Marianne – Bake & Bite

Krentenbrood

Dutch ‘Krentenbrood‘ is a type of raisin bread. I love baking ‘krentenbrood’. It’s not only my favourite kind of bread but I LOVE the delicious ‘bakery’ aroma that it releases when it’s in the oven.

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Ingredients

250 gram raisins
500 gram flour
7 gram/1 sachet/ 2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Fine zest from 1 orange (optional)
1 tablespoon sugar
125 ml warm water
125 ml warm milk
1 egg
30 gram butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Add yeast, milk, water and 1 cup of flour the bowl of stand mixer and whisk until combined. Set aside for about 15-20 minutes.

Add the sugar, cinnamon, zest and salt to the rest of the flour. Mix well.

Drain water from raisins and dry with paper towel. Set aside.

Add the egg, butter and remaining flour to the stand mixer bowl.

Knead with dough hook for about 10-15 minutes until the dough is smooth.

Transfer the dough to your workplace and roll out the dough to a rectangle. Add half of the raisins.

Fold one half of the dough to the middle and the other half over that. Gently roll out the dough again to a rectangle and add the rest of the raisins. Repeat the fold and then form a ball.

Transfer the ball of dough to an oiled bowl and let it rise for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.

After the rise roll out the dough and fold it tightly in to a loaf shape that fits the loaf pan. Fold both ends under the loaf and place it in the greased loaf pan.

Place the pan in a turned off oven and add some boiling water to a small bowl on the side (prevent drying out). Let it rise for another 45-60 minutes.

Start preheating the oven to 200 degrees Celsius about 15 minutes before the end of 2nd rise (don't forget to take out the dough).

Bake the krentenbrood for about 30-35 minutes in the preheated oven. Cover with aluminium foil for the last 5-10 minutes.

When done, remove bread from pan and let it cool for at least 30 minutes (the hardest part of this recipe).

Notes

Eat the same day, toast it the next. You can freeze this bread.

Breakfast/ Desserts

Apple Pie Roll Ups

Apple Pie Roll Ups (with caramel sauce on the side). Fast and easy to make. So yummy, especially on a rainy autumn day.

For 4 apple pie roll ups I used:

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Ingredients

4 slices of bread
1/2 apple (medium size)
Sugar
Cinnamon
About 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Instructions

Preheat oven to 175 C (350 F).

Flatten slices of bread with rolling pin,

Melt the butter and combine sugar and cinnamon to make the cinnamon sugar.

Peel the apple and cut into small pieces, sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon sugar.

Divide the apple between the slices of bread.

Roll it up tightly, roll through the butter and then cinnamon sugar.

Place them on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes.

Serve warm and with whatever you like

Cookies & Biscuits

Digestive Biscuits

Digestive Biscuits are a simple but delicious biscuit. They are also very easy to make.

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Ingredients

225 wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
90 gram icing sugar
120 gram cold butter
60 ml milk

Instructions

Combine dry ingredients, mix well.

Add the butter in small cubes and rub in the flour until you have something that looks like breadcrumbs.

Add milk and form a ball of dough.

If dough is soft, flatten a bit, wrap in plastic wrap and set aside in fridge to firm up for about 15-20 min.

In the meantime, preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius.

Roll out dough to about 0.5 cm. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the biscuits. I used a 6cm round cookie cutter but any shape will do.

Transfer the biscuits to a baking sheet (lined with baking paper) and if you want, prick a few holes with a fork or toothpick.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Cookies & Biscuits

Coconut Macaroons

These Coconut Meringue Macaroons are so delicious and so dangerously easy to make. This coconut macaroon recipe makes about 20 macaroons. You can easily half the recipe for less cookies.

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Ingredients

250 gram shredded coconut
200 gram sugar
4 egg whites
Pinch of cream of tartar (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
1 teaspoon coconut extract (optional)
150 gram dark chocolate for bottom
50 gram dark chocolate for the drizzle on top

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.

Add the egg whites in a bowl of the stand mixer, with a pinch of cream of tartar, and whip till soft peaks.

With a tablespoon at the time, add the sugar and combine until mixed well. About 5 minutes.

Add vanilla extract and coconut extract and mix until combined.

Take the bowl of the stand mixer and fold in the shredded coconut with a rubber spatula. This will go best if you do this in batches.

Line baking sheets with baking paper. Use a bit of meringue to 'glue' it down to the baking sheet.

Drop about 8 macaroons, using an ice cream scoop, on the baking sheet and gently press them down to about 1 cm thickness. This will go best if you wet your hands a bit.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes.

Let cool completely on a wire rack before transferring them.

Melt the chocolate au bain-marie (Bowl on top of a saucepan that has boiling water in it. Don't let bowl touch the water)

With a small offset knife, or normal knife, spread about a teaspoon of melted chocolate on the bottom of the cookie and let harden on a wire rack.

Melt some more chocolate and pour it in a zip lock bag. Set aside for about 5 minutes to harden a bit.

Cut off a small corner of the zip lock bag and drizzle some chocolate over the top of the cookies.

Notes

Use an ice cream scoop to make nice and even looking macaroons. Ice cream scoop size is about about 1/4 cup. You can also make this using a hand mixer of course.

Breads & Buns

Chelsea Buns

These Chelsea Buns are so delicious. They are a type of currant bun (krentenbol) and it looks like a cinnamon roll.

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Ingredients

---Dough---
500 gram high grade all purpose flour
300 ml warm milk
1 egg
40 butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
---Filling---
150 gram raisins and/or currants
Fine zest of 1 orange
25 gram butter, melted
75 gram brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
---Glaze---
2 tablespoons apricot jam
100 gram icing sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk or water

Instructions

Combine yeast, warm milk and 1 cup flour to the bowl of your stand mixer, mix well and set aside for 15 min

Add salt to remaining flour and mix.

Add remaining flour to the bowl of your stand mixer together with the egg and melted butter.

Knead the mixture until you have a smooth ball of dough.

Transfer the dough to your workplace and knead for a few seconds to form a nice smooth ball.

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and let it rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Place the raisins in a medium size saucepan and pour in boiling water to cover them. Set aside for about 30 min.

Drain raisins and let them dry on some paper towel. Set aside until you need them.

In a small bowl mix the brown sugar, cinnamon and orange zest.

Flour your work surface and roll out dough to a rectangle (20x30 cm-ish)

Melt the butter and brush generously over the dough.

Sprinkle brown sugar mixture on top of the butter and then scatter the raisins over the brown sugar mixture.

Roll the dough from the top gently and pinch the seam.

With the seam on the bottom, divide the roll into 12 equal pieces. Carefully cut with a serrated knife.

Place the buns in a greased and lined, with bakingpaper, deep baking pan (roasting pan).

Place the pan in a turned OFF oven and also place a little bowl with boiling hot water in the oven to prevent the dough from drying out.

Let the buns rise for another hour.

About 15 minutes before baking time, remove the little bowl with water and buns and start preheating the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Bake the chelsea buns for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove buns from the oven and brush the apricot jam on top of the buns.

Leave buns to cool 15 minutes in the pan and then drizzle the icing sugar glaze over the top.

Remove buns from the pan and transfer them to a wire rack to cool or dig in and eat them warm.

Breads & Buns

Hot Cross Buns

Hot Cross Buns are sweet sticky spiced buns marked with a cross on top. They are like a luxurious version of the Dutch ‘krentenbol’. Traditionally eaten around Easter time but perfectly acceptable to eat these year-round!

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Ingredients

1 sachet dry active yeast
250 ml warm water
500 gram flour
30 gram milk powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons mixed spices
75 gram sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 egg
40 gram butter, room temp
Fine zest of 1 orange (you can use lemon)
200 gram raisins and/or currants
---For the topping---
75 gram flour
100 ml water
2 tablespoons golden syrup
---Other---
Oil for greasing

Instructions

Cover raisins/currants with water in a saucepan and bring it to a boil.

Remove from heat and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Drain water and set aside.

Combine yeast, warm water and 1 cup flour to the bowl of your stand mixer, mix well and set aside for 15 min

To the rest of the flour add the sugar, salt, cinnamon, mixed spices and orange zest, set aside

Drain raisins and dry them with paper towels or clean tea towel.

Add remaining flour to the bowl of your stand mixer together with the egg and butter.

Knead the mixture until you have a slight sticky ball of dough. You might need to add a bit more flour (tablespoon at the time).

Transfer the dough to your workplace and roll out the dough to a rectangle

Add half of the raisins/currants and fold one half the dough to the middle and the other half over that.

Gently roll out the dough again to a rectangle and add the rest of the raisins/currants

Repeat the fold and then form a ball.

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and let it rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Cut the dough in 12 equal size pieces (about 95 gram each) and shape them into nice looking balls.

Grease a rectangle roasting pan with some butter and boil some water.

Transfer the little balls of dough to the roasting pan and place it in a turned OFF oven.

Also place a little bowl with boiling hot water in the oven to prevent the dough from drying out.

Let the buns rise for another hour.

About 15 minutes before baking time, remove the little bowl with water and buns and start preheating the oven to 220 degrees Celsius.

Combine the flour and water and pour it in a piping bag (or zip lock bag) and make the crosses.

Bake the buns in about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Let buns cool for about 10 minutes in the pan

Remove buns from the pan and transfer them to a wire rack

Melt a tablespoon or 2 of golden syrup in a small saucepan.

Brush the melted syrup on top of the warm hot cross buns.

Notes

You can use 250 ml warm milk instead of milk powder and water.

Buns waiting for the oven to heat up.

Bars & Slices

Granola Bars

Easy no-bake granola bars with toasted coconut and chocolate chips.

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Ingredients

55 gram butter
40 gram brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup golden syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
1 teaspoon coconut essence (optional)
1 tablespoon cocoa (optional)
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup rice krispies
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup small chocolate chips + extra for decoration

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Place oats and coconut on, a lined with baking paper, baking sheet and bake them for about 5 minutes.

Combine butter, honey, golden syrup, brown sugar, vanilla extract, coconut essence, cocoa and the salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until butter melts and the sugar completely dissolves.

Pour butter mixture in to bowl with toasted oats and coconut. Mix well. Let cool about 5 minutes then add rice krispies and 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips. Stir to combine.

Transfer oat mixture to aluminium foil lined pan (I used a square silicone pan without foil)

Use a rubber spatula or damp finger tips to firmly press the mixture into the pan.

Scatter some extra chocolate chips over the top and press them firmly in the granola mixture.

Cover and then refrigerate at least for 2 hours.

Remove block of granola mixture from pan. Cut into 12 bars.

Notes

You can also use just honey or just golden syrup. Or maple syrup. Anything sticky that holds the oats together. You can leave out the brown sugar if you want the bars to be less sweet. The chocolate chips in the oat mixture will likely melt but that's okay. It acts like a glue and keep the oats together. You can be very creative with this recipe. Add raisins/dried fruit and/or nuts instead of chocolate or coconut. The possibilities are endless 🙂

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