No breakfast in the morning it’s like a pain in the neck! What can beat homemade buns fresh from the oven? Nothing I guess. Breakfast without bread is like a pool without water! Of course I love freshly squeezed juices, smoothies or fruits and muesli but homemade bread is unbeatable. My favorite ones are those with dried fruits and nuts. The Chef’s Handyman team loves all of them but favorites the spiced currant bread.
Basic bread dough
To make the dough, soak fresh yeast and 1 tsp. of sugar in lukewarm water (16 fl. oz. or 5 dl). Place flour, 3 tsp. of sea salt, 4-5 tbsp. of olive oil and yeast water in a bowl. Combine all ingredients and knead well. Place the dough back in a bowl. Cover the bowl with a wet tea towel. Keep warm until the dough has doubled in size (approx. 60 minutes or longer).
Chef’s Handyman Breads
Spread the dough out. Cut in two pieces. Fold the dough and twist it. Bake in oven at 450°F or 230°C for 20-30 minutes or baked through. Cool on wire rack.
Chef’s Handyman tip: The basic dough can be topped with dried fruits, nuts or spices. All type of flour can be used as well. It gives the bread a special flavor. In place of two loafs 6 buns can be formed. They need the half of baking time.
Chef’s Handyman, Breads
Shopping list for 2 basic breads: 1 tsp. sugar, 1 fresh, dried or liquid yeast, 3 tsp. sea salt, 2 lb bleached flour, 4 tbsp. olive oil, 16 fl. oz. lukewarm water
Additional ingredients: 3.5 oz. dried apricots, 1.5 oz. nuts, 1 tsp. anise
Spiced Currant Bread
To prepare fruits, soak dried fruits in a bowl with water over night. Keep the water, it will be used later.
To make the yeast dough, knead 16 oz. of flour, 1 tsp. of salt, 1 tsp. of sugar, 2 tbsp. of dried yeast and 1-2 dl or 5-6 fl. oz. of lukewarm water until combined. Leave the dough for 30 minutes on a room tempered place until the volume has doubled in size.
Chef’s Handyman, Spiced Currant Bread
To make the filling, cut the soaked fruits into small pieces. Add 1-2 cups of the soaked fruit water. Boil the fruits on medium heat for 15 minutes until they are soft. Sieve the fruits and place them in a bowl. Add the spices, orange rind, nuts and the dough. Combine all ingredients. Knead well and form two loafs. Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the loafs on the baking sheet. Bake the spiced currant bread in the preheated oven for 70 minutes at 170°C (335°F) or until baked through. Cool on wire rack.
Chef’s Handyman tip: The bread can be deep-frozen up to 3 months.
Shopping list for two spiced currant breads: 2 tbsp. yeast, 3 tsp. orange rind, 1 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. galangal powder, 1 tsp. Jamaica pepper, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tbsp. cinnamon powder, 1 tsp. cloves powder, 16 oz. wholegrain flour, 3.5 oz. dried apricots 32 oz. dried pears, 3.5 oz. almonds, 5 oz. walnuts, 0.75 cups lukewarm water.
Have a great start into the week, yours Chef’s Handyman team.
More with yeast dough: Dough for three different flavors!
