Flattened calzone with pesto

I had some left over pizza dough.
I also had some left over pesto I made with my home grown basil.

You can't let these things go to waste, can you?

I rolled out the pizza dough and smeared the pesto, shredded cheddar cheese directly over the pesto,
sprinkled some diced ham off the bone and sliced black olives, folded the dough in half and sealed the edges.

If you are an Italian, don't crucify me, but I then used my kitchen scissors to snip some holes on top to let the steam out and baked in a hot oven until it was golden on top with molten cheese erupting out of the steam holes.

I congratulated myself as I ate this exceptionally yummy creation : )

Almost guilt free Biscotti

Sweet, crunchy, nutty, perfect with your cup of coffee (or dandelion brew in my case), and best of all, biscotti are so LOW in FAT, they are practically diet food.
Last week, as I began to beat eggs and sugar, I realised that I was out of whole almonds, so had to used sliced almonds.  Visually not as exciting as whole almonds, but in actual fact, tastes better with sliced almonds as the nuttiness is evenly spread out.


2 eggs+1 yolk
240g castor sugar
2 tbs olive oil
2 cup Self rising flour (or plain flour with 2 tsp baking powder)
100g nuts of your choice

Preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius.
Line a large(ish) baking tray with baking paper.
Beat eggs and sugar until pale.  Add oil, flour, then nuts.
Spread the dough evenly on the tray.
Bake for 12 minutes or so until the crust is dry enough to cut.

Slide the biscotti on a chopping board and slice into fingers.
I cut it in half lengthwise, then slice them into approximately 1.5cm wide fingers.

Line them back onto the baking tray and bake for another 10~15 minutes until they are dry to touch.  You can always sample one to see if it is nice and crunchy.

Store in airtight container for a week, but mine always disappears within a few days.

When I first learned to make biscotti 10 years ago, I went crazy and baked one after another so many times until my need for biscotti was completely satisfied which lasted a few years.  Now I am back to baking biscotti on a regular basis as I know my husband goes foraging in the pantry and would start eating my stash of cooking chocolate unless the cookie jar is filled with these.

Loaf of white bread

This, my beloved husband claims is his favourite bread for his morning toast.
I just use ordinary plain flour and dried yeast for this recipe.  Nothing fancy.

I think it is the milk in the mixture that gives it a lovely crust when toasted.

I usually sneak in about 20% wholemeal flour.  If I add anymore, he calls it 'brown bread' and is not happy about it.

Plain Flour 1kg
Malt 50g
Dried yeast 10g
Milk 250ml
Water 430ml
Olive oil 60g
Salt 20g


You know how to knead bread, yes?

For this amount of dried yeast per flour, it takes a little longer to proof.
Usually 3 hours or so.
From then on, it works as standard bread.
I divide the dough in two to bake two loaves in separate tins.

Around 40 minutes in 180 degrees celsius.

Wait till cooled before slicing the bread.

During colder months, I tend to bake this bread every week.  I slice them, wrap them and freeze them for my daughter's sandwitches during the week.

I find for this kind of loaf, plain flour works well for soft and fluffy finish.

Walnut and Caramel Tart

I baked this tart on Friday for our friends who were staying with us.

The recipe for the filling is from Skye Gyngell's A Year in my Kitchen and the recipe for the tart base is from my friend Panipopo (Japanese blogger of amazing French style patisserie).  

There is something magical about the combination of nuts and caramel, don't you think?

We were blessed with glorious Autumn weather for a few days, 

but it is looking a little gloomy this Easter Sunday morning.  

Our six year old has been living for this day, the day of the egg hunt at Everglades in Leura.

Apart from that outing, I will take it easy as I need to shake off this cold I got.

The Best Hot Cross Buns

I have given this recipe to numerous people and they all come back to tell me how much they loved it.  So easy, it's a perfect beginner's recipe.

As the outside temperature drops, there is nothing better than having freshly baked hot cross buns straight out of the oven.  The oven warms the kitchen and the smell of sweet spice fills the air.  

I always bake several batches leading up to Easter every year. 

For 9 hot cross buns

Warm a cup of milk to about body temperature.

Stir in 50g of brown sugar as well as a table spoon of dry yeast.

Set aside while measuring other ingredients.

Plain flour (don't use strong flour) 450g

Salt 1 tsp

Mixed spice 1 heaped tsp

Melted butter 40g

Egg 1

Dried fruit (a mix containing some peels are ideal) 150g

For the cross

Plain flour 50ml

Sugar 1 tsp

Water 1.5 tbs

Vegetable oil 1/2 tsp

Sugar syrup or apple jelly for glaze

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.

You don't need to knead it for long.  Leave covered for one hour in a warm place.

After it has doubled in size, punch it down, cut into 9 equal portions.

Put a thumb in the middle of the dough and with the other fingers to pull the dough and tuck into the dent created by the thumb.  This will give your bun a nice smooth surface.

place them 3 by 3 with at least a centimetre in between the buns.

When they expand, they will stick to each other, but it will be easy to pull them apart.

Mix the ingredients for the cross.  You can use a small piping bag, but if you don't have one, use a small zip lock bag for snacks and make a small cut in the corner to squeeze the dough out.

Let rise for 45 minutes.  Don't forget to preheat the oven to 180~200 degrees Celsius and bake for 20 minutes or till golden brown.

While the buns are still hot, use a pastry brush to glaze the buns.

I use my mother in law's apple jelly for this.  

I think you can use apricot jam or the jelly from marmalade.

However, if you have neither of these, I don't think you need to glaze the buns at all.

If you want to, you can make some sugar syrup.