/floured baking tray and bake as per instructions below.

Classic Bread Loaf Recipe

Serves: 2 medium loaves

Ingredients

• 700 grams bread flour
• 50 grams oats
• 2 tbsp wheat germ
• 15 grams instant yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 450ml lukewarm water
• 
  

Instructions

1. Add the flour, oats, wheat germ, and salt to a large mixing bowl. Then add the yeast into a small cup along with a little bit of lukewarm water and 1 tsp of sugar and set aside to a warm place until it gets bubbly (this should take a couple of minutes).
2. Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil and the yeast when it gets bubbly. Slowly drizzle in about half of the water and mix until the mixture starts to form a rough dough. Continue adding in more water until all of the flour is incorporated and you have a workable dough.
3. Knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic and when rolled into a ball it springs back if you gently press it with your finger.
4. Add a little bit of olive oil to a bowl and place your ball of dough in it. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise until approximately double in size, this will take about 30 minutes to an hour.
5. Remove your dough from the bowl, lightly flour your work surface and gently knock back the dough. Give your dough a quick second kneading.
6. Form the dough into a rough loaf shape. Place the dough into a lightly greased large loaf tin, and leave to rise again for a further 30 minutes covered with a tea towel.
7. Preheat your oven to 200º. Gently flour the surface of your loaf and add two or three slashes with a very sharp knife (optional). Then to the bottom of your oven add a handful of ice cubes to a shallow oven tray. The ice cubes will release steam and give your dough a good rise and your loaf a nice crispy crust.
8. Bake for 40–45 minutes.

For a smaller loaf use 450 grams of flour instead of 700, 10 grams of yeast and less water.

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Bolo De Banana (Spiced banana upside down cake)

Bolo de Banana Caramelada… A spiced banana upside down cake with a Brazilian twist!

After trying the pineapple upside down cake last week and falling in love with it, I decided to go on Pinterest and look at more upside down cake pictures, that gave me loaaaaaads of fantastic ideas!! Basically you can add any fruit to your upside down cake… Apples, oranges, strawberries, pineapples, cherries, pears, bananas! You name it!

I like to keep things simple and easy, plus I never throw any food away. So after roaming in the kitchen this afternoon and seeing 3 over-ripe bananas I decided to make an upside down cake using the bananas (: And to add a twist to the cake, I added spicy glaze to it (with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves! and of course brown sugar) that made my kitchen smell like Christmas!

You have to try this cake to understand what I am talking about, you will love the spongy moist slices of cake topped with caramel bananas that taste and smell like HEAVEN.

Recipe adapted from From brazil to you

Spiced Banana Upside Down Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• For the cake:
• 200 grams all purpose flour (1 1/2 cups)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 100 grams butter (1/2 cup)
• 200 grams granulated sugar (2 cups)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs (separated) 
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 
  
• For the topping: 
• 3 bananas
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Instructions

1. Grease a 9 inch pan with oil and preheat oven to 180°.
2. Beat the butter with sugar until smooth and creamy, then add the vanilla and mix. Add 2 egg yolks and beat well. 
3. Add the flour, salt and baking powder to the mixture and mix. Followed by the milk and mix well.
4. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar (this should take a couple of minutes) then gently fold in the mixture into batter using a rubber spatula.
5. To prepare the topping, in a sauce pan mix the butter with the brown sugar and spices on medium heat, using a spoon mix to prevent it from being burnt until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.
6. Pour the caramel mixture into greased pan, then arrange the slices of the bananas on top. Next, pour the batter into pan and smooth the top.  
7. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cake cool down for 10 minutes. 

Serve warm but it's also very delicious when served cold! And it tastes wonderful with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

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Crispy Cheddar Chicken

Crispy, cheesey goodness...

Who doesn't LOVE crispy chicken with cheese??! You can make this by yourself, at home, and it will only take 20 minutes!

You start off by slicing your chicken into 3 pieces, this will let your chicken cook faster. Then dip chicken in milk, dip in cheese, dip in coating mix. Then fry, get a fork, and enjoy!

I've tried loads of coating mixes before, but the one that I've used today by Knorr is by far my favourite.  There is no need to season the chicken with any spices or even add salt as this coating mix contains everything already.

Crispy Cheddar Chicken Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 breasts chicken
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 pack coating mix (by Knorr)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tbsp butter
• fresh parsley (optional)
• 
  

Instructions

1. Cut each breast into 3 pieces, then dip each in milk, then cheddar cheese, then coating mix.
2. Heat your pan with 2 tbsp of butter, then fry the chicken on both sides until  they're golden and crispy.
3. Top with a sauce of your choice and sprinkle with fresh parsley.

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Strawberry Focaccia

Are you looking for something that is sugar free but delicious to eat for breakfast? I have the right recipe for you… !

Focaccia - this is what the italians call the flat oven-baked yeast bread. And in this recipe I added strawberries for extra freshness and healthiness! What an amazing bread to have for breakfast or brunch!

My Mum is the person that bakes focaccia in our house, she bakes different kinds of focaccia… Onion focaccia, garlic and olives focaccia, rosemary focaccia, herb and tomato focaccia, eggplant and cheese focaccia, cherry almond focaccia, lemon focaccia, honey and berries focaccia, and of course strawberry focaccia. All of these are FANTASTIC, same recipe for all but different toppings! YUM!

This recipe is very simple, requires a little bit of kneading but it is super easy and it won't take long for you to prepare. I guarantee that you will absolutely love it, we have been baking focaccias all the time last week! And you do not have to tell anybody how easy this was, OR you could brag about it! ;)

Strawberry Focaccia Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 kg strawberries
• 175 ml warm water
• 1/2 tsp instant yeast
• 250 grams all purpose flour
• 25 ml olive oil
• 25 grams powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 
  

Instructions

1. Prepare a round 11 inches greased pan. 
2. Add warm water to yeast and let if stand for a few minutes until it bubbles.
3. In a mixing bowl add powdered sugar, flour, and salt.
4. Knead the dough and then add oil and knead for 5 more minutes. dough will be sticky to the hands but that's okay. Roll the dough using a rolling pin then transfer into a bowl and cover with a damp cloth and let it rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.
5. Move your dough to a greased pan and press your strawberries into the dough. Bake for 40-45 minutes at 180°.
6. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve!

* You can also use frozen strawberries but then you will have to bake for 10 extra minutes.

More great breakfast ideas…

Healthy Strawberry Jam

Classic Pancakes

Apple Pancakes

Crepes

Classic Bread Loaf

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Healthy Ten Minute Strawberry Jam

Simple ingredients, simple work, wonderful healthy strawberry jam…

Strawberries are in season here, and me and my Mum bought 2 kilos of strawberries yesterday to make jam. I'm a huge fan of strawberry jam, but what I don't like about it is by the time you cook the jam, it loses all of the vitamins and the good stuff. (it still tastes great, but this recipe here is even better as you get fresh strawberry jam with all the vitamins in them!!)

This is a super simple recipe, low in sugar and is full of vitamins as you only cook the strawberries over medium heat for 8-10 minutes!!

I could go on and on forever about how amazing is this jam, but I will now give you the recipe! Oh and eating it on perfect croissants is just perfection.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Healthy Ten Minute Strawberry Jam Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 kilo strawberries
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
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Instructions

1. In a food processor pulse your strawberries with sugar and lemon juice for a couple of seconds.
2. Transfer to a skillet and cook for 8-10 minutes over medium heat. (or until bubbles cover the surface)
3. Transfer jam to a jar and let cool at room temperature, then store sealed and refrigerated for up to 10 days.

More great breakfast ideas…

Classic Pancakes

Apple Pancakes

Crepes

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Skinny Creamy Pasta with Chicken

Creamy comfort without all the fat and calories!

So you want to know what I had for lunch today? I had a veeeeery delicious meal! Skinny creamy pasta with chicken. Skinny AND creamy?!! Yes that's right!

It's Skinny, and it's SOO good!!

This is very very easy to make. Both pasta and sauce cook very quickly, so when ready just toss together and serve!

Skinny Creamy Pasta with Chicken Recipe

Ingredients

• Pasta of your choice (I used linguine)
• 1 chicken breast (grilled)
• 1/4 cup light cream
• bell pepper (optional)
• garlic
• basel
• nutmeg
• black pepper
• a pinch of salt
• 
  

Instructions

1. Cook pasta in salty water and add 1tsp of olive oil. Let it boil until it's done.
2. In a medium sauce pan saute add 1tbsp of olive oil and sauté garlic for one minute.
3. Whisk in the light cream, pepper, salt, and nutmeg.
4. Drain the pasta, then add the pasta to the cream mixture adding the grilled chicken pieces. Toss to combine, and serve with chopped red bell pepper or garnish with fresh basel leaves or parsley.

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Zucchini Bread

Extra dense, wonderfully moist, and delicious!

 

Who knew that zucchini bread could be so delicious?? Whenever I went on Pinterest and came across zucchini bread pins, I thought who would wanna eat a zucchini vegetable cake??! As in my imagination it did not sound very delicious. But, I thought why not give it a try and see what all the fuss was about??

So last weekend my Mum mentioned that we bought some zucchinis but did not cook them yet, and that they will go bad if we don't do anything with them. So I went to Allrecipes.com and found a recipe that received loads of 5 stars ratings, got all the ingredients out and started baking!

In 1 hour and 15 minutes the house smelled wonderful and I had 2 beautiful loaves that my family LOVED. And it's a great way to get the kids eat their vegetables! My niece even said that she now loves zucchini (but in cake not for dinner!!) - she made us laugh!

It holds up well while slicing, it's not too sweet, and it's super healthy!!

For a printable version click here

Zucchini Bread Recipe

Serves: 2 loaves

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 
  

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180°.
2. Sift together flour, salt, cinnamon, soda, and baking powder.
3. In a big bowl beat eggs and add sugar, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Mix, then add grated zucchini.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix. Stir in walnuts if desired.
5. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans and bake for one hour.

Store: in airtight container or wrap it in a ziploc bag so it does not dry out and store in room temperature.

Original recipe From Allrecipes.com by Laura.

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Healthy Banana Bread

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