Soft Crescent Rolls

My interest was piqued by a mention in the Best Recipes forum of a product called Pillsbury Crescent Rolls which is available in the US.  They seems to have quite a range of convenience bread and "biscuit" doughs which you buy in cylinders and bake at home.

These are not available in Australia - well not where I live anyway.  So...  I've come up with a recipe that approximates these soft, very morish treats.  There's no reason why you couldn't use the dough for any of the variations on the Pillsbury web site.

These are so lovely and soft.  Such a treat and less butter than croissants but the rich buttery taste is there.

Want to try the recipe?  It's in my online cookbook.  Let me know what you think.

Sourdough Flat Bread

I'm refusing to buy bread these days and I still make the odd baker's yeast bread but prefer my sourdough.  Oops, forgot to make a fresh loaf and wanted something bread like to serve with scrambled eggs.  Ahh, what about making flat bread - a sourdough flat bread perhaps?

All puffy and ready to serve.

Did some research and found lots of help online for all sorts of flat breads.  But I decided to wing it and have to say, I'm pretty chuffed with the result.  Mind you, this is how we've been making bread for centuries and most cultures have a flat bread version. 

Here's my recipe.... 
Note that I added cumin seed to the pan before placing the dough on top to cook.  Added a nice touch to my "Mexican" eggs which were flavoured with capsicum, onion and chilli powder.

Topped with scrambled egg - yes, it's there underneath the capsicum strips.

Breadmaker Sourdough

OK, so I realise that all you sourdough aficionados out there like the artistry of shaping and baking your dough but mostly, I just want a loaf that I slice for toast.  It needs to be squarish to fit in the toaster.

After much experimentation and research, I have come up with a recipe that works for me.

Check it out here.

Dough Slapping

I was taken with the method of kneading dough as on Poh's Kitchen last week.  I've always used a gentle folding and rocking motion but this method looked like fun.

You can watch this episode on iview

Here's another method that is similar.  Note the very wet dough comes together nicely.