Classic bagels

Autumn is here and before we know it winter is on the doorstep. For some people this is the worst time of the year, for myself the short days just means more time to spend in front of the open fire. Lots of films to watch, hot ports to drink and citrus fruits in season is all great things that makes the darker time of the year more bearable to me.
Other things to kill some time is of course baking, that will never become boring and there will always be someone up for freshly baked goods. A couple of weeks ago I had another go at making bagels, they turned out really nice. A crusty outside sprinkled with sesame seeds, a chewy inside with a good, dense texture; everything a bagel is about. So with a few bagels in the freezer even the darkest mornings can become really enjoyable. Serve them toasted with cream cheese. Or do you prefer marmalade or jam? The topping is really up to yourself, I can only provide you with the recipe.

Rye loaf for toasting

Having a passion for baking can sometimes be tricky when there is only two of us eating my baked goods, we simply can not eat everything while it is fresh and I don't know how many times I have ended up throwing away things. Personally I don't eat that much bread anymore and for breakfast I mostly eat cracker bread rather than toast. Martin on the other hand loves a couple of slices of toast with beans for breakfast. We all know that toast bread does not have to be fresh to be tasty. Brilliant I think because it allows me to bake loaves of bread, slice it and freeze. Toast bread like this does not even have to be defrosted but goes straight into the toaster from the freezer. Here is a version that is easy to make and it is quite healthy too, usually I put mixed seeds in it but if you like nuts or maybe dried fruit that work well too.

7 grams dried yeast
250ml water
50 grams rye flakes
50 grams rye flour
200-250 grams strong white flour
1tbsp honey
1tbsp salt
50 grams mixed seeds


Bring 200ml of the water to the boil, add rye flakes, rye flour and seeds and stir into a thick porridge. Let cool down to room temperature. Dissolve the yeast in the remaining 50ml water(luke warm) and add to the rye mix. Add honey, salt and half the flour. Work as much flour in to the dough so it it easy to knead and not too sticky, but be careful not to add too much flour, the dough will get to compact and have difficulties to rise properly. Knead the dough for 5 min and let prove until doubled in size. On a floured surface knead into a loaf, put in a loaf tin and let prove again until doubled in size. Bake for 30-40min on 220C.

French toast on duck egg brioche

After baking duck egg brioche I knew straight away I was going to use it for a lovely brunch. French toast is not my type of thing to eat early in the morning but waking up at midday on a Saturday I really enjoyed this meal. Brioche is rich and buttery, soaked in a mix of eggs, milk and a little bit of flour it really crisped up and created a lovely little dish served with honey or cinnamon/sugar.

4 slices of brioche
1 egg
50ml milk
1tbsp flour

Beat the egg lightly with the flour, add milk and whisk until well combined and smooth. Soak each slice of bread in the liquid and fry in butter on medium heat. A couple of minutes on each side should be enough to get golden, crispy toast. Serve hot with cinnamon/sugar or honey.

Duck egg brioche

A week ago Martins mum brought me 2 duck eggs from a friend of theirs who has his own ducks. I am not a fan of eggs, I don't eat them poached, boiled or scrambled, so what was I to do with 2 beautiful locally sourced duck eggs? Well, after a bit of thought put in to my actions I decided to bake with them. Duck eggs provides extra strength and richness to your baking due to the high content of fat in the yolk, and protein in the white. I baked brioche with my duck eggs and the result was fantastic, the dough really rose and created a light, fluffy yet rich bread that melts in your mouth. There is hundreds of recipes and ways of baking brioche, this is a simple version that wont take you the whole day to make.

100 grams butter, room temperature
2tbsp water, warm
7 grams dried yeast
2 duck eggs
1/2tbsp sugar
1/2tsp salt
250 grams flour
1 egg yolk for brushing

Dissolve the yeast in the water, add duck eggs and beat them lightly. Add sugar and salt and work flour in to the eggs. When you have a firm dough start adding butter bit by bit while kneading the dough. Work the dough by hand for 8-10min. Let rise to double size. Divide the dough in to 3 parts and create a braid shaped loaf. Let rise to double size on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Brush with egg yolk and bake for about 20min on 220C.

Home made yogurt

I am, as many other these days, quite aware of what I eat to amke sure I stay healthy and get all the nutrition I need. It is hard not to since it seems to be a favourite topic in magazines, books and TV programs. I have been thought from a young age to eat well and at regular hours. During week days my mum would make sure we ate well before heading to school, and at weekends breakfast was a meal the whole family would sit down to. I still make sure I eat breakfast every day and it does not even feel like a must, it is just a habit at this point.
My latest project has been to make my own yogurt, after reading how good probiotic yogurt is for a healthy digestion and boosting the immune system. It sounds a bit tricky but if you just have a thermometer, thermos and milk you are ready to go. You need to buy a good, plain probiotic yogurt to start the fermentation of the milk. After the first time you can save some of your home made yogurt and use as a starter for the next batch.

500ml milk (or as much you need to fill your thermos)
2tbsp probiotic yogurt (per 500ml milk)

Heat the milk up in a pot on medium heat. When it reaches 85C take off the heat. Fill the thermos with boiling water to sterilise it. When the milk comes down to 43C add the yogurt and stir. Pour out the water from the thermos, pour in the milk, put on the lid and let stand in room temperature for 8-10h. Transfer to a container and chill over night before eating. I like to eat mine with home made muesli.

Bagels

Waking up on a weekend morning there is few things that taste better than a dense, chewy bagel toasted with cream cheese. The ring shaped bread with its variety of toppings and flavours has its origin in Poland and has since the 16th century spread around the world and is now mostly associated with cities in USA, Canada and UK with a big Jewish population.
For me bagels brings back memories of been a teenager and going to cafes to meet my friends for tea/coffee and having toasted sesame seed bagels with cream cheese and ham or turkey. Even before I tried a bagel I just knew I would like them. These days I don't eat too many bagels since they are rich in white flour and carbohydrates, but on a weekend a treat is a must and bagels really does the trick. What makes them so chewy and dense is the process of boiling the bagels before baking, sound a little tricky but it is easy enough and definatley worth the effort.

8 bagels

250ml water, luke warm
8 grams salt
8 grams sugar
7 grams dried yeast
400 grams plain flour

seeds, cheese, nuts...

Dissolve yeast in water and add sugar and salt. Add flour and bring together to a dough, Knead the dough by hand for 10min. Let prove under a damp cloth for 1h. Divide the dough into 8 equally sized pieces and shape little round buns. Let rest for 10min. Make a whole in the middle of each bun and pull gently to make it a little bigger and even. Let prove again for 30min.

Turn the oven on 250C. Bring a pot of water to the boil with 2tbsp of sugar. Gently drop bagels in to the water and turn the heat down to let the water simmer. Cook the bagels for 1min on each side, lift up from the water and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Sprinkle topping of your choice on top of each bagel. Turn heat down to 220C when you put the bagels in to the middle of the oven and bake for 20min.

Raspberry scones

As a tradition I try to bake scones one morning every weekend, last week it happened to be on the saturday and what a great start of a great day it was. Usually I make a little bit healthier and more wholesome scones at home but this morning I was interested in the taste more so than the nutrition and therefore used my sweet scone recipe and flavoured them with raspberries.
The recipe will make 5 large scones or 8 small.

50 grams butter, room temperature
235 grams plain flour
17 grams baking powder
25 grams caster sugar
1 egg yolk
100ml milk (or half milk/half cream, or yoghurt)

16 raspberries, I used frozen

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl, rub the butter into the flour mix. Add milk and egg yolk and quickly bring together to a dough. On a floured surface roll out the dough to about 3cm thick, put half of the raspberries on one half of the dough, fold over and put the remaining raspberries on one half of the dough, fold over again and gently roll again to about 5cm thick. Take out scones with a cookie cutter or glass. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Brush with milk or egg. Bake for 15min on 200C.

Treacle bread

The days are just getting shorter and darker this time of the year and at 5.30 in the morning when my alarm goes off it feels like waking up in the middle of the night. Still I manage to get up, get dressed and even sit down to a proper breakfast every morning before heading to work.

In the summertime I like fruit, smoothies, youghurt or muesli for breakfast but in the winter my body seem to crave more filling food. In the cold and dark mornings porridge is the best option for me, it is so comforting to eat something hot that will keep you going for a few hours. But one can not survive on only porridge (thats not a fact, it's just that I prefer to eat different things or else I get bored and turn to unhealthy stuff) and a tasty slice of wholgrain bread with pate and gherkins, or cheese, ham and tomato works a treat with a cup of hot tea for breakfast.

I usually bake sour dough bread or yeast bread since I'm not a huge fan of soda bread but this recipe here makes lovely bread without yeast. Full of goodness it comes out of the oven smelling delicious, and it keeps quite well for a few days. Usually I freeze half though to keep it as fresh as possible. It is super easy to make and the only thing you need is time for it to cook in the oven, the rest is done in a few minutes...

1 loaf
170 grams plain white flour
50 grams rye flour
80 grams wholeweat flour
30 grams wheatgerm
150 grams mixed seeds (sunlower, pumpkin, linsseed, sesame..)
2tsp baking soda
1/2tsp salt
500ml youghurt or 450ml buttermilk
40 grams golden syrup or treacle

In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients. Add yoghurt/buttermilk and syrup, stir until all ingredients are well mixed. Pour into a greased bread tin and bake for 100min on 170C in the lower part of the oven.

Yummy breakfast on a tuesday...

Usually tuesdays are my least favorite day of the week, I have said it before. But today I have the day off so this morning I made some lovely scones for breakfast. It is so tasty and simple, and because I mix wholemeal flour and plain flour I kind of let myself believe it is not too unhealthy. Also, I dont make sweet scones, I prefer to keep them savoury and let the marmelade or jam stand for the sweetness. The recipe here is enough for 4 scones, that should fill 2 people.

140 grams plain flour

110 grams wholemeal flour

40 grams butter, roomtemperature

1 1/2tsp baking powder

1/2tsp salt

100ml milk or buttermilk

Mix all dry ingredients. Rub the butter in to the flour until it forms crumbles. Add milk and quickly mix in to a dough, if it is too wet add some more plain flour. Shape a round, flat cake, about 2cm high. Cut in to 4 pieces, prick with a fork. Bake on 225-250C for 12 minutes. I eat them while still hot with butter, jam/marmelade and cheese. It might sound funny with the cheese but it is very Swedish and very tasty. Enjoy with a hot cup of tea and hopefully the day off!

A healthy start

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day. Even before falling alseep at night I sometimes think about what to have for breakfast next morning. One thing I find very tasty is home made muesli, and a plus is that it is very healthy too. This recipe is something my mum have made for years since she got the recipe from a friend. It is easy to make and you can sort of change it depending on personal taste and what you have at home. I usually stick to the original recipe though because it suits my palate.

This is roughly how much you will need for one big tray of muesli, but like I said you can play around a little with the ingredients. The sugar for instance can be reduced, or add more if you like it sweet. Nuts and seeds can be swapped for what you like best, maybe you prefer hazelnuts or sunflower seeds.

250ml oatflakes

250ml wheatgerm

250ml ryeflakes

100ml dessicated coconut

100ml linsseed

100ml chopped almonds

75ml vegetable oil

50ml brown sugar

100ml raisins

Mix all dry ingredients except the raisins. Add vegetable oil and mix well. Spread on a large deep roasting tray. Toast in the lower part of the oven for 30min on 140C. Add raisins and tost for another 5-10min. Let cool down before keeping in an airtight jar. Eat with yoghurt or milk for breakfast or a healthy snack.