Savoury Scones

I don’t know about you but rather than stockpiling I’m just trying to have enough food in the house at all times to cover all meals and snacks everyday (wow, there is a lot of cooking and eating going on!) as well as having some essential free-from ingredients available should we go into a two week isolation. There are a few products such as dairy-free milks and margarine that we would really struggle without, so I’m making sure I’ve got a few on standby.

It really is amazing the difference it makes with all family members eating all meals in the house everyday. I normally make most things from scratch, but I’m still finding it hard to keep coming up with interesting and exciting free-flowing meals, snacks and puddings!

Snacks are always difficult when living with a restricted diet, there are so many everyday items that are out of bounds and you can’t just live on crisps! These tangy scones are deliciously savoury and are perked up with marmite, nutritional yeast, and herbs. Pow! Flavour punch. Need a savoury bite fill empty tummies or to accompany that steaming bowl of soup? These fit the bill nicely.

Savoury scones

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan) NB Contains gluten.

makes 10

200g plain flour (1 3/4 cups)

1 1/2 tsps baking powder, levelled off

40g dairy-free spread

1 tbsp marmite mixed with 1 tbsp boiling water

1 tsp oregano

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

120 ml oat milk

glaze: 1 tsp marmite mixed with 1 tsp boiling water and 1 tbsp oat milk

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade/Gas Mark 6. Oil and flour a baking sheet.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Stir in the oregano and the nutritional yeast.
Rub in the margarine with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Pour in the dairy-free milk and watery marmite mix. Bring together to form a soft dough.
Turn out and very lightly knead. A light touch is essential for light and fluffy scones.
Press out the dough to 2 inches high and cut out circles with a cookie cutter.
Place on the baking sheet and brush with the glaze.
Bake for 20 minutes until the scones have risen and golden.
Cool on a wire rack.

Bonfire or Christmas Spice Scones

I’m not one for a milky coffee but I do like the sound of the seasonal varieties that are sold in the big golf shop chains. Bonfire and pumpkin spice sounds so warm and appealing and just the right kind of taste for these cold winter months. So to avoid missing out, I’ve added the same warm spices to these delightfully light and fluffy spiced clouds of pure pleasure!

After the awful scones we had in a 5*hotel (see previous post!) I felt I had to post a better recipe – One Aldwych if you’re reading look here for a good dairy and egg-free scone recipe 😉 These scones are spot on every time, light, fluffy and delicate; absolutely nothing like the almost inedible hard biscuits we got in the fancy tea!

I’ve provided two different spice varieties; one more autumnal and the other with a bit more of a Christmas feel but adding clementine and lemon zest to the mix.

Spiced Scones

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegan and vegetarian)

Makes about 12

1/2 tsp mixed spice

1/2 tsp ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch ground cardamon

(zest of 1 lemon and 1 clementine for Christmas spice)

220g plain flour

1 and 1/2 tsps baking powder

2 tbsp dairy-free margarine

2 tbsp soft brown sugar

Pinch of salt

Up to 100ml dairy-free milk

1-2 tbsps Demerara sugar

1 tbsp dairy-free milk

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade/Gas mark 6
Grease and flour a baking sheet
Mix together all the spices (plus zests if making Christmas spice)
Mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, sugar and most of the spice mix spices. Rub in the margarine until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Pour in some of the dairy-free milk. Gently bring together to form a soft dough (do NOT knead or you’ll end up with rock hard scones!). Add more milk if necessary.
Gently pat out to a circle about 5cm thick. Stamp our circles and place on the baking sheet. Gather up the remaining dough, pat out again and stamp out more circles until all the dough is used up
Brush the tops with dairy-free milk and sprinkle over some Demerara sugar and the remaining spice mix
Bake for 20-25 minutes until well risen and golden on the tops and bottoms
Cool on a wire rack

English Muffins

English muffins were always our saviour, a safe breakfast or bun option that was mostly readily available. Sadly over time , the safe brands have all started to add milk to their ingredients and now all of the easily available ones contain milk. Sad days for us, as it is yet another product we can no longer depend on being able to buy. I also find it a bizarre time for companies to start adding milk to the ingredients when there is an increasing interest in dairy-free and vegan is the new big thing!

So it was time to either miss out or start making them myself, and I obviously went for the making them myself option. I just can’t stop baking and cooking! It’s not the same, and ideally it’s nice to have some products we can buy, but needs must.

I have to say they’re pretty easy to make, the results are shop worthy and they freeze beautifully, so maybe we can return to the days to always having English muffins on hand.

English Muffins

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

makes 8-10 muffins

400g plain flour

1 tbsp fast-action dried yeast

1 tsp salt

1 and 1/2 tbsp caster sugar

100ml dairy-free milk

25ml sunflower oil

125-150ml water

polenta for dusting, plus a little more flour

Place the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl.
Pour in the oil, milk and 125ml water. Mix to form a dough adding the extra 25ml water if needed.
Knead until smooth, bouncy and silky. About 10 minutes by hand, 5 minutes by machine.
Place into a bowl, cover and leave to rise for at least an hour. You want the mixture to have basically doubled in size.
Knock back. Dust the kitchen surface with flour and polenta and roll out to a thickness of about 2 cm. Cut out circles using a cutter any size from 8 -12 cm.
Rest on a floured/polenta covered board whilst you heat the pan.
Heat a heavy bottomed frying pan on low until it has an even heat, this will take a good 5-10 minutes.
Cook the muffins until golden on each side and no longer doughy in the middle which will take up to 10 minutes on each side.
Store in an airtight container or freeze once cool for extra freshness,

Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns

This time of year is just wrong without Hot Cross Buns. I eagerly await the criss crossed beauties appearing in the shops, and very year there’s a new variety to tempt and inspire. These days I wouldn’t buy a Hot Cross bun as I’ve not found any safe ones (I know vegan versions exist but they’re generally not free-from enough for us) and so come March I make batch after batch of buns. I’d really recommend giving it a go, they’re not hard to make and the satisfaction of a house filled with a spicy aroma and perfect buns appearing from the oven is second to none!

I’ve made many friendly hot cross buns and they’ve become a firm favourite, so much so that Little S has them for breakfast if she gets the chance. For some reason my children have an aversion to dried fruit, so I concocted this variation that appeals more to them.

The addition of chopped chocolate may be slightly unconventional, but the resulting buns are delightfully aromatic and tasty with the bonus prize of the chocolate going oozy and gooey when the buns are toasted. The added bonus is that they freeze beautifully. Simply defrost and then warm in an oven or toaster, and enjoy perfect hot cross buns anytime 🙂

Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

makes 9-12

500g strong bread flour

1 tbsp dried yeast

3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 or 2 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp cinnamon

500ml warm dairy-free milk

2 tbsps melted dairy-free margarine

100g dairy-free chocolate, chopped

for the crosses:

2 tbsp flour

3 tbsp water

for the glaze:

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp water

In a large bowl mix together the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and spices. Make a well in the centre and pour in the dairy-free milk and dairy-free margarine, bring together to form a dough (adding more flour if too wet, or more liquid if too dry)
Knead for about 5 mins until the dough is smooth
Place in a bowl and cover, leave in a warm place to double in size
Knock back, knead again and then form into 9-12 even sized balls. Place well spaced on a baking sheet lined with grease proof paper
Leave to rise again for 10-20 minutes
Mix together the water and flour to make a paste and pipe onto the top of the buns in crosses
Bake at 190 degrees/Gas Mark 5 for 20 minutes until risen and the buns sound hollow
Make the glaze by dissolving the sugar in the water and boiling briefly. Brush over the hot buns.
Leave to cool on a wire rack.
These buns are best kept loosely covered or the glaze will make them go a bit soggy.

Salted Caramel Sticky Buns

Imagine a cinnamon bun, but better? Difficult? Yes. Impossible? NO way, not when you’ve tasted these stunning salted caramel sticky buns.

These salted caramel sticky bun made out of cinnamon swirl buns so you get all the benefits of a deliciously spicy swirl bun which is then cooked in a lake of salted caramel, you can’t get much more exciting than that! Not only are these buns the epitome of luxury and comfort at the same time, they also reheat wonderfully to give the perfect winter pudding or snack. Honestly, you must try them, you’re life will not be complete until you have 🙃

Salted Caramel Sticky Buns

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

makes 14

250-300ml dairy-free milk, I used Oatly

3 tbsp dairy-free margarine, such as Pure

400g plain flour

2 tsp dried yeast

50g or 1/4 cup caster sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp cornflour

For the filling:

1/2 cup soft brown sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

2 tbsp dairy-free margarine

For the salted caramel:

1/2 cup dairy-free margarine

1 cup soft dark brown sugar

1/4 tsp sea salt

Melt the margarine and milk together – you want it to be warm and melted but not hot
In a bowl mix together the flour, yeast, sugar, cinnamon, cornflour and salt. Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm milk mix
Bring together to a soft dough and knead until its smooth and bounces back when poked
Cover and let double in size
While waiting for the dough to prove, make the caramel. Melt together the sugar, margarine and salt until the sugar has dissolved.
Grease two cake tins, pour the caramel into each tin so the bottom is entire covered.
Knock back the dough and roll out to a large rectangle
Smear on the dairy-free margarine. Sprinkle over the sugar and cinnamon, then roll up tightly into a long sausage
Cut into 14 even slices. Place 7 in each caramel lined cake tin, 6 in a circle and 1 in the middle.
Cover and leave to rise again for another half an hour
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade/Gas Mark 4/375 degrees F
Bake for 20-30 minutes until risen, golden and cooked through. They’ll look like traditional cinnamon swirls at this stage
Now comes the magic! Invert onto a plate, being careful not to get caramel on yourself. Serve warm.
To reheat: place in a warm oven for 5-10 minutes or microwave for 1 minute

Pizza Marinara – the perfect naturally dairy-free pizza choice

***Disclaimer***

*This is a sponsored post by Hans Grill whereby I received a free pizza stone in return for a review.*

I’ve always wanted a pizza stone but never got round to buying one, so I was delighted when Hans Grill offered me the opportunity to receive a free stone. They really are a great addition to your kitchen if you like making pizza, and I’m a big pizza fan.

With a stone baked pizza you get such a delicious crust which has bubbles, charred bits and tastes just right. They’re not too much bother either – you just need to place it on one of the wire racks (not the bottom of the oven) and heat on full temperature for about 40 minutes. Then dust with flour and slide on your pizza using the handy wooden peel. You could of course make this pizza without the stone, by simply placing it on a baking sheet, but you will get the improved flavour and texture of a stone baked dough which I really like.

There are more and more vegan pizzas available to buy which is a great thing, but my girls don’t really like vegan cheese, so we usually opt for homemade and then everyone can be happy with the choice of toppings.

A marinara pizza is a traditional Italian recipe and the perfect option if you’re avoiding dairy – the combination of tomato sauce, garlic, oregano and olive oil is a match made in heaven and is rightly classed as a classic. Enjoy it as it is or pep it up with veggies, olives, or the usual pizza toppings.

Marinara Pizza

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

makes 4 to 5

for the dough:

450g OO flour

1 tbsp dried yeast

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

250-300ml warm water

for the topping:

150ml tomato paste or pizza sauce (try Pizza Express passata)

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

oregano

extra virgin olive oil

First make the dough. Add all the dough ingredients and knead well. Leave to prove in a covered bowl in a warm place. You want it to double in size and that will take a couple of hours.
Preheat the oven to the highest setting. If using a pizza stone, place it on one of the wire racks in the oven and heat for 40 minutes.
Portion the dough into 4 or 5 pieces. Roll onto out using a little extra flour. Flour the peel and place the dough on top, making sure it can freely move. Or place the dough on a baking sheet.
Swirl on some tomato passata, top with chopped garlic, sprinkle with oregano and then drizzle with a little oil.
Season. Slide onto the pizza stone, or place the baking sheet into the oven.
Bake for 6-8 minutes on the stone or 10-12 minutes on the baking sheet.
Serve hot.

Marmite Scones

Are you a Marmite lover or a Marmite hater? There seems to be no in-between and we’re a family that contains both, so it’s always a quandary as to whether to use it as a flavouring or not. Although to be fair there are far more Marmite lovers, so the savoury yeasty spread often wins.

I find that savoury snacks are lacking for Little S – there are so many things she can’t have when out people would reach for a savoury option. That’s where the marmite comes in. Little S really doesn’t like marmite but she loves these deeply savoury scones, somehow the marmite-y flavour turns into a more appealing savoury taste when it’s added to a bake. Savoury scones make a perfect tasty snack or side to a big bowl of soup, or just a speedily made change from a bread roll. The beauty of scones is that they take little time to make and bake, so once you feel confident you can whip up a batch in no time at all. Serve with extra marmite if you’re on the fan side!

I’d heard that adding cream of tartar made scones extra light and fluffy and I was desperate to try the idea out, and my it’s a great addition, the texture of these scones will blow your mind. Look at that craggy delicate texture, no heavy stodgy scones here!

Marmite Scones

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

makes about 8 large scones

250g plain flour

1/4tsp salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 and 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

25g dairyfree margarine

15g vegetable fat (or use 15g extra margarine)

150ml dairy free milk

2 tsp marmite

Preheat oven to 220 degrees Centigrade
In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar. Rub the fats into the flour until it looks like fine breadcrumbs.
Stir the marmite into the milk and pour into the flour mix. Very gently bring together to form a rough dough. Be very gentle, do not knead, otherwise you’ll get tough scones and no-one wants that!
Stamp out circles and place on a baking sheet. Brush the tops with a little milk mixed with marmite.
Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden and risen.

Savoury Pretzels

Snacks – I don’t think we’d get through a day without snacks and that’s always particularly apparent at the weekend or in the school holidays. Biscuits and cakes are all well and good but sometimes savoury is the only way to go. Crisps are great, everyone loves crisps right? But they’re not exactly filling and nutritious.

I have a small repertoire of interesting savoury options: sausage rolls, savoury scones, cheesy crackers etc but I’m always on the look out for new ideas which are not only suitable but pleasing to everyone. Then I spied some big pretzels for sale – now that looks like a good idea. Chewy, bread based and certainly filling. I’ve never really delved into the wonderful world of pretzels before but in doing some research it seems they’re often served with mustard. Bingo! Inspiration! So here’s my take on savoury pretzels, topped with a mustard glaze and because dips make everything better, served with a sweet mustard sauce. These certainly keep those hunger pangs at bay with a satisfying snack. They also make great tasty sandwich rolls 😋

Savoury Pretzels

(Dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian, can be vegan) contains mustard

makes 8-10

500g strong bread flour

7g dried fast action yeast

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp honey or maple syrup

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp garlic powder

300 ml warm water

2 tbsp bicarbonate of soda (for the boiling water)

for the glaze:

1 tbsp honey or maple syrup

1 tbsp mustard

1 tbsp oil

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Mix together all the ingredients except the bicarbonate of soda to form a dough and knead well until smooth silky and you can feel the gluten and firmed up the dough. Cover and leave to prove for at least one hour.
Knock back and cut into 8-10 even sized pieces. Roll each one into a sausage shape with slightly tapered ends, then tie in a lose knot. Place on a lightly floured baking sheet and let rise for another 30 minutes.
Preheat the over to 200 degrees centigrade
Bring a pan of water to the boil, once boiling tip in the bicarbonate of soda and drop each knot into the boiling solution for about 5 seconds.
Remove and place on an oiled baking sheet.
Brush with a little of the glaze and bake for 15 minutes until deeply golden
Transfer to a wire rack and bush with the remaining glaze and sprinkle over a little salt. Leave to cool.
Serve fresh with a dip of equal parts honey/syrup and mustard pepped up with a dash of hot sauce.
These pretzels also freeze well. Defrost thoroughly and then refresh in a hot oven for a few minutes.

Strawberry Scones

The sun’s out and I feel inspired and buzzing with fresh ideas. There really isn’t anything like the end of Winter to make me feel ready to attack the spring and summer with gusto – it’s amazing what a bit of warmth and sunlight can do!

We had a lovely trip to see the sea of bluebells last weekend, which is a bit of a yearly tradition in my part of the country, which culminated with cool drinks in a National Trust cafe. All the other customers seemed to be tucking into cream teas (obviously it was drinks or nothing for us!), which got me thinking about making a batch of scones. Scones, with their association with cream teas and strawberry jam always seem rather summery to me, so perfect for my current vibe. So here is a cracking combination of scones and strawberries so we can tuck into a cream tea at home.

I’d really recommend using freeze-dried berries in sweet recipes, as you get all the flavour and none of the ‘sog factor’, so there’s no need to adjust the indigents to factor in extra moisture.

Strawberry Scones

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)

Makes about 20

450g plain flour

3 tsp baking powder

75g dairy-free margarine

75g caster sugar

300 ml dairy-free milk, I used Oatly

1 tsp berry essence, if you have it

1/2 cup freeze dried strawberries , roughly chopped

To top: 2 tbsp oat milk 2 tbsp granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade/gas mark 6. Grease and flour 2 baking sheets.
Rub the margarine into the flour, sugar and baking powder until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Pour in the essence and dairy-free milk and very gently bring together to a soft dough. It’s very important not to work scone dough. Add the freeze dried berries.
Gently pat out the dough until its about 1 inch thick. Using a 2inch cookie cutter, cut out rounds and place on the baking sheets Continue, gently bringing the dough back into a ball and cutting out, until all the dough has been used up.
Brush the top of each with dairy-free milk and sprinkle with sugar Bake for about 20-25 minutes until starting to turn golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate Twists – The Ultimate Easy Breakfast Pastry

As a family we struggle to find exciting breakfasts, and generally revert to good old toast or cereal. However, sometimes it’s nice to have an exciting, fancy breakfast; one that feels a little more luxurious than the usual. Sadly, it seems to me that most exciting breakfasts involve some combination of dairy, eggs or nuts, which is certainly not ideal in our household, and makes most exciting options out of bounds.

I always feel particularly bad when we go to France and the girls can’t tuck into a crisp flaky croissant or Pain au Chocolat like (it seems) everyone else. I have made my own rather successful Pain au Chocolat which are dairy-free but they do take a good few hours to laminate the layers, and I’m sure not many people have the time to make homemade viennoiserie too often. Personally, I think it’s a great way to spend a day, but then I’m a bit of a baking fanatic 😉

This recipe is essentially a quick an easy version of a chocolate filled breakfast pastry and is based on those chocolate twists you see in coffee shops or bakery counters. I think a twist is a very appealing pastry, with the filling peeping out of the turns between the layers of golden pastry. Served warm with a little dusting of icing sugar these chocolate twists are the perfect, easy breakfast pastry. They also freeze brilliantly, so I bake a batch to freeze then in the morning i place it frozen into the microwave for 20 seconds to thaw, then into the oven for 5 minutes to warm. Ta Da, the perfect fresh warm pastry for breakfast heaven!

Chocolate Twists

(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, sesame-free, can be soya-free, vegetarian and vegan)

300ml dairy-free milk, I used Oatly

3 tbsp dairy-free margarine, such as Pure

450-500g plain flour

2 tsp dried yeast

50g or 1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp chocolate extract [optional] or vanilla essence

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp cornflour

For the filling:

1/3 cup caster sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

3 tbsp dairy-free spread

50g dairy-free chocolate, finely chopped [optional]

Melt the margarine and milk together – you want it to be warm and melted but not hot
In a bowl mix together the flour, yeast, sugar, cinnamon, cornflour and salt. Make a well in the centre and pour in the warm milk.
Bring together to a soft dough and knead until its smooth and bounces back when prodded. Cover and let double in size
Mix together the filling ingredients (except the chopped chocolate) to form a soft paste. Set aside.
Knock back the risen dough and roll out to a large long rectangle
Smear on the chocolate paste. Sprinkle over the chocolate pieces, then fold in half
Cut into even slices and twist each one to form a lovely swirly pastry
Place on lined and greased baking pans and cover and leave to rise again for another half an hour
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade/Gas Mark 4/375 degrees F
Bake for 17-20 minutes until risen, golden and cooked through
Dust with icing sugar before serving