No bread is an island

...entire of itself. (With apologies to John Donne!)
I live and breathe breadmaking. I’m an evangelist who would like everyone to make his or her own bread. I want to demystify breadmaking and show it as the easy everyday craft that it is. To this end I endeavour to make my recipes as simple and as foolproof as I possibly can.

I call my blog 'No bread is an island' because every bread is connected to another bread. So a spicy fruit bun with a cross on top is a hot cross bun. This fruit dough will also make a fruit loaf - or Chelsea buns or a Swedish tea ring...
I'm also a vegan, so I have lots of vegan recipes on here - and I'm adding more all the time.

Monday, 21 September 2020

WHAT CAN BE MADE WITH JUST SELF-RAISING FLOUR AND WATER

I tell my students never to bother buying plain flour - always go for self-raising flour. You can make so many different products with it. And I wouldn't go for the expensive stuff - the basic, or budget flour does the job just as well.

A simple soda bread*

Pancakes - just as good as the ones made with milk and eggs

Pikelets - This calls for a thicker batter which doesn't spread out over the pan. Add sugar and sultanas for fruit pikelets.

Tempura - A slightly thicker batter again: simply dip in some thin slices of your chosen 'filler', and shallow fry

Pasta - without need for a machine!

Sourdough. This needs time, but a flour and water batter, left for a few days will begin to ferment - and then you can turn it into bread!

Naan breads - done in the oven, under a grill, or in the frying pan


Pastry Here's a very simple rhubarb pie recipe - just self raising flour and water, with a little sugar and some olive oil, mixed together and rolled out. For a savoury pastry use a little salt instead of sugar.

Chappatis, of course. No need for a link, there are many recipes on line for this.

Dumplings Mix self-raising flour (plus any flavourings - dried herbs, etc) and water together into a dough, form into small balls and add to your stew! Talk about 'Easy-Peasy'!



14 comments:

  1. Also, steamed Chinese bread is possible! Optional is a BBQ flavoured filling :)

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  2. Very Good and Helpful page!

    Thank You for Sharing and Uploading!

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  3. i like johnycake

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  4. you can make Hot Cakesbut u
    You need Crisco oil

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  5. As a student striving for healthier carb options under a tight budget, your blog really opens up a lot of doors for me! Not a picky eater but even I've gotta find a way to make that high protein flour edible on a daily basis!

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  6. Can all of these be made with gluten free flour? I can't have gums (xanthan etc) so I have plain (non selfraising) Doves gf flour and can add baking powder or yeast. Great recipes!

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  7. I'm making my first starter. My ratio is 1 cup of flour to 2 cups of water. My question is, when the starter is ready, how much starter is needed for a typical/standard size loaf of bread? My second question is, how much flour and water will be needed to add to that amount of starter for same size loaf ad asked above?

    I guess I'm asking for a recipe of measurements or do i just wing it and keep adding flour and water to any given amount of starter until i reach the size i want.... lol thank you in advance and thanks for your service to your country

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    Replies
    1. Okay, let me specify that I'm an American in the Midwest. I don't have a clue what a "mug" is, or a "hob"(from reading another entry of yours) lol🤔

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  8. Hi Danny - just picked up your question. Nice to meet someone from the mid-west!

    I have to say, since I wrote the above post I've another page on sourdough that is much more comprehensive (mainly because it was written by someone else - a friend of mine who has made a lot of sourdough).

    Here's the link:

    http://nobreadisanisland.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/all-you-need-to-know-about-sourdough.html

    I shall change the link you followed to reflect my latest thinking.

    All the best - love to hear how your bread turns out. Oh, hobs are the electric (or gas) rings on top of a stove, and mugs are like a bigger cup - mainly used for coffee and generally with straight sides.

    Any more questions, don't hesitate to get back to me.

    Cheers, Paul

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  9. Thanks so much for this post! I've just moved to China for a bit, from good old Yorkshire, and I am finding it difficult to buy good bread that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. So, I've decided to start making it myself, but so far all I've managed to find ingredients wise is flour (and water). I'll be giving more than one of these a go over the next few days I reckon. I'm vegan too, so it's a really helpful blog. Thank you again.

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  10. Just found your blog ! I've already shared it with my sister, so easy to make recipes, who knew ! (not me) thankyou, I've got soda bread in the oven and am going to try focaccia next, thanks again.

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  11. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  12. Wow amazing! I didn't know u can do so much w this!

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  13. Normal flour and water can be used to make glue. I'm guessing self-raising flour and water can also be used to make glue, maybe you should add that to list. :)

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