Summer Flaveur

What could be better than fresh baked bread fromFlaveur Breads? Not wasting a crust, that’s what! Lucky for us Nick from Flaveur Breads has shared a couple of delicious ways to enjoy their wonderful bread when it’s not so fresh, using a bounty of local ingredients picked up at the Tauranga Farmers Market.

This is a wonderful Italian salad that makes great use of left-over bread. We served it with a delicious pizza using Flaveur Breads sourdough pizza bases.

stale Flaveur Breads Sourdough (baguettes or ciabatta work well)

fresh thyme

ripe tomatoes (from Paul’s Tomatoes), roughly chopped

1-2 tbsp capers, drained

1 small red onion, very finely sliced

roasted red peppers, roughly chopped

anchovy fillets in oil, drained and finely sliced (optional)

juice of 1 lemon (we used Guys Gourmet Fresh Meyer lemons)

¼ cup Frantoio extra virgin olive oil

a bunch of Liberty Growers fresh basil

freshly ground

black pepper & sea salt

Cut your bread into desired slices, brush with a little olive oil and season with salt and fresh thyme. Bake in the oven until crispy.

Mix together the remaining olive oil with the lemon juice along with a generous pinch of salt and pepper.

Combine the remaining ingredients with the croutons, toss with the dressing and allow to sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before serving.

Flaveur Bread’s stunning Black Gold Sourdough is a fairly large loaf of bread, so this recipe will come in handy! Of course, you could use any high quality bread, but reasonably thick slices are key.

slices of Flaveur Bread’s Black Gold Sourdough, cut at least 15mm thick

caramelised onion (homemade or from a jar)

100g butter

100g flour

2 cups milk

2 cups full flavoured ale (we use Mount Brewing Company IPA)

1 tsp dry mustard powder

pinch of chilli powder

2 tsp brown sugar

½ tsp Worcestershire sauce

50g Mount Eliza Red Leicester cheese

3 egg yolks

salt & pepper

chopped spring onions and chives

Make a roux by melting the butter in a small pot and stirring in the flour. Cook for 1-2 minutes before whisking in the milk and beer. Add in the mustard, chilli, brown sugar and Worcestershire. Continue to stir until thick, then check and adjust the seasoning. Take off the heat and cool slightly before mixing in the egg yolks.

Spread each slice of Black Gold with the caramelised onions, top this with the roux and finish with a sprinkle of the Red Leicester cheese.

Grill until the cheese blisters and colours. Serve garnished with chopped spring onions and/or chives.

1 Flaveur Bread’s Sourdough Pizza Base

4 large cloves of roasted garlic

8-10 spears of Rosie’s Kitchen’s fresh asparagus

60g Dream Cheese’s fresh crescenza or something similar, like mozzarella

1 tbsp capers, drained

½ cup grated Parmesan

ground black pepper & sea salt

2-3 tbsp home-made basil pesto (big bunch of Liberty Growers basil, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, Romano or Parmesan cheese & a dash of lemon juice)

Smear the base of the pizza with the roasted garlic and then a little of the pesto. Trim the asparagus and scatter over the base along with the capers and cheese. Season generously and bake in a hot oven, preferably on a pizza stone, for 5-10 minutes.

Dollop with pesto just before serving.

Get your fresh Flaveur Bread from their Mount Bakery 31 Totara St, Mount Maunganui or their Café2Go Bakery, 94 Second Avenue, Tauranga and at the Tauranga Farmers Market every Saturday.

www.flaveur.co.nz