Bread

Perfectly Plump Hot Cross Buns This is my favourite recipe for Hot Cross Buns, slightly adapted from Richard Bertinet's superb version. I find that making a tangzhong (a flour-and-liquid roux) gives these buns the perfect texture, a soft, pliable crumb with just enough tenacity to hold up under a generous smear of butter without tearing or collapsing. I’ve never been a fan of most ... Read more

Fluffy Middle Eastern Sourdough Flatbreads I love Middle Eastern-style cooking, and having a pliable fluffy flatbread is indispensable for mopping up hummus, pesto or sauces and for wrapping and transporting falafels or fritters laden with labneh pickles and a zesty salad. These are easy to make and whilst being light and fluffy they are strong enough to let you to load them to the gunnels. ... Read more

Panettone Style Cookies   Making a panettone just before Christmas, when time is disappearing quicker than the evening sun, can seem like an indulgent project. However, if you love the taste of panettone and want to bake something everyone will enjoy, these cookies are something you’ll definitely want to "accept". They’re easy to make, the dough can be prepared ahead of time, ... Read more

Matthews Cotswold flour development baker Sophie has shared this recipe for Rustic Olive Rolls with us using the Matthews Cotswold Pizza Flour. "The Matthews Cotswold Pizza Flour is a much more versatile flour than you might realise – it’s obviously great for making delicious pizza bases, but it can also be used for a multitude of other recipes. As a baker, it’s one of my ... Read more

A crisp home-baked baguette, with all the character, complex flavour and crunch that you might otherwise have to travel to France to find, is a dream for many bakers. The particular characteristics that French millers give to their premium darker bread flours through the wheat varieties they mill gives the loaves made from it, such as baguettes, a deep rich colour, a delicate beige crumb, and an ... Read more

Tear & share brioche with a pesto and cheesy filling Having a soft and sumptuous, comforting and tasty brioche that is stuffed with cheese and pesto is a marvellous thing, but to share it is even better. This is a great way to use up any odd bits of cheese that are knocking about in the fridge. This recipe is with pesto but you could just as easily use tapenade, semi dried tomatoes, Marmite ... Read more

Having some fun with your baking is always a good idea and getting a great result that tastes as good as it looks is what its all about. Picture Perfect Pumpkin Bread Recipe gives you just that. I love soup and not just for the autumn, but when the pumpkins are in season I stock up the freezer with homemade soup to see me through the winter. While pumpkin soup making I had some leftover roasted ... Read more

I really like the contrast made between the jet black ciabatta burger buns topped with contrasting sesame seeds, and the deep yellow crispy-coated halloumi, topped with a spicy sauce - they are fun to make and are a tasty treat for a Halloween night. The buns are soft and airy - softer still with the addition of the carbon powder -  and sprinkled with sesame seeds for a little contrast and ... Read more

You've made your delicious Danish-Style Rye Bread. Now, here is how to make some open sandwiches just as you see in Denmark. When people hear “potato on bread” most think about a chip butty...but in Scandinavia the open-topped sandwich is a staple for lunch and their potato topped rye bread is absolutely delicious.   Here is a simple recipe for you to try on a nice slice of ... Read more

My Danish-Style Rye bread recipe comes from my 22 years living in Copenhagen, where people either bake or buy rye bread for their family every week. Indeed, most Scandinavians eat rye bread daily and the Danes are no exception. Similarly to crispbread (like Ryvita), everyone from little kids to burly men eat what looks like dainty slices of rye bread for their lunch. It wasn’t until I tried ... Read more

Make 6 jet black brioches for a bit of fun - why not make some with and some without the carbon powder for an interesting mix!   Mix the flour with carbon powder, dried yeast, sugar and vanilla powder then mix in eggs, honey, milk and rum. Knead by hand for about ten minutes or using a mixer for 2-3 minutes, then add the butter cut into pieces and knead again until it is completely ... Read more

Seeded Country-Style Tin Bread Recipe is a simple but delicious sandwich loaf full of seeds together with the flavour of stoneground flour. Very quick to make, and often this can cause the crumb to be drier, but here the seeds hold in some moisture – especially the linseed – and this creates a crumb that stays soft for days. Toasts very well, and perfect for a hearty sandwich. Makes ... Read more

The perfect bread when you want something that’s a little sophisticated but still has a comforting soft white simplicity to it. The recipe uses an overnight method, so prepare the dough the day before you want to bake the bread. Pain Viennois is a classic bread from the French boulangerie repertoire – it’s one of the listed bread French bakery students need to know by heart when ... Read more

When you move away from roller-milled flours from imported grain and start using stone milled flours, especially using grains grown in a variable and wetter climate with a mixture of wheat varieties, you’ll notice characteristics that both improve the flavour and colour but also give a different consistency to the dough that might puzzle you at first. This is my go-to method for handling these ... Read more

Get excited about Focaccianaan! A fantastic dough that combines Mulino Marino's Strong Wheat "Furia" Flour with their Sapori Antichi flour – a stone-ground organic blend of Farro (Spelt), Rye, Khorasan Kamut, and Einkorn wheat, plus Organic Italian Chickpea flour. This one dough can be used to make many differently shaped and baked breads. Shaping one dough into sticks, rolls, loaves, buns ... Read more

We’re a big fan of Italy’s legendary Mulino Marino flour mill and their excellent Organic Farro Integrale (Wholemeal Spelt) Flour. Packed with flavour, a beautiful honey colour to the crust and crumb, and easy to use if you follow a few tips here. The secret to getting a light 100% spelt or wholewheat loaf is somewhat connected to watching your expectations and not treating it exactly ... Read more

When is a pancake not a pancake? When it’s a Staffordshire Oatcake! If you’re unfamiliar with these you might think that oatcakes are always crisp round biscuits, but these oatcakes are soft and tender, and were once long ago much more common, with variations found all over England, Scotland and Wales.  Here I’m using a Welsh bakestone to make them, as a Staffordshire ... Read more

Whether for Easter or everyday, brioche is a simple yet versatile bread, perfect for making into different shapes and providing a good base for additional flavours. We've teamed up with Angus McCaig, Head Chef at The Holt, Honiton, to create an authentic brioche baguette recipe. You can make a 'plain' version, but here we've used our Aroma Panettone essential oil together with Candied Orange peel ... Read more