Home Cooking Made Easy

1 x 7g sachet of fast-action dried yeast

2 tbsp soft light brown sugar

150ml warm water

175–225ml milk, at room temperature

Oil, for oiling

Equipment

Round pastry cutter; my cutter measured 8.5cm

Put the flour, salt, yeast and sugar in a bowl, then make a well in the centre and pour in the water and milk. Use a wooden spoon to stir it all together, then put the spoon down and use your hands to bring the mixture together into a ball. Knead for 10 minutes by hand or for 5 minutes if using a food processor fitted with a dough hook.

Once it has been kneaded, place the dough in a bowl, cover with oiled clingfilm and leave in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6. Once the dough is ready, remove it from the bowl and roll it out into a rough circle, about 1.5–2cm thick. Cut out 8–10 circles with the round pastry cutter. Usually when I do these I have to scrunch the dough up and re-roll it so I get the right amount of circles.

Put a flat baking tray or very large frying pan over a low heat. Once the tray or pan is hot, place a few of the circles on the tray or pan and cook slowly for about 4 minutes on each side. It is possible to cook the muffins completely on the hob, but if they have begun to go too dark and are still looking a bit doughy on the sides they can be finished off in the oven for about 5–8 minutes.

Once they are cooked, remove them from the oven/hob and slice in half. I do like to pop these in the toaster or back on the baking tray, cut side down, to crisp up the inside. Then they can be slathered with hot butter and raspberry jam. Totally delicious!

Hamburger baps

I am all for breads with a crunchy crust and am a great advocate of those, but there is also a certain beauty in a soft doughy roll that squidges when lightly pressed. So I embarked on a journey for a soft(ish) roll and found the best way to get one was to use plain flour. If these are cooked for too long, a firm top will result; but if cooked for just the right amount of time, the top will stay soft and squidgy. These baps are great with the salmon and sweet potato fish cakes, or even the lamb and mint burgers. When time permits, I double the ingredients and then pop half the baps into the freezer for another day.

Makes 5 baps (V)

525g plain flour

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp soft light brown sugar

1 x 7g sachet of fast-action dried yeast

150ml warm milk, plus extra for brushing

125–150ml warm water

Sesame seeds

Put the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk and enough water to make a soft dough. The softer the dough, the better because it will mean the buns will have a really nice rise. Knead the dough for a good 10 minutes if doing by hand and 5 minutes if using a mixer fitted with a dough attachment. To test when the dough is ready, form the dough into a ball so that it has a nice tight top, then using a floured finger, prod it into the dough – if it springs back all the way, then it is ready. Divide the dough into 5 equal portions. Mine weighed 170g each, but this will depend on how much water you have used. Take one portion and shape it into a ball. I like to pull the sides down of the ball down and under so that the top of the bread becomes tight. This makes the bread look really nice when it is cooked.

Now place a dough ball on a baking tray and squash it down a little to flatten it slightly. Repeat with the rest of the dough, placing the dough balls on the tray fairly spaced apart because they will spread during baking. Once all the dough balls are formed, cover them with oiled clingfilm so that it is loose but airtight. I normally have to use several pieces of clingfilm to cover them sufficiently. Leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until the dough balls have almost doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6. Once the dough balls have risen, carefully remove the clingfilm and brush all over with the extra milk. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top. Spray some water into the oven to create a steamy atmosphere. I usually spray 8–10 squirts with a spray gun, then place the baps into the oven. Bake for about 30–35 minutes, or until the baps are golden brown, firm and sound hollow when they are tapped on the bottom. The cooking time will vary according to how much liquid the baps have in them and how long they have been left to rise for.

Once the hamburger baps are cooked, remove them from the oven and leave to cool. These baps are great for burgers, or they can be transformed into iced buns by topping them with icing sugar mixed with a little water.

Puffed-up pitta bread

I LOVE making these! They are so much fun, easy and a real showstopper. These pitta breads have become an absolute firm favourite in my house – wonderful served with curries, dips or soup.

Makes 8 pitta breads (V)

100g wholemeal flour

270g plain flour

1 tsp salt

1 x 7g sachet of fast-action dried yeast

1 squidge of honey

200–250ml water

Oil, for oiling

Put all the ingredients into a bowl except the water and oil and stir for a second to combine. Gradually add the water, mixing with a spoon as you go, until you have a soft dough. I used 220ml, but this can differ with how much water there is in the atmosphere! Put your hands in and take the ball of dough out and knead it for 10 minutes until it is very smooth. To test if the dough is ready, prod a floured finger into the side; if it springs back, then it is ready. If you are doing this in a machine, knead with a dough hook for 5 minutes. Once the dough is kneaded, cover it with oiled clingfilm and leave until it is almost doubled in size. This will take about 1 hour or so.

After about 45 minutes preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6 and put a flat baking tray into the oven to heat up. Divide the dough into eight pieces and roll each one out to about the thickness of a £1 coin, then form into a flattish circular or oval shape slightly thicker in the middle than around the sides.

Spray some water into the oven to create a steamy atmosphere. I usually spray 8–10 squirts with a spray gun, then remove the hot tray from the oven and put four of the pittas on it. Slide the tray back into the oven and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the pittas are nicely puffed up and firm, usually about 7–9 minutes depending the thickness of the pitta. Once they are cooked, remove them from the oven, transfer to a plate and pop in the other four.

Occasionally there are one or two pitta breads that do not want to play puffball, but they should puff up beautifully.

Mrs Stephenson’s dinner party bread rolls

I first made these during my GCSE Home Economics classes at school. Much to the disdain of my highly academic father, I chose Home Economics over History (but he came round to the idea in the end!). While my friends were learning about Henry VIII, I was staring out of the window of the HE block, kneading my dough with a very, very large grin on my face, dizzy with happiness. One of our first assignments was to make shaped bread rolls, glazed old-school style with a heavy eggwash for maximum shine. The daughter of my Home Economics teacher recently got in touch with me, so Mrs Stephenson, thank you, and this one is for you.

Makes 12 rolls (V)

280g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting

1 tsp salt

1½ tsp fast-action dried yeast

1 tsp soft light brown sugar

190ml warm water

1 egg, lightly beaten, for the eggwash

3 tbsp sesame or poppy seeds