The Thrifty Cookbook: 476 Ways to Eat Well With Leftovers by Kate Colquhoun Read Free Book Online

strips, not unlike pitta bread. It takes no longer than 10 minutes and, though a more gooey paste would be just as good for papier-mâché with the kids, these absolutely do the trick with soups or dips, especially for a Sunday supper.
Serves 4
250g plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 dessertspoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
150ml water
To garnish:
sea salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Mix the oil and water together and pour about two-thirds into the flour, mixing well. Continue to add the liquid until you have a dough that easily holds together and does not stick to the side of the bowl; it should not be wet.
On a lightly floured surface, roughly knead the dough by pushing it downwards and away from you with one hand and flipping it back on to itself with the other. Every so often, give it a quarter turn. This should take only 2-3 minutes – just until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.
Roll out the dough to around 3mm thick. Prick it all over with a fork. Scatter a little sea salt and black pepper on top. Drizzle with a little olive oil and cut into strips, squares or circles. Place on a lightly oiled baking tray and bake for 5-7 minutes, until just turning lightly golden.

Add flavours to the dough before rolling: try a little dried thyme, paprika, finely sliced garlic, chopped black olives, a little chopped anchovy, lemon zest or even grated Parmesan.

If you are making a soup or dip and simply don’t have any bread to serve with it, pittas will give the impression that you are a bit of a baking genius hiding your light under a bushel. Thrifty cooking is not necessarily about impressing, but what the hell…
Bear in mind that – with all that rising – pittas do take a bit of time to prepare. As with Emergency Bread, you can flavour them to your taste by adding a spoonful or two of your favourite flavouring, such as herbs or olives, to the dough.
Makes 8-10
370g plain flour
1 heaped teaspoon easy-blend yeast
2 teaspoons sea salt
50ml olive oil
200ml warm water
Sift the flour into a warm bowl and stir in the yeast and salt. Add the oil and about two-thirds of the water and mix well, then gradually add enough of the remaining water to make a claggy dough. Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and knead for 3 minutes or so, until the dough begins to feel soft and elastic. Cover and leave for 15 minutes, then knead again for 3 minutes. Transfer to a clean oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave in a warm (but not hot) place to rise for an hour.
Knock back the dough by quickly punching out the air on a floured surface for a minute or so, then return it to the bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rise for a further hour or so, until doubled in size.
Divide the dough into 8-10 pieces and roll each into a ball. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave for half an hour – they will continue to rise.
Preheat the oven to 240°C/Gas Mark 9. Roll out each ball into a rough circle about 5mm thick. Place on non-stick baking trays and bake for around 4-5 minutes. The breads will puff up and begin to colour just lightly. Once they are ready, remove the pittas from the oven and leave to cool under a cloth or they will harden and crack.

There really is no point in buying croûtons when they cost practically nothing and take only a minute or two to make. Use up the stale ends of brown or white bread.
Cut the bread into 1cm dice (remove the crusts first, if you like). Heat some olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and when it is shimmering, toss in the bread, coating it with a little of the oil. Stirring occasionally, let the bread crisp and turn just golden on both sides. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper. Add to soups or salads.

Flavoured croûtons You could flavour your croûtons by adding a little chopped garlic, herbs or chilli to the oil and letting it cook for barely a minute (being careful that it doesn’t burn) before removing