Baking Day

 I don't particularly enjoy producing an evening meal, night after night, for a family who don't all like the same dinner.  I'm afraid I'm not one of those accommodating chefs who will make three different dishes on demand. 

But what I do like to do is bake - it's what I do to relax and to help me unwind after a busy day.  I love the alchemy of taking a bunch of simple ingredients and turning them into something delicious.  I also prefer to provide the family with food that is simple and not full of additives.

So today I made Chocolate Chip Muffins and Flapjacks




These are regulars in our house, as everyone likes them. 

I prefer shortcake or Victoria sponge or malt loaf or 101 other things.  But if I made those, I would eat them all too and then I'd be the size of a house! 

Pizza dough is also a good antidote to a stressful day. 

It only takes half a dozen ingredients:

500g strong bread flour

teaspoon of salt

325 ml warm water

couple tablespoons of olive oil

couple of teaspoons of sugar

56g sachet of quick yeast

Put sugar, yeast & oil in water & mix,  add salt to flour, add wet ingredients to dry.

Mix together & knead for a bit - the longer the better really. 

All that kneading is very therapeutic.  Leave it to rise for about half an hour. Then knock back and divide into four.

Spread on a tomato sauce

 

and add cheese.  Because I make the bases quite thin, they only take about 10 minutes to cook in a hot oven.

The cooked pizzas went before I could take a photo, but looking at the empty plates I know the girls and their guests were happy with tea!

Let me know if you'd like the the recipes for the muffins and flapjack.