Ferguson and Pond decide that the window sill is better than stepping foot into the snow.
And when the weather is white and wintery what could be better than baking bread.
Iranian Barbari
These flat breads are so simple to make, taste great and and bake really fast.
225g unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon salt
15g fresh dried active yeast
140ml lukewarm water
1 teaspoon sugar
olive oil for brushing
Activate the yeast by combining the sugar with the water, adding the yeast and leaving for about 15 minutes until there are a couple of centimetres of froth visible.
Sift the flour and the salt into a bowl, add the yeast and mix together to form a soft dough, then on a floured surface knead for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Leave to rise for an hour in an oiled bowl, covered by a damp tea towel or oiled cling film, in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size.
Knock back the dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Divide it up into 6 equal sized portions, then shape into ovals, about 10 centimetres long and about a centimetre thick. Space well apart on some floured baking trays, slash two or three slits across the top of the bread and leave to rise for another 20 minutes, covered by some oiled cling film.
Brush with olive oil just before baking for 15 minutes at 200°C, or until a pale golden colour.
These flat breads taste best warm, and can be used for dipping into runny curry sauces, stews and casseroles - or like us for lunch, with butter and homemade cherry jam.
Pond and Mr Pink ignore the snowy weather and lie around in front of the Rayburn.
While I am on a baking spree and have copious amounts of flour flung across the kitchen I am attempting some breakfast rolls - ready for a lazy Sunday morning tomorrow before we head out for lunch with friends.
Ensaimadas
225g unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
50g caster sugar
15g dried active yeast
75ml lukewarm milk
1 beaten egg
30ml sunflower oil
50g melted butter
Activate the yeast with the milk and sugar, leave for about 15 minutes until frothy.
Sift the flour and the salt into a bowl, make a well and add the yeast, the beaten egg and the sunflower oil, and mix to form a smooth dough.
Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, then place in an oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise for about an hour in a warm place or until doubled in size.
Knock back and turn out onto a floured surface, then divide into roughly 16 equal sized balls. Rub each ball between the palms of your floured hands to create a 30 cm thin rope of dough.
Dip each rope into the melted butter and in a greased baking tray arrange in a coil.
Cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise for another 45 minutes in a warm place until they double in size.
Brush the rolls with water and dust with icing sugar, then bake for 10 minutes until light golden brown.
Mine are in the oven now and I am hoping they turn out like these:
Once baked, leave to cool then dust with icing sugar again. Serve either warm or cold.
I remember these with fond memories on holiday in Spain. When Thea was much younger and a much fussier eater we used to buy these on holiday and she would eat them pretty much all day long. They rapidly became one of her favourite foods and we used to have to smuggle packets and packets home in our suitcases. Nowadays I think you can find them in Lidl or Aldi, every now and again they even turn up here in our French supermarkets on special Spanish flavour promotions. But nothing beats the smell of home baking, and even if I don't manage to make them look like the real thing, nor taste exactly like the real thing, at least I have made them and filled the house with the smell of baking.
Domestic goddessy or what?
All this belies the fact that I was up a 5.45am this morning watching the snow fall and dawn break. I had two fires lit and the coffee on by 6.30am. I think I will be ready for a nap in about an hour's time.
