Focaccia Recipe – Beautiful, Simple & Rustic

Focaccia is a flattish rustic Italian bread with an open, irregular crumb structure. I love focaccia when it’s moist and chewy without being too oily, when it’s kept simple, with an emphasis on fresh herbs and olive oil flavours. Focaccia dough is fairly wet and sticky, but the addition of olive oil means it’s still pliable, … Read more

Pain de Campagne Bread Recipe (Sourdough)

Described as ‘the antithesis of the industrial factory loaf’ by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, pain de campagne (French for ‘country bread’) is my favourite everyday loaf. This pain de campagne recipe using sourdough starter for leavening the dough is a delightful loaf of bread, guaranteed to please your family, friends or dinner guests. What is pain de … Read more

Grilled BBQ Flatbreads with Herb Oil (Fladenbrot vom Grill)

It’s super quick to make these amazing flatbreads – if the sun comes out you can be ready to put them on the grill in just over an hour! Holidaying in my parents’ house in Austria, we had a family BBQ this afternoon. There is a wonderful ‘Kräuterschnecke’ (which translates as ‘herb snail’) in our … Read more

Gluten-free buckwheat & linseed bread recipe

  I personally get on well with gluten, a natural protein found in wheat and other grains. I am, however, painfully aware that not everyone is as lucky. Gluten-free bread recipes don’t have a particularly good reputation; but I found a great recipe that uses a variety of gluten-free flours and tastes delicious! The role … Read more

Picnic Loaf Recipe with Yoghurt and Oats

It’s picnic time! Well, almost… It’s mid-April and in Edinburgh we have maximum temperatures of 8°C and wind gusts of up to 47 mph. So, not quite picnic weather yet, but I’m sure when the Scottish summer comes, it’s going to be amazing! The unpredictable Scottish weather is exactly why a picnic loaf needs to be … Read more

Recipe for Flatbread with Nuts

This is a recipe my aunt from Höhnhart, Upper Austria shared with me (thank you Berta :-)). Berta and I are connected by our passion for bread and while she has been a master for years, I’m just at the beginning of my bread journey! This bread is super-delicious with just butter and cheese.  Add carrots, … Read more

Khobz Recipe – Authentic Moroccan Bread

Watching the first episode of Ottolenghi’s Mediterranean Feast set in Morocco, I was (of course) inspired by the industriousness in the Moroccan bread bakery. It brought back memories of my first authentic Moroccan meal, sitting on a balcony overlooking the bustling Jemaa el-Fnaa in Marrakesh. If you love Middle Eastern & Mediterranean food as much as I do, … Read more

Hefezopf (Striezel) Recipe

My friend Mariel and I decided to have a friendly Challah versus Hefezopf (Austrian: Striezel) bake-off this weekend. Challah versus Hefezopf / Striezel Challah (Hebrew for ‘loaf’) is a traditional leavened and plaited Jewish bread eaten on Sabbath and holidays. Striezel (in Austria) or Hefezopf (in Germany) is also a plaited yeast bread. What makes … Read more

Parmesan Breadsticks Recipe

Guest post by Oonagh Thompson This recipe is an adaptation of Richard Bertinet’s olive, herb and Pecorino sticks from his brilliant book ‘Dough’. These parmesan breadsticks are deliciously bready and chewy, not the crunchy kind, and are perfect with a big pot of hummus or for dunking in some homemade soup. These moreish parmesan breadsticks … Read more