When it comes to breakfast don’t you just get sick and tired of the age old question… “white or brown?”? Can’t toast be something more? Why do we have to be confined by white and/or brown? Well, here at Grassmoor, you don’t! As of 2015 we will be offering our guests a variety of breads at breakfast time, all homemade of course!
The original “white or brown” choice will still remain but will possibly become overshadowed when words such as “seeded”, “walnut” and “oaty” are mentioned. This is all due to the fun I’ve been having in the kitchen over the last few months experimenting with different types of breakfast bread. There’s a whole host out there so why just stick with “white or brown”?!
One of my favourites (and to be fair, this could be eaten at any time of the day!) is what I call the “Bannock Bun”. The Selkirk Bannock is a wonderful fruit bread (not to be confused with the Bannock; a flat oatcake), and is sold in bakeries all over Scotland. I adapted a recipe I found for the Selkirk Bannock to make it into individual buns to be served at breakfast. They are absolutely delicious with lashings of butter or a spot of one of our homemade preserves!
If you’re lucky enough to be offered one on your stay with us I can guarantee you’ll want to go home and eat them again so I’m sharing the recipe with you so you can.
Bannock Buns – Makes 10-12
Ingredients:
1 x 7g sachet fast-action yeast
1 tsp caster sugar
500g/1lb 2oz strong white flour
125g/4½oz unsalted butter, melted
250g/9oz dried mixed fruit
50g/2oz light brown sugar
Method:
- Mix together the yeast, caster sugar and 250ml/9fl oz lukewarm water in a jug. Leave to stand, covered, for about 10 minutes until the mixture is frothy.
- Place the flour and butter in a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture and mix thoroughly. Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about five minutes to form a smooth elastic dough (or you can use a stand mixer with a dough hook if you’d prefer).
- Place the dough back into the bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Leave to prove in a warm place (but not too warm!) for about one hour or until doubled in size.
- When the dough has risen, remove the tea towel and punch the dough down. Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead in the fruit and brown sugar until well combined (it may become quite sticky so just add a tad more flour if necessary).
- Split the dough into equal pieces (approximately 100g) and form each one into a ball. Place each one (evenly spaced) on to a lightly greased baking sheet (you may need two). Cover again with a damp tea towel (or pop into a proving bag) and leave to rise in a warm place again for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until risen and a rich brown colour. If the buns are getting too dark, cover lightly with parchment paper or foil. When the buns are ready they should sound hollow when the underneath is tapped gently.
- Leave to cool on a wire rack.
As I said earlier, these can be enjoyed at any time of the day. They are delicious fresh out of the oven or lightly toasted for breakfast the next day. They’ll last for a few days in a bag or airtight container but if you don’t manage to eat them all then don’t worry, they’ll freeze!
Make sure you give these a go one weekend as a breakfast treat. Or, book a stay at Grassmoor and you may well get offered one to enjoy with our delicious home cooked breakfast!
Happy baking!
Rebecca