Echilon

Stollen!

They look amazing.

I bought a bread machine last week and so far it's been a bit hit and miss. It's the yeast that's confusing me. I bought two types, quick action yeast which is in 7g sachets and active dried yeast which is in a big tub. The problem is: the recipes that came with the breadmaker require 1 'sachet' but there's no mention of how much yeast should be in 1 sachet. On the back of the quick action yeast is a recipe for bread, but that gives yeast measurements in teaspoons. It seems a bit silly to open a sachet and start measuring. Is there a general rule with yeast - maybe so much quick action yeast is the same as so much active dried yeast? I'd appreciate any input

I was talking to a friend today, and I want to get a breadmaker. The thought of making my own pizza dough and wholemeal loaves sounds great I'm not sure which one to get though, is it worth spending more or is it just for bells and whistles? In Argos, they sell for between £25 and £100. Is the extra spend worth it?

I bought some vanilla pods a few days ago because I've never tried them. Is there anything simple and interesting I can make with them? I was planning on putting them in to some custard. Any ideas?

Any chance of a recipe?

I've baked a few banana and walnut loaves recently, but I want to try adding some alcohol to the mix to improve the flavour. Are there any spirits that go well with banana or shall I just use what's in the cupboard?

These are the first cookies I've ever made, and they tasted amazing We tend to cook cakes and pastry as kids in England... 85g softened butter 170g white sugar 1 egg 1tablespoon vanilla 1/2 tsp baking soda Pinch of salt 1 tbsp syrup/treacle 110g pastry flour 50g cocoa 140g chocolate chips Preheat oven to 350/180. Stir together butter, sugar, vanilla and egg. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa. Mix the two mixtures together with the syrup and stir in chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. They should be soft when they come out, but they'll harden when they cool down.

The gingerbread looks great. I'm going to try some when I'm done with the chocolate chip cookies.

Wow. They look so good I'm going to make a batch today