Sunday, June 8, 2008

Two things for today...

Haven't really cooked anything special for the past week or so. We have eaten out, hubby has cooked, we have eaten leftovers and the kids are craving some yummy pudding so I have decided it's high time I make something! So today I have decided on making a filled bread plait.

For the bread you need:

330ml (1 1/3 cups + 2 extra teaspoons) warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
480g (3 cups) strong plain flour
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

Place all ingredients into breadmaker in the order listed and use pizza or dough setting (it will only knead and prove the dough, it won't bake it).

When the cycle is finished, remove dough from bread pan, divide into two equal portions and place on floured baking trays. Roll out to fit the trays, place filling in the middle third of the dough, using a knife or pizza cutter cut slits as far as the filling as shown below.

(The filling I used in the pic below was chopped leftover tandoori chicken, Kiri cheese softened with a little yogurt and a sprinkle of mint added and grated Cheddar. Today I will probably use chopped mortadella, olives if I have some, chopped tomato and grated Cheddar or Gouda)

'Plait' the bread by drawing a piece of dough from the left, then the right, then left until you have finished, tuck the last couple of pieces in tidily.

Sprinkle with black seeds, poppy seeds, sesame seeds... whatever takes your fancy.
Leave to rise for about an hour and then bake at 350F until golden brown and hollow sounding.


Should come out looking something like this:


Note: The above method is for making the bread with instant yeast. Check the type of yeast that you have and check the instructions. If you have the yeast that comes in tiny balls, you will probably need to mix it with a little lukewarm water and some sugar to activate the yeast before adding it to your flour.

The pudding I am hoping to create is Nigella Lawson's Marshmallowy Chocolate Mousse that I found on Soulafa's Absolutely Delicious blog.

The ingredients are:

1+1/2 cups mini marshmallows
4 tablespoons( 1/2 stick) soft butter
9 oz best quality semisweet chocolate chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup hot water from a recently boiled kettle
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

It looks quite quick and easy to make... verdict will be from the kids later!

Update

Verdict: Didn't turn out very moussey but maybe that's because I'm not sure we have 'heavy double cream' here so I just used whipping cream which was perhaps too light.

Sadly the children found it much too rich and I'm told they prefer 'normal' chocolate pudding: the self-saucing type of chocolate cake pudding. Oh well! I tried!

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Salaams...MashaAllah, that bread loaf looks so delicious and elegant! You get major props for trying the mousse, they will probably be begging for it in a few years, when their taste buds are more "sophisticated." lol!

L_Oman said...

Oh dear. Now I'm going to have to convert all the stuff into 'American' measurements! HA HA.

Off to whip up this loaf of bread in the bread machine! :)

Umm Ibrahim said...

Assalaamu alaikum,

The bread yesterday turned out very nice! I had a special request from my 12 year for hard boiled, tuna and cheddar in one of the plaits and in the other I put mortadella, green capsicum, chopped tomato and cheese: delish!

I'll add the cups measurement to the recipe l_oman. :)

Solace said...

Your bread looks divine. I will have to try it soon!

Sonya said...

The dinner looked yummy, i must invest in a bread maker when i become a housewife, as i intend to spend some time in the kitchen :)

Unknown said...

I have made the same mousse and was also disappointed by the consistancy. It was also quite strong and the kids ate it but couldn't finish their servings. Alhamdulillah.

Unknown said...

I have made the same mousse and was also disappointed by the consistancy. It was also quite strong and the kids ate it but couldn't finish their servings. Alhamdulillah.

L_Oman said...

Ok, I'll be trying out the bread today! :) Can't wait! I make cinnabon rolls in mine quite often and they are deeelish! :)

Dino$ said...

that bread looks soo yummy! i wrote down the recipe and will try it on my hubby!

the chocolate mouse *faints

i worry it wont be like the pic but anything with chocolate in it is wow.. very sinful.. but yummy

Noor said...

asalam alaykum,

mashAllah this looks amazing.Do you mind if I add you to my foodie blog roll? Let me know.. Thanks, Noor

Umm Ibrahim said...

Assalaamu alaikum,

solace: Hope you do get to try it soon; let me know how it goes!

Sonya: I bet you're looking forward to the whole housewife/mum thing!

Nicole: Yeah, just too rich huh? :(

l_oman: Would love your cinnamon roll recipe!

dino$: Sinful yes, but if it's chocolate I don't care; I need my choccy!

Noor: You're most welcome but be warned that my foodie posts are sporadic. ;) What's your blog? :)

L_Oman said...

Ok, Ummibrahim - the bread was a major hit yesterday @ home. I filled mine up with some shredded gouda, about four spoons of kraft spreadable cheese (the white stuff in a jar), a handful of sliced black olives and I chopped up some hotdog.

The amazing thing is how pretty it is if you plait it right! Wow - my son thought I bought it from the bakery! :)

Umm Ibrahim said...

l_oman: So happy to hear that it was a hit! This is the great thing, you can fill it with anything!

Anonymous said...

ugh... it's almost midnight and I'm starving... that bread looks masha'Allah oh so good... yummm...

Anonymous said...

Assalaamu alaykum!

MashaAllah that looks sooo good - all your recipes are, btw :)

I have a jar of capsicum bruschetta stuff that would be nice with this, I think....hmmm...

Anonymous said...

Oops, I just realised that you used a breadmaker - which I don't have. Can you make it without using one?

Umm Ibrahim said...

Assalaamu alaikum,

Aliyah: I don't see why you can't do it by hand - I just use a breadmaker to do the kneading for me so I can get on with other stuff (like surfing the net, lol). Just use your usual method of breadmaking I guess, mix, knead, prove, knock back, roll out and shape, leave to rise for a whole before baking. :)