Sunflower Seed Bread

It's Sunday, no supermarkets are open and we're out of bread....With Monday just around the corner, and packed lunches to be prepared....it's about time to try that recipe for Sunflower Seed Bread that I found on the website of the Norwegian dairy company Tine. I'm not the best at baking with yeast, so this recipe for bread using baking powder was definitely welcome....and the best of all, it turned out great! I was afraid that it wouldn't be harty enough, as it's made mainly with all-purpose flour...but the sunflower seeds absolutely weigh up for the lack of more harty types of flour. Two to three slices of this bread will keep you going for a couple of hours!

Sunflower Seed Bread
(makes 1 loaf)

Ingredients:
7 dl all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3 dl sunflower seeds
1 tsp salt
3 dl water
0,5 dl melted butter
300 gr quark

Preparation:
1.) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
2.) Butter a loaf tin and use about 1 dl of the sunflower seeds to line the loaf tin with.
3.) Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and the rest of the sunflower seeds into a medium sized bowl.
4.) Add the water, melted butter and quark and stir until turning into a dough.
5.) Transfer the dough into the loaf tin and sprinkle with some sunflower seeds.
6.) Bake the bread for approximately 1 hour on the lower rack of the oven.
7.) Let the bread cool down on a rack.

Hubby rating: 4.5

Enjoy!

Olive Herb Focaccia

To get into the mood for our holiday to Italy later this year, I made a olive herb focaccia today. The first focaccia I have ever made....and the result was magnificent!

Olive Herb Focaccia
(makes 1)

Ingredients:
25 gr fresh yeast
4 dl water, approx. 37 degrees Celsius
0,5 dl olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp dried oregano
approx. 1 ltr all-purpose flour
30 black/green olives, destoned and halfed
sea salt flakes

Preparation:
1.) Crumble the fresh yeast into a medium sized bowl and add some of the water to dissolve the yeast.
2.) Add the rest of the water, as well as the olive oil, salt and oregano.
3.) Add the flour bit by bit until it turns into a sticky but manageable dough. Don't add to much flour, as this will result in a less fluffy focaccia.
4.) Cover the bowl with clingfilm and let the dough rise for about 40 minutes.
5.) Transfer the dough to a baking tray (30 x 40cm) covered with baking parchment.
6.) Push the halfed and destoned olives into the dough.
7.) Cover the dough with a little olive oil and some sea salt flakes.
8.) Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 15 minutes at 250 degrees Celsius.
9.) Set aside to cool down on a oven rack.

Serve lukewarm together with pasta or serve as a sandwich with pesto and salami.

Enjoy!