BREAD by Dean Brettschnieder

 
There is nothing quite like the taste and aroma of warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven bread baked in your own kitchen. Bread is the latest book from New Zealand celebrity chef Dean Brettschnieder.  When I met Dean at the launch of his first book (Pie: 80+ Pies and Pastry Delights), he said he thought it would be awesome to release a series of books each focussing on a certain food.  The arrival of Bread sees Dean on the path to achieving this dream. In this irresistible collection of bread recipes, you'll find breads to match any occasion – from savoury to sweet, healthy to festive. Whether you fancy a bagel or a baguette, sourdough or sticky buns, these delectable and easy-to-follow recipes are sure to become firm favourites.

The book has over 60 recipes (you can check out the one for NYC Sticky Pecan Buns on the Penguin Books website) which have been gorgeously photographed by Aaron McLean.  Dean also shares his expert knowledge of how to make exceptional breads with detailed step-by-step instructions on artisan techniques, plus information on essential ingredients and equipment.

 
I think the book would make a great gift, especially for those guys out there who like baking, because let’s face it, baking bread seems a bit manlier than making pretty little cupcakes.  You will be amazed at the quality, lightness, volume, flavour, crust and crumb of your bread after following Dean's recipes, tips and know how.  The book is out in stores now (RRP $45), so keep an eye out for it and grab yourself a copy.

Sweet: Treats to Share

Sweet: Treats to Share is a brand new book (in stores from today) that is packed with more than 80 irresistible recipes from some of New Zealand’s best-loved bakers.  You’ll find recipes from such baking legends as Alexa Johnston, Allyson Gofton, Annabelle White, Dean Brettschneider, and Kim Evans.

You’ll find recipes for cakes, biscuits, slices, loaves, muffins, pies and more.  What we like about the book is that nothing looks too fancy or hard to make.  The recipes are for true baked good favourites; the type of treats to fill the tins with.  There’s recipes for Kiwi classics such as Afghan Biscuits and Ginger Crunch, to more contemporary treats like Fresh Cherry Ripple Cake and Maple Rhubarb Crumble Pie.  We’ll be sharing a recipe for a delicious White Chocolate Brownie from the book at a later date, so do check back here on the blog for that.

The food has been beautifully photographed by Manja Wachsmuth and styled by food writer Penny Oliver.  A lot of the baking is photographed on gorgeous vintage china, which when I checked the credits at the back of the book was pleasantly surprised to find that the photography props came from our friends at The Vintage Table – how cool is that?!  (I knew that plate the Ambrosia on page 165 is photographed on was familiar, it’s the one I used photographed my Peanut Butter Chocolate Truffles on and is one of my favourites from The Vintage Table).

Scattered throughout the book are cute little baking related quotes, such as “A baked gift shows you took the time to care” and “Baking is both an art and a pleasure” with which we couldn’t agree more.  The book begins with a rundown of a few baking basics and you’ll find contributor bio’s and a measurement conversion table in the back.  All this, along with the recipes, comes prettily packaged in a padded hardcover book with a marker ribbon.  It’s a delightful book which is sure to appeal, and would make an ideal Mother’s Day or Easter gift for home bakers.

We have a copy of Sweet: Treats to Share to giveaway to one lucky reader.  To enter the draw to win, please leave us a comment (with your name) telling us what your favourite baked treat is to share with friends and family.  Entries close on Friday 4th April at 8pm and the winner will be chosen by a random draw.  However, if you can’t wait until then to get a copy, head along to your nearest good book store.  Sweet: Treats to Share will be hitting the shelves today.

Sweet: Treats to Share. Published by Penguin Group NZ. RRP $45.00. Available nationwide.

Photography credits:
Pumpkin & Prune Cake: Copyright photography © Alan Gillard, 2014. 
Lemon Madeira Load: Copyright photography © Manja Wachsmith, 2014

Ladies, a Plate: Jams and Preserves

Ladies, a Plate: Jams and Preserves is the newest title out by writer and independent art curator,  Alexa Johnston.  You may have heard of the ‘Ladies a Plate’ books before; Alexa has already published two books under similar names and branding.  There’s Ladies, a Plate: Traditional Home Baking which was followed by A Second Helping: More from Ladies, a Plate.  Both books were combined and rereleased last year in Ladies, a Plate: The Collection.  Alexa takes her classic baking recipes from friends, family, their mothers and grandmothers, and second-hand books, so everything is ‘just like grandma used to make’.  Ladies, a Plate: Jams and Preserves is the perfect new addition to her book family.  Here you will find recipes for making the perfect jams and preserves to accompany your baking (or to simply enjoy on a piece of toast!).

The book includes over 100 recipes and they’re not all just for jams and preserves as the title suggests.  There’s chutneys, pickles, curds as well as fruit cordial and liqueurs.  I’m very intrigued by the ‘Apple Lemon Curd’ and I know Simon would love it if I made him some  ‘Beetroot Relish’.  Also, scattered throughout the book are interesting little stories and notes to accompany the recipes, along with Alexa’s ideas for serving the preserves.

One thing that I find amazing about Alexa’s books is that along with making and testing all the recipes, she also takes all the photographs used in the kitchen of her Auckland home. Which, from running this blog and putting together our baking basics eBook, I can really appreciate the amount of work she has put into the production!

Once you’ve decided on a recipe, have made it and poured it into jars, you’ll find a bunch of sticker labels included in the book to add the perfect finishing touch to your creation.  Brilliant.

We’ve been lucky enough to be able to share the Plum Jam recipe from Ladies, a Plate: Jams and Preserves with you, which is written below.  Plum Jam is simple to make; check out my attempt at it from a few years back in this recipe post.   Details about the book follow after the recipe. 

Plum Jam
I think most people would consider Plum Jam as a standard, satisfactory jam and fairly unexciting, but you can nudge it into the distinguished and varied category by adding a few fresh or frozen berries. Particular favourites of mine are Plum and Blackcurrant, or Plum and Raspberry – and Plum and hazelnut is also a delightful and unusual jam. The method is the same for each, and since sour or slightly under ripe plums are high in both pectin and acid your jam will always set well. (Use ripe, sweet plums in a cake or tart and save the sour ones for jam making.)

Ingredients:
900g dark-skinned plums
250ml water
900g sugar

Preparing the fruit:
Halve the plums by cutting around the natural crease and twisting the halves apart. Remove the plum pit with a knife or a pitting spoon. If the plums are very large cut each half in two.

Getting ready:
Wash jam jars and their lids in hot water, rinse them and put them in the oven set to 250°F/120°C for about 30 minutes to drain and dry. Put a couple of small saucers into the freezer – you’ll use them to test the jam for setting.

Making the Jam:
1. Put the plums into a preserving pan with the water and bring to  the boil, stirring. Cook for 10–15 minutes until reduced to a pulp.
2. Add the sugar, stir until the sugar dissolves and bring the jam to a fast boil, stirring often.  Once the surface is covered with small bubbles begin timing.
3. After 10 minutes test the jam for a set. to do this, remove the pan from the heat, put a small spoonful of jam onto one of your chilled saucers, wait about 30 seconds, then push a finger gently through it. If the surface wrinkles slightly in front of your finger the jam is ready. Turn off the heat, remove the hot jars from the oven and put them on a board.
4. If the top of the jam is frothy, drop in 1 tsp butter, which will, as it melts, make the froth disappear. After 5 minutes, ladle the jam into a heatproof jug and pour it into the jars using a wide-mouthed funnel.
5. Seal the jars immediately and try not to move them until the jam is cold and set. Label and store in a cool, dark place. Makes about 4 cups/1 litre jam.

Plum & Blackcurrant Jam:
This darkly delicious confection and the raspberry variant below both appear in a number of Aunt Daisy cookbooks from the 1940s and 1950s. Aunt Daisy’s books were compendia of recipes sent in by home cooks – listeners to her popular radio programmes. Follow the main recipe, replacing about 8 oz/225 g of the plums with fresh or frozen blackcurrants.  Start testing after 5 minutes.

Reproduced with permission from Ladies, A Plate : Jams & Preserves by Alexa Johnston. Published by Penguin Group (NZ), RRP $47.00. Copyright© text of the recipe and photographs Alexa Johnston, 2013

Amy’s Secret Kitchen

On Saturday morning Simon and I headed along to check out ‘Amy’s Secret Kitchen’, a cakery that has recently opened in Ponsonby.  We reckon word about this place is going to spread quickly; something as good as this can’t stay a ‘secret’ for long.

Located on Brown Street, the store is a short walk from Ponsonby Road.  So, it’s close to all the shopping action but makes for a nice quiet break from the hustle and bustle, and you’ll be able to find a car park nearby!

The cakery is run by Amy (surprise!) and her sister, Charlotte, who are super friendly and inviting.  They sell deliciously moist cupcakes, biscuits, slices and other moreish sweet treats.  There’s also a range of iced teas on offer and they make milkshakes.  Yum!  We tried a range of their cupcakes, all of which were beautiful, but I definitely recommend you try one of the Caramel ones; the caramel filling in the centre won me over to become my fave.

Around the shop are some awesome gift ideas.  They stock a range of 100% soy organic skull candles, kids apron sets, chefs hats and take home baking premixes in big jars.  And, mans best friend need not miss out on the excitement either, also on offer are some pretty impressive looking doggy treats.  What dog could resist some special biscuits or a gorgeous little pupcake?  Cute huh?

Amy’s Secret Kitchen also do catering and take orders.  So, make sure you go check them out in their new store.  And, while you are waiting for a moment when you can pop along, you can find them on facebook, instagram, pinterest, or have a nosey around their website.

Amy’s Secret Kitchen
3a / 49 Brown Street, Ponsonby, Auckland
Ph: 09 360 0018
E: charlotte@amyssecretkitchen.com
www.amyssecretkitchen.com

Baking Basics eBook!

We are so excited to announce that we have produced a Baking Basics eBook that is available for purchase.  The eBook covers some of the basics of baking biscuits, cupcakes and muffins, cakes and slices, what equipment you should have, troubleshooting guides for when things go wrong and 12 easy to follow recipes for those who are new to baking.

This is something we have been working on for a little now.  We are both really proud of the finished product and hope that you love it as much as we do.  Usually, you can purchase your copy here for $8, but, because we love you and want to thank you for the awesome support you show us we are offering a special introductory price of $5 for the next 48 hours!

We want to give a special thanks to go to our family and friends who proofread and gave us feedback on the eBook.  Also, thank you to Amanda from the Vintage Table who lent us some of the lovely pieces you will see our cakes displayed on in the book.  You should also all know that Mel did all the design work for the eBook - isn't she a clever cookie?!  Thank you, if it was left up to me it would have looked pretty boring!

So, want to get yourself a copy?  Or give one as a gift?  Click here to be taken over to our shop.

Halloween Meringue Bones

These are super easy to whip up for a Halloween treat, although only half my batch really resembled bones as I piped some too thick and they puffed up a bit too much. Next time I might print out some type of template and lay it under wax paper to help keep them uniform.

Ingredients:
3 egg whites (size 6)
¾ cup of caster sugar

Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 180˚C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry, add half the sugar and beat well, add remaining sugar a tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition.
Drop oven temp to 120˚C and pipe in the shape of bones (or ghosts) onto an oven tray lined with baking paper.
Bake for 20 minutes or until meringues are dry but not brown. Leave in the oven until it is cool before removing.
*Tip – do not open oven door while cooking!

Meringues like Pavlova can be different in texture each time you make them due to things like the weather and the humidity so can take a little bit of practice. If you love meringues but can’t make them or enough of them you could always get in touch with our newest sponsor Fab Meringues!

This will be my last post for the next week(ish), we are moving back to Auckland this Friday which means an end to the last nine weeks of solo parenting while Shane has been away working (yay!). I am so excited to be living as a family again and to be living close to Mel and my new house has a far bigger and newer kitchen than the one I have had here in New Plymouth!

Miss Melicious Cupcakes Book!

Miss Melicious Cupcakes is the debut cook book by Miss Melicious (Missy) and it is out in stores today! Now you can recreate all your favourite Miss Melicious treats at home!

This quirky little book is filled with distinctive Miss Melicious flair. It boasts recipes for a large variety of cupcake flavour combinations sporting names such as Cherry Bomb, Beet Box, French Toast and Fuzzy Navel. There are also cookie and whoopie pie recipes adding to the deliciousness. Each recipe has a fun photograph accompanying it, styled to reflect the ‘personality’ of each sweet treat.

We were lucky enough to be invited to the book launch, an event which suited the book to a T. There was body paint, burlesque dancers, a drag queen, balloon animal creations, boozy slushies, jugglers, and of course, towers of cupcakes to try.

The cupcake book is available now at all good bookstores, so get your hands on a copy. While you are out shopping, why not visit Miss Melicious (Missy) in person at her Auckland store!

In the mean time, here’s a recipe from her book…

Audrey
Simple and elegant but full of flavour. Our ‘star’ of vanilla cupcakes!

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
125 g butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 ½ cups plain flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
edible pearls, to decorate

Preheat oven to 180 ºC (160 ºC fan-forced).  Line a cupcake pan with liners.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Add egg and vanilla and beat well.
Combine dry ingredients. Add to batter in thirds alternately with milk. Begin and end with dry ingredients. Mix well after each addition.
Fill liners two-thirds full and bake for 18–20 minutes or until tops spring back when touched gently.
Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove and cool completely before frosting. Decorate with edible pearls.

Vanilla Butter Cream:
125 g butter, softened
4 cups icing sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
a few drops teal gel paste

Beat butter and slowly add icing sugar until crumbly.  Slowly add milk, vanilla and gel paste until the desired consistency and colour is reached. Add more milk if required.  Beat for 3–5 minutes until light, fluffy and creamy, but still firm enough to pipe.

My very own ‘Audrey’ cupcake, which I took home for the boys to share.

*Recipe reprinted with permission from Miss Melicious Cupcakes, published by Penguin Group NZ, RRP$30.00. Copyright © Missy Fleming 2012
Image copyright © Shadbolt

PIE: 80+ Pies and Pastry Delights

Who can resist a steaming-hot home-baked pie?  Whether it’s savoury or sweet, humble or gourmet, individual or family-sized, a tasty pie is an enduring Kiwi favourite.  Particularly good in winter, there is nothing more satisfying than eating a piping-hot, freshly baked pie, tart, quiche or even sausage roll which has just come out of the kitchen oven, brimming with various fillings enclosed in a buttery pastry. - Dean Brettschneider

I have to say, I agree with the above sentiments.  Doesn’t that little bit of gravy oozing out of that perfect golden pastry on the book cover make your mouth water?  Every time I look at it I wish I could smell or taste that pie. PIE is the newly released book by Dean Brettschneider, who you probably know as one of the judges on New Zealand’s Hottest Home Baker.

PIE is a beautiful book; hardcover and full of nice thick pages.  The photography by Aaron McLean is stunning.  I mean, pies are mostly brown in colour, yet every picture in the book looks different and appealing to the eye.

The book is not all meat pie recipes either.  It begins with a history lesson on the origins of pie and pie making in New Zealand.  Then comes the recipes.  There’s your classic Mince and Cheese and Bacon and Egg pies, then there are some more unusual offerings like a Coriander Chicken and Yoghurt Curry Pie or Shepherd’s Pies but cooked in jars.  PIE also contains a section called ‘not-quite-a-pie’ which covers recipes such as Sausage rolls and Cornish Pasties.  And, as I said, not all the recipes are for meat dishes either.  There is a huge selection of sweet treats to make ranging from whoopie pies to tarts and shortcake. 

Towards the back of the book is a ‘basic recipes’ section which includes recipes for a variety of different pastries.  Did you know you there was such a thing as Gingerbread Puff Pastry?  Well now you do and you can make it too.

Head on over to the Penguin website for a squiz at a few more recipes from the book (I’m thinking I need to try making the Bacon, Carried Egg and Ricotta Pie - it sounds delish!).  We’ve published one for a Roast Pear and Blueberry Pie below – it sounds like the perfect recipe to make on a cold Winter’s night.  Penguin are also running a competition on their Facebook page – bake something from the book, post up a photo and you can win an awesome prize.  Check out the entries and vote, or why not enter yourself?

Roast Pear and Blueberry Pie

Makes a medium sized pie, serving 4 – 6 people

Pastry
1 quantity of Sour Cream and Lemon Pastry (Recipe on page 195 of the book)

Filling
6 ripe but firm pears, peeled, cored and cut into 2cm cubes
30g unsalted butter, melted
50g brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
juice of 1 lemon
200g blueberries

Glaze
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water,for egg wash
1 tablespoon raw sugar, for sprinkling

Make a quantity of Sour Cream and Lemon Pastry ahead and rest it as required. Divide pastry into two portions (two-thirds for base and one-third for top). On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger portion to approximately 3mm thick to line a 22cm × 15cm pie dish (5cm deep). Lightly oil pie dish and line with pastry, allowing a little overhang.
Roll remaining pastry for the top of the pie so it’s just larger than the pie dish. Cut small holes in the top of the top pastry, 5mm apart. Place on a baking paper-lined oven tray. Refrigerate pastry base and top until chilled (30 minutes).
Put cubed pear in a bowl and add butter, sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice, tossing well to combine. Transfer to a baking dish that holds them snugly.
Bake in a preheated 180°C oven for 20–30 minutes or until pears are softened but still holding their shape. Remove from oven and transfer to a bowl, adding the blueberries while the pears are still warm. Mix well. Allow to cool slightly (20 minutes), then drain through a sieve to remove excess liquid.
Take pastry from refrigerator and spoon fruit mixture into the lined pie dish. Brush the rim of the pastry case with egg wash, then drape remaining pastry over the pie dish. Trim, then press pastry edges firmly together to seal. Crimp the rim using your forefinger and thumb.
Brush the pastry with egg wash, then sprinkle with raw sugar.
Bake in a preheated 180°C oven for 35–40 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden-brown in colour.

Reproduced with permission from Pie by DeanBrettschneider. Published by Penguin Group NZ. RRP $54.99. Copyright© Dean Brettschneider, 2012. Copyright photography © Aaron McLean,2012

Our Food TV Commercial

Here's our Food TV Commercial for those of you that haven't been able to see it yet!  We are quite proud of it, it's pretty cool seeing our little blog mentioned on TV!

Sponsor BMTB!

Baking Makes Things Better has become a daily read for hundreds of baking lovers.  We are super happy with our new look and are now keen to take on sponsors.  If you think your product, service, store, blog, or company would be a good fit for Baking Makes Things Better and our audience, we would like to hear from you.

We are offering advertising space on our right hand side bar and we have three different sized sponsorship packages available.  We can also offer a design service for a small fee if you would like help creating a beautiful advertisement.  Sponsor spots will run monthly and will be rotated to ensure maximum exposure.  There will only be a limited number of sponsorship spots available each month.

Baking Makes Things Better has been gaining an ever increasing following.  Each month our readership grows – we’ve already beaten our monthly page view high this month, and it is continuing to climb.  It’s very exciting!

For the next few months we are going to be offering discounted introductory prices.  Our packages are seriously good deals!  If you are interested in advertising with us, please send us an enquiry email to bmtbblog@gmail.com and we will send you out our sponsorship kit containing further information, or head on over to our Advertising page.

We’ve had a makeover!

Pictured above is our old look.  Courtenay and I were beginning to get quite the headache from all the pink and wanted something a little bit more subtle, yet still girly.  Simon’s awesome mum, Michelle (who blogs over at thejamjar), came on board and helped us out, revamping our blog for us.  What do you think?

Michelle hand painted our new blog title image (the cupcake) and the ribbon banner underneath – pretty freakin’ talented huh?  On our lovely new ribbon banner you still have all the usual options:

• Home will take you to the latest posts on the blog
• About us takes you to a page with some info about who we (Melissa and Courtenay) are
• Recipe index is a clickable list of all the goodies on the blog
• Weights and Measures is a list of helpful conversions you might need while baking
• Lunchbox Bakes explains all about our Lunchbox Bakes feature and lists the recipes we have made for it
• Advertising is a page with information about how you can advertise on BMTB.  It also has buttons for our page which you can pop on your blog to share how much love us (go on, take one – you know you want to!)

On the right hand sidebar you will now find our sweet new social media buttons which will take you to where you can find us on Vimeo, Twitter, Email, Facebook and Pinterest.  Cute!

So, welcome to our new look.  We hope you like it as much as we do.  Let us know know if something doesn’t quite seem right, just in case we are having teething problems.  Also, if you love our new look and just so happen to want some design work done for yourself, use that pretty new email button in the right hand side bar and drop us a line; Michelle may be able to help :)

Donna Hay ipad App

I received an email yesterday informing me that the Donna Hag Magazine app is now available for the ipad.  I installed it this morning and had a quick play around - it's pretty cool.  Through the app you can download their 10th Birthday edition for free and I quite like the features it has.

One thing I quite like is that you can view the recipes in 'cook mode'.  This breaks the recipe down into parts and only displays a segment on the screen.  The cool thing about this is that it also has a little list of the ingredients you need for the step being displayed.  I reckon this is pretty cool as I quite often use the ipad to display recipes on when I am cooking, but if you are quite far down the recipe you have to scroll back up to see the ingredients and quantities which can get quite annoying.

Another feature that sets it apart from the print magazine is that some recipes have videos.  In my quick look this morning before work I found that instead of reading through the Macron recipe in the magazine you could simply watch Donna Hay make them and talk you through how it is done.  I reckon this is pretty awesome as it gives you more of an insight into things such as how you want your mixture to look at each step of the recipe.  For example, in the Macron video she tells you that you need to whisk your eggs to beyond stiff peaks and then shows you what this looks like.

So, if I can pry the ipad away from Simon on our plane flight to Aussie (as he will want to watch movies) I have my in-flight reading and viewing sorted.  Unfortunately I'm probably not going to be able to explore future issues using this app as we have been borrowing (or, you could say we took it and then keep accidentally on purpose 'forgetting' to return it) the ipad from Simon's grandparents and they are expecting it back once we return from our holiday :(