I just spent about 4 hours in the kitchen baking for the school week. I am hating buying any sort of processed biscuit, cookie, cracker, bread or cake from the supermarket. If I do buy bread or a sweet treat its from the artisan baker at the farmers market, but it doesn’t usually last past the afternoon I bought it. So what to do for school?

I baked Tessa Kiros’ [FromApples for Jam: A Colorful Cookbook] Chocolate Bread, and her banana bread and her zucchini bread. All pictured above.

My daughter is also really into baking and as we have a new cookbook in the house [Williams-Sonoma Family Meals: Creating Traditions in the Kitchen]- we had to try a new recipe – Otilija made some cinnamon scrolls – they are proving overnight in the fridge and we plan to have them for breakfast!.

Everyone has their

Every weekend we head down to the farmers market and stock up on yummy home baked goodies, grass fed meat direct from the farmer and locally grown in season produce. We also love the locally freshly roasted coffee beans, homemade chai concoctions and when we are low on eggs we go to the farmers market to meet the demand. One of our favourite things to buy is fresh bagels, and we usually get them in bulk and freeze them for school lunches. The kids take a frozen bagel from the freezer and it is perfectly thawed and ready to eat for lunchtime. Nothing on it – they are wonderful just as is. However this last weekend we didn’t feel up to traipsing to the market, we were all just a little pooped from a long week and really needed a pyjama laze around the house kind of morning. But what about the bagels my kids exclaimed. So I thought about it and looked up a recipe and decided they couldn’t be that hard to make. And they weren’t! And they were delicious. We had a bagel feast weekend.

First of all you will need bakers flour and yeast, butter and eggs (its a rich and delicious dough). Recipe is below and is from the classic series of books (Time life The Good Cook ‘Breads’) that I learned to cook from as a child.

To make 40 bagels
800g strong plain flour :: 30g fresh yeast :: 1/2 litre milk :: 100g butter :: 60g caster sugar :: 1 tsp salt :: 2 eggs separated :: poppy seeds, sesame seeds and/or rock salt

Boil the milk then turn off the heat and add the sugar and butter. Let the butter melt in the hot milk and let the milk cool down to tepid. Add the yeast and mix in thoroughly and let sit somewhere warm to allow the yeast to activate.

Meanwhile measure out the flour and add the salt into a large bowl. Separate the eggs and leave the yolks aside to brush the bagels with before baking. Once the yeast mixture has begun to bubble, add the egg whites and mix.

Add the liquid mixture into the flour and mix (with your dough hook or with a wooden spoon). Once it has come together it will be a soft and sticky dough.

Knead with your dough hook for 5 minutes or by hand for 15 minutes. It will change from the initial sticky mixture to a glossy stretchy dough. Let rise somewhere warm covered with a tea towel for an hour.

Once risen, punch it down and gather the dough into a ball. Divide the dough in half and then divide each half into 20 even pieces. Roll each piece into a small ball. Then to shape into a bagel shape, poke your finger through the centre of the ball and make into a ring shape. Leave the rings to rise for 10 minutes. Turn your oven on to heat. (200 degrees C or 400 degrees F). Mix the egg yolks and thin with a little milk ready to brush onto the bagels before putting them in the oven.

Using a wide pan, boil some water. And poach the shaped bagel dough rings for about 15 seconds each – do a few at a time. They will puff up a bit more. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them before placing them on the baking sheet.

Brush the bagel dough rings with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds, rock salt or poppy seeds. Bake for 15 mins (200 degrees C or 400 degrees F). And eat warm. They also freeze really well and are perfect for school lunches.

The Craft of Baking

Karen DeMasco. Clarkson Potter 2009, Hardcover, 256 pages, $21.41

Oh delicious and delectable – me and the kids sat down with this book drooling and flicking through the pages. We straight away marked a few recipes for immediate making – the cashew brittle was a big hit – yummy and easy – ah happy happy baking days. The coconut meringue crunch was yummy but I think I must have made a mistake in my measurements as it was not crunchy enough – no complaints though it was still eaten within a day!

From breads, brownies, tarts, cakes and puddings to icecreams and candies there is lots here to inspire – and hone your baking craft – pity there was not a photo for every recipe though – am sure to make this book a firm favourite.

The brittle recipe was really so very easy – I have made brittle before but it never seemed this easy.

Cashew Brittle Recipe
Prepare a baking tray with baking paper or cooking spray

Pour the brittle onto your pan – smoothing it over while still hot with a silicon spatula. Once it is completely cool – break it into pieces and store in an airtight container.