Star bread - I'm a Yeast Master

 

I was watching a Russian baker on Youtube, and she made garlic bread in the shape of a star.  

I thought I would try it with cinnamon and sugar.

Made the plain dough in the bread machine. to the first rising.  This is the standard dough I use for all my breads and buns. After kneading, I divided the dough into  4, and let it rest or 15 minutes.  I mixed together 1 Tbsp sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon, and softened the butter.

I rolled out 1/4 of the dough, buttered it and sprinkled the cinnamon sugar mix, and placed the layer in the baking tray.

I repeated the process until I had 3 layers of cinnamon sugar.  I rolled the 4th dough and placed on top. Squash down the outside all the way around the edges.

Using the rim of a  small bowl, I created a circle in the centre, and then cut through the layers at 12, 6, 3, and 9 o'clock.  Cutting edge wedge in half again, and inserting the knife into the circle. Pull the cut wedges towards the circle, and twist twice in opposite directions.

Squeeze the ends together and use a toothpick to separate the layers if necessary.

Repeat the process all the way around the dough layer.  Looks great.

Put aside in a warm place for the second rising. This takes about an hour.

Beat an egg, and brush over the risen dough.  Bake in oven at 190 deg Celsius for 12-15 minutes.

When golden brown, and sounds "hollow" when tapped, remove from oven.

Just for fun, I drizzled vanilla icing over the top.

Perfect for lunch with hot chocolate, and lashings of butter.

Mt Tauhara - Taupo

Every time we drive to Wellington, we pass through Taupo,  I see Mt Tauhara, and say to myself, I really should climb that mountain.  Today was that day!

About a 3 hour hike (return) and 5kms.  Initially the trail starts at farmland. Climb a few stiles, and wander up the steep grassy hill.

There was cow poo to avoid. At the top of the pasture we could see the volcanic mountains, and Lake Taupo.

As you climb the dormant Taupo volcano the trail will starts to change. The trail goes from a typical path to high boulders, and trenches cut deep into the earth. After the initial countryside ascent you will enter the dense forest until you reach the summit.

The higher you climb, the more diverse the flora of Mount Tauhara seems to get!  A little over the halfway point there will be a stream where you can fill up your water bottle.

Past the stream, was a clearing off to the side of the trail.  I could see the trig in the distance. I was tired, the climb had been steep, it was hot. I ate a nut bar and rested a while.

The next section of the trail was lush, lots of moss on the trees, and large ferns on either side of the track.

The views from the top are spectacular,  360 degree views of  Lake Taupo, and farmlands for miles in the distance. We didn't stop there.

We continued along, following a narrow track through the brush along the top of the Mt Tauhara. There is a collection of rocks just a couple minutes further which is the most beautiful viewpoint. 

All around were all the blue mountains. Ruapehu, Pureora, Pirongia, Kaimais, Rotomas, Ureweras. 

The rocks reminded me that I was standing on the top of a volcano.

The view looking towards Napier

The view looking towards Rotorua

Much of the path is dirt so it’s best to avoid climbing Mount Tauhara after a heavy day of rain. The walk down took about an hour.

The trail becomes trenches in some places.

On the way back down, we filled up our water bottles at the stream. Tastes slightly earthy, sweet, refreshingly cold.

Every now and then, there are glimpses of the Taupo township, and then we were out of the bush, and walking on the farmland.

It's a steep rugged walk. Allow 3 hours return. Take plenty of water and snacks. At the top it was really windy, so dress appropriately. Wear sunscreen.

Candy from Melissa

 

In November, I sent a box of Whittaker chocolates to Melissa in Germany, and she sent us a box of european candy.  She received my parcel prior to Christmas, and we had to wait until the boats decided to visit New Zealand.

So much to choose from, and the urchins enjoyed the different textures and flavours.

These passionfruit candies were my favourite.

These jelly type lollies had a syrup in the centre. They tasted like berry and apple.

Delightfully delicious! Perfect cherry flavour, and the the Krachers reminded me of the lollies we used to eat at the cinema. Tangy Fruits.

The smurf gummies were disappointing.  Not much flavour, and extremely chewy.

Sheep gummies

Everyones favourite, gummy bears

Assorted gummy candy - crocodiles, butterflies, snakes, keys, cola bottles 

Salty liquorice with marzipan centres.

These little bonbons were like nutella dipped in chocolate. Extremely yum!

Little Kinder bars for the urchins. These didn't last long.

Kinder Country bars were larger, but they still didn't last long!

Starry Starry Night

The night was too hot for sleeping, so I set up the camera out the back, and took some photos of the southern sky.

I had no idea what I was doing, the camera wouldn't focus, my torch died, and the tripod fell over.

Look, the Southern Cross!

Summer at Lake Okareka

Summer traditions continue with spending the days at Lake Okareka, Rotorua. 

The unicorn has been named "Garfunkel"

Summer Cats

 The cats have taken up all the space in the shade.