Tag: Worldwide Blogger bake-off

Angelus Silesius Moroccan Holiday Bread

Sunday morning woke up with a mission; BAKE BREAD! There was no meal idea in mind, the morning loomed large, the kids were out of bed & running wild…& I had to bake bread. While the kids squabbled over the remote & hot-house eggs (which I shall blog about another day), I emptied my bread baking bookshelf onto the table & wondered where to begin. Winter is almost here, the weather isn’t warm enough for a confident rise in yeast…yet, I had to bake bread. I juggled a couple of choices … a Tuscan Schiacciata, a Greek Olive Bread, Portuguese Corn Bread…& eventually settled for a Moroccan Holiday Bread. I had all ingredients on hand, just enough time for the dough to double & rise again…& a bag of sunflower seeds to use. Happily enough, by sheer coincidence, the bread belonged to Morocco, a country in North Africa.

BAKE BREAD – GIVE DOUGH – FEED AFRICA!

Breadline Africa is a South African-based charity that is seeking to put a lasting end to poverty South Africa (and further afield in Africa) by breaking the cycle of poverty and helping communities to achieve long-term self-sustainability. Breadline Africa was founded in 1993 when a group of community and social workers in South Africa (who had first-hand knowledge of the uniquely African problems that they faced) formed an alliance with like-minded colleagues in Europe (who were well-placed to source donations in valuable foreign currency). Armed with this unique combination of skills, Breadline Africa has been able to raise funds in Europe and use their local knowledge to identify which small, ground-level projects in Africa are most likely to succeed with a financial boost.

On Blog Action Day, Breadline Africa launched their Worldwide Blogger Bake-Off campaign. The aim is to raise $1 million in funds for a project to convert shipping containers into locations for food production and distribution in Africa. It is hoped that these sustainable community kitchens will not only provide food such as bread and soup to those in need, but also opportunities for skills development within poor communities.Bloggers can download the Blogger Bake-off widget and tag five other bloggers to do the same – I am tagging these five to bake bread:
Val @ More Than Burnt Toast
Aparna @ My Diverse Kitchen
Manggy @ No Special Effects
Rosie @ Rosie Bakes a Peace of Cake
Nuria @ Spanish Recipes

If you want to get involved in the Blogger Bake-off, check out their website here.

White Sesame seeds – 2 tbsps

• Lightly grease a baking sheet or line with parchment.
• Sift the flours & salt into a bowl.
• Cream the yeast in a 100ml warm water + 100 ml warm milk, with a tsp of sugar. proof for 5-10 minutes.
• Pour into the flour mix & make a fairly soft dough. Knead for 5 minutes until smooth & elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap & leave to rise in a warm place, until doubled in size, for about an hour.
• Turn out on a lightly floured surface, knock back, & gently knead the seeds into it. eave a few seeds for sprinkling on top. Shape into a loaf (original recipe has a round ball), flatten slightly, & place on prepared sheet.
• Leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 200C.
• Brush the top of the loaf with water, sprinkle seeds on top, & bake for 30-35 minutes until it’s golden, & makes a hollow sound when tapped. (I placed a bowl of water under the tray, & spritzed the oven twice).
• Transfer to a rack to cool. We had it warm, & it was wonderful. Tasted great on it’s own, & even better with a brush of butter. The kids loved it too, both without, & later, with butter!

I’m sending this to Susan @ Wild Yeast for her ongoing event ‘Yeastspotting.’