It’s certainly been a strange one. Typically, by the last week in August we’d be well on our way to putting the finishing touches to Electric Picnic and getting ready to welcome all you eager Picnic goers for one epic last party to end the summer.
We thought we’d share with you, a small token of Electric Picnic that you can enjoy at home. Here follows, the original recipe to the iconic Electric Picnic food staple, – Cheesy Bread! The perfect feast for breakfast, lunch, dinner or all three!
A very special thanks to Fire and Food Restaurants for sharing this gem with us.
Be sure to tag us on socials to show us your #EPCheesyBread creations!
Happy baking, look out for each other, and we’ll see you all back here soon enough!
EP x
EP2020 DIY Fire and Food Restaurants Cheesy Bread
(makes 4 portions)
Dough:
500g white flour
30g fresh yeast or 7g dried yeast
100g sugar
100g ghee or butter
2g salt
125ml milk
10g crispy fried onions or 40g freshly chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
Filling:
500g grated Gouda (NB: you can use Edam at a push, but Gouda gives the best result)
120g bacon bits or mushrooms
Garnish:
120g sour cream or crème fraîche
snipped chives
Method:
- Mix yeast with half of the milk, which should be heated to blood temperature, and a teaspoon of sugar. Set aside. Sieve 1/3 flour into large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and place the yeast mixture inside and gradually draw approximately one third of the flour in, to form a dough.
- Sprinkle the top of the dough-ball with a little flour and leave it, covered, in a warm place for twenty minutes to prove. You will have a strange little ball in the middle of the bowl, surrounded by a halo of flour; don’t worry, all is well, that’s how it’s supposed to look!
- After your 20 minutes, when the dough has had its first proving, add all the rest of the dough ingredients, kneading all the while, for five to ten minutes. Cover, and set aside again in a warm place for 45minutes to an hour, until it has approximately doubled in volume. Knock it back and knead it once more, energetically, until the dough is soft and pliable.
- Roll it out, on a floured surface, to a rectangle with a depth of about 1cm and a width of approximately 30cm. Sprinkle the filling along the length of the dough, down the middle. Fold the two long sides in to cover the filling, first one side, then the other. Quickly flip the whole length over, so that the open edge is at the bottom, then fold each open end underneath. Use the floured handle of a wooden spoon to demarcate individual portions, being sure to make an impression only, without breaking the dough at all. Into the top of each portion, using a very sharp knife, make a small diagonal slash, no longer than 4cm. (Don’t make it too deep, or all your filling will explode out!)
- Place on a baking sheet and into a pre-heated oven at 230C, (210C fan; gas mark 8) for approximately 35 to 40 minutes, or until you can see that it is cooked through.
- Break along your demarcated lines, into individual portions, then spoon the sour cream or crème fraîche into the slash marks, and sprinkle with chopped chives.
- Serve up to the hungry hordes and take a bow!