Adapting to change - baking a difference

2 minute read time.

Many of us are forced into learning to adapt when there's a cancer diagnosis.

How do you deal with change?

A close up image of a daffodil.

In the current pandemic, many of us are experiencing disruption to our normal lives. Whether it’s having the kids at home or things missing off our shopping lists, we’re all having to adapt in some way.

How we deal with this change can really affect our well-being. You all help make the Community a safe and supportive space where we can all share our worries, but also a positive place where we can share hints and tips to get through this together.

Today, I’ll be sharing some of my tips and recipes for making the most of cupboard items when ready-made products, or crucial ingredients aren’t available!

 An image of a soda bread loaf.

Quick Loaf

Did you know, you can make a delicious loaf of bread, without any yeast or specialist flours, within an hour? All you need is plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt, live yoghurt or milk & lemon juice. Search for ‘quick soda bread recipe’ online and you’ll find a few to choose from.   

Even kids can make simple flatbreads – ideally you’d use self-raising flour for these, plus natural yoghurt and they taste absolutely amazing topped like a pizza, or served alongside curries and stews. Again, just search ‘easy flatbread recipe’ to find full instructions.

If it’s flour you can’t get hold of, why not experiment using porridge oats? You can use them as they are to create tasty crumbles (savoury or sweet); flapjacks and biscuits, but if you have a food processor you can grind oats into flour and make all sorts of sweet treats!

Here’s my own recipe for a very indulgent tasting, but healthier brownie. You don’t need any flour, sugar or eggs to make these and they are lower in refined sugar than most!

Steph's banana, peanut butter & triple chocolate brownies

 A close up image of a chocolate brownie.

Ingredients 

1 cup oats, ground into flour

3 ripe bananas, mashed

½ cup crunchy peanut butter

2 tbsps cocoa

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

200g choc chips (any type) or bash up a bar

2 tbsps smooth peanut butter

Method

Mix the oat flour, bananas, crunchy pb, cocoa & bicarb in a big bowl until well combined, then stir in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into a small lined tin, then spoon on blobs of the smooth pb then use the spoon to swirl it over the top.

Bake at 180 C for approximately 20 minutes. The top should be firm but it can still be a bit wobbly inside. If you prefer a drier cake, you can leave in the oven for a little longer.

I usually use a mix of chocolate and sometimes substitute the peanut butter with other nut butters. Don’t worry if you don’t have both crunchy and smooth peanut butter, just use whatever you have.

Enjoy!

Do you have any tips to share? Send them to us at community@macmillan.org.uk or comment in the comment section below.

Anonymous
  • I'm trying two methods of making my own bread baking yeast, one using raisins, one making a 'starter" for sour dough. Will let you know what works! (I'm an inveterate bread machine user and ran out of ingredients, especially yeast!) 

    Hugs xxx

  • <p>Hi </p> <p>Thanks for reading and it&#39;s great to hear that others are experimenting in similar ways! I&#39;d love to hear how your raisin and sourdough starters work out! I may have a go too Slight smile</p> <p>I also use a bread machine most of the time, but it&#39;s nice to really get your hands in the mix and make a loaf from scratch occasionally (or maybe rather often over the next few weeks!).</p> <p>Good luck and returning the hugs,</p> <p>Steph</p>
  • Hi Steph,

    It looks as if the raisin method didn't work but the sour dough starter is looking promising, with regular bubbles. To start with these were few and large, they are now lots more but smaller....another 2 days to go.

    Hugs xxx

  • Oh, and by the way I made a vegan type of soda bread which is a bit crumbly but doesn't taste too much of baking soda. We aren't vegan, but the recipe doesn't include eggs or milk, but vegetable oil and water instead. 

    hugs xxx

  • Hi @moomy 

    Oh shame about the raisin experiment, but the sourdough starter sounds promising! I had one for a while, she was called Bob and she made us a lovely few loaves before I neglected her terribly....

    I wonder if Xanthan Gum could help with the crumbly texture? I sometimes use it in Gluten Free baking, as it helps bind the ingredients without the sticky gluten in play.

    We get raw milk delivered from a local farm and it's brilliant for baking when soured if we don't get through it all fresh.

    Would you like to see more baking features on the Community? Do you know other members who would be interested? We'd love to hear from you all!

    Take care,

    Steph