Feeling Autumnal - anyone?

After the balmy weather a few weeks ago it's definitely now autumn.  Grey, cold, grey, wet, grey... you get the picture.  So, feeling a tad depressed the other day as the sun refused to shine and it didn't seem to get light all day - welcome to Scotland - I decided to bake some scones to cheer myself up and found this recipe which is decidedly autumnal (I think).  

Hope you enjoy these as much as we all did!

Makes 8 scones

Ingredients:
225g self raising flour, plus extra for dusting
50g butter
4 tbsp golden caster sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
125ml milk, plus extra for brushing
clotted cream and raspberry compote (sort of - will explain below)


1. Heat oven to 220C/200 fan/gas 7.  Tip flour into a bowl with butter then rub with fingers until the mix looks like fine breadcrumbs.  Stir in sugar and cinnamon then add apple and give everything a mix.

2. Pour in milk and stir quickly, then fold dough over 2 - 3 times until smoother.  Tip onto a lightly floured surface; pat into a round about 3cm deep - I'd be tempted to make these slightly deeper if you want bigger scones, although it means you might get less than 8.

3. Using a 5cm cutter, cut out the scones until all the dough is used up.  Brush tops with milk then place onto a lightly floured baking sheet and bake for 18 - 20 minutes until risen and golden.  Allow to cool on the tray.

I served these warm with butter (yum) and a cheats raspberry compote that I made with some squished raspberries sprinkled with 2 tablespoons of caster sugar (icing would work too) to sweeten them up.  Or, if you've been foraging for autumn blackberries (or been to the supermarket) you could make some of my super easy microwave jam. Delicious! 

I got this recipe from Good Food and I'd be tempted to use a cooking apple rather than a dessert apple next time to give them more of an apple-y taste.  I'd also bump up the cinnamon to 1/2 teaspoon too but really depends on your taste.

Down Shep!

Sorry, I've been channelling John Noakes ever since I read somewhere recently about Blue Peter becoming 'cool' as it's too old fashioned for today's 'yoof, innit'.  (Don't you just hate it when old people try to get 'down with the kids'?!).

Anyhoo, apparently, they're getting rid of the pets (not in a sinister way, I should add - some are being retired while others are sent off to new homes) while the programme itself follows others in the BBC stable and relocates to Manchester. 

It won't be the same - but then again, of course, kids aren't the same, are they?  I think back to me as a kid and think how unsophisticated I would be compared to kids today - although, of course, I fitted right in at the time (the time being the '70's/early '80's!!)  Somehow, I can't see my little angels being thrilled with  Blue Peter's efforts to produce the Advent Crown at Christmas time. 

And who can forget the Advent Crown?  The grandly titled home-made Christmas project that was essentially, two coat hangers linked together, covered in non-flammable tinsel before being adorned with four candles - one at each corner - that the presenters lit at the end of each week in December.  Ah, the Advent Crown/Mobile/Fire Hazard.  Fond memories.

And it just won't be Blue Peter without the animals - who can forget Shep, Petra and Goldie?  Petra even got her own bust in the Blue Peter garden!  And the Blue Peter garden - or perhaps it was some other location? - was also home to the time capsule.  Now, of course, buried so long ago that they've probably already unearthed it to show today's kids what their weird, wonderful and very out of touch contemporaries were up to in the late seventies.

The new look Blue Peter will feature less fluffy animals and more digital technologies.  What?!  Although the fact that doesn't really appeal to me all that much no doubt means that it'll be bang on the money in terms of attracting a younger audience.  I know things have to move with the times and nothing last forever and all that - but it does make me feel dreadfully old to think that Blue Peter is considered old fashioned and unappealing to the younger generation (particularly as I passed a certain birthday milestone this year).

One thing that hasn't changed about Blue Peter is their encouragement to get their viewers to think of others and they're launching the new series with a fundraising baking challenge for kids.  So, if you're looking for a way to get your kids interested in baking and to encourage their community-spirited side check out the Blue Peter Bake a Difference for Children in Need campaign.  With a Bake a Difference cook book, How to Run a Bakesale guidelines and posters (for your bake sale obviously) all free to print off. 

It's the October half term holidays here in a few short weeks so I'm intending to get organised myself and at least print off the cook book to encourage my kid's to get creative (messy in other words) in the kitchen!

Blue Peter presenter, Barney Harwood, launches the Bake a Difference Appeal

So, do you think the new Blue Peter format is a travesty or do you recognise, like me, that times they are a-changing and these things are all really just a way to point out to us that we've become old and untrendy just like we thought our parents were?

Baker Extraordinaire!

OK, that's completely overselling my talents but I decided today would be the day to make soup and bake bread - both of which I've done before but which I managed to do at a leisurely pace while my OH took the kids to rugby (one to play, one to watch).

Anyway, there is something remarkably therapeutic about baking your own bread by hand (I don't have a bread maker).  It's nothing like as much hassle or as complicated as I thought it would be and, if you have a spare half hour, it's a great way to relieve some stress, switch your brain off and think of other things.  Obviously, it takes more than half an hour to actually make the bread (what with proving the dough and all that) but it only really takes about 15 minutes to half an hour's work.  And then you can sit back and enjoy warm bread with soup or slathered in butter and homemade jam or honey (no, I don't have my own bees - yet!)  


All you need is:

500g strong bread flour (I used white this time but have used wholemeal and followed the same recipe before)
1.5 sachets of dried yeast
14g salt (might be easier to weigh out half an ounce though - it's the same)
310ml tepid water
15fl oz honey (or 1 tablespoon) - or maple syrup is just as good

Mix the honey with half the water and all the yeast - make sure the honey (or syrup) has completely dissolved.  You can also use the equivalent amount of sugar - it's just sugar to get the yeast to react.

Measure out the flour and mix in the salt.  Make a well in the centre then pour in all of the yeast mixture.  I then use my fingers (a la Jamie Oliver) like a spoon to mix it all together, starting from the outside of the bowl.  Once that's mixed in, pour in the rest of the liquid, mix in through and work it into a dough.  Tip out onto a well floured surface then knead for about 5 - 10 minutes until it's really pliable.  You may need to add more water or more flour - it depends on the kind of flour you're using - but I've found that these measurements tend to work well for most types of flour I've used (which ranges from Tesco's own to Hovis).

Shape into a round, score a deep cut in the top then leave in a warm place to prove for 40 minutes.  You can cover with clingfilm - I use a clean tea towel.  By the end of this time, it should have doubled in size (more or less).  Knock it back and knead for another minute then shape into the loaf you are making - or put into a loaf tin - then leave for as long as you can.  (You don't want to rush this bit).

When ready, heat the oven to 240C (Gas Mark 9), then put the loaf in for 30 to 35 minutes making sure it doesn't burn on the top.  (I usually turn half way through cooking).  Check whether it's cooked by turning the loaf out and knocking on the bottom.  If it sounds hollow, it's ready.

If you want a crusty loaf, leave out to cool.  If you'd prefer a soft crust, wrap in a clean tea towel while it cools.  Then...

Enjoy!

Do you have any good bread making tips you'd like to share?  Or perhaps a killer recipe that no one can resist?  Or do you prefer breadmakers to hand made bread?  Let me know in the comments and please share any of your favourite bread recipes.