Recipes

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

Easter Simnel Muffins These Easter Simnel Muffins are a nod to the larger Simnel Cake often baked at Easter. A little easier and quicker than the large cake, they make for a great alternative, easy to share, store, and pack up for an Easter picnic! For a classic touch, top each muffin with a marzipan ball, symbolizing the apostles in the traditional Simnel Cake. Or, for a more playful, creative ... Read more

Blood Orange Upside-Down Cake  This Blood Orange Upside-Down Cake is a fragrant, light-textured sponge with a bold citrus flavour. The delicate zest of the oranges adds subtle depth, while the marmalade enhances the orange notes. If you don’t have blood oranges, regular oranges work just as well - I just love the incredible colour that blood oranges bring. Remember, this is an ... Read more

Spiced Carrot Cake Loaf This Spiced Carrot Cake Loaf is full of flavour, thanks to the well-balanced blend of spices. The combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves enhances the natural sweetness of the carrots, creating a subtly spiced, delicious taste. The cake has a soft, moist crumb, that holds together well whether cut into thick or thin slices. Topped with a smooth cream cheese ... Read more

Homemade Nacho Chips Using Nixtamalised Maize Flour or Masa Harina If you've made tortillas and have any leftover, you can easily turn them into irresistibly crunchy nacho chips that taste leagues better than anything you'll find off the shelf.  Made with masa harina, these homemade nachos have the perfect crunch and a depth of flavour shop-bought chips can’t match. I feel I ought to ... Read more

Tortillas Made with Nixtamalised Maize Flour or Masa Harina I like a tortilla as much as the next person, probably more, but what’s this "nixtamalised" business? Maize (corn) is traditionally used to make a flour for tortillas called masa harina. However, unprocessed corn has a tough outer skin, making it tricky to mill into flour and harder for us to digest. Thousands of years ago, the ... Read more

Poffertjes (Dutch for mini pancakes) are little flying-saucer-shaped snacks very popular in the Netherlands and gaining popularity elsewhere, such as Germany. They're made using a special Poffertjes pan and commonly sold from stands at events like Christmas markets, carnivals, on the street for passing shoppers or for a tasty breakfast at home. Served in a paper bag, on a skewer or simply on a ... 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

Brown Bread Ice-Cream using the Ankarsrum Ice-Cream Attachment It might sound like a strange mix with brown bread and ice-cream but it works fantastically well. The toast infused ice-cream coupled with caramelised breadcrumb nuggets that give sweetness, light maltiness and texture to this delightful brown bread ice-cream made with the Ankarsrum Ice-Cream Attachment for the Ankarsrum Mixer. You ... 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

Torsten's Sourdough Pumpkin Croissants using a Dough Sheeter Great customers don't grow on trees but this one actually grows them. Torsten Junker of family-run "Junker's Nursery" not at all far from us in Wellington grows the kind of trees literally fit for a king. He's also an accomplished home baker and has been trying out one of our Japan Kneader Dough Sheeters to make, Sourdough Pumpkin ... 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

We came up with this idea, Pwdin Bara Menyn (Bread and Butter Pudding), as a way to re-use leftover croissants years ago when I had a café attached to the bakehouse, and it’s real comfort food – a perfect dessert for these chilly, last days of winter. Because it’s made with croissants and baked on parchment, there’s no additional butter (normally used to grease-proof ... 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

What exactly are Mendiants? Mendiants have quirky roots in France from the Middle Ages. They were part of the Provençal tradition with toppings denoting the original robes of the four Mendicant order of friars. Today they are a well-loved tradition in many a French household and if you try making these they could be a firm favourite in yours. Mendiants are commonly eaten over the Christmas ... Read more

This soup pairs perfectly with our Pumpkin Bread recipe or works well as a stand alone for whatever bread you have to hand to mop up the last remnants from the bowl after eating. I like to experiment with different types of pumpkins as they give different results. Some of my favourites are Crown Prince, Turban, Butternut and the Hubbards, both Golden and Blue. These all have different taste ... 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