Every Saturday, I have a little recipe published in The Guardian newspaper's 'Weekend' magazine. It'll probably use flour, in one way or another - baked, fried, steamed, poached or toasted. There'll be bread, buns and rolls, cakes, pies and tarts, biscuits, batters and puddings. And once in a while, something else. Baking in the broadest sense of the word.
The editor has asked me to keep to under 250 words, so the recipes will lean towards the quick and easy, but this also means there's little space to explain techniques or give helpful hints. And while every recipe will be tested and re-tested before it goes to print, it's always possible that the meaning may not be clear, or that in the editing, something will be lost.
So if you need advice, or have questions to ask, I'll do my best to help. You'll find the recipes, along with pictures and posts from other bakers, in the 'Guardian recipes' section at www.danlepard.com/forum. If you have the time to browse, you'll find more recipes, pictures and top tips, not just in the forum, but across the danlepard.com website. Or if you just want to say that you're enjoying the recipes, you can always send an email to weekend@guardian.com
Recipe by Dan Lepard
from The Guardian You can shape this dough into loaves, cut it into sticks for deli sub rolls or – even easier – pat it out on a tray for a mega thick focaccia. 450g salad potatoes 1 tsp instant dry yeast 100ml low-fat yoghurt 50g runny honey 175g pitted green olives 1 small bunch [...]
Recipe by Dan Lepard
from The Guardian The traditional apple version from southwest France uses dessert apples. Pears poached in red wine give a different result, subtle and lovely when served with cold crème fraîche. You’ll have a batch of syrup left over: use it in a fruit compote or for more pear poaching. 7 or 8 rock hard [...]
Recipe by Dan Lepard
from The Guardian Wholemeal flour can sometimes give a slight bitter aftertaste, but combining it with almond extract, brown sugar and oats masks this and creates a rich background flavour to stud with chocolate and dried fruit. The oil reduces the need for too much butter while making the cookies a little more chewy. 100g [...]
Recipe by Dan Lepard
from The Guardian Journalist Robyn Eckhardt from eatingasia.typepad.com tweeted me about a tahini bun she’d had in Istanbul and asked “why not peanut butter?” I thought about peanuts, salt, chillies and by the end of the day was eating this bread with slices of chorizo. 50g tahini 75g crunchy peanut butter 1 tbsp cumin seeds [...]
Recipe by Dan Lepard
from The Guardian I’ve lowered the fat and increased the flavour, fibre and moistness for these easy peasy cheesy scones, good for picnics. 75g rolled oats, plus more for the top 50ml buttermilk 1 large egg 50ml sunflower or corn oil 1 large bunch parsley, leaves only, finely chopped 5 – 6 spring onions, finely [...]
Recipe by Dan Lepard
from The Guardian Tahini has a curious effect when warmed as it turns sugar and syrup to a fudge-like consistency, as it does with halva. So in an oat flapjack it means you can reduce the butter and still have a firm fudge consistency once it’s baked. 100g unsalted butter 75g brown sugar 200g sweetened [...]
Recipe by Dan Lepard
from the Guardian This summer’s prime sandwich is bbq pork belly and needs a good chewy light crust around it. This is it. 75g semolina or cornmeal, plus more to finish 25g unsalted butter 1 tsp honey 1 tbsp natural yoghurt 1 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp instant dry yeast 450g strong white flour, plus [...]
Recipe by Dan Lepard
from The Guardian AGA, the oven people, invited me to cook the canapés for a celebration evening a few weeks ago, and for dessert I wanted an “Eaton mess” of brandied cherries, an old black variety called Waterloo that I picked at Brogdale and bottled at home, served with whipped cream and miniature chocolate honey [...]
Recipe by Dan Lepard
from The Guardian A magnificent tower of light saffron buttercake rich with clotted cream, then layered with lemon curd then finally topped with clotted cream frosting and more swirls of lemon. The perfect summer party cake. for the cake: 75ml lemon juice a large pinch saffron 100g unsalted butter, softened 50ml corn or sunflower oil [...]
Recipe by Dan Lepard
from The Guardian Great with sweet chilli dipping sauce. 2 aubergine, not the huge ones 250g cottage cheese 1 tbsp chopped dill or marjoram 2 chopped spring onions salt and pepper 300g plain flour, plus more for rolling 1 tsp salt 25ml olive oil the leaves from a small bunch flat-leaf parsley 100g cold butter, [...]
