45. English Muffins

Take a little time to make these bad boys if you fancy waking up to some wicked breakfast muffins or eggs benny on a Saturday morning.

English Muffins

Makes about 10 muffins

450g strong white bread flour

350g semi-skimmed milk

25g honey

10g salt

8g dried active yeast

about 100g cornmeal

Heat your milk in a saucepan for about 30 seconds until "hand hot" or a thermometer reads 35ºC. Tip in your dried active yeast and set aside for 10 minutes to allow your yeasty friends to become active. Once your yeast is good and active, add all your ingredients to a large bowl and mix to form a soft dough. Place your dough on a clean work surface and give it a good 10 minute knead, until it is smooth and elastic. Pop your dough back into your bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rise for 1 hour.

Once your dough is risen, roll it out to 2cm thick and, using a 7.5cm cutter (or something similar), cut out as many muffins as possible. Place them on a baking tray sprinkled with cornmeal. Bunch up the leftover scraps and roll them out again to make a few more muffins (don't waste any of this dough... it's delish!). Sprinkle more cornmeal over the top of your muffins, cover with cling film and leave to rise for another 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes is up, preheat a large frying pan on a medium low heat and rub a bit of butter onto the cooking surface and place as many muffins as will comfortably fit into the pan. Cook them for about 10-11 minutes flipping halfway through and pressing down on them slightly to flatten. Eat warm or allow to cool completely before storing in a plastic bag to keep them fresh about 4 days (or 3 months frozen).

44. Treacle Tart

Such a good cold weather classic. Serve warm with a bit of fresh cream and a few spoonfuls of jam... Delicious.

Treacle Tart

Makes one 23cm tart

1 portion sweet shortcrust pastry

120g breadcrumbs
60g ground almonds
1 egg
400g golden syrup
80g double cream
30g lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Roll your dough out to 2mm thick and line your tart tin, trimming away any excess pastry. Chill for 15 minutes.

Blind bake your tart by lining your pastry case with parchment paper and filling with baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes, remove your baking beans and pop in the oven for a further 10 minutes until the base is slightly golden. Remove from oven and lower the temperature to 170ºC.

In a medium bowl, mix together your breadcrumbs and ground almonds. Combine your remaining ingredients, whisk together and add to your almonds and breadcrumbs. Stir until evenly combined, then add to your pastry case. Bake for 35-40 minutes until your filling is golden brown and set.

36. Breadcrumbs

It always breaks my heart to throw away old bread. I've been a bit over the top recently about home baking and the boys don't seem to be able to consume it fast enough so I've been forced to find other creative ways to use stale loaves. Breadcrumbs seems so be one of the things that we use a lot of in our house, so I thought I'd save us the trip to the shops next time we make chicken escalope and use some homemade breadcrumbs instead!

Breadcrumbs
makes a lot

Day Old Bread, any type

Slice your bread thinly, place on a rack and allow it to dry out over night. If you're in a real rush, dry the bread out in the oven on a low temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 170ºC. Once your bread is good and dry, cut it up into small cubes and whizz it in the food processor until all the crumbs are an equal size (about 1 minute). Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, spreading to equal thickness. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and feel dry to the touch. Make sure to toss the crumbs every 5 minutes so that they are evenly browned. Allow your breadcrumbs to cool completely before storing them in an airtight jar.

34. Cornbread Muffins

These are a childhood favorite of mine. We used to wait for them to come out of the oven, spread (a lot) of butter on them and quickly gobble them down while they were still warm.

Cornbread Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

200g yellow cornmeal

100g plain flour

2tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

200g yogurt

100g milk

60g butter, melted

2 eggs

1tbsp honey

Preheat your oven to 200ºC. Lightly grease your muffin tin. Mix all your dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk together your remaining ingredients and add in your dry mixture. Stir to evenly combine and spoon into your muffin tin, filling each cup about three-quarters full. Bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned and a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.

22. Crostini

Crostini is a great solution to stale bread and super quick to prepare if you have people coming over and you need something to spread cheese or pâté on.

Crostini

1 day old baguette

olive oil

salt

pepper

Preheat your oven to 180ºC. Slice your bread thinly (about 5mm thick). Brush both sides with olive oil and spread out on a baking tray. Salt and pepper your slices and bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

13. Bagels

There ain't nothin' like a good bagel. Surprisingly easy to make and oh so delicious, you'll wonder why you never made them before.

Bagels

Makes a bakers dozen (13)

For the poolish:
570g strong white bread flour
550g warm water
6g dried active yeast

For dough:
450g strong white bread flour
15g salt
1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp baking soda (for boiling stage)
cornmeal
poppy or sesame seeds to decorate

Note: I usually start this recipe around 7 or 8pm the day before I want to boil and bake.

To start your poolish, get your warm water and tip in your yeast (Remember: if the water is too hot, the yeast will die; if it's too cold, it won't do it's business). Give it a few minutes to mingle and get bubbly and then mix in your flour. Cover the top with cling film so that it's airtight and leave it for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, the mixture should have doubled in size (a good sign that your yeasty friends are alive and well). At this point, it's time to get down and dirty. I add everything into the same bowl because, let's face it, we all could do with less washing up. So throw in your flour, salt and honey and mix until everything comes together.

Once everything is well incorporated, it's time to give your dough the kneady love it deserves. Tip it out onto a nice clean surface and give it a good ten minutes of love. Don't be shy, it's truly worth it. Remember, ten minutes of love now equals 13 deliciously plump bagels later. So if you feel the need to rest, give yourself the seventh inning stretch but knead that dough until it's nice and smooth and elastic. When your 10 minutes are up, give yourself a pat on the back because hey, all the hard work is done.

Now all you need to do is divide the large dough ball into 13 little dough balls. Make sure each one is nice and round before you rest it. This can be done by cupping your hand over the dough and, with the heal of your hand, creating small circles until the dough feels nice and tight. Allow them to rest for 20 minutes under a bit of cling film. Make your bagel holes by sticking your finger straight into the middle and then moving the dough around so that you create a hole that's about 2.5cm wide. Do this for each one and put them on a bit of parchment paper leaving space between bagels so they have a bit of room to grow. Cling film the tray loosely and put them in the fridge to rest for 10 hours.

Preheat your oven to 240ºC. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Prepare your toppings. Get a clean baking tray out and sprinkle it with cornmeal. Once the water is boiling, add your tablespoon of baking soda and watch it bubble up (Woah). Then drop your bagels in a few at a time, top side down and boil for 30 seconds on each side. Drain for a second of two, then place on your baking tray and sprinkle with toppings immediately. Make sure to leave about 2cm between each bagel. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until they are a lovely shade of bagel brown.

8. Braided Brioche

I don't know what it is about braiding things, but it's really bloody good fun. This recipe makes a heck of a lot of brioche, so feel free to half it, just lower the cooking time by about 7-8 minutes. Let the brioche braiding commence!

Braided Brioche
Makes a 1kg loaf

500g plain flour
60g sugar
10g salt
16g warm water
8g dried active yeast
4 whole eggs
4 egg yolks
330g unsalted butter

1 egg for egg wash

Start by mixing together your yeast and warm water (not hot, you'll kill your yeasty friends). Let it get nice and active for about 10 minutes or so. You can tell it's ready to go when it bubbles and rises to the surface.

In a large bowl or stand mixer, mix together your flour, sugar, salt, eggs and active yeast and knead for 3-4 minutes. Add butter and continue mixing for 10-15 minutes until the dough holds it's shape. If mixing by hand, tip the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead by pushing away from you with the heal of your hand, then scraping the mixture back together and repeating. It will feel incredibly sticky for the first few minutes but don't be tempted to add any flour, it will eventually hold together. Think of it as the perfect opportunity to let some steam off. Because 15 minutes of good kneading means a happier, stronger dough and it's a great workout too!

Pop your dough back into your mixing bowl and let it rise for at least an hour until doubled in size (this may take more or less time depending on your ambient temperature but try to pop it somewhere warm). Once it's well risen, knock the air out of the dough by giving it a quick 10 second knead and shape it into a rectangle. Wrap in a bit of cling film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Once the dough is well chilled, divide it up into eight equal strips. Roll each strip into a strand about 50cm long. Chill for 10 minutes.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Place your eight strands of dough parallel to each other and pinch the top bits together. Now to try and explain the braiding. It's going to be a tough one so hold on to your hats. Start by taking the far right strand and take it to the far left. Take your original far left strand and bring it across to the right. Now bring your original far right strand back to the middle and replace it by taking the second to right strand across. Take your far right strand into the middle and replace it by taking the second to left strand across. Continue this process until you get to the end of the braid. Pinch the ends together and tuck underneath. No matter how you manage to braid this loaf it will look ace in the end because YOU made it.

Allow to rise at room temperature for about 3 hours until doubled in size. You can check it's rise by gently pushing your finger against the dough. If it leaves an indent it's ready to go.

Preheat your oven to 180ºC. Whisk your egg and brush over the top of your loaf. Bake for 25-28 minutes until golden brown.