Home & People Yeast cookery easy when mastered

Press, 27 August 1979, Page 12

Home & People Yeast cookery easy when mastered

Many got J home cooks are reluctant to try cooking with yeast. But, like so many of our fears, this one is quite groundless; for, although time-con-suming, yeast cookery is easy and very interesting once mastered. I air sure that many cooks have recently ventured into the field of bread-making with success and it is only a further step in the same direction to make some of the delicious sweet breads that can be made only with yeast. Toda; - I give some suggestions for yeast cookery to try. CINNAMON ROLLS Cinnamon Rolls are plain, mildly spiced sweet rolls that can be served hot or cold. They are, in fact, better cold when still fresh. The recipe makes about 14 rolls. You will need: 25 g compressed yeast 50 g softened butter 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar 1 egg 4 cups flour 1 cup lukewarm milk Additional 175 g butter, cut into small dice I cup sugar 1 tablespoon cinnamon. Icing 1 cup icing sugar 1 tablespoon butter I tablespoon milk J teaspoon vanilla essence Chopped candied peel. Method: Mix yeast with the softened butter, | cup sugar, salt and lightly beaten agg. Slowly add the sifted flour and the lukewarm milk alternately and mix to a soft dough. Turn on to a lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth. Place this in a lightly greased bowl, cover and stand in warm place until in size, about 1 to 11 hours. Punch down the dough on a floured surface and knead again until smooiu Roll out to a rectangle Jin. thick. Combine the diced butter with a cup of sugar and add the cinnamon and spread over dough. Roll up as for a Swiss Roll and with sharp knife cut into inch-thick slices (14). Pack these, cut

side uppermost, into a greased round sandwich tin. Stand in warm place until rolls are doubled in size, about 35 to 45 minutes. Put into a 400 oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Combine the sifted icing sugar with a tablespoon of butter, tablespoon of milk and vanilla and drizzle over while still hot. Scatter chopped candied peel over top. BACON ROLLS The following savoury rolls are Latvian in origin and are called Bacon Rolls. They have the additional flavouring of onion and the dough also contains lotato. You will need: 500 g flour 1 large cup warm milk i teaspoon salt 125 g cold mashed potato 125 g butter 1 cake compressed yeast (25 g) 225 g diced bacon I onion Pepper 1 teaspoon sugar Method: Melt butter and mix with the crumbled yeast, lukewarm milk, a teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of the flour. Press the cold cooked potato through a sieve and add to the yeast mixture with the balance of the Cour sieved with the salt; mix with the hands until the dough drop easily off the hands. Cover and leave to stand in warm place until doubled in bulk, about' 35 to 40 minutes. Turn out on floured surface ard roll to about Jin. thickness. Cut into 3in. rounds. Fry the diced bacon in its own fat for a few minutes, add the finely chopped or grated onion and a seasoning of pepper and leave to cool. Place a spoon of this on one side of each round of dough and double over, pressing dampened edges well to seal. Put aside to rise and when light and fluffy (about 20 minutes) bake at 400 until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

SNOWMAN BUNS Children will like Snowman Buns, which are slightly sweet and mildly flavoured with nutmeg. Makes 12 snowmen. You will need: 25g yeast j cup lukewarm water or milk 3 J cups flour One-third cup of sugar | teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg 2 eggs I cup softened butter Currants Beaten egg for glazing Method: In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in warm water or

milk; add half the sieved flour, a third cup of sugar, salt, nutmeg, lightly beaten eggs and softened butter and beat for about two minutes with an electric beater, scraping sides of bowl frequently. Add remaining sieved flour and blend this in with a spoon until smooth. Cover and leave in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. Beat lightly, punch dawn and turn out on floured surface. Break or cut into 12 equal portions. Use half of each portion to form body, shaping into a 4in oval. Use a little more than half of what remains for the head, shaping into a round ball. Press currants in deeply for eyes and a tiny pinch of dough for a nose. For the arms form two pencil-like rolls 2in long. Place the snowmen three inches apart on a greased baking sheet and leave in a warm place for 45 minutes or until doubled in size. Brush with beaten egg and bake at 350 for about 15 to 20 minutes. FRUIT BRAID Fruit Braid is one of those decorative, sweet yeast breads with a filling

of spiced fruit and iced with a soft, lemon-fla-voured topping. Makes -a braid about 12in long. You will need: 450 g flour Large pinch of salt 25g yeast J cup lukewarm milk 125 g butter 125 g castor sugar 2 eggs Filling 450 g cooking apples 125 g seedless raisins 125 g brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon Lemon-flavoured icing Method: Sift flour with salt into large mixing bowl. Warm milk in small pan to lukewarm, add yeast and butter and stir until dissolved. Add sugar and beaten eggs and stir to dissolve sugar. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the liquid; mix until smooth or until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Turn out on to a floured surface and knead until dough is elastic. Place in greased bowl, caver with a damp cloth and leave in warm place until doubled .in bulk, about 45 to 50 minutes. Knock down the dough, pull the sides to the centre, turn it over, cover

and leave to rise again for 30 minutes. Prepare the filling. Chop peeled apples and place in saucepan with raisins, sugar and cinnamon and cook until the fruit is soft; cool. Turn the risen dough on to floured surface again and roll out to an oblong approximately 14in by Bin. Spread the cooled fruit filling down the centre covering a space about 3in wide. At each side of this filling, using a sharp knife make cuts 2in in length at one inch intervals, sloping the cuts down towards the base of the rectangle. Take a strip from each side starting at the top and cross them aver the filling to form a plait. The last two strips are tucked underneath. Cover with a damp cloth and leave until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Bake at 400 until golden brown — 30 to 35 minutes. While still warm brush with a soft icing flavoured with lemon. HONEY TWIST Honey Twist is a roundshaped loaf deliciously flavoured with honey and almonds. To make it use the same dough recipe as that given for the Fruit Braid and treat it in the same way until after the second rising. Then add extra ingredients given below. You will need: — 3 tablespoons honey 50 g castor sugar 50 g melted butter 25 g flour 50 g chopped almonds Method: Turn the twicerisen dough on to floured surface and shape into a long narrow roll about one inch thick. Coil this roll into a greased Win shallow cake tin, beginning at the outside edge and twisting as you go,

leaving a little space between the coils. Cover with a cloth and leave to prove for 35 to 40 minutes. Mix the ingredients for the topping and spoon over the dough. Bake at 400 for 20 to 30 minutes. This should be served warm. PARKER HOUSE ROLLS American housewives are great yeast cooks. A selection of fancy breads and rolls are normally served at functions and parties. The following recipe for Parker House Rolls was given to me by an American friend who frequently made them fresh for breakfast. Makes 30 rolls. You will need: — 1 cup milk 1 tablespoon sugar 2 tablespoons butter | teaspoon salt 1 cake yeast (12.5 g) 2 tablespoons lukewarm water 1 egg 2| cups flour Method: Heat milk to boiling and dissolve sugar, butter and salt in this then leave until lukewarm. Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water and when milk mixture is cooled add with the lightly beaten egg. Sift flour and stir in about a third of it then knead in remainder with the hands using only enough of the flour to form a soft dough that can be easily handled. Place the dough in a greased bowl and brush the top with melted butter; cover and leave in warm place until doubled in bulk (about two hours). Turn on to floured surface after knocking down and roll out to about (in in thickness. Cut into rounds with floured pastry cutter and using the floured handle of a knife, make a deep crease across the middle of each round. Fold over and press the edges together lightly. Place the rolls in a greased pan and leave in warm place to rise until light, about 35 minutes. Bake at 425 for about 20 minutes. Turn out of pan immediately.

FOOD AND RECIPES

By

Celia Timms