delish thyme bread with bacon & fontina cheese

weekend herb blogging from kalyn's kitchen is on and it gave me the perfect excuse to use loads of thyme. i think basil is great. so is dill. but still thyme is my all time favourite. its obvious - i love to put bacon in everything, i also love mushrooms, cheese and honey. and thyme just crowns all of these aromas. i decided to do a thyme bread i did for easter a few years ago. it's a quite rich bread that's perfect for a family brunch. it's best eaten fresh out of the oven, since the cheese is oozing out of the bread. all you need to do then is slather some fresh butter on top. - oh, this is heaven!
if you are in a rush and too lazy to form 3 breads, simply roll dough into one large one and bake in a rectangular cake- or loaftin.



RECIPE

500g flour
30g semolina
15g fresh yeast
1 teaspoon salt
50g olive oil*
320g water
200g lardons (or rashers streaky bacon cut in cubes)
1 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme
150g fontina cheese, cut in small cubes

mix the flour and semolina in the bowl of a stand mixer (with dough hook attached) and - using your fingers - rub the fresh yeast into the mixture. add salt, the olive oil and water and mix until a soft dough forms.
fry lardons in a tiny bit of olive oil until its starting to crisp. add chopped thyme and cook for another 2 minutes. then take off the heat and let cool on a piece of paper towel.
then add to the dough and mix until well combined. lightly dust a bowl with flour, place dough in it, cover and let rest for about an hour.

lightly flour work surface again and turn dough out onto it. divide into 3 equal pieces. roll into a ball, flatten into a disc and arrange cheese cubes equally on these discs. form into long log shape with rounded ends. make sure the cheese is securely wrapped in the bread or it will end up all over your baking sheet.
place on a (lined) baking sheet and lightly flour the tops with semolina or normal flour. using a sharp knive or razor blade, make some cuts across the top of each bread. cover again with a tea towell and let rest for another hour until it has almost doubled in size. heat oven to 250c°

open the preheated oven and mist with a water spray. place loaves into the oven, turn down heat to 230c° and bake for about 30 minutes until they are golden brown in colour. remove form oven and let cool on a wire rack.

*weighing the liquids is more accurate than measuring with a cup

italian centre piece - made of trash cans!

janelle, a lovely and fun dutch woman (wat leuk!) who is totally into tomatoes created this wonderful blog called talk of tomatoes. and once a month the centrepiece of the month competition is on. something i cant miss! not that i have too much time on my hands... but once i got guests at my house, i just have to make sure there is something nice and decorative on the table, too. this one is perfect for an italian evening, since you can use your empty tomato tins. now how cool is that to make a superduper centre piece with cans out of the trash? those tomato tins come in all kinds of designs and are just lovely to look at. i used all kinds of flowers - but if a tiny little thymepot from your balcony is all you have, just put it into the tin. some leftover rosemary springs with roses in full bloom work well, too. if you are not the flower type of person, simply put forks and spoons or some grissinis into the tin and place them all over the table. mix small and large tins and put on a nice, white tablecloth - i always use old blankets from my grandma, looks wonderful!

swiss easter tart

when johanna from the passionate cook gave a shout out about the "waiter, there is something in my... easter basket!" i just had to join the competition. it was simply the best excuse to make an easter tart. this one is a traditional swiss easter-tart made with rice (of course! its all about fertility.. hence the bunnies) and a wonderful hint of lemon.we dont really do much on easter. good people go to church, bad girls stay home (me!) and eat loads and loads of chocolate bunnies. i always have the same. since i was a little girl i trust migros and their wonderful, delicious "mahony" chocolate bunny. thats 500g of the finest swiss chocolate with bits of honey and crunchy almond. if you are having a bad day you eat its ass off first. i always start with the ears (cos really: easter is usually a good day, isnt it? - sleep in... eat loads. what more can you ask for?). the easter tart is something we would have for tea. or right after those 2,3 bunnies we usually eat before the good people come back home from church.


RECIPE

about 320g ready made pate brisée sucrée rolled out and fitted into a 30cm round tart tin with remoavble buttom

filling
50g camolino rice
3,2 dl milk
30 g butter
50 g sugar
50 g ground almonds

put all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook together till thick, stirring from time to time. place in a bowl and leave to cool.

3 eggs, separated
1 tsp baking powder
50 g raisins
1 packet of vanilla sugar
zest of one lemon
another 2 tablespoons of sugar, if desired...

beat egg white and baking powder until stiff. add raisins, vanillasugar, eggyolks and lemonzest. mix with cooled filling and spread over dough. bake in preheated oven at 220c° for 20-30 minutes. when cool, dust with icing sugar.

at its best on the day it's made.

crunchy potato tart with rosemary

whenever i am in new york city, i always make sure i visit sullivan street bakery in SOHO to buy (at least!) 3-4 slices of this wonderful potato tart. and today i thought it was about time i tried out the recipe, that i had bookmarked in maggie gletzers book "artisan baking" for such a long time.
this goes really, really well with a glass of white wine, a green salad or some cheese. i would even suggest you add some grated fontina about 5-10 minutes before it comes out of the oven. i cant imagine a better combination than potatoes, rosemary and cheese. once it comes out of the oven, you will see: definitely worth it! crunchy and golden and just wonderful!
the dough is kinda unusual but easy to make (it starts out as a batter and then turns into a very sticky and moist dough - make sure you oil your hands with loads and loads of olive-oil!) i tried to work on the recipe just a bit to make it a little easier and a tiny bit less time consuming. sorry for working on your perfect recipe, everyone at the sullivan bakery! but i promise to come back, soon.

RECIPE

FOR THE DOUGH
230g flour
15g fresh yeast
3dl lukewarm water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
olive oil

add yeast to the lukewarm water and stir until you have a creamy mixture.
put flour in the bowl of a standmixer with the paddle attached. mix on low speed while pouring in the water until the dough just comes together. increase speed to medium and beat the batter until it cleans the bowl and comes togheter into a smooth, but very, very wet dough. this will take some time - lets say 20-30 minutes. add sugar and salt and mix until well dissolved.
cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and let stand until it doubles in size and gets very, very light for about 3 hours.

generously oil a large baking sheet with some olive oil and cover with some parchment paper. wet your hands well with some olive oil and spread the dough in a thin layer into the sheet and on parchment paper. now spread it as much as you can into the pans edges, but try not to rip it. this is a bit of a mess but just try to be patient - it will strech easier after a few minutes and you will end up with a very thin layer of dough on your sheet. dont pop bubbles, as this is what you want in this dough. cover and let proof until light and risen for about an hour.

FOR THE TOPPING
1500g floury potatoes, paper-thin sliced with a mandoline
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary, chopped
olive oil
fresh pepper
salt

heat the oven to 220c°
put potato slices in a colander and add a pinch of salt - toss. let stand for about 10 minutes until liquid exudes. gently squeeze the potato slices dry in a colander.
arrange on top of the risen dough with the onion and sprinkle with the chopped rosemary. brush with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and fresh pepper. bake in the middle of the oven for about 40 minutes until potatoes are brown and crusty and can be easily pierced with the tip of a knife. rotate bakingsheet halfway into the bake to make sure it browns evenly.

serve hot with a green salad or some cheese. i think a nice gruyere would just be perfect for this!

hello dolly cookies

we went to see dolly parton in concert in london on monday evening (you know,it's ok to be jealous, really, its ok...). i thought i'd died and gone to heaven. what a wonderful evening this was. seriously... never have i been to a concert where people screamed & cheered louder than this one. i knew dolly was a wonderful woman - but what great fun is she! witty and smart and funny and just a cheerful bundle of joy. who - as the english guardian wonderfully wrote: can play any instrument, as long as its coated in six inches of glitter. and when she said she'd love us so much, she would love to take us all home, i was ready to pack my bags and go with her. the woman is tiny. her waist probably has the radius of my wrist and she has tiny, tiny little feet and tiny, tiny short legs, but still she once said: "my weakness have always been food and men - in that order". i remembered i had this fun little book at home, called "smoky mountain memories - stories from the hearts of the parton family", written by her sister willadeene parton. apart from some funny pictures of dolly, her dog, her rooster, her cow and that famous "coat of many colours", there are a few recipes the parton family liked to cook. easy peasy meals like a chilli, a banana pudding or a jam cake. inexpensive too, you might remember she has about 100 brothers and sisters and they were so poor, they didnt even have such a thing as electricity! i am still totally dollified, singing "two doors down" and "islands in the stream" (isnt it just the best song ever?) over and over again and decided to bake the "hello dolly cookies". because they are named after her - i just had to put some pink icing on top of them!



RECIPE
110g butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
120g flour
100g sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon baking soda

in a mixing bowl beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. add the cinnamon and nutmeg to the flour. add about half of the flour to the butter mixture along with the sugar, brown sugar, egg, vanilla and baking soda. beat until thoroughly combined. beat in the remaining flour. drop by rounded teaspoons about 5 cm apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. bake at 190 c° for 8 to 10 minutes until the edges are golden. cool the cookies on the cookie sheet for 1 minute, then remove and cool on a wire rack. when cooled, decorate with some icing (made of icing sugar, lemon juice & a drop of red food colouring). makes about 24 cookies.

"WHEREVER I LAY MY HAIR - THAT'S MY HOME" dolly parton

homemade vanilla sugar & extract

when you are reading this in the US or UK you might laugh your butt off. but: vanilla sugar and vanilla extract is something very hard to find in switzerland. when really, it is such an essential product to work with when you spend hours in the kitchen, baking cookies, tarts and cakes. i used to bring gallons of vanilla extract back home from my holidays in the US. last time i had my suitcase plastic wrapped (it was so heavy i wanted to make sure it was all safe and sealed and nothing would fall out of the suitcase). at the airport i handed my suitcase over to this young, handsome and muscular man. he had trouble lifting it up. so he started to grumble and wiped away the sweat on his forehead. then he asked: why is this so heavy? are you carrying around dead bodies or what? - the guy at security check wasnt too happy with the amount of liquid in my suitcase, too. i had to unpack my whole suitcase so he could have a look. what a nightmare! it took me ages to repack...thats when i knew, it was about time to come up with another solution for my vanilla sugar/extract problem. the lovely ina garden has a recipe in one of her books for vanilla extract and so far i have made about 20 bottles of homemade vanilla extract, since they make wonderful presents, too. just make sure it has enough time to infuse. the vanilla sugar on the other hand is probably the best use for vanilla pods that already had their seeds scraped out. really wonderful in a cake, a cup of coffee or sprinkled over some fresh berries. make sure you always have a glass full of it in your cupboard!

RECIPE homemade vanilla extract

1 liter of vodka
about 7-10 vanilla pods, split open

put vodka in a preservation bottle and add the vanilla pods. let stand and infuse for about 2-3 months. top up bottle with vodka from time to time, you want to make sure the pods are always covered in liquid. also add new (more!) vanilla pods from time to time. this keeps for years!

RECIPE homemade vanilla sugar

1 kg of sugar
2-3 vanilla pods, seeds scraped out

put sugar in a jar, with the help of a blender (or simply a whisk) mix the seeds into the sugar. dont worry, this doesnt have to be perfectly mixed. stick pods into the sugar, close and let infuse for at least 2 weeks.throughout the time, add new sugar and vanilla pods.

braided sweet yeast bun with lemon glaze

so i am obsessed with yeasted dough. cant help it but i think there is nothing that is as wonderful as a risen, yeasted dough. soft and smooth... almost like silk (another obsession i have). a sweet yeasted dough is even better. the butter makes it supersmooth and the egg gives it a firmer structure.
here is a recipe of a sweet yeast bun with a moist almond filling and a dash of cinnamon. i think this is perfect when your favourite chatterboxes come over for an afternoon of coffe and lotsa laughter. when i was a kid we used to make smaller versions of these and sold them on the fleamarket. i made big bucks! so wheither you want to sell it or just share it with your dearest friends and family - here is the perfect recipe!

RECIPE

450g (challah- /zopf-) white flour
a generous pinch of salt
80g sugar
20g fresh yeast
80g butter, soft and cut in small cubes
1.7 dl milk (room temperature)
1 egg, whisked

mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. add soft butter cubes. mix yeast, egg and milk and whisk until smooth. add to the dry ingrediens and work into a smooth, nice dough. cover with clingfilm and let rest on a warm (and windstill!) spot for about an hour, until it has doubled in size. meanwhile make the filling.

FILLING

250g ground almonds
100g sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg, whisked
1 apple, peeled & cored & finely grated
1dl cream

mix all the ingredients well and put on the side. roll dough into a 40x65cm rectangle and divide horizontally in 3 equal strips. divide filling equally onto strips and smooth with a rubber spatula, leaving a rim of about 1,5cm on every side. roll up every strip until you end up with 3 rolls - braid 3 rolls into one long braid,just the way you would do it with your hair (imagine heidis braids - we want one of these!). grease a 25cm round caketin generously with butter (or line with baking paper) and lay braid into tin, forming a ring. cover and let rise for another 30 minutes.
meanwhile heat the oven to 200c°.


EGG WASH

1 egg
3 drops of cream

mix and glaze braid-ring before you bake it for about 50 minutes on the lower rack of your oven. when it browns to quickly, cover with foil and continue baking until firm and golden. let cool in tin for 5 minutes, then remove tin and let cool completely on cooling rack.

GLAZE

5 tablespoons of icingsugar
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

mix icingsugar with juice and glaze sweet yeast bun generously.

PS: keeps well in the fridge for about a day or two...

chocolate chip cookies make people happy!

i will be baking a rather big batch of chocolate chip cookies tonight for a friend. i mean chocolate chip cookies just make people happy and - thank god! - are so easy to make. mix, spoon on baking sheet, bake, ready! i tried to make this one a healthy one (as far as a chocolate chip cookie can be anyway...). old fashioned rolled oats seemed perfect to give this sweet, little cookie not only a wonderful structure but also a dash of healthiness. unfortunately this doesnt have an impact on the amout of sugar and butter in the cookie, which makes it so chewy and soft. again, this is a recipe where you can mix and add whatever you like. pecan nuts... dried cranberries... raisins... white chocolate chips... cinnamon... nutmeg... really, whatever you like best in a cookie!

RECIPE
makes about 30 cookies (depending on size!)

180g flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
120g butter, room temperature
160g sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or vanilla sugar, then add about 2 tablespoons)
200g rolled oats
about 250g chocolate chips

preheat oven to 190c° and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
in a big bowl, mix flour with salt and baking soda. put butter and sugar in the bowl of your standmixer and mix until light and fluffy. then add eggs and vanilla(sugar). add flour-mix - cup after cup - until just combined. add oats and chocolate chips. mix until combined.
drop tablespoons* (be generous!) of batter onto the baking-sheets, about 4 cm apart.
bake for about 10 minutes (check cookies and rotate sheets if necessary) until the cookies have spread and are still soft to the touch. give them another 1-2 minutes if they are not golden-brown yet. (and give them about 15-20 minutes total baking time, when you want them really, really crispy!) then carefully transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely.

martha stewart had this phantastic idea to wrap these cookies in paper envelopes for CDROMs. i stamped "bonjour" on every envelope to make it look cute. but you could use ribbons, stickers or could just write a nice little line like "good morning cupcake" or how about "chocolate is good for you!" on the envelope.
these cookies keep well in an airtight cookie box for about a week (i doubt it, that there are any left after a week, but give it a try).

*if you have an icecream-scoop, use this one. its very handy to portion dough and spoon it on the cookie sheet.

challah - or the sweet version of swiss "zopf"

A typical sunday morning starts with a sunday newspaper - that i read in bed... - a hot bath, some fresh orange juice and "zopf". "zopf" is a breaded white bread - just like the challah in the jewish religion. (which i though was so funny... when i had my first friday dinner with my jewish friends and i thought they eat "zopf" for dinner - when we always have it on a sunday morning!). in switzerland, a "zopf" is something typical for the region of berne but is known and loved all across the country since the 15th century.
there is this myth that women used to cut off a braid of their hair and buried it with their husbands. as time went on, they buried a loaf of "zopf" (as a braided bread) instead of their hair. nowadays we bury husbands in good glothes - and keep our hair.
usually a "zopf" is not flavoured (apart from a pinch of salt and sugar). but since "zopf" is served with jam or honey anyways, i though it might just fiddle around with the recipe a bit and add some vanilla (makes people happy!). but if you like your sunday brunch with ham and cheese, simply add some fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary or sage to the dough. you migh even put some bacon-cubes into the dough.
baking a "zopf" is a wonderful thing to do. it slows down a hectic saturday evening and brings the most beautiful scent into your home.

RECIPE
500g zopf/challa flour - or just plain white flour
20g fresh yeast
2,5 dl milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
80g soft butter, cut in cubes
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out
1 egg yolk & a tiny pinch of sugar for glaze

mix the flour with salt and sugar and put in the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook attached. add the butter cubes. now mix the milk with egg, fresh yeast and the vanillaseeds and add to the dry ingredients. start mixing on low speed, then increase and mix for about 10 minutes until you end up with a nice and smooth ball of dough. remove dough hook, form dough into a ball and let rest in a bowl - covered with plastic wrap for about an hour (or until the dough has doubled in size).



then cut dough in half and twiddle into about 60cm long and even rolls. lay the 2 ropes of dough over each other - so that they form a cross. start braiding, then pinch the ends together tightly and tuck them under. plache on sheet lined with parchment paper. let rest for 20-30 minutes.

heat oven to 220c°. mix the egg yolk with a tiny pinch of sugar and glaze the bread.
bake challah/zopf in the middle of the oven until golden brown on the outside and sounds hollow when you knock on the bottom of the challa.
let cool on a wire rack, then serve with raspberry or strawberry jam or loads of runny honey.

PS: if you have any leftovers - toasted slices of this challah/zopf make a wonderful base for a clubsandwich!!

light vanilla cheesecake

this one is done in a dash and - without any of the super-fat cream cheese - just so light (in calories...) and delicious. if you want to go "super low-calories", reduce the amount of sugar. but maybe add some grated lemonzest for flavour.
i will serve it with some hot berries tonight. but honestly - i cant wait for the fresh berries to arrive. nothing - but really nothing but a ton of fresh raspberries, strawberries and blueberries - make this cake the most wonderful, delicious dessert.

RECIPE
200g cottage cheese
350g ricotta
500g quark (curd cheese)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
200g vanilla sugar*
4 eggs
2 tablespoons raisins

heat the oven to 160c°
put the cottage cheese, ricotta, quark, cornstarch and sugar in a food processor, puls to combine and - while the motor is running - add the eggs, one at the time. pulse until smooth. dont overmix this - or the eggs will add so much volume that you will end up with a soufflé! stir raisins into mixture and pour in a 20cm round (greased or lined!) caketin.
bake for 50-60 minutes until golden. turn the oven off, leave the door ajar and let the cake inside the oven to cool. this will prevent it from collapsing - which you really dont want to happen - wouldnt look cute like that.
remove from tin and serve with fruit compote.

*if you havent got vanilla sugar, use 200g of normal caster sugar and scraped out seeds of 1-2 vanilla pods. (put those pods in a jar with sugar after you scraped the seeds out. close jar and let infuse for about 2 weeks. you will end up with a wonderful vanilla sugar. easy-peasy and so delicious, isnt it?)

banana cream pie

i am so not gonna win a prize for this picture, but it shouldnt keep you away from baking this wonderful sweet tart. a banana cream pie is such a delicious little thing - oh! - we couldnt get enough and even had a slice (ok, it was 2 slices each...) the day after for breakfast. of course a proper baker would make a homemade pastry but i was lazy for once and used a ready made shortcrust pastry.
maybe you know the icecream dessert "banana-split" where a banana is served with vanilla ice cream, some melted black chocolate and loads and loads of whipped cream. when i was a kid, i promised myself that - once i am an adult - i would eat banana split every single day. i wasnt exactly on a banana-split diet in the last few years, but must admit, i think it cant get any better than that. and this banana cream pie even includes a vanilla pastry cream. i mean - how can you top this?

1 rolled out shortcrust pastry
about 20-30g black chocolate

PASTRY CREAM
500ml whole milk
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
a generous pinch of salt
4 tablespoons of cornstarch
110g sugar
2 large eggs
40g butter, cut in small cubes

TOPPING
2 ripe bananas, cut in rounds
150ml heavy cream
2-3 tablespoons sugar

some (grated) chocolate swirls

line a round tart-tin with the shortcrust pastry, line with baking paper and fill with baking beans. bake for about 20 minutes at 180c°. when the pastry starts to brown, remove baking beans and bake for another 10 minutes until golden and crisp. let cool completely.
once its cold, brush the bottom of the baked tart shell with some melted black chocolate and put in the fridge for 15-20 minutes until firm.

for the pastry cream pour milk, vanilla seeds and salt in a pan and put over medium heat. bring just to the boil - but make sure the milk doesnt stick to the bottom of the pan (this will add a horrible burn-taste to this wonderful cream!).
mix the sugar, cornstarch and eggs in a mixing bowl until smooth. slowly add about 1/3 of the milk mixture into the sugar/egg-mixture and whisk constantly. then pour this mixture back into the pan and - while constantly whisking - heat up again. in a dash this will thicken beautifully - whisk until you reach a wonderful thick-creamy vanilla-cream. remove from heat immediately and pour into a bowl (if you want to be an overachiever, you can pour the cream through a thin sieve into the bowl. it adds a more silky and softer consistency, but this is really only when you want (or have) to show off!). stir with a rubber spatula from time to time to release the heat. then add the butter cubes - one after the other, always whisking until smooth before you add the next one.
cool cream and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it onto the surface of the cream to prevent forming a skin on the surface. keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days.

spread the vanilla cream evenly into the tart shell & arrange with the banana rounds. whip the heavy cream with the sugar until it forms soft but firm peaks and spread generously on top. decorate pie with chocolate swirls.
serve immediately. in case you got any leftovers (not really, ey?) - this tart keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days.

potato bread with rosemary

so i was in prague. and it rained. all day. from monday to friday. dont missunderstand me. prague is a nice city. i remember spending a fun holiday there with my friend christoph and we ate so many "knödels" - oh - they had to roll us back home. this time was different. i was working and doing recordings when there is a constant thunderstorm going on is kind of a pain in the back. and: the city still has a lot of charm but looks pretty much like any other shopping-crazy city in europe (again: dont missunderstand, i like shopping...). but: it was raining. and the food was just awful. so when i was back home, i was DESPERATE to bake something really, really nice. something that fills the whole house with a beautiful scent - something that just smells like home.
such a thing like a potato bread. when i was a kid, we usually had potato bread from "migros" (swiss grocery store) for tea, with some fresh butter and jam or a slice of ham. unfortunately "migros" doesnt bake this kind of bread any more. so it was about time i came up with my own recipe. since potatoes go so well with herbs, i decided to flavour the dough with some rosemary (you could use thyme, sage, cumin or really whatever is available). i was just the proudest baker in the whole wide world when this bread came out of the oven. with a wonderful crust. and amazing smell. well, really everything you need when you are happy to be back at home.

RECIPE
1kg floury potatoes
4 teaspoons of salt
about 1,25ml (or 1/2 a cup) of reserved water from boiled potatoes
20g fresh yeast
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
600g flour

wash and peel potatoes, cut in small cubes and boil until soft in a pot with salted water (use 2 of the 4 teaspoons of salt for this). when soft, drain in a colander and let rinse until potatoes are cool and dry. make sure they are dry before you continue with the recipe.
mix fresh yeast in the reserved potato water and mix until creamy. turn the potatoes into a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mash. with mixer on low speed, add yeast, olive oil, chopped rosemary and mix until incorporated.
then replace the paddle with a dough hook and add the flour & remaining 2 teaspoons of salt bit by bit until incorporated. dont be surprised if the dough looks like a big disaster in the beginning, it takes some time (about 10 - 15 minutes or so) until it comes together to a beautiful, nice dough - almost brioche-like! mix until the dough on the hook cleanes the sides of the bowl but is still pooling at the bottom.
cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for half an hour.

heat the oven to 190 c° - fill spray bottle with water.
place a linen towel on a baking sheet and rub well with flour. divide the dough in 2 pieces, form a ball, then flatten into a disk. roll the dough up into a roll (that looks a bit like a rugby ball...). place the loaves -seam side down- on the prepared towel, dust with some flour and cover with another towel. let rise for another 20 minutes.

when ready to bake, spray the oven walls with water and immediately close the open doors to trap the steam! turn breads on a sheet with baking paper and transfer to the oven. spray the oven with water again and bake breads for about 50 minutes - or until the crust has browned nicely. might be a very dark brown, dont worry!
remove the breads from oven and let cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes.

serve still warm with jam, cheese or -this is delicious! - fresh butter!