Five different types of bread to bake during the lockdown which aren't sourdough

There is something about this pandemic that is making people take up creating sourdough. I can completely understand why. Sourdough is quite time consuming and really is a labour of love. When better to give it a shot that when you suddenly have a lot of time on your hands. But if like me you're a little intimidated by sourdough, I killed my first starter and have yet to try it again, then here are five different types of bread to try. They are also a labour of love but a little less intimidating than the king of breads. I'll make at least one type of sourdough before the lockdown is up...

1. Challah
All I vaguely knew about Challah was that it was a Jewish plaited bread. I had never tried it before and judging by various recipes I gathered it was a sweet bread. I found an Ottolenghi recipe online in his Guardian column and thought I would give it a try, The recipe was so simple to follow and most of the time it was just left to prove, leaving you free to do other things around the house. It is tricky at first to try and get the braiding correct but once you have got your head around it you'll be fine. I adored the way it looked. It is so shiny! It's definitely one I will make again and I can't believe I haven't tried it before. We enjoyed it with just a lick of butter but people have suggested enjoying it with jam or cream cheese. It makes a great breakfast bread!

2. Pitta bread
I love a good pitta. they're just so versatile. You can use the in dips, stuff them with your favourite sandwich ingredients or use them as a quick pizza base. Mine didn't quite get the puff I was hoping for but they were absolutely delicious. I followed the recipe from Honey & Co's highlights on their Instagram feed. It can sometimes be a bit tricky following along with a highlight reel because it moves so fast. I make sure I weigh out the ingredients beforehand to ensure I don't get left behind. This recipe was so simple and there was something so satisfying taking off the frying pan lid to see bubbles had in fact been created!

3. White loaf of bread
My New Year's resolution was to not buy a loaf of bread this year and instead make them. So I was really keen to have a solid white loaf recipes in my arsenal. I love scrolling through Instagrammer Sophie from The Scandi Cook's feed. She does a cracking sourdough but also has a great white loaf. The instructions are so simple to follow and it makes a foolproof loaf. I've made it a few times now and each time has been just as delicious as the last.

4. Scalded rye loaf
I love Claire's Instagram and I own her book New Kitchen Basics - although I have yet to cook from it which I must rectify immediately1 She puts cracking recipes on her grid which always sound so simple yet incredibly delicious. I knew I had a bag of rye flour hiding away in the cupboard which I had bought from the Aldi 'Special Buy' aisle on a whim. I absolutely loved this bread and am already planning on making it again. It tastes a bit like wholemeal bread, quite nutty in places and has the best crunchy crust. It's chewy and so flavoursome. It works great as toast once it has lost its freshness.

5. Bagels
Bagels are a labour of love which makes them a great weekend project. Or a weekday isolation project! I used Edd Kimber's New York Style bagel recipe from his blog as I am obsessed with his Instagram at the moment. I didn't realise they had a 12 hour prove time otherwise I would have done them just before bed and let them prove in the fridge overnight. Serves me right for skimming the recipe! I substituted the malt syrup for honey. I wasn't sure when I would use malt syrup again so I didn't want to buy any especially. I much preferred the poppy seed bagels as I felt they gave them so much more flavour.

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Tried and tested online recipes using store cupboard essentials

One thing I have learnt during this pandemic is that I was a secret stockpiler before it was cool. I've been quite pleasantly surprised and a little shocked at how much I have squirrelled away in my cupboards. My store cupboard may look a little different to yours as I have a habit of always picking up random ingredients. But hopefully you might have some of the same ingredients and will be able to give these a go. One thing I have been enjoying recently is being a bit more creative in the kitchen as I usually only get the chance over the weekends. Here is a round up of some recipes I have sampled and ones I'm definitely adding to my regular rotation. I have made a note of things you can sub or what I have used instead.

Mushroom and lentil pearl barley risotto from Jack Monroe
If you're looking to cook on a budget or you have lots of random tins to be used up then you need to head to Jack's blog pronto. I love how inventive the recipes are and really think outside the box. I have no idea where the bag of pearl barley came from but I'm not complaining! Tinned lentils are a great lifesaver. They're already soaked and cooked so are really easy to chuck into vegetarian dishes. Add them to salads, use the instead of mince in a lasagne or pop them in a rice dish to bulk it out a bit. I used frozen spinach as my greenery option and it turned out great. Scattered with a generous helping of parmesan cheese, we really enjoyed this for lunches throughout the week. I can imagine myself making it again during this lockdown!

Seeded wholemeal soda bread from BBC Food
Soda bread is a great option if you're struggling to source yeast from the supermarket. It's best eaten on the day of baking with a generous slab of butter. I used all pumpkin seeds because that was what I had in the cupboard and it came out delicious! This is a great option if you need a quick bread as it's so simple to make. There is no need to wait for it to prove, you stick it straight into the oven once it has been tied. Try not to make the dough too flat as it doesn't rise much.

Brown butter rum banana bread by Milli Taylor
If you haven't seen Milli's BBBB doing the rounds on Instagram then you must be living under a rock. You can find the recipe in her highlights on her Instagram page. I didn't have any rum as it's not something I drink but I found a non-alcoholic version which I had been gifted in a Holland & Barrett goodie bag. Milli suggests using tea as a substitute to soak the fruit. Once again I had to make a few substitutions as times are strange. I used currants as my fruit and dark brown sugar. The substitutions worked perfectly and it is the best banana cake recipe I've tried. I absolutely loved it! I have plans to make it over the weekend again.

Pizza dough from BBC Good Food
Pizza is my all-time favourite food. I would eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I had the choice. But for some reason I'd never attempted my own dough. I always felt a bit intimidated but decided lockdown was as good a reason as any to pop my cherry. This recipe asks you to grill it outside but I whacked my oven up to the highest temperature. I let it warm up for 30 minutes and then cooked each pizza for 15 minutes. I managed to get four pizzas from this recipe. I'd love to try lots of different toppings and not be restricted by my lockdown fridge. So many ideas!

Chocolate and oat cookies from Thida Bevington
Yet another recipe I had seen popping up all over my Instagram feed. I finally had some time to try it out! The recipe can be found in Thida's highlights on her grid. I dropped off a few care packages on friend's doorsteps and they said these were the best cookies I've made. I loved them and can't wait to experiment with different flavoured chocolate. I have some Reeces Pieces chocolate chips in the cupboard which I think will work perfectly.

Grilled potato salad from Bon Appetit magazine
I am obsessed with Bon Appetit's Test Kitchen on Youtube as well as the website. I tend to stick to their savoury recipes as working in cups whilst baking is not the one for me. It seems to be a reoccurrence in my kitchen where I keep finding random pieces of veg to use up before it goes completely bad. I came across this recipe when I was looking for an idea for potatoes to have with some pork kebabs I had found in the freezer left over from a BBQ last summer! It had a great Asian vibe going on thanks to the rice wine and fish sauce. It made a lovely change from the traditional potato salad I make with mayo and vinegar. I used a white onion instead of a red, scattered a standard red chilli over it and vetoed the fresh basil as I didn''t have any.

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My 2020 food challenge

Instead of a New Years resolution last year I opted for a New Years challenge. Since I discovered my cooking passion about three years ago I've been really keen to try and better myself in the kitchen. I set myself the challenge of trying 52 new recipes from my endless collection of cookbooks and bookmarked recipes on the internet. I smashed it and had so much fun doing it! I felt like it really pushed me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to try new things.

This year I decided to concentrate on my baking. I was talking to my friend's dad at a wedding and he was speaking about the fact he hadn't bought a loaf of bread for about 30 years. Instead he batch cooks them and keeps them in the freezer for when he needs them. I don't have anywhere near enough freezer space to do this but it did get me thinking about baking bread. Dough is something I have always shielded away from as yeast tends to make me a bit nervous. I have had some disasters in the past and its put me off.

But I decided this is the year that I master bread and dough. I've made a pact not to buy any loaves of bread and only eat it if I have bought it myself. I have noticed just how much bread I eat as I have been craving it something rotten! I want to try my hand at everything. Brioche, sourdough, loaves, buns and rolls. I'm hoping it will become second nature to rustle up a loaf of bread. Let's be honest. Is there any greater smell in the world than the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven?

I have already made a couple of things including an olive oil loaf from Good Food and a garlic pull apart bread from Olive Magazine. They both came out delicious but could still do with a lot of work to get them perfect. Looks like I'm going to be busy!

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#52 recipes: 17-21

Otolenghi's harissa and confit garlic potatoes from Simple
I mentioned the roasted cauliflower dish I made for my blogger girls in the previous #52recipes instalment and the next three dishes are part of the same spread. Oh my gosh these are one of my favourite things in the whole book. I'm obsessed with Harissa at the moment. It seems to make everything taste so much better, giving it a fantastic spicy, garlicky kick. The potatoes could have been crispier which was my fault for being too impatient but were absolutely fine as they were!

Ottolenghi's two bean and two lime salad from Simple
I served this with roast chicken and the zesty lime really went well with the citrusy chicken. I made a boo boo and used freeze dried kaffir lime leaves which Ottolenghi said not to do. It was still tasty but I think it would be even more delicious with fresh. Ottolenghi just does side dishes so well and they're always my favourite recipes from his books. I seem to have misplaced so many of my pictures as couldn't find this one!

Ottolenghi's crushed courgettes from Simple
I love a courgette and especially loved them like this. It tasted very summery, so fresh and light. I think it was the mixture of mint, dill and thyme. The portion wasn't very big though for four people so I would double it to make sure everyone can enjoy it! Picture taken from Michelle's blog.

Rachel Allen's date and banana loaf from Home Baking
I'm always in the market for a new banana loaf recipe and the stars aligned when I had some brown bananas in my fruit bowl and half a packet of dates leftover in the larder. The dates help to give the cake a subtle caramelised flavour. A great upgrade on a banana cake recipe.

Diana Henry's greens on toast with chilli, feta, sunflower seeds and a poached egg from Simple
At the weekend I like to make more of an effort for breakfast rather than my normal every day cereal. We had some feta and kale left over in the fridge so this was the perfect brunch to use them up. While it was a little effort, it was well worth it. I loved the saltiness of the feta paired with the kale. Who knew kale on toast would be so delicious!

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#52recipes: 11-16

If you want to keep up with my recipe challenge on Instagram, check out my highlights where I've been posting everything I've been trying. I'd love to know what you've been cooking recently for some inspiration! You can see that from what I'm posting about, just how obsessed I am with Diana Henry's cookbook Simple. It is such an incredible book and I've loved everything I've made. It's definitely become my go-to book in the kitchen.

Diana Henry's chicken, cauliflower and parmesan bake from Simple
The first thing I cooked from Diana Henry's Simple was this traybake. For something so simple, it was unbelievably delicious. Definitely one for a weekday meal as it's nice and quick. You simply bung everything in a roasting dish then leave it alone in the oven to cook. I'm rarely make the same thing twice but this is good enough that I'm going to add it my monthly rotation!

Ottolenghi's honey, thyme and yogurt cheese cake from Simple
Loved the combination of thyme and honey but feel it needed a bit longer in the fridge to set. I'd recommend to leave it overnight if you make it. The hobnob biscuit base was a game changer and I'm going to use it in my future cheesecakes. So much nicer than the normal digestive biscuit.

Diana Henry's spiced Turkish chicken from Simple
Another Diana recipe that I LOVED. If I'm going to cook meat at home, chicken thighs are one of my favourite pieces to cook. They taste so flavoursome and are really the best part of the chicken in my opinion. The spice blend of this dish was so delicious. I served it with my signature salt and pepper wedges along with the salsa Diana recommends.

Gouda, spring onion and spinach quiche (loosely based on a Mary Berry recipe)
Quiche is one of my favourite ways to use up veg. It's the ideal summer dish in my opinion. I base it on a Mary Berry recipe which allows for lots of chopping and changing depending on what you have on hand. I had some gouda in the fridge and I think it might have become my favourite cheese to use in a quiche. It was fab! I suppose using basically a whole block helped...

Diana Henry's Huevos Roots from Simple
Gosh I'm still so obsessed with this book and can't wait until her next one comes out. This is a dish we've made quite a few times now when we don't want to go shopping. All you need is paprika, eggs and potatoes - three staples we always have in the house at any time. It's a dish that will work well for breakfast, lunch or dinner. A true all-rounder!

Ottolenghi's whole roasted cauliflower with green Tahini sauce from Simple
I did this dish when I hosted a Sunday roast for my blogger girls. Who knew a simple green tahini sauce could be so addictive! This was absolutely delicious and the whole cauliflower was a great showpiece for the middle of the table. It's one I'm going to keep on making for when I'm entertaining.
(Picture taken from Michelle's blog)

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What I've been cooking #3: Rachel Allen's Home Baking

I seem to have rediscovered my love for baking since I moved out from my parents. One of my favourite things to on a Sunday is to spend all day in kitchen, trying my hand at new recipes. The last few weeks I have been working my way through Rachel Allen's Home Baking cookbook - I was sent her book through work as I look after the food page so featured some of the recipes online. I'd read a few reviews that her recipes are foolproof so I was looking forward to great things. It turns out her recipes - no matter how difficult they sound - really are simple. The book is full of detailed recipes that cover everything and exciting bakes. I tried my hand at some out of my comfort zone and they turned out perfectly. It's definitely a book I'll be coming back time to time again. I haven't had a bake requested so much from friends than when I made her chocolate orange brownies for a few house gatherings!

Banana and date loaf
A classic banana loaf is one of my favourite things to make. So I was keen to see if the addition of dates could improve a bake that I already think is tasty. Turns out they do! The dates helped to add a delicious richness to the loaf. It's so simple and the perfect cake to have on a weekend afternoon when you have guests round. Such a crowd pleaser!

Chocolate orange brownies
I don't have a very good track record with making brownies. But I was determined to finally make an edible batch.  I did cook these for a touch too long as they came out more cake-like rather than fudgey. But they were absolutely delicious! The orange zest really gave them something special. I took them to a baby shower and they went down a treat. The second time I cooked them I think they could have done with a couple more minutes. But the gooey inside was delicious! Third time lucky and I'm sure I'll get them right.

Lemon and poppy seed loaf
The original recipe called for muffins but I don't have a muffin tin in my house yet so I turned it into a loaf. I added a simple glaze of lemon juice and sugar as you can never have enough lemon right? It took around 50 minutes for it to cook as a loaf apposed to the 25 minutes predicted for muffins. It's quite a dense cake but utterly delicious. It's a good loaf to have in a tin for when people come round for a cuppa. I'll definitely be making it again.

Baked doughnuts
I'm a bit of a safe baker. I stick to classic cakes that I know I can do rather than try my hand at different things. So in an attempt to try and get out of my comfort zone I tried my hand at making some doughnuts. I promised myself this year would be the year I tried to use yeast - and be successful. Now these doughnuts are basically a whole day's job. They're not quick and certainly not simple so a lazy Sunday would be the time to try them. I think waiting for the dough to rise, cooking and decorating, it took around four hours. They came out tasting quite bready which I think is because they were baked rather than fried. Despite being a bit of a time suck, they were pretty simple to make. It's just a lot of waiting around. They were really tasty but I'm not sure I'll make them again.

Spiced ginger cakes
Instead of making 16 individual cakes, I made one large round one. This was absolutely delicious and so simple to make. Just a shame some of the top came off when I peeled off the tinfoil halfway through cooking. I usually make a Levi Roots recipe but the added ingredients of black treacle and golden syrup gave this one the edge for me. It has such a great punchy flavour thanks to the ground ginger and crystallised ginger. Definitely one I'll be making time and time again.

Chocolate and coconut flapjacks
This was my first time baking flapjacks so I was little nervous. It turns out I didn't pat them down hard enough so they came out a bit too soft for my liking. Luckily they hardened up a fair bit as they cooled down. So my tip is to be very sure they are really compact. I couldn't really taste the coconut so I'd add a bit extra next time I make them. As there will be a next time! The would be great if you dipped half in melted chocolate for a little something extra.

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Recipe: Orange layer cake

I'm a massive fan of citrus flavoured cakes so this orange layer cake was always going to be a winner.  I slightly adapted the Mary Berry recipe to cut out the glaze she suggested. Instead I just used plain buttercream in the middle. It's a really simple cake to make and it went down a treat at the BBQ I made it for.

Ingredients
225g baking spread
225g self-raising flour
1 tsp of baking powder
100g caster sugar
100g soft brown sugar
4 large eggs
Zest of two oranges

For the buttercream
150g unsalted butter
300g icing sugar

Method
1. Heat the oven to 180 / 160 fan / gas mark 4. Grease two cake tins liberally with butter and line with parchment paper.

2. Keep a quarter of the orange zest back then put all the cake ingredients into a stand mixer and mix until combined and smooth.

3. Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins. Bake for around 20 minutes but keep an eye on it as it cooks very quickly! As you can tell because it looks a little brown around the edges...

4. Once cooked, leave in tins for five minutes before taking out the cake and placing it on a wire rack to cool down.

5.  Put the butter and icing sugar into a bowl and beat until it is light and fluffy. Spread half the butter on one half of the cooled cake. Then sandwich both the cakes together.

6. Mix in the remaining orange zest with the rest of the icing sugar. Smooth on the top of the layer cake.

7. Cut yourself a big slice and tuck in!

As always I would love to know what you think of this and if you try it yourself. Just drop me a tweet to let me know!

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Recipe: sweet potato and chickpea vegetarian stew

I'm trying to make a conscious decision to eat less meat and adapted some of my cookbooks to be vegetarian. I find it encourages me to be a lot more adventurous with my meals as it's so easy to just go for meat, potatoes and veggies. I omitted the chicken from the original recipe and bulked it up with more beans and vegetables. It was delicious and even better the next day when I had the leftovers for lunch. Definitely something I'd rustle up again.

Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson's Chicken Cosimo

Feeds 6

Ingredients
2 sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of plain flour
1 bag of chopped butternut squash
1 can of butterbeans
1 can of chickpeas
1 large onion
500ml of vegetable stock
1 pinch of sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of ground turmeric
1 teaspoon of sweet paprika

Method
1. Pour the olive oil into a large casserole dish and cook the chopped onion until soft but not quite browned.

2. Stir in all the spices and flour before popping in the sweet potato and butternut squash. Cook for ten minutes.

3. Pour in the chicken stock and give it a good stir. Bring it to the boil.

4. Once boiled, add the drained chickpeas and butterbeans. Give it another stir.

5. Pop the lid on and put it in the oven for around 25 minutes until the sweet potato is tender.

6. Take out the oven and leave it for ten minutes with the lid still on. Then serve. I enjoyed it with some crusty bread.

As always I would love to know what you all think and do send me a tweet with a picture if you make it!

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What I've been cooking #1 - Mary Berry Absolute Favourites

As I mentioned in this post, I've been making a conscious effort to use my cookbooks and where better to document my progress than here! This time I worked my way through Mary Berry's Absolute Favourites. I'm a massive fan of Mary's bakes but I'd never tried her cooking recipe - turns out they're just as good! Full of hearty, traditional classics, the cookbook is perfect to run to when you have guests who aren't really to experimental - parents! Each dish was so simple to make and the instructions were easy to follow. Nothing was too overwhelming to try. There's still so many recipes I want to try.  I wouldn't necessarily say they were mid-week dishes because they're not quick but I'm sure over time you can speed them up again. So, what did I end up making?

Cottage pie with crush potato topping
A classic in my family, cottage pie is always a crowd pleaser. But this time Mary added crushed potatoes instead of mash which made a welcome changed to a traditional British meal. I didn't follow the recipe exactly as I cooked my mince meat first in a pan with all the ingredients before popping it in the oven with the topping. The recipe says to cook it in the oven for 90 minutes but I've just never made it like it. It still came out perfectly tender the way I did it. The red wine gave the meat such a wonderful, addictive flavour. Served with steamed veg and cabbage, it was a great winter warmer when the cold weather hit. I'll definitely be pulling this one out the bag again over the next few months.

Sticky chicken
Out of everything I cooked, this was my least favourite. But it went down well with everyone else! I should have left the sticky sauce to caramelise for longer so it wasn't as runny but I was too scared about burning the pan. I paired it with rocket drizzled in olive oil and a bowl of potato wedges because what's a dinner without any carbs? I don't think I'd make this again.

Meatballs in tomato and basil sauce
I'm still dreaming about this sauce. So simple yet so blooming delicious. I'd make the sauce on its own and keep it in the fridge for other dishes. Admittedly this was a major faff as I attempted it on a Monday night after I got home from work late and we didn't eat until after 9pm. So don't attempt it on a week night. But once I bit into that first meatball, it was well worth the effort. The meatballs wasn't the most flavoursome I've had but it was all about that sauce. So skip the meatballs and just cook ALL the sauce.

Roasted sausage and potato supper
My household is a massive fan of sausages so I knew this was going to be a winner before I event tried the recipe. The recipe only called for peppers and onions but it didn't seem enough for me so I pumped for a whole host of different things to help make it more substantial. Aubergines, courgette and tomatoes all made the cut. The great thing about this is when you've chopped everything up, you literally leave it in the oven and forget about it. It only takes about 30 minutes to cook. Definitely one to add to my list of things to make again!

Pork stroganoff
Not the most photogenic of dishes but one of my favourites. I have such a soft spot for stroganoff, it's always so simple to make and tastes great too. This recipe was no different. I loved the addition of paprika - although I would personally have added more. Next time I'm going to serve this alongside mash for the ultimate comfort meal.

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Join in with the Great British Bake Off

GBBO seems to have gripped the nation again and taken over my Wednesday night. Again. It's given me the baking bug and I've been back in the kitchen after a bit of time away. Whenever I put aside the time to rustle something up, I always wish I make more of an effort. I love looking on the internet and seeing what type of recipes are out there. As well as my 50+ cookbooks... But sometimes I just go back to some of my favourites.

The Apple cider cake above is always a crowd pleaser. It has a great sweet taste and the added cider makes it so light and fluffy which is what you're always looking out for in a cake. If you fancy something a little bit more fruity then this coconut and lime loaf will be a winner. Taken from one of my favourite cookbook author Levi Roots,  the extra lime glaze helps to give it a bit more of a zing - which is always a good thing!

Not all baking treats are for those who have a sweet tooth. These savoury breakfast bars are great to make on a sunday and have throughout the week - much healthier than grabbing a bacon butty at the train station. They're substantial and really filling so won't make you reach for the biscuit barrel before lunchtime.

Finally if you want to make a showstopper then this ultimate chocolate cake is the one to attempt. The lashings of white and chocolate milk buttons paired with creamy milk chocolate fingers, makes it a chocoholic's dream. Set aside a good few hours over a lazy weekend for this one as it's no mean feat. But when the outcome is the below, you really don't mind putting the hard graft in!

Let me know some of your favourite bakes to make as I'm always on the look out for some new ideas! And some new blogs to drool over! If you run out of time to make your own creations, head to the Biscuiteer's discount page to to enter a completion - it ends on 23rd September.

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Recipe: Chicken and courgetti with kale pesto

I'm a massive fan of spiralizing vegetables so when Lakeland sent me the handy hand held spiralizer I set about making one of my favourite dinners with a twist. Courgetti, chicken, tomatoes and kale pesto. After a bit of a indulgent week, this is my dinner I always turn to so I can get back on track with the old healthy eating. The hand held sprializer is such a great gadget. It's so easy to use, quick and easy to store - it's in the sale now too!

Ingredients
85g curly kale
85g pine nuts, plus some to sprinkle
85g parmesan cheese
150g virgin olive oil
A pinch of sea salt
A handful of cherry tomatoes on the vine
1 courgette
1 chicken breast
Spray oil

Method
1. Using the hand held sprizaliser, turn the courgette into noodles and set aside.

2. Pop the chicken breast under the grill to cook. Keep an eye out on it.

3. To make the pesto, put the kale, pine nuts, olive oil, sea salt and parmesan cheese into a food processor and give it a quick whirl until it resembles pesto. Keep in mind this makes enough for 12 servings so keep in the fridge in a air tight jar.

4. Spray a frying pan with the oil before popping in the courgetti and the cherry tomatoes. Cook for a few minutes before stirring in a tablespoon of pesto.

5. Transfer onto a plate before topping with the chicken and sprinkling over a few pine nuts.

It really is as simple as that! A really quick, healthy dinner when you feel like you've been eating too many burgers. As always, let me know on Twitter if you ever make it. I'd also love to hear about any other spiralized recipes you recommend.

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