My kids love pizza, so I thought it could make a great lunch box item. Unfortunately, regular pizza becomes hard and unpalatable when it has sat in a lunch box all day, that’s when I experimented with these rolls.  They  stay soft  because they are rolled as you would  with a  cinnamon roll. Needless to say they were a big hit. I used strong wholemeal flour but by all means use strong white flour if you prefer.

500 grams / 4 cups wholemeal strong flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 x 7 gram packet / 1 ½ teaspoons yeast

2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

325 millilitres /1 1/3 cups lukewarm water (10 US ounces or 11 Imperial ounces)

 

Toppings

My simple Pizza Sauce recipe – below

Mozzarella Cheese

 

I use my mixer with a dough hook and add all the ingredients together and mix for 5 minutes. If you don’t have a mixer you can also do this by hand:

Mix the flour, salt, sugar and dried yeast together in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the oil and water

Gradually work in the flour to make a soft dough. This can take 10 minutes by hand but about 5min with a dough hook. The dough should have a smooth texture which can be stretched without tearing. Put into a greased bowl and cover with cling film for 30- 60 min until doubled in size.

Remove dough from bowl. Divide into three equal parts. Take one portion of the dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface. Roll dough into a rectangle shape as you would for cinnamon rolls.

Once your dough is rolled, you can begin assembling your pizza rolls starting with the sauce. Spread sauce over the dough leaving the edge of one of the long sides of the rectangle free from sauce so the edge will seal when rolled up. Layer meat, cheese and any other pizza toppings you’d like. I used mozzarella cheese and ham, but use your favourite toppings. Do cut the toppings a little smaller than you normally would as it is less messy whrn you come to cutting the uncooked dough

After all your pizza toppings have been added, begin rolling up the dough starting at the long side of the rectangle where the sauce is all the way to the edge – you want to leave that sauce free edge to be rolled up last. Roll all the way up and then pinch the edges to seal.  I used a large knife to slice off equal sized rolls but believe it or not dental floss works well too!

Place rolls in a greased baking dish. Cover and allow buns to rise for 30 minutes. Bake in the oven at 180°C/350°F for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden brown. They take a little longer than regular pizza as they are rolled up. They freeze well.

 

My simple pizza sauce

1 400grams/14ounces can of chopped tomatoes or 1 jar of smooth passata

½ teaspoon dried basil

½ teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon sugar

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes. Allow to cool before putting on your pizza base. This sauce will keep in the fridge for three days

There is no better way wake up call than the scent of freshly baked muffins wafting through the kitchen especially when you have added Chia seeds, the new super food to a tangy lemon drizzle recipe. Chia seeds grow natively in South America and were an important food for the Aztec and Mayan Cultures; in fact Chia is the ancient Mayan word for “strength.” They are loaded with antioxidants, fibre and omega 3 and are easily incorporated into your food. Sprinkle them on yoghurt or porridge or include the in baked goods.They are widely available in your local store. This is an easy recipe; you don’t even need a mixer and the muffins can easily be made gluten free by substituting the flour. Enjoy!

375 grams /2 ½ cups plain flour (All purpose)

220 grams/1 cup caster sugar (superfine)

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon ring (I used 2 lemons)

60 grams/ 1/3 cup black chia seeds plus extra for sprinkling

200 grams / 1 cup fresh ricotta

2 eggs lightly beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

280 grams/ 1 cup plain yoghurt

125 millilitres/ ½ cup sunflower oil

Lemon drizzle icing – optional

160 grams/1 cup icing sugar

1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice

 

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

Place the flour, sugar lemon rind and chia seeds in a large bowl and mix to combine. Add the ricotta, eggs, vanilla yoghurt and oil and using a spoon, mix until just combined. If you over mix the muffins will be tough.

Spoon the mixture into a muffin pan that you have lined with paper cases.  Alternatively you can grease your muffin pan well with spray oil or butter and avoid using the paper cases. I used an ice-cream scoop to divide the mixture evenly into the pans.

Cook for 20-25 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool in the pan for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the lemon drizzle icing, place the sugar into a bowl, add lemon juice and whisk to combine. You may need extra juice but add about a half teaspoon at a time or your icing will be too runny. Sprinkle the muffins with the extra chia seeds and drizzle the muffins with the icing using a small spoon.

This batch made 16 when I used the muffin scoop which is about the right portion for a lunch box.

These muffins freeze well but don’t add the extra seed or icing if you intend to do so.

Make these muffins gluten free by substituting the flour and baking powder with a GF variety. I like Dove’s Farm brand. Remember to include ¼ teaspoon of Xanthan gum.

 

Recipe adapted from Donna Hay Magazine June/July Edition 2015

This is a delicious loaf for lunch boxes now that we are back to school. It is also good as a  muffin but just cook for 15-18 minutes . Don’t be tempted to use store bought chunky apple sauce as it is too wet. I have a great recipe for applesauce cake which I will post at a later date. I used Pink Lady apples but Granny Smiths work well too as they hold their shape when bake.

Sliced apples are great in lunch boxes and to prevent them going brown soak them in 7UP or lemon juice diluted with water for a couple of minutes. Seal in an air tight plastic container or zip lock bag and your child will enjoy fresh apple for their fruit break.

Topping

67 grams/ 1/3  cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cake Batter

134grams / 2/3 cup white caster sugar

113 grams/4 ounces /½ cup butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

188 grams /1 ½ cups flour (all purpose)

1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder

120 millilitres/ 4 ounces/ ½ cup milk

1 apple peeled and diced (I used Pink Lady)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a 2 pound loaf tin approximately 9 by 5 inches with baking parchment.

Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl and set aside.

Beat the white sugar and butter together until creamy and then add the eggs and vanilla until incorporated.

Stir in the flour and baking powder on a low speed and finally add the milk and mix until you have a smooth batter.

Pour half the batter into the lined tin and add half the apples and half the cinnamon sugar. Pour the remaining batter over the apple layer. Add the remainder of the apples followed by the remainder of the cinnamon sugar. Lightly pat the apples in to the batter and swirl with a skewer.

Bake for 35 -45 minutes until your skewer comes out clean.

Make this cake gluten free by substituting the flour and baking powder with a GF variety. I like Dove’s Farm brand. Remember to include ¼ teaspoon of Xanthan gum.