Bread!

Well I haven't been blogging every day as I promised myself I would, but that's because I've been very busy with a plan up my sleeve! All will be revealed in due course but I am in the process of setting up my own business! The name? The Wooden Spoon Cooking Company! It will probably be shortened over time to Wooden Spoon, but I wanted you all to know its full and proper name!

Why Wooden Spoon? Good question! I have always had a real soft spot for my wooden spoon ever since I began to bake and cook properly. (I am aware that just by reading that sentence, some of you want me to see a doctor. Haha! Bear with me!) I have had my wooden spoon for 8 years now, it was my nan's and has been with me through six house moves, a change of country, marriage and two children. It's special to me because it helped me cook the first meal for my then-boyfriend, now husband, cooked for my children, cooked for my friends and family and I feel like it soaks up the love and makes the food taste better :)
So Wooden Spoon Cooking Co it is!

As for what I will be doing...let's say my first step is to talk to some local centres about doing some cooking courses for kids! The two I have in my head right now are Baking Babes, where we'll make either a really simple bread recipe, which I will post below, or cookies/muffins. The second is Fun with Fruit - introducing kids to lots of fruits, including some they might not have had before, and make some fun fruit faces, or fruit salads or fruit tarts.
I have got lots and lots of ideas, but this is my starting point! I would be really interested to hear what you guys think about this, so if you do have an opinion please comment and let me know!

Now for the bread recipe - super duper easy and what's more, QUICK! Because we don't always have time to wait for it to rise and neither do we always have bread flour knocking around!

You will need:

2 and a half cups warm water (and really shouldn't be that hot, just a tad warm)
6 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp yeast (or 2 sachets)
2 tbsp oil
6 cups of flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder

How simple is that? All stuff that most people have in the cupboard. Now look how easy it is to make!

First, put the water, sugar, yeast and oil in a bowl and mix. Leave about 5 minutes until it the top becomes foamy. When it looks right, add the flour, salt and baking powder and mix quite well. Now comes the only bit that takes a bit of effort - kneading. Pour a little oil onto your work surface and take a really good go at it! Seriously, bash it about, use it to get all your frustrations out and when it's no longer very sticky, it's good to go. Shape into rolls, or a loaf (though this will take longer to cook) and place on a greased baking sheet.
Bake for 10-15 minutes at 200c.

And that's it, it's that easy! Right, I'm off to watch "This Is Jinsy" (have any of you seen it? I've been meaning to watch it for ages!) with a cuppa. Toodle-oo!

PS - if you enjoyed this post, please let me know by leaving a comment and sharing with your friends!