Wonderful Morning Recipes
Try out something new for breakfast. Emilia Vartiainen, author of up-coming recipe book Wonderful Morning, created delicious bread and cream cheese recipes for Balmuir. You can pre-order Emilia's book here.
Spelt Skillet Bread
Bread is my passion. I keep a sourdough starter in the fridge for my weekly baking. This skillet bread was the first proper bread I made, kickstarting my enthusiasm that later got totally out of hand! Skillet bread is easy-peasy. There’s no kneading involved and you can leave the dough on the kitchen worktop for the night – just turn into a hot skillet the next morning and throw in the oven and you end up with a freshly-baked loaf for breakfast. Could there be a better way to start the weekend?
1 loaf
Active: 15 min
Passive: 13 h 15 min
31⁄2 dl water
1 tsp dry yeast
5 dl roll flour mix 2 dl spelt flour
1⁄2 tsp fine sea salt
Heat the water until a little warmer than room temperature and add the dry yeast, both types
of flour and salt. Mix together, there’s no need to knead. Cover and leave in room temperature overnight, for 12–18 hours. The dough should bubble a little the next morning and it may have a slightly vinegary odor.
Place a cast iron skillet with a lid into a cold oven and set it to 225 °C. Turn the dough onto a slightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Once the oven is hot, smear the bottom of the skillet with oil or line it with parchment paper. Carefully place the ball of dough into the skillet. Place the lid on top and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and leave in the oven for another 15 minutes. Leave to cool down for half an hour before slicing the bread for a fluffier texture.
Herb & Cashew Cream Cheese
Cashew-based cream cheeses are my faves in the whole book! Many of my friends share my sentiments judging from the number of requests I get for sharing the recipes after my Sunday brunches. For this version, choose herbs according to your personal taste – I tend to go for chives, plenty of basil and a little dill.
About 3 dl
Active: 10 min
Passive: 30 min
3 dl cashew nuts
1⁄2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
1⁄4 tsp garlic powder
generous sprinkle of sea salt flakes 1(–2) tbsp water
medium bunch of chives
large bunch of basil
small bunch of dill
Soften the cashew nuts in warm water for half an hour. Add the cashew nuts, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, salt and 1 tbsp of water to a mixer and blend until smooth, adding more water if needed. Chop the fresh herbs and mix into the cashew paste in a bowl. Store in a clean glass container in the fridge and use within a few days.