Reno Diaries #2 Reality Hits Home

Plus two brilliant bread recipes

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Hello, Happy Friday!

I can't lie; I am feeling pretty stressed and frustrated by the renovation right now. As I am writing this, I have been living at my parents house for the past two weeks and will be here for who knows how much longer. I am going to give you the honest reality of the project in a second, but if you want to skip my rant, know that at the end of this newsletter there are two beautiful bread recipes waiting for you. The first is taken from Small Batch Bakes and is a glorious chocolate and espresso bun with a cream cheese glaze! The second is a new recipe for Cheese and Marmite Dinner Rolls. These rolls are incredibly pillowy and soft, and they’re stuffed with cheese and given a final coating of Marmite and grated cheese. They're absolute heaven. Can you tell I was in need of comfort this week?

at some point this will be a dining rooom

Okay, where was I? Oh yes, crying at the state of my house. I’m obviously being a little dramatic, but the stress is real! We knew that moving into an old and very neglected house was going to have its problems; we were prepared for that. Just not prepared enough. The builders have been making excellent progress, lulling me into a false sense of security. Then came the leak. The pipes in the bathroom, which sits above our new dining room, had started to drip drip drip through the ceiling, onto a freshly laid concrete floor. Upon inspection, a much bigger problem was discovered. The old pipes were not fit for purpose; we had no choice but to rip them all out. Great! The result being we had to bring our bathroom plans forward. We had to scramble to quickly come up with a solution. As we speak, the bathroom is currently nonexistent; a new one was supposed to go in this week. But that’s when surprise number 2 came knocking. Another unsupported chimney breast! When we bought the house, we knew the previous owner had removed a chimney breast, leaving behind a dangerous and precarious situation in our loft space. What we didn’t know was that there was a second stack, which had been cleverly hidden in the bathroom. Our bathroom renovation revealed it; it also emptied our wallets, as this needs to be sorted urgently. To get the bathroom done on a shoestring budget, I have called in every favour I can to keep the financial impact as small as possible.

goodbye ugly carpeted bathroom

Finding problems like this is probably par for the course, something we should have anticipated. Maybe I was just optimistic or a bit naive thinking it wouldn’t happen to us! I am trying to stay positive and look at all the progress we have made, picturing how the space will look when it’s finished. The main renovation work is approaching a stage where the rooms are starting to look a bit more recognisable. The plastering is supposed to happen this week, and the windows are supposed to go in next week. Hopefully, once they’re in, the end will seem a bit nearer, a light at the end of the tunnel.

Hopefully, the next time I write one of these updates, I can share something a bit more fun and show what we've been working on these past few months.

A New London Bakery

Okay, let me tell you about something a little more fun. A new bakery is coming to north London. If you’ve ever hung out in the northeast of London, you’ve probably come across the local powerhouse that is Finks. Finks started as a solitary coffee shop in the triangle between Highbury, Finsbury Park and Stoke Newington. In the decade the business has existed, they’ve expanded to four locations, and they also opened a fabulous restaurant, Saltine. Their next adventure is to open a fully fledged bakery. They’ve had a reputation for excellent baking for many years, and they want to build on this and open an actual bakery. Their bread has always been supplied by another bakery, so the plan is to bring this all in-house to supply their existing locations and to open the doors to sell to the public. They’ve just launched a crowdfunding campaign to get them over the line. If you fancy supporting them, you can click on the button below.

Fun fact: I moved into my old flat about 2 weeks before I noticed the old butcher was being turned into a coffee shop. That business turned out to be Finks, and being neighbours with that shop was the best thing about that flat. I wrote almost the entirety of my third book sitting in that coffee shop, and I even hired out the space to hold the launch party there the following year! Finks will always be a favourite of mine, so I am very excited to see what they do when they open the doors to the bakery.

For the recipes this week, I clearly went and found comfort in carbs. For free subscribers, I have a really fun recipe from Small Batch Bakes, a chocolate and espresso bun served with a lovely cream cheese glaze. For paid subscribers, I have a brand new recipe doubling down on comfort. I made some incredibly soft and pillowy dinner rolls that are stuffed with cheese and then topped with a Marmite layer and yet more cheese. These would be incredible served as part of a dinner party (when my kitchen is finally finished) with everyone marvelling at how soft your buns are!

Chocolate and Espresso Buns
Makes 6

This is a small batch recipe that, appropriately, comes from the pages of my book Small Batch Bakes. Made with a brioche dough that is refrigerated overnight, these are perfect for an indulgent brunch.

Also, this was not at all planned but I just noticed that the kindle version of the book is on sale in the UK and it is only 99p! If you’re not reading this when it was emailed out I can’t guarantee the price will be the same.

Brioche

250g strong white bread flour

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp fast-action dried yeast

15g caster sugar

125ml whole milk

1 large egg

50g unsalted butter, room temperature

Chocolate and Espresso Filling

50g dark chocolate, finely chopped

70g unsalted butter, diced

2 tbsp instant espresso powder

1 tbsp cocoa powder

30g light brown sugar

Large pinch fine sea salt

Glaze

100g cream cheese, room temperature

30g unsalted butter, room temperature

120g icing sugar

2 tbsp dark maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Pinch fine sea salt

Add the flour, salt, yeast, and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk briefly to combine. Make a well in the centre and add the milk and egg. With the dough hook attached, mix to form a shaggy dough. Continue kneading on a low medium speed for about 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic and forms a ball around the dough hook. Add the butter and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic and is no longer sticking to the sides or bottom of the bowl.

Form the dough into a ball and place it in a large bowl. Cover with cling film, leave for 20 minutes, and then transfer to the fridge overnight. This slow cold proof makes the dough much easier to handle when rolling it out later. You can also leave the dough in the fridge for up to 3 days before using.

To make the filling, add the chocolate, butter, and coffee powder into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and melt together, stirring occasionally. Take the bowl off the heat, add in the remaining ingredients, and stir to combine. Set aside.

Lightly grease an eighth sheet pan, a rimmed 23x15cm baking tray, and line the base with parchment paper.

Lightly flour the work surface and tip out the chilled brioche. Roll out into a rectangle about 25x40cm. Spread over the liquid filling, taking it right to the edges. Wait a few minutes until the filling goes from wet to tacky and then roll it up into a 25cm long log. If you try rolling up before the filling starts to set, it will be a big sticky mess. Cut the log into 6 equal slices and place them, cut side up, into the prepared tray. Lightly cover with cling film and set aside until doubled in size, about an hour.

Just before the buns are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 190ºC (170ºC Fan). Bake the buns for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and set aside to cool slightly.

To make the glaze, add all of the ingredients into a large bowl and mix until smooth. The consistency should be thick but still just about pourable. Soon the glaze onto the still slightly warm buns and spread over the surface.

If stored in a sealed container, the buns will keep for 2-3 days but they’re best enjoyed on the day they are baked.

For the marmite and cheese stuffed dinner rolls upgrade to a paid membership!