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The Review - FOOD & DRINK- Cooking with CLARE
Published: 10 January 2008

Focaccia bread is great with homemade soup

Feeling the knead for something wholesome?

Clare Latimer gets back to basics with some specialty breads

NOW the holidays are firmly behind us we can all begin the New Year with good some intentions.
Mine are to buy more British foods and cook more at home rather than buy ready-made meals. It is much better for you; it’s cheaper and you certainly can’t beat the fact that it is therapeutic, topped with a smug satisfaction.
This is the time of year to use those long dark evenings to learn new cooking skills and have a bit of fun. Get the children to help, as these recipes are creative and interesting with rising dough and poking holes etc.

Focaccia bread

This is lovely Italian bread that would go very well with a homemade soup or just served with tomatoes that have been brushed with olive oil and oregano and roasted in the oven for about 10 minutes.
What a healthy and easy supper dish!

Ingredients

Serves 4-6
2 teasp instant yeast
200ml olive oil
300ml tepid water
450g plain flour
4 teasp sea salt
2 fresh sprigs rosemary, stalk removed and discarded

Method

To make the dough, put the flour and yeast into a blender, reserving a little flour for later. Add one tablespoon of olive oil and one teaspoon of sea salt. Turn to maximum and add the water. When mixture turns into a ball, turn off and remove on to a floured surface. Knead the dough well for five minutes.
Put the dough into a large bowl which has been brushed with olive oil. Cover loosely with cling film and leave to prove in a warm place for two hours. (It should double in size.) Knock back the dough and knead again lightly. Place on a floured surface again and roll out into a 2 cm thick shape to fit an average size baking tray.
Brush the tray with olive oil and then lay over the dough. Press to the edges with your hands and then cover with a cloth and leave to prove again for 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven 230C/ 450F/gas 8. Remove the cloth and poke your fingers into the risen dough leaving holes all over the surface.
Pour the rest of the olive oil over the surface and into each hole and then insert the rosemary leaves into the holes. Sprinkle over the remaining sea salt and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Naan bread

We have all had this bread in an Indian restaurant or takeaway, but how many of you have made it? What better thing to do on a winter’s day! Serve with a good Indian curry and be proud of your achievement.

Ingredients

Serves 4
1 teasp dried yeast
1 teasp Demerara sugar
200g plain flour
¼ teasp salt
½ teasp baking powder
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp natural yoghurt
2 tbsp milk.

Method

Put one tablespoon warm water and the yeast into a small bowl and add the Demerara sugar. Stir and then leave in a warm place for 10 minutes. This mixture should turn frothy.
To make the dough, put the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl and mix well. Add the vegetable oil, yoghurt, milk and the yeast mixture and then stir well. Knead to a soft ball with floured hands and keep kneading for five minutes.
Shape into a large ball, put back into the bowl and cover with a damp cloth and leave in a warm place for about 15 minutes to rise.
Preheat the oven 140C/ 275F/gas1. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead again on a floured surface. Divide the mixture into four and then roll out into oval shapes about ½ cm thick.
Oil a baking tin and then lay over each oval shape. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown and serve hot.

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