Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Try these recipes inspired by The Great British Bake Off to make your very own bread showstoppers

Images courtesy of Waitrose & Partners
Images courtesy of Waitrose & Partners

FOLLOWING on from the ever-popular Cake Week, GBBO fever shows no sign of slowing with this week’s theme showcasing the best bread showstoppers.

Tonight’s episode saw the contestants bake a crowd-pleaser in the signature, try their hand at a deceptively simple technical challenge inspired by a takeaway classic and bake a sweet showstopper.

If you feel inspired to get cracking in the kitchen yourself, here are a few recipes to try, courtesy of Waitrose & Partners.

Savoury feta and tapenade ‘Chelsea’ bun loaf

Preparation time: 15 minutes and proving
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes and proving
Serves: 8

 

Ingredients

  • 500g pack Wright’s Premium White
  • Bread Mix
  • 4 tbsp Waitrose Kalamata Olive & Anchovy Tapenade
  • 100g feta cheese, diced
  • 1 egg, beaten to glaze
  • 1 tsp dried oregano

 

Method

  1. Sift the bread mix into a large bowl and mix with 320ml lukewarm water to form a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes then leave to sit for 5 minutes.
  1. Roll the dough to a 30cm square and spread with the tapenade right to the edges. Scatter over the diced feta. Roll the dough up from opposite ends to meet in the middle then cut across the rolls to make eight slices. Place one cut-side down in the centre of an oiled 23cm loose-bottomed shallow cake tin. Arrange the rest around it. Cover loosely with oiled clingfilm and leave in a warm place for 45 minutes until it has doubled in size.
  1. Preheat the oven to 220°C, gas mark 7. Brush the top of the loaf with beaten egg and scatter with the oregano. Bake for 25 minutes until well risen and golden brown, remove from the tin and return to the oven for 5 minutes to cook the bottom. The loaf should sound hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.

 

 

Simple white loaf

Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus proving and cooling
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes, plus proving and cooling
Makes: 1 loaf Serves: 6-8

 

Ingredients

  • 250g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 1 tsp Allinson easy bake yeast
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing

 

Method

 

  1. Mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the oil and 130ml hot water. Mix together with a wooden spoon until combined, then bring together with your hands. Knead by hand on the work surface for 8-10 minutes, only dusting with a little flour if it’s sticky.
  2. Once the dough is smooth and shiny, turn it in your hands, tucking under to make a smooth dome on top. Place seam-side down on a floured baking tray; gently pat down the top to flatten slightly. Cover with a sheet of lightly oiled cling film and leave to rise for 1 hour 15 minutes.
  1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C, gas mark 6. Uncover the dough and, using a sharp serrated knife, make three 0.5cm-deep slits across the top. Cover again and leave for 15 minutes.
  1. Uncover, dust the top with a little more flour and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely before slicing and serving with butter.

 

Seeded beer bread

Gluten Free
Preparation time: 15 minutes + proving
Cooking time: 30–40 minute
Makes: 1 loaf

 

Ingredients

  • 250ml Celia Organic Gluten Free Czech Lager
  • 7g Dove’s Quick Yeast
  • 500g Dove’s Gluten Free White Bread Flour, plus more for kneading
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar
  • 75g Waitrose Mixed Seeds, plus 1 tbsp for topping
  • 4 tbsp Linwoods Shelled Hemp
  • 2 Waitrose British Blacktail Medium Free Range Eggs
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing

 

Method

  1. In a saucepan, heat the gluten-free beer until just warm. Add the yeast and set aside for 3-4 minutes or until it starts to froth.
  1. Put the dry ingredients into a bowl. In a jug, whisk together the eggs, lemon juice and olive oil, then stir into the dry mix. Add the beer and yeast mix and stir together. Transfer to a well-floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes or until the dough is smooth. The dough will be tacky so knead with lightly oiled hands if necessary.
  1. Shape the dough into a round and transfer to a lightly oiled baking tray. Sprinkle over the remaining 1 tbsp seeds and cover with cling film. Allow to rise for 1 hour.
  1. Heat the oven to 200ÂşC, gas mark 6, and once the dough has risen make a shallow cross on top with a sharp knife. Slide a baking tray containing 4-5 ice cubes into the bottom of the oven. Put the bread tray into the top of the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes until golden.
  1. Remove and check the loaf is cooked by tapping the bottom; it should sound hollow. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before slicing. Eat within 3 days.

 

Quick spicy flatbreads

Preparation time: 10 minutes + 10 resting
Cooking time: 10 minutes

 

Ingredients

  • 200g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 200g natural yogurt
  • 40g butter, melted
  • 1–2 tsp Bart Baharat, plus extra to serve
  • ½ x 25g pack mint, leaves only, finely chopped
  • Houmous, to serve

 

Method 

1 Mix the flour and natural yogurt together to make a soft dough, knead for 1 minute then set aside for 10–15 minutes. Divide into 4 and roll into 20cm rounds. Cook in a hot frying pan or griddle for 1 minute on each side until golden and slightly risen, keeping each one warm while cooking the rest.

2 Melt the butter in a pan or microwave. Stir in the baharat. Brush over the freshly cooked breads and sprinkle with mint. Serve with houmous sprinkled with extra baharat for dipping or spreading.

 

 

Lamb & aubergine manakish flatbreads

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4

 

Ingredients

  • 500g pack Wright’s Premium White Bread Mix
  • ½ x 25g pack Cooks’ Ingredients Mint, leaves only
  • 400g pack minced lamb
  • 1 tbsp Cooks’ Ingredients Herby Zaatar
  • 1 aubergine, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 150g Sabra Houmous Extra
  • Âź x 20g pack Cooks’ Ingredients Dill, leaves only, chopped
  • 25g toasted pine nuts

 

Method 

  1. Make the bread according to the pack instructions. Place in a greased bowl, cover and leave to prove for 30-45 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, chop half the mint. Fry the lamb over a high heat in a frying pan for 3 minutes to brown. Stir in the mint and zaatar, and cook for 3-4 minutes. Leave to cool. Toss the aubergine in 1 tbsp oil and griddle for 2-3 minutes in batches, turning once, until lightly charred. Set aside.
  1. Preheat the oven to 220°C, gas mark 7. Grease 2 large baking trays. Knock back the bread dough and divide into 4. Roll each piece into a 20cm circle on a floured surface and place on the trays. Spread with the houmous and top with aubergine slices. Scatter with the lamb and bake for 20-25 minutes.
  1. Drizzle with the remaining oil and scatter over the dill, pine nuts and remaining mint.

 

Cheese & salad onion corn bread

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Serves: 4 – 6

 

Ingredients

  • 225g Polenta Valsugana
  • 100g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Pinch chilli flakes (optional)
  • 150ml natural yogurt
  • 150ml whole milk
  • 50g butter, melted
  • 2 large Waitrose British Blacktail Free Range Eggs, beaten
  • 70g mature Cheddar cheese, grated
  • Bunch salad onions, washed, trimmed and finely chopped
  • 150g frozen sweetcorn, defrosted

 

TO SERVE

  • 2 ripe avocados
  • 8 rashers smoked back bacon

 

Method

 

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6. Lightly oil a 22cm round or square cake tin.
  1. Place the polenta, flour, baking powder, chilli flakes (if using) and a pinch of salt in a bowl. In a large jug, mix together the yogurt, milk, butter and eggs. Pour this over the flour mixture, then stir in the cheese, salad onions and sweetcorn, mixing well until you have a very thick batter consistency. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 45 minutes until golden and firm to the touch, and when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
  1. Serve the corn bread warm with wedges of avocado and crispy grilled bacon.