Bread and Sausage Rolls

When I lived alone in South Africa and blogged from there, I'd regularly post recipes of the meals I made for myself and for Grant and the family when he was home on leave! So mostly my recipes were vegetarian and health-conscious. Here in East Africa I'm having too much fun going to pottery, birding and blogging, that, although I cook every day for dinner and bake at least once a week, I haven't posted about it. 

However, over the weekend I found a recipe for flaky (puff) pastry  and *proceeded to make it*. It's a VERY long and involved process but I'm pleased to say it turned out quite well in the end. I made a batch of sausage rolls for His Nibs and will use the rest for a chicken and mushroom pie which I'll serve tonight.

 Sausage rolls in flaky pastry served hot for lunch yesterday

Mondays is also my bread baking day. I bake a loaf of whole wheat bread for myself which lasts me until Saturday. I bring in South African whole meal and instant dry yeast. 

 My weekly bake of whole meal bread with extra buns 

Grant had four mini-sausage rolls and Worcestershire Sauce for lunch while I enjoyed my ubiquitous sandwich of  cottage cheese and salad with a cup of rooibos (SA herb) tea

For more of other peoples' worlds please click here 

Note: ** Why did I make my own [difficult] flaky pastry? Well, living in the African boondocks, there just is no such item as ready-made pastry available. Sigh...

Here's wishing you all a wonderful week! 

Khartoum Low GI Bread

Last year I posted about a Low GI whole wheat bread I baked for the Bible Study held weekly at my home. You can read about this here.

Why low GI? What is Low GI? According to a Diet and Nutrition Health website, eating low-GI is a key nutrition message that goes hand-in-hand with other healthy eating guidelines such as eat less saturated fats and eat more fruit and vegetables.

The Glycemic Index (GI) was devised about 20 years ago when researchers looked closer at the dietary recommendations for diabetics; which was to eat more complex carbohydrates (starch) because they took longer to process and digest than simple carbohydrates (sugar).

How does low-GI promote better health? Research has shown that very high glucose levels after meals, called glucose spikes, are damaging to our arteries and various blood vessels, and they promote far too much insulin to be around.

Eating low-GI foods means you avoid those spikes and dramatic falls in blood-glucose so you get a much steadier stream of energy. You, therefore, reduce your risk of heart disease and other chronic diseases that are implicated by those blood-glucose fluctuations.

Last week we found wheat flour in the supermarket. This is similar to the whole wheat we get in South Africa except not so "whole" ! I decided to bake my Low GI bread here.

When I removed the sunflower seeds from the packet, I realized they'd not been shelled. It took me forty five minutes to shell them (ewgh!). Finally I could get on with the preparationsFrying the sunflower seeds filled the kitchen with a delicious aromaThe bread turned out well and was delicious

I've posted the recipe again.

Low Whole wheat bread (Fresh Living Magazine July 2009

¾ cup (187ml) sunflower seeds
1 cup (200g) crushed wheat (couldn't find in Khartoum, omitted)
3 cups (420g) whole-wheat flour
1 cup (120g) white bread flour
1 ½ tsp (7g) salt
1 x 10g packet instant yeast
1 cup (42g) All-bran flakes (e.g. Kellogg’s)
2 tbs (30ml) milk
3 tbs (45ml) molasses or honey
1 tbs (15ml) olive oil
1 tbs (15ml) lemon juice
2 ¼ - 2 ½ cups (560ml – 625ml) lukewarm water

Toast sunflower seeds in dry, hot, non-stick pan until golden
(Set aside ¼ cup (60ml) for garnishing)
Mix seeds with molasses/honey, oil and lemon juice
Add water and stir well
Sift together flours, yeast, salt, crushed wheat and All Bran flakes
Add to liquids and seeds and mix well
Pour dough into loaf pan of your choice; (I used 28 x 10 ½ x 9 ½)
Sprinkle top with reserved seeds and crushed wheat
Leave to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes
Preheat oven to 200°C and bake for 45 minutes
Remove loaf from tin and bake on rack for 19 minutes. (For a crisp bottom crust)

Makes 7 mini loaves, 3 rounds, or 1 large loaf

Dimensions of alternative tins:
Round tin: 12 ½ x 4 ½
Mini loaf tins: 11 x 6 ½ cm

Khartoum Long Life White Bread

I always sift the flour when living in a third-world country and I'm always surprised at the debri in it

For Grant's birthday last week, I baked him a loaf of white bread. (Instead of cake, of which he 'd eat one slice and I the rest!) I'd never made this recipe from a magazine affiliated to a large supermarket chain in South Africa. The bread turned out perfectly and was appreciated by the birthday man!

I believe (my late mum taught me) that the bread dough should always be level with the top of the pan before the second proving takes place

A perfectly rounded bread

I was so thrilled with the perfection of this loaf, I couldn't stop photographing it. See my husband's arm on the table while he waits patiently to taste his birthday treat!

Long-life White Bread (PnP Fresh Living Magazine July 2009)

Makes 2. I only made one loaf therefore used half the ingredients.

By adding milk and Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) the bread stays fresher for longer. I didn't the ascorbic acid tablet as I couldn't find any in Khartoum

INGREDIENTS
1 kg White Bread Flour

30 ml Sugar

15 ml Salt
10 g Instant Yeast
2 Vitamin C tablets - crushed (optional)

375 ml Water - hot
250 ml Milk
30 ml Canola Oil

DIRECTIONS

Measure flour, sugar, salt and yeast into a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly with your fingers to combine.
Dissolve Vitamin C tablets in hot water and add milk (it may get a slightly curdled look).
Add milk mixture to dry ingredients, mix to form a ball and knead for about 8 -10 minutes on a well-floured surface to form soft pliable dough.
If necessary, add a little more water or flour, depending on consistency.
Grease mixing bowl with canola oil and place dough in bowl.
Cover with Clingfilm and allow to rise, until doubled in size. (On a warm day the dough can be left at room temperature but on a cold day make your own little ‘incubator’ by placing the bowl on a cloth-covered cooling rack over a deep roasting pan, half-filled with boiling water).

Cover with a large plastic bag (black bags work well), tie closed and allow to rise. Remember, slower is better, it may take from 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on outside temperatures.
Knead dough again once risen.
Butter two 200 x 100 x 70cm-deep loaf tins.
Divide dough into two.
Roll out dough 2cm thick, and roll up like a Swiss roll.
Place into loaf tins, seam-side down. This helps the bread to rise more evenly and have a better ‘dome’ shape.
Allow loaves to rise again until they reach the top of the tin.
Preheat oven to 220°C and bake for 35 minutes.
Turn loaves out of loaf tins and return to oven to bake for another 10 minutes to crisp the bottom crust.
Place bread on a cooling rack covered with a clean cloth and allow to cool to room temperature.

Focaccia Bread

This flat pizza-type bread, Focaccia is delicious

What is focaccia? Focaccia is flat bread which can be either round or rectangular. It originates from northern Italy where it is baked over a hot stone on the coals. These days focaccia, traditionally made with olive oil, coarse salt and fresh herbs, can be baked in an electric oven. Be creative and serve focaccia as part of a mezza-meal with homemade soup or on its own drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

I made it for my Christmas dinner and it went down a real treat.


Olive and Herb Focaccia (Value magazine, August 2003)
500 g Cake flour
10ml salt
7g dry yeast (I use instant packet yeast: 10g, it works fine)
100ml olive oil
280ml warm water
8 cloves of garlic (crushed)
10 peppadews , halved
10 black olives, de-pipped and halved
40ml rosemary
125ml grated mozzarella
Coarse sea salt

Mix the flour, salt and yeast in a bowl.
Mix 45ml olive oil with warm water.
Make a hollow in the middle of the dry ingredients and stir the liquid in gradually.
Knead until dough is soft but not sticky.
Turn out on floured surface and knead well.
Roll into a ball and place in oiled mixing bowl.
Cover with Clingfilm and allow proving for approximately 2 hours
When it’s doubled in size, knock it down again.
Add half the garlic, peppadews, olives and finely chopped rosemary.
Shape into a rectangle on a greased and floured baking tray.
Allow proving again, for about an hour
Set oven at 220°C (400° F)
Sprinkle remainder of garlic, peppadews, and olives; add the cheese
Press little hollows into the dough, drizzle with remaining olive oil
Sprinkle with coarse sea salt
Bake in oven for 30 minutes until well risen and golden brown.

Tip: Place a shallow pan of boiling water in the oven while the bread is baking.

The steam from the hot water makes the crust beautifully crisp.

Focaccia is at its best when it is still warm.

Hunger for Freedom

A while ago my friend, Lynda posted about her birthday present from her husband. (you can read about it here). It was a book called “Hunger for Freedom.” by Anna Trapido. It is the story of food in the life of Nelson Mandela, former South African President and contains many recipes generously shared by home cooks. These recipes are interspersed with stories of the struggle for which Nelson Mandela and his contempories were willing to die.

Ironically, I had just ordered the same book through my book club which I now have in my possession.

(From the introduction to the book)
[Quote] The book is not so much a cookbook as a gastro-political history with recipes. Food has provided the backdrop for momentous personal and political events in Nelson’s life. Life can be measured out in mouthfuls, both bitter and sweet. Tales told in sandwiches, sugar and samoosas* will speak eloquently of intellectual awakenings, emotional longings and, always, the struggle for racial equality. [Unquote]

(*Note: a samoosa is a triangular pastry parcel filled with very spicy minced meat and/or vegetables and deep fried to a crispy brown delectable treat)

Easy-to-make and delicious Rye Bread pictured above with the book "Hunger for Freedom"

Rather than embark on lengthy political story at this stage, suffice to say that for a long time I’d been looking for a recipe for Rye Bread and I've found it in this book.

Quick and easy to make, once the bread was baked, I let it cool and then sliced it with an electric carving knife (I always slice bread this way). Carefully replacing the whole sliced loaf in a plastic bag, I sealed and froze it. This way I’m able to remove two slices, defrost and enjoy them with a filling of my choice.

Rye Bread

1 ½ cups rye flour
3 cups bread flour
1 ½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon molasses
2 tablespoon butter
1 ¼ cups warm water

Mix all dry ingredients. Combine butter, molasses and water.
Mix well and add to dry ingredients
Mix until dough forms a ball (add a little extra water if necessary)
Knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes
Set dough aside in oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise double in size (about 1 hour)
Turn dough out onto floured surface and shape into rectangular ball
Place in greased and floured loaf tin 26cm x 9cm; cover with a damp towel
Allow to rise again, double in size, about 1 hour.
Bake in preheated oven 180° C for about an hour
Turn out onto cooling rack.
(Bread is cooked when it makes a hollow sound when tapped)

When asked once which [important] earthly person I'd most like to meet, I can honestly say: Nelson Mandela. I'd love to meet this man who could forgive all that was perpetuated against him; come out of prison after twenty-seven years and promote peace and love to all around.

So even though I may not always post recipes from this book, I may, from time to time, post interesting snippets about the life of this man whose unstinting appetite for freedom has nourished South Africa and the world.