Chamomile Bread Recipes

CHAMOMILE FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• In a small pot, combine the heavy cream and tea bags. Bring to a simmer, then take off the heat immediately. Let sit and cool, then remove the tea bags.
• In a small bowl, combine the lemon zest and juice and 1/3 cup of the honey and whisk. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine the chamomile cream, milk, vanilla, eggs, remaining 1 tablespoon honey and a pinch of salt. Whisk until completely combined.
• Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and let melt. Put 2 slices of bread into the cream mixture and let it soak through. Put the soaked bread in the pan and cook until golden brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a baking sheet and hold in the oven. Add another tablespoon of butter to the pan, soak 2 more slices of bread in the cream mixture and cook. Repeat with the remaining butter, bread and cream mixture.
• Top the French toast with a dollop of mascarpone, some fresh berries and a drizzle of the lemon honey.

EASY CARDAMOM BREAD

Steps:

• Whisk together the warm milk, warm water, sugar, and 2 tablespoons melted butter in a mixing bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Sprinkle yeast over top, and set aside for 5 minutes.
• Once the yeast is foamy, stir in the flour, adding more if needed to make a stiff dough. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Place into an oiled bowl, cover with a cloth, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• Combine 1/2 cup sugar with the cardamom and cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a 9x13-inch rectangle, and brush with 1/2 cup of melted butter. Sprinkle with the cardamom sugar, raisins, and walnuts. Roll into a log, pinch the edges closed, and place onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Cover with a cloth, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• With a sharp knife score the top layer of the roll with V-shapes that don't quite meet in the middle the whole length of the roll, this will make the bread look braided, and is very pretty, but could be skipped. Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl. Brush the egg wash over the top of the bread. Sprinkle with almonds and pearl sugar.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the bread is golden-brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

CHAMOMILE BREAD

Steps:

• Put all of the ingredients in the bread machine according to manufacturer's directions.
• Select basic wheat cycle and light crust.

CHAMOMILE LEMON STICKY BUNS

Steps:

• Add the milk, tea bags and vanilla to a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Once heated through, remove from the heat, cover and let the milk steep and cool for 30 minutes. Strain the milk into a jug (pitcher), squeezing the tea bags, then set aside.
• In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the flour and sugar. Add in the salt and yeast to separate sides of the bowl, make a well in the centre and pour in the beaten egg and cooled milk. If using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix for 6 minutes on low speed. If mixing by hand, knead in the bowl for 10 minutes (the dough will be quite sticky at first, but try not to add too much extra flour). Let the dough rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes, then knead for a further 4 minutes until you have a smooth dough. Add the softened butter and knead for a further 5 minutes until you have a shiny, supple dough.
• Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel and leave to prove in a warm place for 1-2 hours or until nearly doubled in size.
• Meanwhile, make the filling. Mix the caster sugar and lemon zest together in a bowl, using your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar until it resembles wet sand. Add the softened butter and mix until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan/400F/gas mark 6). Line the base of a 20-cm (8-in) springform or loose-bottomed cake pan with baking paper and grease the sides.
• Once the dough has risen, use your fingertips to press it down and knock the air back. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it into a large rectangle, about 3-4mm (⅛in) thick. Spread the filling mixture evenly across the surface. Starting from one of the longest sides, roll the dough up tightly and slice into 7 equal rolls. Arrange the rolls in the prepared pan, leaving a bit of space between them, and cover the pan loosely with a dish towel. Leave to prove for 25-35 minutes, or until the rolls are puffy and touching each other.
• Top with pearl sugar, if using, and bake for 35-40 minutes until a deep brown color.
• While the buns bake, make the syrup. Add the water, sugar and tea bags to a small saucepan, bring to the boil and let simmer for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• When the buns are baked, let them cool for a few minutes before brushing them generously with the chamomile syrup, letting it seep through. Let them cool completely before serving.

CHAMOMILE RAISIN BREAD

Steps:

• Soak the raisins in the tea for at least 1 hour. Drain the raisins and add the tea to the bread.
• Add the rest of the ingredients, except the raisins.
• Bake according to manufacturer's instructions, adding the raisins during the knead or fruit/nut cycle.

CHAMOMILE TEA CAKE WITH STRAWBERRY ICING

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon chamomile to a large mixing bowl. Pour the hot melted butter over the chamomile and stir. Set aside to steep and cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Use the same saucepan (without washing it out) to bring the milk to a simmer over medium-high heat, keeping watch so it doesn't boil over. Remove from the heat, and stir the remaining 1 tablespoon chamomile into the hot milk. Set aside to steep and cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with the nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper so the long sides of the pan have a couple of inches of overhang to make lifting the finished cake out easier.
• Add the sugar and salt to the bowl with the butter, and whisk until smooth and thick, about 1 minute. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, vigorously whisking to combine after each addition. Zest the lemon into the bowl; add the baking powder and vanilla, and whisk until incorporated. Add the flour and stream in the milk mixture while whisking continuously until no streaks of flour remain.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until a skewer or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean (a few crumbs are OK, but you should see no wet batter), 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 30 minutes.
• While the cake cools, make the icing: Into a medium bowl, squeeze 2 tablespoons juice from the zested lemon, then add the confectioners' sugar. Place the dehydrated strawberries in a fine-mesh sieve set over the bowl and, using your fingers, crush the brittle berries and press the red-pink powder through the sieve and into the sugar. (The more you do this, the redder your icing will be.) Whisk until smooth.
• If needed, run a knife along the edges of the cake to release it from the pan. Holding the 2 sides of overhanging parchment, lift the cake out and place it on a plate, cake stand or cutting board. Discard the parchment. Pour the icing over the cake, using a spoon to push the icing to the edges of the cake to encourage the icing to drip down the sides dramatically. Cool the cake completely and let the icing set.