Here is the recipe. Bake and enjoy!

## Recipe

### **Tools**

This recipe requires kitchen twine (unbleached cotton) to shape the buns.

A pastry brush will be helpful for applying the egg-wash.

### Ingredients

For the roasted pumpkin:

–
1 small pumpkin

–
1-2 Tbsp Olive oil

–
Salt

–
Honey

For the dough:

–
360 g all-purpose flour

–
2 tsp instant yeast

–
50 g sugar

–
1 tsp cinnamon

–
1/4 tsp nutmeg

–
1/4 tsp ground ginger

–
120 ml warm milk

–
60 g melted butter

–
1 large egg (plus one extra for egg wash)

### Instructions

– Slice the pumpkin into even wedges and lay out on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season.

– Roast the pumpkin in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until soft enough to scrape the flesh from the skin.

– Purée the pumpkin using a blender and set aside 120g of the resulting purée for the dough.

– Preheat the oven to 190C.

– Combine the flour, sugar, instant yeast and spices.

– Mix the milk, butter, egg and purée until combined. Make sure the butter is not hot.

– Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing well to combine. This dough will require some kneading and you may have to add some more flour.

– Cover and let the dough rise for 1 hour or until doubled.

– Shape the buns using kitchen twine by carefully wrapping it around. You can also make simple round buns.

– Bake at 190C for 15-18min.

– Tap the bottom to know if they’re done. If they sound hollow, they are ready!

– Serve and enjoy!!

## Notes

A step by step reel can be found on my Instagram page, here: [@leviawegner.com](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DA_F3citshg/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)

Recipe

Ingredients

• 240ml Soy Milk
• 1 package Fresh Yeast (notes)
• 2 Tbsp Sugar
• 60g Ghee
• 400g Wholegrain Flour
• 2 Eggs

Topping

• 2 Tbsp Ghee
• 1 Tbsp Honey

Instructions

1. Warm the soy milk and mix in the sugar.
2. Take the soy milk off the stove and crumble in the yeast. (notes)
3. Let the yeast proof for 10 minutes.
4. Rub the Ghee into the flour until obtaining a crumbly texture.
5. Crack one of the eggs into the flour and add in the yeast mixture.
6. Use a fork to stir until a dough starts to form.
7. Start kneading with your hands.
8. Tilt the dough onto a clean surface and keep kneading.
9. Leave the dough to rise for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
10. Punch the dough down and divide it into about 14-16 pieces.
11. Place the rolls into a square glass tray and let them rise for about 15 minutes.
12. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
13. Beat the egg with a fork before using a pastry brush to apply the egg-wash to the pastry.
14. Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes or until golden on top.
15. Melt the butter and mix in the honey.
16. Separate the rolls from each other.
17. Brush with honey topping and enjoy!

Notes

Fresh Yeast: When using fresh yeast, the package usually specifies the yeast to flour ratio. It can be different for different brands of yeast. The yeast I usually use comes in packages of 25g and is used for 500g of flour. If you prefer to use active dry yeast, check the back of the package. I usually use two packages of active dry yeast instead of one package of fresh yeast.

Yeast: First of all make sure the water is not too hot. It should not be burning. It should be merely warm not hot. If your yeast mixture is not puffy after you let it proof for five minutes, try leaving it for another five. If it still isn’t puffy, do not continue with that mixture!!! It will take less time to redo the yeast mixture and get it right than it will to remake the entire dough because it didn’t rise. Yeast is a tricky ingredient to work with and much can go wrong. This is a way of catching any mistakes early on and sparing yourself a lot of work.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 10 Wieners
• 1 small beaten Egg
• Sesame Seeds

For the dough

• 400g Flour
• 220ml Water
• 3Tbsp Sugar
• 2/3 package Fresh Yeast (notes)
• 1tsp Salt
• 3Tbsp Melted Butter
• 1 small Egg

Instructions

1. Warm the water and mix in the Sugar until disolved.
2. Crumble in the yeast and integrate it well
3. Leave the mixture to proof for 10 minutes.
4. Mix the salt into the flour and form a well in the middle.
5. Pour in the yeast mixture, the butter, the egg and a bit of the water.
6. Mix with a fork. Add in the rest of the water.
7. Use your hands to keep mixing the dough.
8. Tilt the dough onto a floured surface and keep kneeding until the dough is smooth.
9. Leave the dough to rise for an hour or until doubled in size.
10. Separate the dough into 10 pieces and roll them out into strips 3 times as long as the sausages.
11. Wrap the sausages in the dough and leave them to rest for another 15 minutes.
12. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
13. Brush the eggwash over the hot dog buns and sprinkle with sesame.
14. Bake for 10-15 minutes until they are golden on top.
15. Take out of the oven and serve hot.

Notes

Fresh Yeast: When using fresh yeast, the package usually specifies the yeast to flour ratio. It can be different for different brands of yeast. The yeast I usually use comes in packages of 25g and is used for 500g of flour. If you prefer to use active dry yeast, check the back of the package. I usually use two packages of active dry yeast instead of one package of fresh yeast.

Yeast: First of all make sure the water is not too hot. It should not be burning. It should be merely warm not hot. If your yeast mixture is not puffy after you let it proof for five minutes, try leaving it for another five. If it still isn’t puffy, do not continue with that mixture!!! It will take less time to redo the yeast mixture and get it right than it will to remake the entire dough because it didn’t rise. Yeast is a tricky ingredient to work with and much can go wrong. This is a way of catching any mistakes early on and sparing yourself a lot of work.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 Bananas
• 1 beaten Egg
• 150g Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 1/2 tsp Borbon Vanilla
• 80g Butter
• 200g Flour

Instructions

1. Beat the butter with an electric mixer until smooth.
2. Add in the sugar and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas using a fork.
4. Add the banana into the butter mixture and mix well. Add the egg.
5. Integrate the bakinjg powder into the flour and spoon it into the mixture, mixing well to avoid clumbs.
6. Spread some butter over the inside of a bakin pan and pour in the batter spreading it well.
7. Bake at 175 ºC for 50 minutes or until the toothpick come out clean.
8. Turn the pan onto a cooling rack and leave to cool down.
9. Serve and enjoy!

Variations

Sugar: If you prefer sweeter banana bread, feel free to add another 50g of sugar or, if what you are looking for is less sweetness, use 50g less.

Cinnamon: Feel free to add cinnamon to futher expand the flavour.

Serving: Serve this dish with whatever you like best. There is thousands of options.

Heading to Italy

Overview

Focaccia is a typical Italian recipe believed to have originated before the Roman Empire was formed. Some historians also hold the believe it originated in Ancient Greece. It is important to acknowledge that unrisen flat bread has also long been made throughout the Middle East. However, it can be confirmed that recipes similar to this one can be found in Turkey, France, Spain and Greece. It is also speculated to be the origin of pizza dough. Despite its rich history, it is an easily approachable recipe. It can be varied by adding toppings before baking or filling the finished bread with cheese or ham.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 500g Flour
• 300ml Water
• 60ml Olive Oil (extra for greasing the pan and for the top)
• 2tsp Sugar
• 2tsp Salt
• 1package(25g) Fresh Yeast
• Sea Salt and Rosemary

Instructions

1. In a metal bowl, warm the water until lukewarm and add the sugar. Take the water off the heat. Crumble the yeast into the water and mix well. Let the mixture set for 5-10 minutes to proof the yeast.
2. Put the flour in a large mixing bowl and add the salt on one side. Pour the yeast mixture on the other side. Try to make sure that yeast and salt don’t touch directly until it is totally unavoidable! Salt turns yeast off. Add the oil.
3. Use a fork to mix the mixture until you can knead it by hand. Knead until obtaining a smooth dough.
4. Cover the dough with a tea towel and let it to rise for 45 to 60 minutes.
5. When the dough has risen, oil a baking pan and tilt the dough into it. Spread the dough until it is about 2cm thick.
6. Make deep holes in the dough and fill them with a bit of rosemary. Sprinkle the focaccia with salt and cover it with a tea towel. Leave to rise for another 20 minutes.
7. When the dough has finished rising, sprinkle a bit of oil over it.
8. Bake the focaccia on 200ºC for 20 minutes or until golden.
9. Cut and serve warm with a bit of olive oil and salt.

Variations

Focaccia, being bread, can be eaten in a thousand and one ways. With ham and cheese filling or with tomatoes and olives intead of rosemary and salt on top. Anything you like can be added to it. It has a lot of room for your creativity and prefferences.

You can also vary the choice of flour. For example, you can use 250g of spelt flour and 250g of plain flour. That combination is nice with a cheese and onion topping or cherry tomatoes and black olives.