Bread and cheese? Together? Sounds brilliant to me. Panini al Gorgonzola, or Gorgonzola and Walnut Rolls

A little anecdote to set us off. I was thinking about the way that I really now enjoy making bread, now I seem to make stuff that does indeed resemble a loaf rather than a sponge, and it seems a far cry from the conversation that I had about 15 years ago with an English adviser who had come into the school where I was working to 'advise', as in 'state the bleeding obvious and get paid £300 for doing so', and whilst she was telling us things that we already knew, she was also waxing lyrical about the joy of making her own bread and asked me if I made my own. I looked at her with more than a little bewilderment and told her that no, it was easier to buy it from Tesco (other supermarkets are available) and that my time was taken up by ploughing through paperwork with a little bit of marking to justify the fact that I teach for a living. Yes, I started off bolshy and have progressively got worse. She merely smiled. She had time to make her own bread. Or, if she was far too busy, she made time.

And, she was right. Fast forward 15 years and here I am, dabbling in bakery and making the odd loaf here or there. Out of all the recipes I have made, the meals I have produced, the cakes I have frosted, I get no better satisfaction from making bread. It must be the rigorous involvement of kneading, plus the nurturing glances at the dough as it rises and then, to top it all, the smell as it bakes. Glorious.

So, this recipe, like many of the others, is from Gino D'Acampo's 'Italian Home Baking' and it combines two ingredients which were made for each other, Gorgonzola and walnuts. It produces a taste which is all at once nutty with an almost spicy then creamy hit of Gorgonzola. I got Lola and Finn to dip these rolls into tomato soup, once they got a bit past their best, but at their best, with a little prosciutto and a icy cold glass of wine, really, really heavenly.

So, when it comes to making bread, now I make time. It's worth it.

Panini al Gorgonzola, or Gorgonzola and Walnut Rolls, from 'Italian Home Baking' by Gino D'Acampo

Makes 12 rolls

Ingredients:

350g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting

350g wholemeal flour (I used spelt flour)

7g fast action yeast

1 tsp salt

200ml full fat milk, warm

250ml water, warm

180g Gorgonzola cheese, cubed

90g walnuts, roughly chopped

olive oil for brushing

Method:

Brush two baking trays with oil.

 

 

 

Combine the flours, the yeast and the salt together in a large bowl. make a well in the centre.

 

Pour the milk and the water and mix the ingredients together to form a soft dough.

Dump the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes or so.

 

 

 

Work the Gorgonzola and the walnuts into the dough and return the dough to the bowl. Brush the top with some oil and cover with cling film. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place away from draughts for about an hour.

 

 

 

When risen, turn out the dough into a lightly floured surface then divide the dough into 12 equal sized balls. Place on the oiled baking trays, putting space between each roll to allow them to rise once more. Brush with oil and cover with cling film and allow them to rise for a second time. This time, for about 45 minutes.

Whilst the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 220c, Gas 7.

Remove the cling film and bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes until golden brown.

 

 

 

Remove from the trays and leave the rolls to cool slightly on a wire rack.

 

 

 

You can eat these warm. And why wouldn't you? And then you can eat more of them when they have cooled further.

Flippin' Fabulous Focaccia! - Focaccia Con Pancetta e Cipolle, of Focaccia with Crispy Pancetta and Onions

 

 

I am so loving making bread at the moment. I really can't put my finger on why but I out of all the cooking disciplines that might exist, making and baking a loaf of bread gives a real boost to this person's culinary ego and, cliche ridden though it may be, it's hard not to feel some sort of heart warming emotion as you carefully remove your loaf from the oven, all risen and golden and smelling just divine. If you're anything like me you are nicking a bit off the side with a knife before it is even cool enough to eat, but that's bread for you. It's the staff of life and if you are not on one of those carb free diets, (perish the thought!) then bread makes you extraordinarily happy.

 

Regular readers of this blog may know that some of my recent bread making exploits have come from 'Italian Home Baking' by Gino D'Acampo and this is also one of his wonderful recipes. I had intended to just make his Gorgonzola and walnut rolls but a flick over a few pages and this recipe was just 'speaking' to me. What the hell, I'll make both. So I did. I am sure the rolls will make an appearance in a blog near you sometime soon, for they were also gorgeously tasty and sustained me this week by being dunked into soup whilst on my lunch break. But more of them another time.

 

I think this is the best bread I have made in a long time. I think, on occasion, my bread is sometimes a little doughy but I am still very much a novice and I know that there is so much nurturing and cajoling needed to produce a decent loaf. This one though had an amazing texture, heavier than anything you might buy at the supermarket but not oppressively so. I think 'satisfying' is the word I am looking for. The addition of the bacon and the onion was to die for. My mum used to make cheese and onion bread in terracotta pots (no wonder I am deranged) and the way that the sweet sauteed onion almost melts into the bread is seriously divine. Amazingly good. And even when the bread is no longer warm it is a joy to eat. I spread some soft cheese on it and I was happy all over again.

 

Make this bread. It's 'buonissimo!' And Lola and Finn were crazy for it too.

 

Focaccia con Pancetta e Cipolle, or Focaccia with Crispy Pancetta and Onions, from 'Italian Home Baking' by Gino D'Acampo

 

Serves about 10 if you've a crowd coming round.

 

Ingredients:

 

2 tbsp salted butter

250g diced pancetta

1 large onion, finely chopped

7g fast action yeast (one of those sachets, basically)

6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus extra for brushing

300ml of warm water

2 tsp fine salt

1 tbsp sea salt

 

Method:

 

Start by brushing a large baking tray and a bowl with oil.

 

 

 

Melt the butter in a frying pan and fry off the pancetta and onions. This should take about 10 minutes. You could of course do this whilst the dough is rising, if you are of a mind to.

 

 

 

Sift the flour into a large bowl (not the oiled one) and stir in the yeast. Make  a well in the centre and pour in three tablespoons with the water (actually, I just added the oil to the water and then poured it in) then add the fine salt and bring the mixture together with a wooden spoon until well combined.

 

 

 

Transfer the mixture to a floured surface and begin to knead the dough. Knead for about 10 minutes and by then you should have a smooth, soft and elastic dough. if the dough is still sticky, then add a little more flour.

 

 

 

Once kneaded, mould the dough into a dome shape, tucking the ends in underneath as much as possible. Place the dough into the oiled bowl and brush the top with oil. Cover with cling film and then leave to rise in a warm place for an hour or so until it doubles in size. Mine took an hour and 15 minutes.

 

 

 

Slide the dough onto the oiled baking tray and work the onion and pancetta mixture into the dough as evenly as you can.

 

Use your fingertips to make indentations into the dough and at the same time flatten and shape the dough into an oval shape which is about 3cm thick.  Leave to rise again for about 40 minutes or so until the dough has doubled in size once more.

 

Preheat the oven to 220c. Gas 7.

 

 

 

Once the dough has risen, make some more indentations into the top and then drizzle the remaining olive oil over it. Sprinkle with the sea salt.

 

Bake in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes until golden all over. (A confession - I did this, and the top was golden and evidently cooked, but the bottom was a bit soggy. I flipped the focaccia over and put it back into the oven for about five minutes and everything was just fine. You are obviously a better baker than me and you won't need to do this...)

 

 

 

Serve warm. We, being an unsophisticated lot, had this with lasagne and we dunked it into the tomatoey, meaty, cheesy mixture. With what was left over the next day, we spread cheese on it, dunked it in minestrone soup - and it was all good.

 

 

Spicing it up a little - Filone All'Arrabbiata, or Spicy Loaf with Chilli and Paprika

 

 

I am a total novice when it comes to bread making and when I was watching The Great British Bake Off' recently when it was bread week, I was in awe of some of the gorgeous looking breads that were made, and it got me wondering whether I could somehow produce something that resembled bread, firstly, and then something that would not be written off by Paul Hollywood as either not a 'good bake' or maybe even 'overproved' or whatever other pitfalls that can befall the home cook who fancies giving bread making a whirl instead of resorting to the saviour of sandwich makers everywhere, Warbutons (at least that's what it is in our house...)

 

Anyway, I am not saying this is something the master baker would raise his eyebrows and give a wry smile at before saying "not bad", but it's nice, it's definitely got that homemade quality and what's more I have just discovered in the  last 15 minutes or so that it is absolutely divine sliced and then topped with a slither (OK, maybe a slab) of Cambozola Blue Brie, at room temperature of course. Bang goes the diet for today then.

 

The bread is Spicy Loaf with Chilli and Paprika, or Filone All'Arrabbiata which, if you ask me, sounds far better and it is from Gino D'Acampo's 'Italian Home Baking'. The original recipe calls for cayenne pepper but he mentions in the preamble that you can use paprika, so I did, seeing as that is the one I found first in the chaos that is my herbs and spices drawer.

 

This is the type of baking that one does when it is a day where you have very little on, it's pretty grim looking outside and you feel like giving your upper body a bit of a workout. My arms now feel like they might be someone else's.

 

Filone All'Arribbiata, or Spicy Loaf with Chilli and Paprika, adapted from Gino D'Acampo's 'Italian Home Baking'.

 

Makes 1 loaf

 

225g strong white flour

100g wholemeal flour

1 tsp salt

7g fast action yeast

210ml warm water

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing

3 tsp dried chilli flakes

1 tsp cayenne pepper (or paprika, which I used, see above)

 

Method:

 

Brush a baking tray and a large bowl with oil

 

 

Mix the flours, salt and yeast together in another large bowl and then make a well in the centre. Pour in the water and oil and then mix to make a soft dough.

 

 

Once you have brought the ingredients together, transfer the dough on to a floured work surface and kneed for about 10 minutes until you have a dough that is smooth and elastic.

 

 

Shape the dough into a ball and place in the oiled bowl. Cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour.

 

 

 

When risen, turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and punch it down. Flatten the dough and scatter over the chilli flakes and paprika then begin to kneed again for about 3 minutes to evenly distribute the spices.

 

 

 

Shape into an oval shape and place on the baking tray and then leave to rest for five minutes.

 

 

 

Use a sharp knife to make five diagonal cuts in the top of the loaf and then brush the top with oil. Cover with cling film and leave to rise in a warm place again for about 40 minutes.

 

Preheat the oven to 200c, Gas 6

 

Brush the top of the loaf with oil and bake in the middle of the oven for 35 minutes.

 

 

When baked, the bottom will sound hollow when you tap it. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool slightly.

 

 

 

This bread would be stunning with soup or dips, With cheese it's amazing!