Sea Salt & Rosemary Focaccia

I like bread a lot. In fact, I'd go so far as saying I was all about it.
I think I've only made bread once before, but this was different.
Making bread is much easier that I imagine it to be. Even though it's all kneading and rising, bread isn't hard. Probably because it's all kneading and rising. I'd love to make bread all the time, but I don't have the time to wait around for it to rise. How did they do it in the old days, when they had fresh bread in the morning? You'd have to get up three hours before you wanted breakfast. Three Hours! I couldn't do that. I like to have tea and toast as soon as I'm dressed. It's just how I roll.



This bread was a lazy weekend activity. I made the bread in the morning and we ate it for lunch, stuffed with grilled haloumi and fresh salad. In that respect, it kind of requires planning, because the bread has to rise for 3 hours in total. But this does mean that you can do whatever you want while you're waiting, because the bread doesn't need babysitting. You could visit your parents, go for a run, make a dress, clean your house, play with your cat. The possibilities are endless!



The toppings for this focaccia are also endless. This one had roasted garlic, fresh rosemary, pink sea salt, and olive oil. I think the garlic was unnecessary, and if I made this again, I wouldn't use it. Garlic olive oil might be better. I think chopped olives or chilli might be nice. I also think that the focaccia should be baked thinner than I made it. You don't even really need a square tin to bake the bread in, you could just spread the dough out onto a flat metal tray and make a really thin, rustic bread. Drizzled with oil and sprinkled with sea salt, this would be the perfect accompaniment to summer salad and enjoyed with friends at a barbecue.

Sea salt & rosemary focaccia:
Adapted slightly from Food On Paper

If you want to use roasted garlic as well, simply wrap three unpeeled garlic cloves in al-foil, and bake at 200C for 30 minutes. Chop and sprinkle onto the dough before baking.
Use the best sea salt flakes you can. I used Murray River pink salt flakes.

¼ teaspoon caster sugar

1 sachet of instant dry yeast (7g)

400ml warm water

500g plain flour

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

Olive oil, Fresh or dried rosemary & Sea salt flakes to top. 

In a small bowl, mix the sugar, yeast and 60ml of warm water. Cover and leave in a warm spot for 5 minutes for the yeast to activate (it should become foamy and almost rise up. If it doesn't, start again).

In a large bowl, add the flour, salt, yeast mix, and half the warm water. Stir with a spoon to combine.

Add more water as necessary, until a solid dough starts to form. You may not need all the water, so add a bit at a time.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead the dough for 8 minutes, until smooth and elastic.

Place the dough into an oiled bowl (a glass or plastic bowl is good because you can see it rising). Cover with cling wrap and a damp tea towel. Leave in a warm, draught free place for 1 1/2 hours, until doubled in size.

When the dough has risen, take off the cling wrap and the towel and punch the dough down with your fist to remove any air bubbles. 

Line a baking tray with baking paper (the smaller the tray, the higher the bread after its baked) and put the dough into the tray. Spread the dough out with your fingers, reaching to the corners of the tray.

Cover the tray again with cling wrap and the tea towel and leave in a warm place for another 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 220C.

Take the wrappings off the dough and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt flakes and rosemary.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden and crisp to the touch.

Drizzle with a little more olive oil before serving. 

Cinnamon buns.

Cinnamon buns recipe:
From Smitten Kitchen

For the dough:
1 cup milk
3 tbs unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
7g packet dry, instant yeast
1 tsp salt

Place the milk and butter into a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until butter has melted and milk is warm.
Pour into a big mixing bowl and add 1 cup of the flour, sugar, egg, yeast and salt.
Beat on low speed for 3 minutes.
Add the remaining flour and beat until incorporated and the dough is sticky (You might have to do this with a wooden spoon, rather than a hand mixer). The dough should be sticky, but not too sticky.
Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface to knead.
If you find that the dough is sticking to your hands, sprinkle the dough with flour and keep kneading until the dough is smooth and almost elastic, about 8 minutes.
Form the dough into a nice ball and place into a large, lightly oiled bowl.
Cover with cling wrap and a clean tea towel and place in a warm, draught-free place until the dough has doubled in size, about 2 hours.


For the cinnamon filling:
3/4 cup (packed) brown sugar
2 tbs ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup sultanas

While the dough is rising, mix the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt together in a small bowl and set aside.

Tip the risen dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.
Roll the dough out to a 15by11 inch rectangle.
Pour the melted butter over the dough and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and sultanas.
Starting at the long side, roll the dough up towards you into a tight log.
Seam side down, slice the cinnamon log into 18-20 small slices.
Place the slices into 2 greased tins (I found that a 20cm springform tin was easier to get out, but a square tin is fine too), cut side up.
Cover each tin with cling wrap and a clean tea-towel and place in a warm, draught-free spot to rise for 40-45 mins.
Pre-heat oven to 190C, and stick the trays in the oven.
Bake the rolls for 20 mins, until the tops are golden.
Take the trays from the oven and flip the buns out onto a wire rack to cool.
Glaze buns when cool.


For the orange glaze (optional):
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
juice and zest of half an orange

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. If the icing is a bit thick, add more juice until it's runny enough to pour onto the buns.

Bacon Bruschetta.

I'm not sure if I mentioned it already, but I work in a cafe. It's in a bit of a touristy area, but everyone who works there is really nice and the customers who come in are really nice and generally we have a nice time. The only thing that worries me, is that I don't really know what most of the food tastes like. And because all of the food looks really nice (small vocabulary, much?), I think I need to do something about this. But there is one problem. No one really likes going to work on their day off, or hanging around after work when they finish.

But I've taken all these (minor) problems into my own hands and have decided that I will make all these dishes at home. I'm constantly asking the chefs what ingredients they are putting into the meals so that I can learn how to make marinated fetta, veggie burgers and aioli, and now is my chance to use these techniques I've learnt and to share them with you.

So the idea for this bacon bruschetta comes directly from the cafe. Theirs is a little different from this one: they add some roasted red capsicum and marinated fetta, but the idea is the same. Mine really is just a BLT with a fancy name, but that doesn't make it any less tasty. Even Rooney liked it.



Bacon Bruschetta.
Serves 2

4 rashers of smokey, organic bacon, rind removed
1 olive ciabatta roll, halved
1 tomato, sliced
1 tbsp pesto
big handful of lettuce
1 tbsp homemade aioli

Grill the bacon rashers until crispy. While you're waiting, toast the roll on each side. When these are both browned, spread half the pesto on each half of the roll. Top with tomato, lettuce and then the bacon. Drizzle with aioli. Season with fresh pepper. Try not to let your cat touch it.

Cheeseburgers.

I write this while lying next to Brent, as he sleeps. Shhh, try not to make too much noise.

We had these burgers for dinner. Just as they were (I thought about making chips, too, but... shrug). I had decided in the morning, that burger's were what we would have for dinner. I thought about them all day. What would I put in them? How would I make the bun recipe? What kind of meat would I use for the patties? Do I obsess about food too much?

But you know what? I think it's fine to think about food. It doesn't mean that I'm eating food all the time (although, I probably could...). It just means that I like to think about what sort of food I'm putting into my body.

I know that burgers don't seem like the healthiest thing ever. But if you make them yourself, they're not completely unhealthy. As the cookie monster says, "they're a sometimes food." So just remember that, kids.

But really, I thought these little burgers were perfect. They weren't very big, and damn, they were tasty.

I'm allowed to say that, right?

Anywho, this was my first time making bread, and I think it turned out alright. And it was super fun and really easy too. If you haven't, you should try it. Go on, I dare you.

I'll leave you with the recipe now, so that we don't wake Brent up with our chatting.

Bun Recipe:

Adapted from allrecipes.com.au

I quartered this recipe, because I didn't want to make too many buns, and there's no room in the freezer for freezing bread. But I'll give you the whole recipe, and you can decide and divide for yourself.

Oven- 200C

325g strong '00' flour

300g wholemeal flour

3 tbsp sugar

2 1/2 tsps salt

1 tbsp dried yeast

50g butter, room temp.

1 1/2 cups cold water

oil

Mix flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a bowl.

Rub the butter into the flour.

Make a well in the flour and add the water.

Flip the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for 20 mins.

Pour a little bit of oil onto the dough, and put the dough back into the bowl.

Cover, and leave in a warm place for 1 hour, until doubled.

Form dough into rolls. Place onto greased baking tray and cover again. Leave for another 45mins.

Bake for 12 mins, until golden.

Burger Recipe:

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, grated

1 egg

500g mince

1 tbsp tomato sauce, or paste

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper

Lightly fry the onion and the carrot in some olive oil, until soft.

Mix everything together, including the carrot and onion.

Form into patties the size of the buns and dust in flour.

Fry in a non-stick pan until brown and cooked through.

p.s this is the song I woke up to this morning.