(happily- get it?)
Yes, I have been getting a little obsessed with apples. You may realise I love them anyway- often having one for breakfast or lunch. I was given a big bag by my parents, so have been enjoying baking with them.
Last week I made some apple crumble bars. I based them on this berry crumble bar recipe by Katie.
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Into a bowl I mixed 1.5 cups of flour (mixture of plain and wholegrain spelt), 1/2tsp baking powder, 1/2cup sugar (should be brown but I only had golden), 1 tbs melted coconut butter, 2tbs almond milk and a lot of cinnamon!
I sprinkled half into a dish and pressed it down quite firmly.
Then chop up some apples- I think I used 4 or 5 small ones, but next time I would use more- maybe double to have a massive apple layer in the middle. Mix these in a bowl with 3 tbs maple syrup, and 1 tsp vanilla, and then pour this over the base. Top with the remaining crumble mixture.
Bake for 45 mins.
When I take it out of the oven, I ease the edge of the bars away from the dish, but leave until cool to slice and remove from the dish.
Then enjoy with some custard 🙂 (well, this is alpro vanilla but it tastes the same).
Then I made some dried apple rings. I keep seeing them (and other dried fruits) in blog-land, so had a go at my own.
I cored and sliced some apples, sprinkled them with cinnamon, and then baked them in an low heat oven (100C) for about 2 1/2 hours.
While they were baking I was flicking on the TV and saw someone make these on Market Kitchen- how topical! She used hers to top an apple cheesecake which sounded lovely.
These are so tasty! I had these little vacuum pots from Lakeland, which are perfect for storing them- although I don’t think they will last long!
I also made some bread- I have posted one of my bread recipes before, but that was a cinnamon raisin bread. So here is my seedy bread. Makes one mini loaf.
First I start off the yeast- I use quick yeast but I still get better results if I do this first. By that I mean I put some warm water in a cup (a normal cup with maybe 100ml water in it?), 1 tsp yeast and a pinch of sugar, plus a tablespoon of bread flour in the cup. I leave it until the yeast bubbles. (If doing sundried tomato bread, chop up the dried tomatoes and add them to this- they will soak up some of the water and that is lovely).
Then in a separate bowl I weigh out 150g bread flour- I prefer a mixture of wholewheat and white, and I love canadian flour for this. I add a sprinkle of herbs- I love rosemary here. Also add a pinch of salt. When the yeast mixture bubbles, pour it into the bowl and mix it a bit with a spoon. It may look too wet/dry in places, but do not worry. Turn it out and knead gently- it should all come together after a few mins of kneading. Put it back into the bowl and cover with cling film. Now, if I am making it for the next day, I put it in the fridge. If not, leave it out to rise.
(This was in the fridge overnight, so I took it out for a bit to kick start the yeast again)
When it has doubled in size, knead it again and add in some seeds- I used the food doctor seed mix here. Then put it in a lightly oiled small loaf tin, and leave to rise again.
About to knead the seeds in above, below in the tin after rising again.
Then bake in the oven (200C) for about 35 mins.
Get your boyfriend to slice it because it is too hot to handle!
Serve with vegetable and bean bake. Mmmmm.
I have been at home from work, as the antibiotics do not seem to be working. So I rang the doctors and they told me to go back tomorrow once I have totally finished the course (it was only a 3 day course). I am getting a little fed up- today was the perfect day for a run or for some gardening, or even a walk, but I was not up to any of that. Plus I always feel bad when calling in sick to work. Can’t be helped though.
Fave apple recipe?
Has to be my homemade apple crumble, sometimes served with vanilla ice cream, sometimes, cream, sometimes custard …. and sometimes all three 🙂
Yum- I will take it with ice cream or custard- yummy 🙂
Yes, I agree, apple crumble and always custard for me. I liked anything with baked apple though. 🙂
That bread looks so delicious. Nothing beats homemade, fresh bread.
Haha – love the pun 🙂
Apple crumble is my favourite dessert ever, so I think that bar would be right up my street. I love apples – I’ve been eating 2 or 3 a day recently (although I’m not sure that’s normal!).
Glad you liked it- Andy always thinks I am being cheesy and should leave them off but they make me laugh!
Oh this looks tasty 😀 I love, love, looove fall foods. Apple crumble, apple pie, apple doughnuts….those are all my favorite sweets. And gingerbread men!
Love the pun! And those appley bars look fantastic. My friend lives on a fruit farm so I’ll definitely be giving them a go when I get my usual sack of apples. I loooove dried apple rings, and yours are such a cheaper version! Also, your bread is the perfect shape. Basically, Andy is a very lucky man! UTI’s are so blinkin stubborn, I hope it clears up asap!
Glad you liked the pun 😉
Yeah if you have a load of apples to use up it is a great way as so long as they are crispy they will apparently keep for ages. The bread is shaped by the loaf tin 😉
Your bread looks amazing! I’m so scared of using yeast for some reason, I really must try it! I’m always obsessed with apples, I can’t wait for my fave russets to come into season! Last year I made a lovely spiced apple and parsnip bread that was wonderful, that’s probably my fave recipe 🙂
Yes give it a try. I use Doves Farm quick yeast, and it always works really well. Making it the night before and leaving it in the fridge means it really is quick and you get bread with no additives or anything.
I love the sound of the spiced apple bread, but I would leave out the parsnip,and maybe have carrots instead.
Bread looks awesome, I used to love baking my own bread 😀
The apple rings look lovely, I might give them a go myself.
Ah suppose bread is off limits to the paleo diet. The apple rings really were so simple- I thought I would have needed a dehydrator but it worked just fine in the oven.
Yeah, you know I’m going to say apple crumble 😉
I go through apples like it’s my job though, so they never get the chance to be used in baking!
xxx
There is something lovely about apples once they are cooked- they go all soft and the flavour gets more intense-mm.
That apple crumble looks so good! Crumbles take me straight back to my childhood, I need to make them more often.
Oh my goodness, this is too funny… I made an apple version two days ago, too! Maybe we were even making them at the same time!
Yours looks delicious!!!
How spooky! Great minds think alike eh? 😉
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Hello Maria!
I love having it with light sour cream.