Summer Strawberries

STRAWBERRY SCROLLS

Makes 8 giant scrolls or 16 little ones

For the dough:

• 2 1/2 cups (380g) plain flour

• 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast

• 2/3 cup (170ml) warm water

• 1/4 cup (50g) sugar

• 1 tsp fine salt

• 2 tbsp oil

• 1 large free-range or organic egg

• zest of 1 orange

For the strawberry filling:

• 150g strawberries, cut into slices

• 1 tsp vanilla paste

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1 tsp ground cardamom, optional

• zest of 1 lemon, optional

• 3 tbsp strawberry jam

1. Pop all the ingredients for the dough into a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix well until they have come together to form a dough, and then knead until the dough is smooth and formed into one large, glossy ball. This will take around 5 minutes on medium speed if you’re using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, or around 10 minutes kneading by hand on a lightly floured surface. Add a little more water if the dough feels too dry and the ingredients aren’t coming together. If the dough feels a little wet, sprinkle in a little more flour. The dough should be sticky and soft, not slimy (if it is, add a little more flour) or dry and crumbly (if it is, add a little more water). But make sure to add only a little bit of each additional ingredient at a time and knead in well before adding any more.

2. Once you’ve kneaded the dough and it’s nice and smooth, place it in a large, well-oiled bowl and cover the bowl with a clean tea towel. Pop it somewhere warm and let the dough rise for around
1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

3. While the dough is rising, wash and cut the strawberries. In a small bowl, toss them together with the vanilla, sugar, cardamom and lemon zest, if you’re using it.

4. Once the dough has doubled in size, tip it onto a floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin until the dough is a large rectangle, around 1.5cm thick and 30cm x 40cm.

5. Using a butter knife, spread the strawberry jam across the dough evenly so the jam is almost to the left and right edges—but leave a little border on the long edge at the top and the bottom. Scatter the cut strawberries over the jam.

6. Roll up the dough along the long edge, tucking the edge of the dough over and rolling it up and away from you, making one long roll with the strawberries encased in the folds. Once the dough is rolled up, cut it lengthways into either 8 or 16 evenly sized pieces. Place the scrolls in a deep baking tin lined with baking paper, sitting them on their ends with the cut side face up so you can see the swirl. Tuck them in next to each other, cover the tray with a clean tea towel and pop them in a warm place to rise for another 30 minutes.

7. While the scrolls are rising, preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.

8. After 30 minutes, when the scrolls have puffed a little, place the scrolls in the oven and bake for 40–45 minutes, or until they are big and golden on top.

You can make the dough in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, or knead it by hand. For extra sweetness, dust the scrolls with a little icing sugar rubbed with the zest of an orange or a lemon, or drizzle them with a simple icing made with pure icing sugar and just enough water to make it runny.

ROASTED STRAWBERRY SMOOTHIES

Makes enough strawberries for 4–6 smoothies

• 300g strawberries, roughly chopped

• 1/2 tsp vanilla paste

• 2 tsp honey

To make the strawberries:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.

2. Wash and chop the strawberries and pop them in a little enamel-coated or ceramic baking dish.

3. Toss through the vanilla and honey and pop the strawberries into the oven to roast for 20–30 minutes.

To make one smoothie:

• 2 tbsp roasted strawberries

• 1 frozen banana

• 1 cup (240ml) milk of your choice

• oats, yoghurt or nut butter, optional

• 1–2 tsp honey for extra sweetness, optional

1. Whiz all the ingredients together in a blender until smooth.

This recipe is from issue 16 of Lunch Lady Magazine. If you like this and would like more recipes, articles and craft ideas you can buy the mag in our shop here or download the Lunch Lady app from your app store and purchase digital issues here

Find more good stuff on our Instagram and Facebook pages!

///