Turkish Pide by Kenrick Rhys Photography

Hi, I’m Kenrick.  I am a photography and food lover from Auckland, New Zealand, where I run Kenrick Rhys Photography, specialising in Wedding and Portrait Photography.

This is my second post on Baking Makes Things Better.  If you didn’t catch my last post, 5 Minute Microwave Fudge Brownie, you can check it out here.  Today’s recipe is one for Pide; a broad, round and flat bread made of wheat flour originally from Turkey.

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon dried yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
500g flour
1 ½ cups warm water
1 teaspoon salt
Olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon nigella seeds / black sesame seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 egg yolk

Method:
Mix the yeast, sugar, a little of the flour and a little of the warm water in a small bowl.
In a large bowl or on a clean bench, mix the bulk of the flour and salt together and make a well in centre.  Add the yeast mixture to centre of the well and mix with a wooden spoon or using your hands.  Add in small amounts of the water, continuing to mix until a dough has formed (the consistency you are after is like a slightly sticky play dough).
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured clean bench and knead for 15 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
Grease a large bowl with a little olive oil and place the dough in the bowl.  Cover with a damp tea
towel.  Leave in a warm, draft free place for 1.5 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut it in half.  Flatten the dough slightly with your hands.  Place the dough onto some non-stick baking paper.  Cover with a damp tea towel and place in a warm draft free place for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 230°C.  Place a baking tray in the centre of the oven.
With floured hands, stretch each piece of dough into a long skinny rectangle approximately 20 x 40
cm.  Leave on the non-stick baking paper.  Cover with damp tea towel and leave aside for 10 mins.
Combine seeds and cumin seeds in a small bowl.  Make indentations with floured fingers on the top of the dough, brush on egg yolk, sprinkle seeds and cumin on top.
Remove the hot baking tray from oven.  Still on the baking paper, slide loafs onto the baking tray.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden.

Kenrick’s Tips:

• When making dough, mix the yeast with a little flour, water and sugar before anything else.  This gives the yeast a head start and helps your bread rise faster.
• The best place to rise your bread can be your car of all places.  It’s usually the warmest place around, just make sure it’s not too hot, about 30 - 37 degrees is perfect.
• When making bread in a hurry, you can mix and knead your dough and then place it covered in the refrigerator for a day or so (or the freezer for longer), then leave it on the bench for a few hours to thaw/warm up, then shape and rise again in a warm place as usual.  This is great if you make too much dough or don’t have the time to do the whole process in one go.
• To check if the bread is cooked all the way through, turn it over and gently tap on the bottom of the loaf, it should sound hollow if cooked inside.

Check out the Kenrick Rhys Photography website and like them on facebook.

5 Minute Microwave Fudge Brownie by Kenrick Rhys Photography

Hi, I’m Kenrick Rhys and I am pretty stoked to be able to share my love for food with you all!  I’ve been good friends with Melissa and Simon for a few years now and was lucky enough to meet Courtenay (and Lydia) at the Picnic High Tea that they held.  I’m going to be sharing a couple of recipes while Melissa is on holiday.

I love good food, I guess I always have.  When I left school at 18, I trained as a chef and worked for a few years in various kitchens. I was usually in the entree and dessert section but another passion was baking, mostly breads and pastries.  When my wife and I sold everything and travelled around the world, I ended up working in a big international kitchen in central Amsterdam.  While there I also spent time developing my other passion, photography.  I carried my camera and took photos whenever I could.  We are now settled back in New Zealand and I am the name behind Kenrick Rhys Photography.  Check my wedding and portrait work out, and if you love it, I’d love to buy you a coffee and have a chat.

 

Today I am sharing a recipe that my Mum used to make, for a quick and easy, moist, American-style brownie.  It’s so easy I’d bet I could make it in 10 minutes from start to finish!

 

Ingredients:
100g butter, melted
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
¾ cup flour
¼ cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder

 

Method:
Melt the butter in the microwave.
In a large bowl, mix together the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla.  Sieve flour, cocoa and baking powder into the bowl.  Mix gently until just combined.
Pour the mixture into a microwave safe dish and place in the middle of the microwave.  Cook on high for 4 - 7 minutes depending on your microwave.
Let cool and sprinkle with icing sugar.

Kenrick’s Tips:

• The brownie should have risen and be not overly wet on top, although slightly moist on the sides.
• It may take a few attempts to get the cooking time perfect for your microwave power/wattage, but you will soon see how you like it.  I like my brownie soft and sticky so go for a lesser cooking time.
• I have successfully cooked this brownie in glass Pyrex dishes, silicon flan dishes, and plastic bunt pans.
• You can add chocolate chunks or buttons to this recipe, they will sink to the bottom during cooking.

Check out the Kenrick Rhys Photography website and like them on facebook.