Give us this day our daily bread!

Bread is not healthy! 

How often recently have we seen this in newspapers, magazines and health supplements, or heard it on national media.....but answer me this... if bread is so unhealthy, how are the French, who are one of the biggest bread consumers on the planet, how is it that they are so healthy?




Some put it down to the French consuming a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fish and other healthy things, but they eat bread at every meal! surely this must be a bad thing? Apparently not!

The thing about the French, is that you will be hard pushed to find a plastic wrapped white loaf even in a supermarket!.......the French love their bread...... they are connoisseurs of the loaf!..... and every little village and hamlet will have a bakery that supplies the community with 'real bread', not just the everyday baguette and croissants, but a mind numbing selection of breads to be consumed at different mealtimes, with different dishes or even in different seasons!......bread heaven to me!

Here in Ireland, we seem to have developed a neurotic fear of this simple, everyday food!

There are many confusing reports floating around in the media and at dinner tables these days such as 'eating bread will make you fat'.......'you will suffer the dreaded bloat'.....'eating bread raises your blood sugar levels and increases your risk of diabetes'.......another one is.....'GLUTEN is bad for you'.....so be afraid, be very afraid!
But you must remember that these magazines, newspapers and TV programmes are there for one thing......to sell the 'idea' of a lifestyle or usually some sort of product or advertising air time!......how else do you think they make their money?........if you want honest healthy eating advice then go to a health practitioner or a nutritionist!......don't buy it!...and a nutritionist will always suggest eating bread!

So let's address some of these issues that cause us concern......"eating bread will make you fat"........of course it will if you eat too much of it..... indulging in large amounts of any highly processed food such as 'white bread' or 'plastic fantastic' as I like to call it, will do you no favours, especially if you combine it with the likes of cheese, butter, jam, sausages, bacon or chips or even crisps! when laid out in front of the TV for hours every night.......ah the old chip butty.....delicious, but should be approached with caution!

Commercially manufactured breads are made using the 'CHORLEY-WOOD' process, you can find all the techno info about it here!  This process may be great for the manufacturer but not so good for the consumer if that's the only bread you eat! The methods involved in making this sort of bread could also be the culprits behind 'bloating' if you unlucky enough to suffer this uncomfortable problem, and to be truthful, such a highly processed product can also have an adverse effect on blood sugar levels..... the highly refined sugars enter the bloodstream faster than the sugars from carbohydrates which are more natural and unrefined!

So that leaves the last 'bugbear'......'GLUTEN'.....what is gluten? why are we so afraid of it?.....and why do people believe it is bad for them?
Gluten is a protein found in flours and grains such as barley......and protein is one of the essential building blocks of life.....it's also quite an important component in bread making as it makes the dough stretchy and allows the bread to rise, the gluten also helps the bread to keep its shape during rising and baking, in other words it's a GOOD THING!

The negative issue with gluten is when you are either born with, or develop an intolerance to gluten which is a condition known as 'Coeliac Disease' and I wouldn't wish this painful and inconvenient condition on anyone!
People who suffer from gluten intolerance are prone to excruciating cramps and either chronic constipation or diarrhoea when they have an attack, and many are denied the pleasure of being able to dine out with friends due to the severity of their condition.
Even the simple exercise of storing bags of flour on the same shelf as foods meant for coeliacs, or using the same knives or other equipment to prepare foods for non coeliacs can cause cross contamination, it is one of the highest risks to the sufferer when 'eating out'.

If you are lucky enough to not suffer from any intolerance issues there is no reason why you can't enjoy bread, even if you are aiming for weight loss or weight maintenance. If you want to be able to enjoy bread in a 'healthy' way then go for 'real bread' bought from an artisan baker or bread you have baked yourself.
A home made yeast risen loaf is naturally low in fat and sugar!... yes I'm telling the truth! it's all about the flour folks!

Aim for using wholemeal, rye, buckwheat or spelt flours.....these are flours that are high in fibre, contain good 'complex' carbohydrates, which means the natural sugars are slowly released in the body providing a continuous source of energy rather than a 'sugar rush' that leaves you feeling great one minute and awful 20 minutes after it has worn off!......yes you will have to mix a certain percentage of white flour with these flours or else your bread will be like a brick!..... but go for a good quality stone-ground, non processed white flour......meaning the flour does not have all the goodness stripped out of it!.....we want a flour that has retained its fibre and essentially its flavour.....this is how bread was made for hundreds of years, long before the bakers of Chorley Wood got their hands on it!

A home made loaf of bread is essentially flour, water, a tiny bit of sugar and salt, and yeast....and that's it!......no added fats, not packed with sugar and NO ADDITIVES!....so enjoy, moderately of course!
If you're worrying about your waistline then bread should be treated pretty much like every other food....too much of a good thing is bad for you! in other words, anything eaten to excess, in other words don't eat half a loaf to yourself at one sitting!.... will do you and your waistline no favours!

Basic bread is easy to make....and you can find my 'Family Friendly Loaf'' recipe HERE!

To find out some more about the 'REAL BREAD CAMPAIGN' click HERE! you can find a list of artisan producers and bakers in your area who are doing it for real!

'Tea Bread' or 'Tea Brack'.......don't be afraid to choose!

I am very lucky.....I think I already said that elsewhere on this blog!, but I am lucky to live within minutes of the hottest Halloween festival in the world....or at least they hope it will be crowned that very soon!

'Scary Derry' or the 'City of Bones' is ranked #1 out of twenty worldwide destinations as the best place to celebrate the creepy festival of Halloween, and the Banks of the Foyle's family friendly Halloween Carnival and all its shenanigans has to be experienced at least once!



you can find out more about 'Scary Derry' HERE!

Cast your vote for Derry as the world's #1 Halloween Hotspot  HERE!

Halloween, celebrated each year on 31st October, is the ancient pagan festival of  'Samhain' or end of summer, a period falling between the autumn equinox and winter solstice when the souls of the dead are said to rise and walk the earth once more visiting the homes of their living relatives.

Traditionally on the night, an Irish home and anyone in it, including any dogs and cats! were blessed with holy water and mirrors were covered with sheets so the wandering souls of the dear departed could not cross back over to the realm of the living........creepy stuff or what!

At this time of year the Irish barmbrack, roughly translated from Gaelic as 'speckled loaf', appears on the shelves of  bakeries and supermarkets across the country, and of course there is a history behind the eating of 'barmbrack' or 'tea brack'.

Barmbrack or tea brack, as it is also commonly known, usually in the southern counties, is a sweetened yeast dough with sultanas and raisins, occasionally cherries are added too depending on the family recipe, into which a ring, a silver coin, a piece of cloth, a button and a thimble have been placed, this was to tell your fortune!

On Halloween night everyone in the house got a slice of the barmbrack. Should you find the ring,  you would marry within the year, finding the coin foretold of great wealth and good luck, the downside of this was that finding either could also mean a trip to the dentist if you bit down to hard and chipped a tooth! the thimble symbolised spinsterhood, the button bachelorhood and the cloth, poverty or bad luck.
You can still find a lucky ring in today's shop bought barmbracks.

you can find my recipe for 'Barmbrack' here!

Barmbrack or Tea Brack is not to be confused with 'TEA BREAD', which is a different kettle of fish altogether as it actually has tea in it......Tea Brack or barmbrack you eat for your tea or while drinking tea......and we Irish do love our tea!

Tea bread is similar to a fruit cake but is even tastier!

It is made by soaking the fruit in tea, some of which is added to the actual 'loaf'. It is usually made with just sultanas and raisins but as I am partial to cherries I cannot bring myself to leave them out!

It is also different from barmbrack in that it has some spice added be it cinnamon, nutmeg or mixed spice, and it is always made in a loaf tin for ease of slicing. It is also softer in texture and less dense than a fruit cake. As for which tea you use to soak the fruit in is entirely up to you! some say it should be a good Earl Grey but I use equal quantities of good old Irish Barry's tea and lemon green tea.

Tea bread has a totally unique flavour compared to a standard fruit cake or Christmas cake, and even though it is made with quite a lot of sugar the cooking temperature is higher and cooking time less.

Although common in Ireland tea bread has it's origins in Britain and every area seems to have some version of their own e.g. 'Bara Brith' is common in Wales.
Across the Irish sea, tea bread is enjoyed primarily at afternoon tea or 'high tea' where it can be found served with 'lemon cheese', more commonly known as lemon curd, and in Yorkshire served with Wensleydale cheese.

you can find my recipe for 'Spiced Tea Bread' here!

"It's my destiny to be the King of Pain"..(Pain....as in the French for bread!)......Introducing the King of Irish bread!

Plain or fruit?..........which one are you?

They say you can tell a lot about an Irish person from their choice of soda bread or 'scone bread' as it is known here in our border region...... I'm a bit sceptical about that but I'm sure there's many an argument takes place across this isle as to whether one should have fruit or not in ones loaf, or to even have it as a loaf or should one eat it as a farl......a 'farl' being when the dough is cut into triangles and baked on a griddle rather than in the oven.



Everybody seems to have their preference,.......but me? I prefer a fruity soda loaf with sultanas and lots of cherries........ no currants or mixed peel for me! than you very much, but on second thought there's nothing like a piece of toasted soda farl with your fried breakfast...... a bacon and egg soda farl....available in many a cafe in Derry!

Soda bread is the quintessential Irish bread and at one time everybody and their mother had their own recipe!

Growing up in Ireland, the making of soda bread was a second nature exercise, there was no weighing out of ingredients involved, it was a cup of this a cup or two of that, a spoonful here and a spoonful there, and by watching mammy make her bread you learned to know just by looking in the 'mason cash' mixing bowl that your measurements were correct......sadly it is an occurrence you see less and less in Irish homes and a skill I fear may be lost to this next generation.



Of all breads, the Irish soda loaf is the easiest to make and is simply delicious, and in this our National Bread Week, Irish soda bread certainly deserves top place in the list of Irish breads, if not great world breads! so have a go at making your own for it takes mere minutes.

Traditional Farmhouse Soda: makes 1 loaf

500 g plain flour + 1 level teaspoon of baking soda OR use soda bread flour which has soda already added

1 level teaspoon of salt

50 g salted butter

400 ml buttermilk

a heavy bread tin or small roasting tin just big enough to hold the loaf.....I use a round cake tin!

a little extra butter melted......just for the tin 

how to make your loaf:

• heat your oven to 180 degrees centigrade
• sieve the flour, salt and soda into a big mixing bowl
• rub in the 50 g of butter
• if adding fruit....now's the time to do it.....make sure it is clean and there are no sticks in the sultanas etc.
• place your tin in the oven to heat while you are adding the milk to the flour........why? that's just how it  was done in the cottages of Donegal, the butter not only prevents the loaf from sticking to the tin but it also gives a lovely nutty under crust to the loaf.......you can of course just butter your tin and not bother putting it in the oven
• make a well in the middle of the flour add 3/4 of the buttermilk and using a metal spoon mix the flour into the milk working from the outside to the centre
• keep mixing until it begins to form a dough.....too dry? then add more buttermilk
• when the dough begins to come together get in with your hands and mix a little longer then scrape your bowl out onto a floured surface
• knead your dough lightly for a few seconds and give it the shape of your tin, remove your tin from the oven, brush with melted butter, put in your dough, cut a cross in the top if you wish and put the tin back in the oven
• bake for approx 20 mins until well risen and nicely browned on top
• turn out of the tin and cool on a wire rack
• slice thickly, spread with butter and your granny's blackberry jam and enjoy!

Chef's Notes:

you can try this recipe as a wheaten soda, just use equal quantities of wholemeal flour and white flour, if using white soda bread flour then you need to add half a level teaspoon of baking soda for the wholemeal flour.

when making a fruit loaf you can add 120 g of fruit per 500 g of flour, try adding a heaped teaspoon of mixed spice to a fruit scone too....it's very tasty!

'Scone' as in 'dawn' or 'Scone' as in 'Stone'!

Regardless of how you pronounce it, the 'scone' has become one of the most popular items to reach beyond the boundaries of the historic 'afternoon tea'.

Although the drinking of tea was first popularised around the 1600's, the idea of afternoon tea did not appear until 1840 when the Duchess of Bedford couldn't wait for her dinner! That long stretch between her lunch and the next meal which was dinner, fashionably served at 8 o'clock, was just too much for the dear duchess so she decreed that tea and sandwiches be served every afternoon, she then started inviting the girls around and so began the tradition of afternoon tea.


By the 1880's tea in the afternoon had turned into a social event for upper class ladies..... and gents of course.....who would dress especially for the occasion in tea gowns and gloves.

Rarely do many of us have time in the afternoons anymore for a cup of tea never mind a scone, but the tradition of afternoon tea has held it's own with tea shops popping up all over the place and every cafe or coffee shop catering to the post shopping trip ladies in need of refreshment.

Any hotel worth their salt will always offer afternoon tea and five star establishments like The Savoy or Claridges are famed for their afternoon offerings, but Irish establishments are now doing their bit too and every decent hotel will have their own 'afternoon delight' offereings!

With their mind blowing selections of teas from around the world and bite size cakes to rival the best patisserie in France we seem willing to 'fork out' if you'll pardon the pun, for what is not quite a meal!

Last of the Summer.......Rhubarb!

We are in the first days of October and the sun has been shining for the last week with temperatures equal to a good day in August.....yes we are in the throes of an Indian summer! and when the sun comes out our taste buds seem to change instinctively and crave lighter foods.

Wandering round the market a few days ago I spied what is probably the last of the seasons rhubarb, of course I had to buy it, it could be months before we see any fresh again!

There are things in life that are just meant to be together and rhubarb and ginger are two of them!
One can always enjoy rhubarb in a pie or a crumble or even some tasty jam, but my preferred method of enjoying this tart fruit that disguises itself as a vegetable, is as a deliciously spicy compote served alongside the sweetness of meringue and the obligatory fresh cream but with a ginger secret in the form of a 'dacquoise'. A dacquoise is the French term for what is layers of nutty meringue filled with whatever you fancy.

The best of the Breakfast Brunch! ...... how to make 'fadge' or Irish potato bread

A Sunday with no guests?......... best day to enjoy brunch!

Maybe you were out last night or had friends round, either way you've had your Sunday morning lie in and are now in need of sustenance, and what better way to start the day than with a good brunch without going to the whole bother of cooking dinner or dolling yourself up to go out for lunch.

I think nowhere does breakfast quite like Ulster and I include Donegal in that!  and the Ulster fry is just the ticket...good for more than just breakfast time it also makes a perfect brunch......but after a night on the tiles maybe we are feeling just a little too fragile to go the whole hog of a fry, so lets go for something a little lighter yet just as sustaining.

For a delicious and filling brunch try simply potato bread or potato cakes with some crisply grilled bacon, you may also like to add a poached or some scrambled egg, and of course a good pint of.......tea!

The basic Irish potato bread or cake, has many different names depending on what area of the country you were raised in......here are some of them

• potato bread or cake
• boxty
• poundies....with scallions of course!
• slims
• potato farls
• tatie bread

But I am going to make 'fadge'.........which is what my father called it........and he was from Derry!

So for the basic potato bread mixture......

Get ready for National Bread Week!

Yes it's National Bread Week.... beginning tomorrow!

2014 was the first year that Ireland held a national bread week, I don't remember where I was or what I was doing, no doubt I was up to my elbows in a 32 pint pot somewhere, but somehow I missed it......my bad!....but this year there is no excuse!

National Bread Week has been highly publicised and fair play to Bord Bia and the FCBA which is the Flour, Confectioners and Bakers Association, it looks like it's going to be a good'un!

you can find out more about National Bread Week  HERE!

So get to know your fruit soda from your barmbrack, your boxty from your farl and learn to 'love your loaf'!

I will be posting a recipe a day of our family favourites so if you'd like to bake along with me I recommend you stock up on the following:

for basic scone and traditional Irish breads:

plain four

wholemeal flour

porridge oats

baking powder & baking soda

butter & baking margarine....the firm vegetable fat kind!

castor sugar

eggs

milk & buttermilk

potatoes.... you can't make 'fadge' without them!

for fruit breads:

sultanas, raisins or mixed dried fruit, glacé cherries

mixed spice

light soft brown sugar

your favourite tea.....yes tea!

for something a little more exotic.....yeast breads:

strong bread flour white & wholemeal or rye

sunflower seeds 

olive oil...not extra virgin

don't forget your apron!

Hail to the humble 'spud' on National Potato Day!

“I appreciate the potato only as a protection against famine, except for that, I know of nothing more
eminently tasteless.”

So said the greatest of gastronomes..... 'Jean Anthelme Brillat Savarin' ....who it seems was really more interested in the psychology of eating rather than the food itself......surprising for a French man!


Most Irish people should find that quote highly insulting as it seems to imply that anyone who holds the humble 'spud' in esteem is a few potatoes short of a full sack!
It also stirs memories of the unfortunate history of our country and the great hunger that occurred between 1845 and 1852 when 1 million died from starvation and another million fled the land, many of them only to die on the 'coffin' ships taking them to the new world and a supposedly better life far from the harsh political system that forced them to rely on the potato as a means of nourishment.

Loving Your Loaf!...or do you love to loaf?

Irish National bread week begins shortly!

Practically every culture around the world has a number of characteristic breads and Ireland is no exception! 

There are probably few who do not equate the word 'Irish' with 'soda bread' or 'potato bread', but there is much so more going on in the Irish bread scene than what we see on our supermarket shelves!

Artisan bakers are popping up all over the place and craft breads can be seen and purchased at local farmers markets, may be served with your meal in a local restaurant and you may even find them on sale in shops, coffee shops and deli's.....keep your eye out for roadside signs too!

I am lucky to be only 10 minutes away from the wonderful Scarpello & Co bakery who specialise in making breads from natural yeasts and organic stone ground flours and baking them using traditional wood-fired methods in their brick oven. you can read more about them HERE!

So if you prefer to loaf about instead of baking your own, then get out to your local market and see what's on offer...it could be the greatest thing since sliced bread!

You can find more information on Irish National Bread Week and some interesting titbits on our countries favourite traditional breads by clicking HERE!

I don't mince my words, but when is a pie not a 'pie' ? When it's a Shepherdess Pie!

The English language is a funny thing with its varying meanings to words that are spelled and sound exactly the same...... I pity anyone who has to learn it!

When most people talk about pie you might assume they are talking about the 'pie' that involves 2 layers of pastry with a savory or sweet filling in between... and that type of pie I love! As I've said before anything cooked in pastry is good...especially my Aunties apple pie....no one on the planet makes apple pie like hers...not even me!...Mary Berry eat your heart out is all I'm saying!

Pies are defined by their pastry crusts.....a bottom crust.....a top crust....or a double crust as in top and bottom.... but then we get on to pies that are not 'pies' like 'Cottage Pie', more commonly known as 'Shepherd's Pie' around here, as in here in Ireland. This is a prime example of a pie with not an ounce of pastry in sight!

Little pots.....little pots of chocolate!

Sometimes you just need chocolate! and after the crazy post holiday week I've had....I definitely need CHOCOLATE!

And what better way to kill two birds......as in my needs and a dessert for tomorrows Sunday lunch, than to indulge in some 'scelerisque' that's latin for chocolate by the way....note the word 'risque' is in there....as in too much is 'risqué' on the hips!....eater beware!

So a quick and easy dessert to whip up is my little pots of chocolate, which aren't exactly served up in little pots, but that's how the French used to serve this kind of thing, so there's the history behind that!

This is a delectable, rich, dark, bitter, intense, 'sinful' dessert with lots of flavor....indulge at leisure!

Even 'economy' stores have a 'Silver' lining!

I am a total convert to, and a fan of, the european 'economy' supermarket.....I'm sure you have an idea of who I'm talking about without my naming names! still for better or worse we are part of europe ourselves but don't worry there will be no political debates taking place here.

In this period of economic austerity there is little room for supermarket snobbery anymore, and more often than not, no matter what the expectations of our taste buds, sometimes it is our pocketbooks that determine where we will shop. Yes we may skip around the 'farmers' markets and the local small growers and producers but there comes a time when you just have to go to the supermarket.

As a single parent with 2 growing  teenage children I am effectively supporting 3 adults on a single income, so how to eat well on limited funds yet support Irish producers is a weekly challenge you yourself may be familiar with.
I suggest you just get out there and investigate  these 'outsiders' who have so successfully got a foothold in the Irish market, you might be surprised ! and if you are into supporting Irish sourced produce then you'll be delighted at what you'll find in these establishments along those lines.

But anyway, on to my recent find...beware I'm about to get poetic.....

Five little ducks came along one day..... one got confit'd....... the other 4 are in the freezer awaiting their fate!

I am a duck lover and I'm not ashamed to say it. I know there will be many out there who empathize with the poor little fluffy ducklings and shout from the heights...'how could you? how do you eat that?'...and my answer will be...'preferably confit'd... but I'm partial to a nice Cointreau sauce too!'

Duck is normally regarded as the preserve of the high class restaurant and only the very bravest of people dare take on the cooking of duck in their humble household, yet when it comes to the subject of duck....... Ireland has a secret weapon!