Notes about Recipes in this book

• Breakfast rolls

  • Ro_ on January 24, 2023

    My dough was quite dry, even though I added more liquid than stated. It rose a bit but not amazingly. The finished rolls were quite mishapen (I think because it was such a dry mix they cracked easily) browned on top, but moister than expected in the middle which was good. All things considered these were OK but I wouldn't repeat.

• Focaccia

  • Ro_ on January 19, 2023

    I am not a regular bread maker, but this one turned out really well. The dough was very sticky, even after 10 minutes of "kneading" (more like scraping it around and massaging it as best I could) so I was a bit worried, but I guess it was meant to be like that because the texture of the finished bread was great. I loved the oil-infused taste and the saltiness and rosemary on top. Will repeat this one.

• Spelt sourdough

  • eliza on March 31, 2019

    I loved this bread. I used organic spelt flour and hemp seed, and did 3 rising cycles the next day. My only deviation from the recipe was to bake in my cast iron pot as per usual. Quite a sour result due to the long rising time. Will definitely make this again.

• Soda bread

  • Ro_ on January 05, 2021

    I don't know why (maybe my dusting of flour was too heavy) but this came out of the oven kind of albino-looking. The taste was OK, but texture wise it was very close. Not the best soda bread recipe I've tried TBH.

  • eliza on March 27, 2024

    This recipe worked well for me. I made a half recipe and replaced some of the flour with whole grain. I also used about 1/2 tbsp of molasses with the buttermilk. I had to use extra liquid to get the right consistency.

• Walnut honey bread

  • eeeve on October 22, 2015

    Why do my soda breads always come out as dense, heavy bricks?! This one's no exception, plus it's quite difficult to cut (breaks apart too easily), however, I like the slightly sweet taste and crunchy crust, so will try again.

• Tortillas

  • Ro_ on January 15, 2023

    I am not good at making tortillas (it never seems to go well on the rare occasions I try it) but these came out well! I used my tortilla press instead of rolling them out. The main issue was that when peeling them off the paper, they tended to shrink into themselves quite a bit, leaving thick edges. But I realised that if you leave the top side stuck to the paper and put it directly into the pan, it works out quite well because once the bottom side is cooked it's easy to peel off the paper and there's no shrinkage. So I will use this technique next time, and also I would want them slightly bigger. I ended up with 50g of raw batter per tortilla, I'd push it up to 70g next time.

• Hot cross buns

  • ancurambaire on April 05, 2020

    Can substitute apricot jam with orange marmalade.

• Scones

  • tofudogg on September 27, 2014

    Really liked these. Next time leave out vanilla, and they will be perfect.

• River Cottage shortbread

  • eeeve on February 16, 2015

    Crumbly, salty-sweet shortbread, soooo lovely! Instead of going for one of the suggested flavour options (lemon or cinnamon which are only optional anyway and probably shouldn't be in the EYB ingredients list?), I used lavender flowers, which was heavenly. I didn't roll out the dough but made a slightly more rustic biscuit by rolling a small ball and flattening it out a bit; resulting in slightly longer baking time. Well worth it all and will be making again.

• Socca

  • eliza on March 28, 2024

    I make socca often, and this is a pretty standard recipe…equal amounts water and besan (chickpea flour) with some salt…however the method described here does not work well. Instead: mix batter, add about 1 tbsp oil, let rest at least 30 min. Heat cast iron skillet in 400* oven, when heated add some oil to skillet bake 12-15 min. I often add rosemary. An excellent “bread”, gluten free and goes well with many different toppings.

• Beet hummus

  • eliza on March 31, 2019

    Really nice, colourful, and freezes well. I reduce the cumin.