Paul Hollywood's Ciabatta Breadsticks

Paul Hollywood's Ciabatta Breadsticks got my attention on last Friday's The Great British Baking Show. Ciabatta should be flat as the name means slippers. What makes this ciabatta recipe not an authentic ciabatta is the method and lack of biga. Ciabatta recipe normally requires a biga and therefore 2 days to complete. But...whatever. 

The fillings are also interesting - green olives, Spanish Manchego cheese, chopped red onions, and coriander leaves - then dipped in tzatziki. It's a mash-up of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Greek cuisines. I included Portuguese because the other 3 European countries rarely use or maybe never use coriander leaves in their food. Portuguese cuisine uses coriander leaves, maybe influenced by Brazil and Macao.

Paul's recipe is quite large so I reduced it to just a third, making only 6 breadsticks. The breadsticks have crunchy crusts and soft crumbs. I thought the flavor will be weird because of the coriander leaves (cilantro) but it's actually good. The salty olives and cheese dominate the flavor anyway. The tzatziki is not really necessary but is an okay addition to the flavor mix. I suggest you use store bought or eat them without tzatziki.

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Prue Leith's Malt Loaf

I've never heard of Malt Loaf until Friday last week when it was presented as the technical challenge on the 9th Season of The Great British Baking Show, currently streaming on Netflix. My reaction of course is Must Bake A Loaf. But the recipe needs a small amount of black treacle and I didn't want to spend $9.00 for a 16-ounces tin of treacle that I know will end up in the cupboard unused for millennia. I made half a recipe that is available from food bloggers and it was disastrous. I slightly burnt the caramel so I made a second one which was a success. I adapted TGBBS Prue Leith's recipe and the loaf is surprisingly moist, malty, and delicious. Nice with a smear of salted butter. The recipe has flame raisins but I used ordinary dark raisins because raisins are raisins and both of them are dark as opposed to golden raisins.

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Mini Waffles

Milo mini waffle topped with a small scoop of malted milk ice cream

As usual, I'm late for the party. Mini waffles have been around for years already but I only made them recently. The Dash mini waffle maker makes 4-inch waffles, same size as Eggo waffles and perfect for chaffles.

Chaffles are low carb waffles made with just egg and cheese. Some people add almond or coconut flour but I don't care for both. Almond is tolerable once in a while but coconut flour is a no for me. The chaffles are perfect for low carb hamburger sandwiches or the much mocked avocado toast.

Simple Mini Chaffles

makes two 4-inch chaffles

1 egg, beaten and equally divided (use a 1-ounce measuring cup)

½ cup shredded cheese, mozzarella or sharp cheddar

crispy bacon chips or chopped ham, optional

• Place waffle maker on a piece of aluminum foil (for easy clean-up) and plug in to preheat. When the light turns on, the maker is ready.
• Place 2 tablespoons of cheese evenly on bottom of waffle maker, pour half of the egg, half a tablespoon of bacon or ham, if using, then sprinkle 2 tablespoons shredded cheese evenly on top.
• Close the lid and bake until the light comes off, about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Repeat with the remaining cheese and egg.
• Leave for a minute before serving to make the chaffles crispy. I like them slightly soft for burgers.

chaffle burger with sauteed onions and mushrooms

I've been reading about avocado toast but have never tried it. I only make ice cream, milk shake, and guacamole with avocado. Older people like myself make fun of millennials who pay incredibly steep price for avocado toast at restaurants. Well, there comes a the time to finally find out what the fuss is about although I made them with chaffles instead of sliced bread. The verdict: it is very nice with or without adding anything except sea salt. The avocado is smooth and feels like you are eating a stick of butter over bread. Really.

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