Dill + Garlic Butter Tear + Share Bread ft. Savisto

I love love love baking, it's such a relaxing and calming thing for me and you get yummy bakes at the end *unless everything goes wrong, which can happen sometimes*. I've published a few baking related posts on both of my blogs, my most recent was my review of some gorgeous pieces from NuCasa which you can check out but I also recently received an amazing value stand mixer from Savisto.

I was so excited when the *Savisto Stand Mixer (£95.99) arrived and I've already used it a few times to make gingerbread biscuits and bread. The mixer comes in red too but the black goes with our kitchen decor more than red. It comes with three attachments - a dough hook which I use for this recipe, a whisk and a beater. The mixer has a 5.5 litre capacity bowl, it has a maximum 1260w motor and six speed settings although I've only gone up to speed 3 so far.

The mixer is plastic so it's relatively light weight especially compared to our KitchenAid mixer, it has a sleek and expensive looking design and it is so quick and easy to use. The attachments are easy to attach which isn't usually the case with the KitchenAid attachments, it's all very easy to hand wash and even though it is a little nosy, it isn't much more so than the KitchenAid. It has suction pads on the base which is really useful to keep the machine in place because when it has to work hard kneading bread dough then it can move a little. I love the mixer, I think it works so well and it's amazing value! My only little problem which it would be the lock to lift the top half of the mixer - it seems to be on a spring and it can just sprung up quickly, if that makes sense so you have to gently hold the top to release it but other than that it's amazing!

I have used the mixer for gingerbread dough and it worked perfectly, just as well as our cream KitchenAid and I have also used it for bread dough. Today's recipe is for dill and garlic butter tear and share bread which I adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe - you can find the original, here. Here is my version which is suitable for vegetarians and you could make it vegan friendly by using margarine or olive oil/sunflower spread instead of butter.

• 400g of strong white bread flour 
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 7g of dry active yeast
• 250ml warm water 
• 1 tablespoon of butter 
• 3/4 cloves of garlic 

Step One: Add the flour, salt and yeast to your mixing bowl or stand mixer. Make a well in the centre and add a little of the water and mix. I then used the dough hook on my Savisto stand mixer to start to combine the ingredients while I slowly added the water. Mix until it forms a ball of dough and kneed for another five minutes until it is smooth and springy. I used the mixer to do most of the kneading on speed 2, anything more than speed 2 and it will be a bit too much for the dough and mixer. 

Step Two: Place the bowl and dough in a warm place to prove/rise for an hour or until double in size. I put the Savisto bowl into my washing up bowl filled with hot water and a tea towel over the top to help the yeast. 

Step Three: While the dough is rising, lightly coat a oven safe tin with butter or margarine to stop the dough from sticking. I used a square 8 inch by 8 inch tin and I managed to get nine small rolls in it which was perfect. After one hour, place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into approx. 60g balls and place in your tin. 

Step Four: Grate or very finely slice three or four cloves of fresh garlic and combine in a small bowl with approx. one tablespoon of butter - I used the Stork baking butter. You can add salt or lemon rind to your garlic butter if you want, I'd definitely recommend adding a little more salt at this stage. Brush a small amount onto the dough and leave in a warm place to prove/rise again for at least another hour (up to an hour and a half if you have time). 

Step Five: After the second prove, pre-heat your oven to approx. 180 (for fan ovens) and bake in the tin for 30 minutes. Half way through the bake, remove the tin and brush more of the garlic butter onto the bread for a shiny finish. The bread should be a light golden brown after 30 minutes; remove from the oven and top with fresh dill or any other fresh herb of your choice. 

I'm really happy with the way the bread turned out, the tear and share size is perfect and they taste so nice! The dough is fluffy and soft and the garlic butter makes it amazing. Using the stand mixer makes baking so much quicker, easier and there is less mess to clean up too. Next time, I will probably add some garlic power and dried herbs to the actual dough for extra deliciousness! I think the mixer is a great value alternative to a KitchenAid mixer. Overall rating: ★★★★☆, 4.5/5. 

Have you tried making bread? What do you think of this stand mixer? Will you be trying this recipe? 

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Recipe: Cinnamon Banana Bread Muffins

If you don't know, I love baking, I find baking and cooking in general so relaxing but I haven't had time recently because of learning to drive which is so time consuming and stressful! Anyway, we had some bananas that were over ripe so I thought it was the right time to bake. I'm not a fan of banana bread so I changed the recipe, the original recipe can be found, here.

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup of white granulated sugar 

• 3 ripe bananas 

• 1/2 cup of sunflower oil

• 2 cups of plain white flour  

• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

• 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda 

•  1 medium egg 

• 1 tablespoon of ground/powdered cinnamon  

Step One: Pre-heat your oven to 170 celsius (for the fan setting) and place muffin/cupcake cases into a muffin tin ready for the mixture. I used fairly large cupcake cases that were quite sturdy as the mixture is quite thick.

Step Two: Combine the sugar, sunflower oil and the egg in a bowl. I used my Kitchenaid so there was no mess and it was SO quick and easy! Combine all three ingredients until it is smooth, yellow and fully mixed together.

Step Three: Mash the bananas with a fork, I used bananas that weren't overly ripe and I added them a little at a time so they were incorporated into the mixture easier and smoother but you will still get little chunks in the mixture which is fine! Add in as much cinnamon as you like, I used about a tablespoon as I love cinnamon but I will add a bit more next time.

Step Four: Sift in the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda into the banana, sugar, oil and egg mixture (I made it sound so appetising, I know) and mix well!

Step Five: Spoon the mixture into the cases until they are just over half full and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Insert a toothpick or cake tester into the muffins to see if they are cooked through - they will be if the toothpick/tester comes out of the muffin clean. Wait to cool before eating, even though it won't be easy as they make the house smell SO good!

As I said, I'm not a massive fan of banana bread but I really liked these and they are so incredibly quick and easy to make. They don't contain butter which is another plus and the mixture made about 22 for me but it will vary depending on the size of cupcake/muffin cases you use. They aren't super light and fluffy as they do contain mashed up banana in them but they definitely aren't dense or heavy either. They are so tasty, comforting and great as a snack or part of your breakfast. They are suitable for vegetarians but they are not suitable for vegans. The addition of cinnamon makes them perfect for me!

Have you made cinnamon banana bread muffins before? What have you been baking recently? Will you try this recipe? 

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Thai New Year + Vegan Lunch Recipes

Today marks the start of the Thai New Year *13th April - 15th* and to celebrate, I'm going to be talking about easy cooking kits, food and quick and easy thai inspired lunch ideas. I'm a vegetarian (of almost 12 years now, I can't believe it myself!) so the two lunch idea recipes in this post are not only suitable for vegetarians but they are both suitable for vegans too.

I was very kindly sent a range of products and kits from Thai Taste and I was excited to try the products and see what recipes I could come up with. I received:

- Thai Taste Sweet Chilli Sauce
- Thai Taste Coconut Milk
- Thai Taste East Thai Green Curry Kit
- Thai Taste Easy Thai Red Curry Kit
- Thai Taste Sticky Rice
- Thai Taste Rice Noodles

I haven't tried anything from this brand or cooked specifically Thai food before until I received these products. I love the packaging, there is a great range of products to choose from, all of the products are widely available and I think the prices are really reasonable, especially the kits at only £2.29!

Rice noodles with mushrooms and carrot noodles in a creamy coconut, chill and tarragon sauce

Firstly, if you know me in 'real life' then you will know that I adore pasta and noodles so the rice noodles was the first product I received that I wanted to try. I haven't tried rice noodles before so I didn't know what the texture would be like but I ended up loving them!

I used my spiraliser to make some carrot 'noodles' and fried them along with garlic and mushrooms in toasted sesame oil. To make the sauce I use the coconut milk I received; I added light soy sauce, chilli flakes, taragon and...crunchy peanut butter, stick with me here. I adore Thai peanut noodle type recipes and I always try and make me own versions of recipes. You don't taste peanut butter but it adds sweetness and a nutty flavour to the sauce which if you haven't tried it, I'd definitely recommend it.

The noodle texture is different to 'normal' noodles that I'm used to and they won't be for everyone but I really liked them especially within the slightly spicy, tarragon and coconut sauce. I adore tarragon with coconut milk and chilli! This improvised recipe and lunch idea was so yummy, filling and really quick and easy to make; I will definitely be making this again!

 Thai sticky rice with vegan Quorn pieces, green beans, carrots and coconut milk

As with the previous lunch idea, I also haven't cooked with Thai sticky rice before! The rice cooks a little differently to 'normal' rice but it is a bit quicker to cook which is always a plus. I started by lightly frying green beans, carrots, garlic, ginger and mushrooms in toasted sesame oil *I love toasted sesame oil, if you couldn't tell already*. Half way through cooking, I added the coconut milk, chilli flakes, tarragon and Quorn vegan pieces - yes, Quorn have launched a range of vegan products!

I love the Quorn vegan products I've tried and they work well with so many recipes, this one included. It's a really tasty lunch idea, the rice is obviously different but I like it and it makes a really filling lunch which is something I always look for as I tend to snack throughout the day but more filling lunch ideas help with that.

Overall, I'm really happy with the products I have tried from Thai Tastes, I only used the rice noodles, coconut milk and sticky rice for these lunch ideas but I will have reviews of the Thai curry kits on my Vegetarian Food Blog soon so stay tuned for those reviews!

What do you think of my Thai inspired lunch ideas? Have you tried any products from Thai Tastes? 

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