Baking Day with my Boys

A big part of sticking to $130 a week is making all of our own bread and baking.  Yesterday afternoon was spent making bread for the next week or so, I got 2 sourdough, 3 wholemeal and 3 grain loaves made and frozen.  This morning, after toast and fruit for breakfast my boys and I set to work getting baking done for daddy's lunches, along with some fruit and oat breakfast muffins for Mumma.  They are full of fruit, oats, vege with no butter and just a dash of sugar.

Yummy Sourdough bread for lunch today

My Baker Boy

 Not long into baking both boys reckoned they were hungry again - due to cake and bickie mix on display I suspect - so I fetched a cupful of popcorn for each of them, to keep snotty fingers out of the bowl (they're both sick at the moment).  We started with fruit and oat muffins which will be breakfasts with a dollop of natural yoghurt.  Next were Anzac biscuits for Daddy's lunches and finally Dutch Apple Cake - which the boys and I had a slice of for afternoon tea - it's been years since I made it - it's so easy and tastes divine.

Fruit and Oat Muffins

Fruit and Oat Muffins
Makes 12


55g Wholemeal Flour
100g Plain Flour
2T Brown Sugar
½t Baking Soda
½t Nutmeg
155g Rolled Oats
55g Raisins
3T Olive Oil
1 Egg
80ml Milk
2 Large Carrots, shredded
1 Banana or 4 Large Feijoas, mashed

Preheat oven to 190ºC bake and line 12 muffin tins.  Mix flours, sugar, baking soda, nutmeg, oats and raisins together in a large bowl.  Add in remaining ingredients and stir until just combined.  Divide mixture between the muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.

Anzac Biscuits and Muffins all done.

Anzac Biscuits
Makes Approx 30 - to fit 2 baking trays

125g Plain Flour
130g White Sugar
100g Coconut
150g Rolled Oats
100g Butter
2T Golden Syrup
1t Baking Soda
4T Boiling Water

Preheat oven to 175ºC fan-bake and lightly grease 2 baking trays.  Mix together flour, sugar, coconut and oats.  Melt together butter and golden syrup until it starts to bubble, remove from heat.  Dissolve baking soda in boiling water and add to golden syrup mixture.  Pour the wet into the dry and stir to combine.  Put tablespoons full of mixture onto tray and flatten slightly.  Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden.

Dutch Apple Cake

180g Butter
135g Sugar
Rind of ¾ Lemon
1 Large Egg
190g Flour
1½t Baking Powder
3T Milk

Topping
2 Apples, Finely Sliced (I used Rose)
2T Sugar and 1t Cinnamon, Combined

Preheat oven to 180ºC bake.  Cream butter and sugar together till pale and fluffy.  Add in rind and egg and beat well.  Stir in half of the dry ingredients, then the milk and then the remaining dry ingredients.  Spread into greased cake tin and cover with sliced apple.  Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixture and bake for 45-60 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.  Cool in the tin.

Dinner - Jam-packed with Vege

Dinner was nice and easy tonight, vegetable soup.  I had defrosted a chicken carcass so I simmered it with pearl barley for an hour in about 2L of water.  Pulled out the bones, chucked in loads of veges, a pack of frozen haricot beans, a big tin of tomatoes and a tablespoon of mixed herbs.  It needed something extra at the end and since I'm out of savoury yeast I used a dollop of Vegemite.  Perfect for a cold Waikato evening.