Can Baking Make You Happier?

by Ellie Stanton

We think it can! In this issue Ellie Stanton, National Trainer and Care Certificate Manager at Blue Stream Academy, shares her love for all things baking by creating some delicious recipes that will bring a smile to your face. We hope you enjoy making – and eating – these tasty sweet and savoury treats.

Garlic Bread Twist

• 500g bread flour

• Pinch of salt

• 7g yeast

• 1tbsp olive oil

• 300ml water

• 25g butter

• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 1tbsp garlic powder

• 2tsp mixed herbs

• 3tbsp parmesan cheese

1. Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl.

2. Add the yeast and oil, and gradually add water until the mixture forms a dough (you might not need all the water).

3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.

4. Put the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave for roughly 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.

5. While the dough is rising, melt the butter.

6. Mix the chopped garlic, garlic powder, mixed herbs and 2tbsp of parmesan cheese into the melted butter. Put to one side for later.

7. Once the dough is ready, place it on a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a large rectangle.

8. With a pastry brush, brush the garlic butter all over the rolled-out dough. Then sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese over the dough.

9. Roll the dough into a long sausage (go from long side to long side).

10. Cut down the middle of the roll, leaving a few centimetres uncut at one end (to stop it from falling apart).

11. Then twist both strips so the contents are facing up.

12. Twist the two lengths together, and bring the two ends together to form a ring.

13. Place a sheet of greaseproof paper on a flat baking tray and carefully place the ring onto the tray.

14. Cover with cling film and leave to rise for 30–40 minutes.

15. Preheat the oven to 180C fan.

16. Remove the cling film, loosely cover with tin foil and place in the oven for 20 minutes.

17. Remove the foil and bake for a further 30–40 minutes until the bread is cooked all the way through and golden. (If the bread starts to catch and burn, cover it with tin foil again until the end of the bake).

18. Then serve! The bread makes a perfect side for any pasta dish.

Lemon and Lime Curd Biscuits

Lime curd ingredients

• 2 eggs

• 100g caster sugar

• 3 limes

• 50g butter (cut into cubes)

Lemon and Lime curd

Lemon curd ingredients

• 2 eggs

• 100g caster sugar

• 3 lemons

• 50g butter (cut into cubes)

Optional – icing sugar to thicken the curd.

Biscuit ingredients

• 125g butter

• 55g caster sugar

• 180g plain flour

1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan.

2. To make the biscuits, mix the butter and sugar together until the mixture is light in colour and smooth.

3. Gradually add the flour, keeping the consistency smooth.

4. Turn the mixture out and gently form it into a ball. Then roll it out to a thickness of half a centimetre.

5. Cut into 20–24 rounds. This will make 10–12 biscuits.

6. In half of the rounds, cut a smaller circle out of the middle (so they resemble a doughnut shape).

7. Place the rounds on greaseproof paper on a baking tray and bake for 15–20 minutes.

8. While the biscuits are baking, start making the lime and lemon curds.

9. For the lime curd, start by grating the zest of the limes. Then juice the 3 limes.

10. Beat the eggs and mix them in a heatproof bowl with the caster sugar, lime juice and zest.

11. Place a saucepan on the hob and add water. Then place the bowl over the top of the saucepan. Heat at a low level.

12. Gently whisk the mixture until it starts to thicken.

13. Once thickened, add the butter and stir until it has melted and combined with the mixture.

14. To make the lemon curd, repeat the process used for the lime curd, but using lemons.

15. Once the biscuits and both curds are cool, put the curds into separate pipping bags. If the curds are too runny to pipe, try adding some icing sugar to thicken the mixture.

16. Pipe the curds onto the solid biscuits. Then place the biscuits with the cut-out centres on top of the curd.

17. Eat and enjoy!

4 Juicy Facts About Lemons That You Didn’t Know

Not Just a Citrus

The lemon is a hesperidium, a berry with a leathery rind.

Preventing Scurvy

The British Navy requires ships to carry enough lemons so that every sailor can have one ounce of juice a day.

Hybrid Fruit

Lemons are believed to be a hybrid between a sour orange and a citron. There are three common lemons which are Bearss, Eureka and Lisbon.

Conducting Electricity

Attaching electrodes to a lemon can create a battery that produces electricity. Several lemon batteries can power a small digital watch!