Homemade Wheat Thins

One of my favourite crackers when I was little was Wheat Thins. I’ve spent a large part of my life in countries where you couldn’t buy Wheat Thins, so I’ve had to learn how to make them myself.

 

Here is a recipe for homemade Wheat Thins. If you want, you can make them only with whole-wheat flour, but because M has trouble with whole-wheat, I mix two types of flour.

 

Ingredients:

¾ cup white flour

½ cup spelt flour

1¼ tbsp sugar

¼ tsp vanilla extract (strange, yes, but it does add to the flavour)

½ tsp paprika

1 tsp salt, plus more to sprinkle on top

5 tbsp sunflower oil (or butter or margarine, if you prefer)

¼ cup cold water

 

Instructions:

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a food processor.

2. Roll out in batches on a floured surface. Roll as thin as you can. We thought about putting it in our pasta maker, but we thought it would be too wet for it.

3. Cut into squares (or whatever shape you want). Prick each square with a fork once or twice. Sprinkle with more salt.

4. Bake at 200 C for 5 minutes. Check and if it needs a little more time, put it on for another minute or two.

Oatmeal Bread

Ingredients:

1¼ cups liquid (I use ½ cup water and the rest rice milk)

1 tbsp quick-action dry yeast

2-2½ cups flour

½ cups oats, plus extra for topping

¼ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup honey or sugar

1 tsp salt

milk/water/egg for wash, if desired

 

Instructions:

1. Warm the liquid. Put the yeast in it and leave it to foam for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, mix the flour, oats, oil, honey, and salt.

3. Add the yeast and liquid and mix well. Leave to rise for an hour.

4. Knead well and shape into a loaf. Place in an oiled loaf tin if desired.

5. Sprinkle with oats and wash, if desired. Leave to rise again.

6. Bake at 190 C for 30-40 minutes, until golden.

Pita Bread

A warm pita filled with hummus or some other dip or salad is a lovely thing.

 

Ingredients:

2 tsp fast-action dried yeast

200 ml warm water

400 g flour (white or brown or a mix; it doesn’t need to be bread flour)

1-2 tsp salt

1-2 tsp honey or sugar

1-2 tbsp olive oil

 

Instructions:

1. Put the yeast in the water and set aside for 10 minutes until foamy.

2. Mix the other ingredients together, then add in the yeast. Knead or blend for 10 minutes.

3. Leave to rise for at least two hours. You can also leave overnight in the fridge.

4. About an hour before baking the bread, put a bread stone or baking tray in the oven to warm up at 220 C.

5. Roll out the dough into 8-12 circles on an oiled surface. Test one by putting it on the baking tray and baking for 3-4 minutes per side. If it doesn’t puff up enough, sprinkle the other circles with water or a touch more olive oil.

6. Bake them all and serve.

Egg Pasta

Who knew making pasta at home was so easy?

 

You can vary this by using truffle oil, adding semolina, or grinding in saffron or herbs.

 

Ingredients:

275 g “00” flour

3 eggs

1 tsp fine sea salt

1-2 tsp olive oil, optional

water to cook in

 

Instructions:

1. Put the flour into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the eggs and salt.

2. Beat the eggs lightly, then gradually mix the flour in.

3. Add the oil for increased pliancy, if desired. Knead well.

4. Leave the mixture to rest for 10-30 minutes.

5. Roll out thinly (you can use a pasta machine if you want) and cut into shapes.

6. Cook in boiling water for 2-3 minutes and serve as desired.

Butternut Squash Soup

M and I were both ill, and we’d had colds for over a week. Soup – and lots of it – was what we needed. So I made butternut squash soup. It’s really soothing and flavourful, especially when served with fresh bread.

 

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash

2 shallots or 1 onion

oil

1 vegetable stock cube

1 tbsp maple syrup, plus extra

2-3 cups water

1-2 cups milk (I used rice milk)

cream (I used Oatly)

 

Instructions:

1. Roast the squash in the oven at 180 C for 40-60 minutes. Halve it halfway through so the inside gets fully cooked.

2. Peel and slice the shallots/onion and fry lightly in oil. Add the stock cube and maple syrup and caramelise slightly.

3. Peel and de-seed the squash. Put in chunks into the pan. Add the water and cook for 10-15 minutes.

4. Add the milk and cook over medium heat for another 10 minutes.

5. Puree and then swirl in a little more maple syrup and some cream.

Sweet Potato Casserole

I saw a similar recipe in the Sainsbury’s magazine, but it had a lot of dairy and various spices we didn’t want, so I adapted it quite a bit. It was nice for a cold day.

 

Ingredients:

oil

1 leek

2 shallots

1 tsp sugar or maple syrup

4 sweet potatoes

75 g margarine (I used Pure spread)

75 g flour

500 ml milk (I used rice milk)

2 eggs

1 tbsp parsley

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp mustard

2-3 tsp other herbs and spices (I used a bit of ginger and a bit of curry powder; I think tikka spice, mint, etc could work too)

1 tbsp lemon juice

 

Instructions:

1. Oil the pan.

2. Wash and dice the leek and shallots and cook over low heat. Add the sugar or maple syrup to get a sweeter flavour.

3. Peel and slice the sweet potatoes.

4. Melt the margarine. Add the flour, whisking.

5. Let cool, then add the milk and eggs, whisking until smooth. Season with the various herbs and spices and lemon juice.

6. Put the leek, shallots, and sweet potatoes in the pan, and pour in the sauce.

7. Bake at 180 C for 45-60 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the top is slightly golden.