Over the weekend will be the last in the series of POYP’s short ezine on breadmaking, we hope you’ve enjoyed it. Next week, we’ll be moving onto our cake making series. Here’s HOW TO MAKE FLAT BREAD FOR FRIDAY.

How to Make Flat Bread

Flat bread is one of the easiest types of bread to make. There are different kinds available as well. You can expect to whip up a couple or more in only a few hours. You can even have fun inviting your partner or kids along to do the bread making. Flat bread can be very tasty and nutritious, while there are also others that are simple and fat-free. Here are some tips.

Making Fat-Free Flat Bread

Some of the ingredients you will need to begin include baking powder, hot water and flour. Get 1 tablespoon of baking powder for every 2 cups of flour. Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly. Use the dough hooks in a mixer using relatively slow speed. Add the hot water slowly until you form a thick and sticky ball. Use dry flour on both hands, on the counter and on the rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking. Hand knead the dough and be careful not to over knead.

Start forming dough balls with sizes slightly bigger compared to a golf ball. Roll the dough into a circle about 1/8 inch thick. Cook the dough immediately over medium heat or less. Flip it once after the bubbles rise in the dough. Cover the cooked fried bread using a towel until everything is ready to eat. Enjoy the flat bread and eat the same way you would a tortilla. You can deep fry it with butter or sprinkle on some sugar and cinnamon to be enjoyed as a delectable dessert.

You will find it easier to use a round cast iron griddle, although a good mixer can do a decent job. If you do not own a mixer, you can stir the contents using your hand and a sturdy wooden spoon. You can even mix using your fingers. Knead the dough briefly, not like you would a yeasted bread. The goal is just to blend the dough to create smooth consistently, instead of building gluten.

A More Versatile Recipe

Get a cup of white all-purpose flour and a cup of whole wheat flour. This recipe becomes an Indian and Mexican fusion because of the flours used. Add 1 package of dry yeast to the dry flour to keep it protected from the warm water. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar. If you want to experiment using other spices like rosemary, sesame seeds and garlic, you may add these as well. Mix all the dry ingredients very well. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil into the flour and spices using your hands.

Divide the dough and form evenly round balls. Measure 1 cup of hot water in a measuring cup and 1 tablespoon of molasses or honey. Add these to the dry ingredients and mix together until you form a soft ball that is not very sticky.

Allow everything to rest for 30 minutes. Make 8 to 10 small balls. Cut the dough ball into 2, then half this again. Flatten the round balls using a rolling pin. Allow the dough to rest for a few minutes, while waiting for the griddle to get warm. Cook the dough using medium high heat. When the bread puffs and bubbles, flatten using a spatula and push the air bubble around the inside before you press firmly to let go of the air.

To find out the FULL secrets to successful breadmaking, click on this link HERE.

Day Three can be read HERE. Scroll down the archives for Four, Five and Six……

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PETER HARRIS shares with us his first taste of smoothie heaven, after being a ‘virgin’ of the smoothie set. This week he concocted his first ‘tremendous tropical smoothie treat for his family.

Super Slimming Smoothies

I have spent the past few months experimenting with a blender my wife and I bought exclusively to mix, mash and demolish any solids before presenting it to our beautiful seven-month old baby in various states of pureed gunge.

That’s all well and good, but why am I neglecting the rest of the family? It’s ludicrous – blenders are for everyone, not just for babies (remarkably similar to that famous quote about dogs, I know). Anyway, after considering my options, I suddenly became aware that I had never made a smoothie. I am in fact, a smoothie virgin – it was unchartered territory as far as I was concerned, yet here I was armed with a machine that could terrorize a ball-bearing and serve it up as custard in only minutes. What a waste!

Oh, but what should I try first? Mouth-watering recipes galore adorn every web page I visited; people I spoke to in the street had their own smoothie concoctions that they swore by; television shows all seemed to be focusing on…the perfect smoothie. So, in true researcher style, I decided to try everything – or at least, try enough without having to take out a second mortgage to pay for the ingredients.

SMOOTHIE CONCOCTIONS

I had a lot of fun, made a lot of mess and probably defeated the object of the exercise by drinking vast quantities of scrummy smoothies, cancelling-out my quest to find the ultimate smoothie for fat-loss. Still, I can safely say that I have no regrets. Amongst those I tried, I made smoothies with mixed berries, honey and yoghurt; a smoothie with celery, spinach and pineapple (you’d be surprised, it tasted quite nice) and finally a smoothie using blueberries, almonds, sesame seeds and vanilla. All were satisfying, but I have opted to share my overall favourite.

TREMENDOUS TROPICAL TREAT

Name: Tremendous tropical treat (my own name and when you taste this one, you’ll understand why I chose it…and it’s not simply because of my love for alliteration).

To make: Juice a small (5 cm) slice of pineapple and blend with 100 ml coconut milk, a quarter of a mango and half a peeled banana. Add ice to taste if desired.

Benefits:

Pineapple contains manganese which helps the body transform fat and glucose into energy. Vitamin C will also help combat cortisol, known as the stress hormone.

Mango contains more vitamin c and this contributes to fat in the fat-burning process.

Coconut milk takes longer to digest than dairy milk, giving you the effect of feeling fuller for longer.

Bananas contain vitamin B6, which help protect against cravings. They provide natural energy and help the body to absorb more calcium.

You can read one of Peter’s previous posts, HERE.

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Recipes include, everything from the Hawaain Silk Smoothie, to the mundane but equally tempting Chocolate Mint Smoothie. There’s Honeydew/Raspberry, and even a Mango Smoothie. It seems Mango has been the fruit of the week here on POYP….

To get this great buy at just $9.95, CLICK ON THE BUY NOW BUTTON BELOW. YOU’LL BE RE-DIRECTED TO A PAYMENT PAGE AT PAYPAL, AND BE ABLE TO GRAB YOUR EBOOK….ENJOY!!!!!

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Day Seven of the short ezine on breadmaking. Today is How to make your own Banana bread….We’re almost coming to the end, two more to go, and then we’ll be moving on to cake making….

Banana bread has become a very popular type among families and kids, since it is delicious, nutritious and very easy to prepare. You can serve this for breakfasts, as a dessert for guests, or, for your child’s snacks at school. You can also save more money by using bananas that have ripened more than enough to be eaten independently. Here’s how to begin.

Gather the Ingredients

To start, gather all the materials and ingredients you need. Take 1 3/4 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 2/3 cup of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/3 cup of shortening or softened butter, some extra flour, cooking spray or butter to grease the pan and a cup of mashed bananas. Try to aim for 2 bananas mashed completely.

The Process

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease all the surfaces of the inside of the pan. Sprinkle some flour into the pan, then shake the flour around until all the sides are already covered with flour. You can ensure that the bread will come out very smoothly this way. Mash the bananas, then mix them in with the other ingredients. Mix the sugar, baking powder, flour, salt and baking soda inside a medium-sized bowl.

Add the softened butter to the flour mixture, plus the shortening, then mix everything until the mixture appears like crumbs. Add two of the eggs then continue stirring. Pour the batter into the floured and greased pan. Put the pan inside the oven, then bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes. Try to insert a toothpick into the middle of the banana bread. It should come out clean to confirm that the bread is baked well.

Final Tips

You will find that work can be easier if you use a bread pan measuring about 4 x 8 inches deep. Try to reduce the total number of times that you open the oven to check on the condition of the banana bread, since heat can escape every time you open the oven door, thereby making baking periods longer.

Use bananas that are overripe or past, characterized by a lot of brown spots on the peel. These are generally sweeter compared to ripe bananas. If the bread is browning quickly, but the center is still raw, you can cover the bread using aluminum foil. The bread will continue baking, although the browning process is slowed down. If you have extra bananas and want to make 2 or more loaves in a single session, freeze the extra loaves to prevent these from spoiling. Always use oven mitts when taking the banana bread out of the oven to keep your hand from getting burning.

Making Chocolate Banana Bread

To make chocolate banana bread, you can add 1 cup of dark chocolate chips, icing sugar (to dust) and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. When sifting the baking powder and flour inside the bowl, add the caster sugar. Melt the chocolate chips and butter in a double boiler. Dust the final loaf with caster sugar. You will need about 1 hour to bake the chocolate banana bread. Allow the bread to cool for 40 to 50 minutes.

To find out the FULL secrets to successful breadmaking, click on this link HERE.

Day Three can be read HERE. Scroll down the archives for Four, Five and Six……

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