Fresh Strawberry Rosemary Muffins

Fresh strawberry and rosemary in a muffin....I have never tasted that combination before. I was a bit hesitant but thought I would brave it.

When I took it out of the oven it had a banana fragrance. Even Mr Redneck asked me whether I made banana muffins. Maybe it was the rosemary combined with the strawberry which made it smell like it had banana in it. But whatever the fragrance, the muffin was moist the crumb soft and tender.

Definitely worth making especially since strawberries are in season. The strawberries and rosemary are fresh from my own garden.

Makes 18 muffins

Ingredients
185ml yoghurt
2 eggs
185ml oil or melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

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Soft Wholemeal Bread

After my Breville died from overwork, I decided to buy a more heavy duty bread machine. We no longer buy bread in any shape or form so the breadmaker has to withstand the heavy usage. The one I am now using is a Sunbeam Quantum Smartbake with a big pan which can make a 1.5kg loaf and best of all it is programmable.

I have different programs for the 4 seasons. In the heat of summer, bread usually take a shorter time to rise but in winter, the house being so cold it does affect the rising time even though the breadmaker has its own heating element.

We love this bread. Even though it is wholemeal, it is not dense. In fact it is soft, light, fluffy and very pliable.

This is our daily loaf. Toast in the morning and sandwiches for lunch. Mr Redneck likes his thinly sliced wherelse I like mine like doorstops.


If you try this recipe and it turns out dense, then it has not risen enough. Since I like my bread light and fluffy, I make sure it is given enough time to rise even if it takes 4 hours for me to make a loaf. When buying a breadmaker make sure you have a separate bake function to enable you to have some control and not allow the breadmaker to dictate the timing.

Makes 1.5 kg loaf size

Ingredients
410 ml warm water (400ml if using fresh yeast)

350gm wholemeal flour
275gm high grade (bread) flour
4½ tsp gluten flour
1 Tbsp ground linseed

1 Tbsp oats
1½ Tbsp lecithin granules
2½ Tbsp milk powder
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar

2½ tsp surebake yeast or 16gm fresh yeast

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