Soft Cheese Bread Rolls

I made these this week when I was experimenting in the kitchen with the flour I had in, throughout lockdown flour (especially bread flour!) and yeast have been so hard to find here...  it actually turned out really well and makes lush soft bread rolls laced in cheese.

Takes 2 Hours to make and bake

Ingredients:

Wholemeal bread flour 50g 

Self raising flour 450g 

Plain flour 250g 

Dried yeast 7g 

1 teaspoon of sugar

500ml of lukewarm water

Grated butter 100g 

Grated cheddar cheese 75g 

1 teaspoon of salt

How to make Soft Cheese bread rolls:

In a small bowl add the yeast, sugar and 100g of the lukewarm water.  Stir and leave for 10 minutes.  

While you're waiting for the yeast, put all the flours into a bowl and add the grated butter and cheese and stir in with a spoon.  add the salt and stir again.

The yeast should be foamy on top at this point.  Pour this yeast mixture into the flour and mix in using a mixer and kneading tools or by hand and slowly add the rest of the lukewarm water until you have a dough that you can knead without it sticking to your hands.  Add slowly as you might not need quite all of it and you don't want the dough to be sticky.

Knead well and then set in a bowl dusted with flour so the dough doesn't stick as it proves.  Leave your dough for an hour, it will rise so it's double in size. 

  

Make sure your Oven is pre-heated to 170C ready for the bread. 

Prepare 2 baking trays - to do this I rub a thin amount of butter around and sprinkle just enough flour to cover it very lightly. 

When your dough has proven, push all the air out of it with your fists and knead for another 5-10 minutes really well.

Cut the dough into 12 equal parts and shape them into rolls, they will double in size when they cook in the oven so make sure there is enough room for them to expand on the baking trays

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes      

They should be brown all over, the crust should be soft and look something like this when you cut them open... 

These are great just with butter or as a bun for a burger.   This batch was so good my children came running down the stairs begging for some straight out of the oven and wanted seconds. 

Grilled Chicken Greek Salad

 

This recipe is not about baking but does go wonderfully with the bread I made and posted about Monday, you can find the link here: Greek Psomi Bread. 

As my family grows bigger, taller and more hungry, making healthy meals and family time full of smiles is something I am working at.  I want lots of different ways to feed the 6 of us!  

A Greek salad is so fresh and makes a great meal for the family.  This salad is full of flavour, fresh, simple and easy for a summery family meal at the table or alfresco, so here is how to make my Grilled Chicken Greek Salad... 

Ingredients:

Feta Cheese 200g
Baby plum tomatoes 250g

A Cucumber 

Black Olives 150g

Baby Gem Lettuce

Red wine Vinegar  (if not: White wine vinegar or lemon juice work too)

A Lemon

Extra Virgin Olive oil

A tablespoon of Sugar

4 Chicken Breasts

Method:

Prepare your salad.

Slice the lettuce and add it to the salad bowl.  I prefer to cut my tomatoes in halves, then I slice the cucumber and cut the slices into quarters to make triangles. Cut all your olives in half then add them to your salad bowl with the cucumber and the tomatoes.

Chop the Feta into small cubes add them to the top of the salad in the salad bowl

Preheat the grill to a high heat and grill the chicken for 5-6 minutes, then turn the chicken breast and give it another 5-6 minutes on the other side of until it's completely cooked through.

While the Chicken is grilling.  Make the Salad dressing as below:

Add 2 tablespoons of the red wine vinegar (white wine vinegar or lemon juice will work too) to a small bowl, mix in 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and the sugar.  Stir it and keep stirring every few minutes to help the sugar saturate into the vinaigrette.  You can add a teaspoon oregano to the dressing too if you like. 

When the Chicken is done pour the vinaigrette onto the salad and then cut the chicken into slices and place on top of the salad if you like, however I like to serve this as a big bowl of salad in the middle of the table with the chicken breast on a separate serving dish and the bread on the bread board - this way it satisfies the fussiest of my children.  However you serve this, it is delicious!  

I'd love to know what you think so feel free to comment below!  

Greek Psomi Bread

This is an Ancient Greek bread, seen in that time as a superior bread as it's traditionally a white bread.  Socrates himself said that wholemeal bread was for the pigs, so Psomi was very popular and still is today!

After discovering George Psarais' Facebook group, George's Mediterranean Kitchen, I was inspired by the recipes we posted and I realised I have never tried to bake Greek Bread before, so I began reading! I read all the recipes I could find to try and make the most traditional style Psomi bread that I could so I could share it here with you.  

I have tried and tested this recipe and it works so well, but all the steps must be followed carefully for it to work.  If you're looking for a soft but crusty loaf of slightly sweetened bread then this one is perfect for you.

Ingredients:

2 sachets of dried yeast 14g

1/2 a cup (62g) of plain flour

4 floz lukewarm water This water needs to be between 25C and 35C.  

2 Tablespoons of Honey

2 Tablespoons of Milk

2 1/2 Cups (320g) Plain flour

1 Tablespoon of Salt

2 Tablespoons of Olive oil

About 2 cups of lukewarm Water

First add the dried yeast, the 1/2 cup of plain flour, honey and 4 floz lukewarm water together in a clean bowl. 

With a wooden spoon mix it together well and leave for an hour in a warm room, without covering the bowl.  This allows the yeast to ferment.  It should foam and bubble increasing in size.

It's really important to make sure the temperature of the water is between 25 and 35 degrees Celcius.  Too hot and the yeast will die and it won't work, too cold and the fermenting process will take too long and won't be ready after the hour of waiting for the right amount of fermentation.

Add the 2 /1/2 cups of flour, salt, olive and milk in a separate bowl and mix together.  

Add the yeast mixture to your flour add only as much lukewarm water to make the dough so it's no longer sticky (the dough should come off your hands and stick to the rest of the dough).

It's really important to only add a little water at a time in this second stage, as too much and it could ruin your dough.  I used very little of the 2 cups I suggested to have ready at a lukewarm temperature. 

Knead the bread really well.  I use a hand mixer with kneading tools, to make sure the mixture is worked in well.

In the bottom of a clean bowl add another tablespoon of olive oil, place your ball of dough in the bowl and gentle move it about so that all the olive oil spreads round the whole inside of the bowl.

Leave the dough in the bowl and cover the bowl with cling film and leave for one hour to prove.

Pre-heat your oven ready for the next stage.  I have a fan oven and set the temperature at 170C.

After the hour, when you go back to your dough, it will more than double in size if all has worked out for you.

Push the air our of it and then with your hands knead the dough again one last time until it is smooth.

This bread is traditionally a flat loaf so I prepare a flat baking tray, I smear the baking tray lightly in olive oil, to help prevent the bread sticking to it during the cooking process.

Place your dough on the prepared tray and leave in the oven for an hour.  It should be a really golden brown all over and the crust should be super crunchy and the inside super soft and fluffy.