Welsh griddle cakes

Its a public holiday here in Rwanda, and we decided a day off of work was a good day to try a new recipe. These are basically stove top scones.
I got this recipe out of the cook book we have, many of the recipes I found online included an egg, so add that if you want.
We didn't have shortening, so I used butter and took out the salt.

Combine:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

Cut in:
1/4 cup shortening

Add:
1/4 cup raisins or craisins (Cinnamon or almonds would probably be a tasty thing to try, too)
2-4 Tablespoons milk, enough to hold the batter together. (you could just use water probably)

Knead it all together, then make small cakes about 2 inches across and 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Put them on a hot floured skilled on low heat. Cook until crusty brown on one side, then turn. You can sprinkle them with powdered sugar at the end if you like.

White Bread & Cinnamon Rolls

So I'm back in the states, finding the places where jetlag and 3:30am meet, and spending hours and hours looking things up on the internet, just because I can. I thought I might finally get around to posting a few things here. First and foremost, bread.

WHITE BREAD

3 cups flour

1 T sugar

1 cup warm water

2 1/4 tsp yeast*

2 T butter or oil

1 tsp salt

flavor/spices (such as rosemary, cinnamon & raisins, caramelized onions, garlic, etc.) optional

CINNAMON ROLLS (you also need:)

cinnamon (lots)

sugar (lots)

butter

powdered sugar (lots)

milk (just a spoonful)

vanilla

walnuts & raisins (optional)

DIRECTIONS FOR TRADITIONAL YEAST*

1)Melt sugar into the warm water and stir in the yeast.

2)Mix together flour, salt and spices in a separate bowl.

3)When the yeast has begun to foam and bubble, stir in the butter or oil, then slowly add the flour mixture

DIRECTIONS FOR INSTANT YEAST*

1)In one bowl, mix together the water and butter/oil. Don't try too hard, you know about oil & water.

2)In a second bowl, mix the remaining dry ingredients (yeast, sugar, salt, flour).

3)Slowly stir the flour mixture into the water.

CONTINUING ON...

4) Mix well until ingredients are thoroughly combined.

5) Set dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for 10-12 minutes. Seriously. It's a long time, but it matters.

6) Set the dough in a clean bowl and cover with a towel. Let rise for one hour in a warm location. Anywhere in Uganda should work. ;)

7) Divide the dough into two small loaves, divide it into a bunch of tiny dinner rolls, or just shape it into one big loaf, and set it into an oiled/greased pan, cover with a towel, and let rise another hour. You can also make cinnamon rolls at this point-

8)If you like your bread shiny, you can brush it with eggwhites at this point in time. And maybe even sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.

9)Bake for 10-15 minutes at 190C/375F or until lightly browned.

CINNAMON ROLLS

After the first rise, roll the dough out into a roughly rectangularish shape. The thinner the dough, the more layers of cinnamony goodness. Spread a generous amount of butter onto the dough, then sprinkle with lots of cinnamon and sugar. Maybe even some walnuts and raisins. Roll it up, slice into 1 1/2 inch slices, and lay them out sideways in a pan. Let rise one hour, then bake at 190C/375F for 10-12 minutes or so.

Meanwhile... put a lot of powdered sugar in a mixing bowl. Stir in a few tablespoons of butter, then a few drops of vanilla, then a tiny bit of milk, until the mixture resembles frosting. Spread generously over freshly baked cinnamon rolls.

The end.

Blister Buttermilk Biscuits

alliteration aside, these biscuits are really easy, and a great taste of home (amanda and i like to pair them with bbq wandegeya chicken and coleslaw). the aftermath has been well documented, so use caution when removing these beauties from the oven.

3 cups flours

2 tbsp sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

.75 cup (1.5 sticks) chilled butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

1.5 cup buttermilk - if you don't have buttermilk, just mix 1.5 tbsp vinegar into the milk and let it stand for about 15 minutes. not quite the same but it does the trick.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large bowl. Using fingertips, rub butter into dry ingredients until well mixed and no large butter chunks are left. Add buttermilk and stir. Use about .25 cup dough for each biscuit and drop them onto a baking sheet. Bake at around 200 C for about 15 minutes.

Cornbread

Ok, so I really didn't want to be the first to post.  But I was so excited about my new find that I just couldn't help myself!  Cornbread is one of my favorite foods and I've been craving it since arriving in Uganda.  I had no luck finding cornmeal (the essential ingredient) and maize flour just isn't the same thing.  Last week, I saw a box of polenta at Kissimente Millenium.  Turns out that polenta is the exact same thing as cornmeal - you can use it in your cornbread recipe cup for cup.  Most grocery stores in Kampala carry polenta.

Sweet Cornbread Recipe

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 tsps baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).  Grease a 9 inch round cake pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder.  Stir in egg, milk, and vegetable oil until well combined.  Pour batter into pan.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.