Recently I’ve been dabbling in the world of bread baking. I’ve had a few failures, a few successes and a few in-between. I’ve yet to hit upon a failsafe and foolproof recipe that I can rely on for a consistent result.
This one was a success by all accounts (I made three loaves and shared the love around) and I’m sure I’ll make it again. However, it is a very sweet bread, which I think limits is usefulness as a staple. I’m now on the hunt for a reliable wholewheat/partially wholewheat or wholegrain bread recipe.
The recipe I used can be found here. It makes three decent sized sandwich loaves and is great fresh from the oven and smeared with a little butter.
We had friends over for dinner last night for a hearty meal of t-bone steak with sage, mushroom and kale risotto and roasted beetroot and onion salad.
For dessert we enjoyed a plum pie, served with whipped cream. It was a lovely night of good food, good wine and good company.
- 1 1/2 cups plain flour
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
- 2 tbsps milk
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tbsps flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsps cold unsalted butter
- 12 whole Ripe plums, pitted and sliced thickly (quarters is about right)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to about 210* celsius (425* F).
- Mix together the first 3 ingredients in an 8-inch square baking tin (note, the tin doesn't need to be pre-greased).
- In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, milk and almond extract.
- Pour the liquid into the flour mixture, and gently mix with a fork, making sure not to overwork it. It will come together quite quickly into a moist, but not sticky, dough.
- Use your fingers to spread the dough out over the tin fairly evenly. It should cover the bottom of the pan and come up the sides (but not all the way up).
- In another bowl, combine the remaining sugar, flour and salt, and then pinch the butter into the mixture. Keep pinching until it is fully worked through the flour.
- Arrange your plums on top of the pastry. They should be closely packed together with no big gaps. Sprinkle your butter/flour mixture evenly over the plums. They should be well covered.
- Bake the pie for 35-45 minutes (mine took about 40), until the top is shiny and bubbling and the crust is light brown.
- Cool and serve.
This was such a quick dessert to make, and a great introduction to pastry for people like me who are slightly fearful of it!
20.05.10 | 
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