I promised rolls, but I was too lazy to shape them all and made two baguette-ish breads instead. I used the basic bread dough I use all the time. It’s pretty versatile and forgiving. This time I mixed roasted garlic and freshly ground cardamom into the dough, which both gives the bread a very unique flavour. For rolls, divide the dough into 10 equal pieces and shape into your favourite roll size. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Twisted bread

Cardamom-Garlic Bread (makes 2 baguettes or 10 rolls)

250 g all-purpose flour
150 g whole wheat flour
100 g whole barley flour (or more whole wheat)
350 ml water
10 g (1 1/2 teaspoons) salt
3 g (1 teaspoon) instant dry yeast
6 roasted garlic cloves, mashed*
1 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom

*about half a whole bulb. To roast the garlic, wrap it in aluminium foil and bake it for approx. 30 minutes, at 200°C (400°F)

In a large bowl, combine flours, water, salt, yeast, garlic, and cardamom. Knead for 10 minutes until the dough is elastic. Place in a bowl and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Divide the dough into two equal pieces and shape into baguettes. Let the dough rest for ten minutes, then twist the breads two or three times. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. Meanwhile preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Bake the breads for 30-40 minutes, or until golden-brown. The loaves should sound hollow when tapped. Let cool completely before slicing.

And now: muffins! A couple of days ago, I had a craving for chocolate and pear. I have no idea how that happened, I never ate those two things together. But I ended up buying canned pears in the grocery store and whipped up a batch of these wonderful muffins. They have a rich chocolate flavour and are very moist and tender.

Chocolate Pear Muffins

Chocolate-Pear Muffins (makes 12)

240 ml (1 cup) soymilk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons hot water
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
56 g (1/4 cup) melted margarine
100 g (1/2 cup) raw sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
28 g (1/3 cup) Dutch processed cocoa
212 g (1 3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
175 g (1 cup) chopped, canned pear

Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F). Grease a muffin tin or line with muffin liners.

Combine soymilk and vinegar and set aside to curdle. Combine hot water and ground flax seed and set aside to gel. In a large bowl combine soymilk-mixture, flax seeds, margarine, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Sift in cocoa and flour. Add baking agents. Stir to combine and take care not to overmix the batter. Fold in pear pieces.

Divide batter between muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cook for 10 minutes before taking the muffins out of the pan.