Cheese & Onion Loaf

We saw on twitter that the Box Bakery were selling #GlutenFree mixed packs containing bread and chocolate cake. Always on the look out for simple bakes, particularly bread, we placed an order. It was speedily delivered and the contents seemed tempting... and more importantly, required just warm water to be added!

Looking at the bread options, we decided to try the white bread mix. We thought that it would be nice tweaked with the addition of cheese and onion. 

To make the onion, a medium red onion was sliced thinly and fried in oil until it was starting to look transparent. It was then taken off the heat and left to cool. The cheese (we used Red Fox vintage red leicester) was grated.  

The instructions on the Box Bakery packaging were then followed. 

Opening the box on the corner, the lukewarm water was added. Having shaken the box as instructed, the lid was carefully peeled off and a fork was used to ensure the mix was fully combined.

At this point the onion and cheese was stirred into the dough and mixed through. The top of the loaf was brushed with olive oil. 

Following the instructions, the loaf was placed, in its box, in a cold oven with the temperature set for 50C, then cooking for 25minutes (a little longer than stated in the instructions to allow for the additional ingredients included in the loaf)

The oven temperature was then increased to 210C (fan) and the loaf was baked for 50 minutes.  It was checked after this time and the oven was turned off, leaving the loaf in the hot oven for a further 10 minutes. 

Taking the loaf out of the oven, it was left to cool.

Finally, it was removed from the box and sliced... 

We thoroughly enjoyed the bread and it was very good toasted as well. The concept of Bake in the Box is very good for easy, cupboard options...and also for those who aren’t #GlutenFree but want to offer pals who are a home baked and SAFE bread! I will be making sure my mum has a box for our next trip to see her 😉

Grass Roots Bakery Gluten Free Brown Bread Mix

Having seen quite a lot of posts on twitter about Grass Roots Bakery bread mixes, it was lovely to be able to try a pack thanks to a kind donation from a pal this week.

It's a simple set of additional 'ingredients' for this mix - just needs 250ml tepid water, an egg and a dessertspoonful of oil (we used sunflower but olive is also OK).


First step is to empty the dry mix into a bowl, add the water then the egg and oil. 

Next start to mix - we used our electric hand mixer with the dough hooks but standard beaters would also be fine as the mix aims to produce a stiff batter consistency.

Mixing well, the bread batter soon became like very stiff porridge.  It was then covered with cling film and 'left to prove' (aka placed in the airing cupboard).

 
After being proved for 40 minutes, the mix was dolloped onto a non-stick baking tray (we did 6 largish spoonfuls and 3 small ones but it's also ok to put in a loaf tin. Having heated the oven (180ºC fan) the rolls were baked for 35-45 minutes (smaller ones were baked for less time) and came out looking impressively large.

Cooling on the tray for 5 minutes, they were transferred to a cooling rack.  Once sufficiently cooled, we tested the crust and it gave a "nice, crisp sound" with "not a hint of a soggy bottom". 


Family verdict is it is a simple to bake bread mix that's a "one bowl job with easy to gather ingredients"... so thumbs up from us 👍

Marks and Spencer Made Without Wheat Victoria Sponge Cake Mix

We picked up a packet cake mix in Marks and Spencer - J's always been a fan of Victoria Sponge and he thought he'd "give it a go".  It's from their Made Without Wheat range and required the addition of two eggs, some melted butter and milk.

Gathering the ingredients and equipment that would be needed to bake the cake, Sous Chef J was keen to follow the mix's instructions
to the (rather small) letter.

Having greased and lined the baking tins, SCJ started by sifting the flour mix from the bag into a large mixing bowl.

Next the milk and eggs were lightly beaten together and added to the flour mix.

Melting the butter, this was then allowed to cool slightly before being added to the cake mix.


The batter came together well and was quite thick but easily mixable with a silicone spatula.






The mix was shared between two 6" sandwich tins (SCJ used scales to ensure even distribution) and then baked according to the instructions.

Once baked thoroughly, the cakes were removed from the oven and allowed to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Raspberry jam was then spread on the top of one of the cakes.  SCJ used a small silicone spatula to do this.

Finally, whipped cream was added, the other cake was placed on top and it was covered with a dusting of icing sugar.

The cake was moist, light and very tasty.  It didn't last long!  We'll definitely buy the mix again... so long as supplies are on the shelves, that is.