Bread making doesn’t get any simpler than this. (Oh dear, I’m starting to sound like those clowns on Masterchef). Griddle bread, as it’s known in my house, is a simple soda bread dough, but instead of being cooked in the oven, you cook it slowly on a non-stick frying pan or a cast-iron “griddle”. This is quite a traditional bread and is a great standby when you haven’t a scrap of granary left in the house. One warning though, once you cut this loaf you’ll keep going back to it until you’ve none left. It’s addictive!
I like my griddle bread “well done”. Cook gently until the surface of the bread is starting to blacken in places. As the bread cools, it gives off the most amazing toasty aromas. There’s something about it that reminds me of cream crackers. Surely not a bad thing?
For a traditional Irish bread that’s baked in the oven, try my Irish Soda Bread recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 cups self-raising flour
- 1 tsp salt
- buttermilk, enough to make a very soft dough (about 250ml-300ml, as a guide)
Method
Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl, then add the buttermilk and mix gently until you have a soft, wet dough, but be careful it is not too “sloppy”. Heat a dry frying pan, then turn down the heat low and dust the pan with plain flour. Wet your hands then add the doughto the pan. Gently smooth out the dough to cover the pan then cook slowly on both sides until brown patches start to develop. This should take at least 8 minutes on each side. Cool on a wire rack.
Coat with plenty of salty butter and enjoy, this is great with your Saturday morning fry-up.
Bit tacky for a food blog? Hmm, perhaps. Give me home-made pizza any day. But I must admit, I’ve been known to visit Pizza Hut. I also happen to be rather partial to their garlic bread. I discovered that the elusive secret to their recipe is plenty of seasoning a good pinch of dried oregano. And you know what? It tastes almost identical to me. Even if you’re not a Pizza Hut fan, give it a try, it’s the best garlic bread you will ever taste! I never make it any other way.
Ingredients
- 1 baguette (or 4 small rolls)
- 150g butter
- 1 clove garlic
- dried oregano
- salt & pepper
Method
- Make sure your butter is really soft. To achieve this, just leave your butter out of the refrigerator at night.
- Make a paste from the clove of garlic and some rock salt, then add to the butter. Use a mortar and pestle for this, or grind on a chopping board with a knife. It’s very important not to have huge lumps of garlic in your butter.
- Season with a little salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper and a shake of dried oregano. Mix well.
- Slice your baguette and spread each slice liberally with the garlic butter. Toast under a hot grill until golden. It will smell and taste amazing.
Crostini (”little crusts”) are really handy when you want something small to serve with drinks and they also make a great appetiser. Slice some baguette or foccaccia thinly and grill both sides on a cast-iron grill pan. (Toasting under a conventional grill gives great results but I like the charred edges you only get with the grill pan.) When slightly charred on both sides, rub the toasts with a peeled clove of raw garlic then brush lightly with extra-virgin olive oil. Leave to cool fully before serving or placing any toppings on the crostini.
I served the above crostini with some black olive paste and sun-dried tomatoes. Check out the following crostini topping suggestions, taken from Jamie Oliver’s “Italy“.
Everyone loves pizza. For my money, it’s the best hangover food. It’s made using a regular yeast bread dough. This recipe yields enough dough for two large pizzas, or three smaller ones. I like to split the dough into three balls as I can vary my toppings more, but you can please yourself.
Toppings are only limited by your imagination. If you’re short on inspiration, have a look at Darina’s suggestions in the excellent Ballymaloe Cookery Course.
Ingredients
- 340g strong white flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp (heaped) sugar
- 5g dried yeast (I use McDougall’s)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 210 ml tepid water
Method
- Mix the dry ingredients. Sieve together the flour, salt, sugar and dried yeast into a large mixing bowl.
- Add your wet ingredients. Rub in the olive oil and add the tepid water. Ensure the water is not too hot.
- Mix to a loose dough (add a little extra water or flour if necessary) and turn out onto a clean work surface, lightly dusted with flour. Cover the dough with the bowl and leave to rest for 5 minutes.
- Now, time for a workout. Knead the dough for at least 10 minutes until the dough is smooth. Use a food processor with a dough hook, if you have one.
- Clean your mixing bowl with hot water, then lightly brush the bowl with olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and cover with cling film. Place the bowl in your airing cupboard or beside a radiator. Prove the dough for about 1.5 to 2 hours. The dough should have doubled in size.
- Pre-heat your oven to 250C. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and “knock back”. This means kneading the dough for a minute to knock some of the air out of it. Split the dough into 2 or 3 balls.
- Roll or stretch each ball into a pizza shape and place onto a pre-heated baking sheet. Lightly coat with tomato sauce and add your toppings. Cook each pizza for 12-15 minutes.
Serve with cold beer, and a sloppy, self-satisfied grin … 
