The Great British Bake Off 2023: Pinch of Nom Bread Week Inspiration
What’s next on The Great British Bake Off 2023? It’s episode three and it’s…Bread Week! That means Paul and Prue will be on the lookout for perfectly risen dough and light, fluffy loaves, while we sit at home drooling.
While baking bread is fun to watch, it can take a lot of time, effort and skill to perfect it. We prefer to buy freshly-baked loaves from the local shop and enjoy it on the side of one of our own home-cooked, slimming-friendly recipes.
Many think that bread has to be off the menu if you’re trying to lose weight, but there’s absolutely no reason to cut it out completely. Moderation is key, so if you fancy a crusty cob with your soup, or a slice of sourdough with your breakfast, there’s no need to go without.
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Life is better with bread
Just like any food, there are options out there for anyone who is looking for a lighter bite. A 40g slice of wholemeal bread comes in at 95 calories, and there are all kinds of lower-calorie bread rolls, bagels, wraps and more on the supermarket shelves.
Whether it’s for dipping, dunking, sandwiching or scooping, life is just better with bread in it!
We have so many delicious, easy recipes that taste best served with a soft bread roll on the side or piled inside a fluffy burger bun.
So, as we watch the bakers get to grips with their proving drawers and yeast on The Great British Bake Off 2023, we’ll be tucking into one of these recipes (with some bread close at hand).
Soups for dunking
When we think of bread, our first thought is of a steaming hot bowl of soup, with a roll, cob or slice of buttered bread served on the side.
If you’re choosing a low calorie soup, you can afford to splurge on a a really nice bread to enjoy with it! A tomato based option like this Spicy Tomato Soup is so light, with only 115 calories per serving.
Perfect for lunch, the only thing that can make this warming bowl of fresh, rich, spicy soup even better is serving it with a chunk of crusty bread.
Or how about a slice of this Cheesy Garlic Bread on the side? It goes so well with those tomatoey flavours and takes this soup from a simple lunch to a super filling, delicious dinner. Enjoy this before Bake Off starts and it’ll help keep those cravings at bay while you watch the drama unfold onscreen.
The best bit is you don’t have to bake the bread yourself. We’ve found that this recipe works best with some Schar ciabatta rolls. These are gluten free and can be found in the ‘Free From’ aisle of most supermarkets.
Prefer your soups a little creamier? We’ve got you covered with this White Onion Soup. It’s seriously velvety and total comfort food.
We’ve used white onions as they have a stronger, sharper flavour than the more common brown onions you might be familiar with. You can use brown onions if you prefer, but we’d recommend having a look for the white ones if you can.
Crème fraiche is the key to getting this soup so thick and creamy. You’ll want to mop up every last bit of flavour, so serve this with a fresh wholemeal roll. Delish!
Whatever bready challenges Paul Hollywood has set the bakers this week, a surefire way to stop yourself reaching for the snacks is to sit down with a bowl of this Cream of Tomato Soup and Croutons.
We’re not exaggerating when we say this recipe is packed with vegetables – they’re what makes the soup so creamy without having to use actual double cream. This is a warming bowl of goodness and it hits the spot every time.
You won’t have to serve it with bread – because the bread is included in the recipe! We’re using the gluten free Schar ciabatta again. These rolls make the BEST croutons. Just toss them in a pan with a little bit of low calorie cooking spray and some garlic granules. Crunchy and so moreish!
Stews made for mopping up
Nothing pains us more than getting to the bottom of a great bowl of stew and not having any bread to mop up the juices. From veggie casseroles to slow cooked stews, these winter warmer dishes cry out for a crusty bread roll on the side.
This Slow Cooker Irish Stew is a great example, thanks to its rich savoury gravy – you won’t want to miss a drop.
Tender lamb and fresh veg get simmered together low and slow to let all the flavours mingle and develop. After five hours in the slow cooker, the meat will melt in your mouth.
Filling on its own, you really don’t need to serve this chunky stew with anything else, but a slice of fresh bread is too good to resist.
The whole family will love this recipe. Get stuck in and mop up all that flavourful gravy before The Great British Bake Off starts at 8pm!
If you don’t already have a slow cooker, one like this from Amazon will do the job nicely! It has a 6.5 litre capacity, perfect for family dinners or batch cooking.
If you get home from work late and need a quick dinner before Bake Off begins, you can’t beat this Ham and Bean Casserole. Not only is it so warming and filling, but it also has an irresistible sauce that begs for some bread to soak it up.
To thicken the sauce without adding extra calories we’ve used a clever trick! By blending up some of the beans and then returning them to the pot, the white wine infused sauce instantly becomes thicker and less watery. It’s SO good with a slice of crusty loaf to mop it up.
You can cook this recipe in just half an hour if you have a pressure cooker. We like this 7 in 1 Instant Pot – it’s safe and so versatile.
We’ve got a full list of pressure cookers for you to have a sift through, if you’re thinking of buying one.
Trying to eat less meat? A stew doesn’t need meat to be hearty and delicious. In fact, our Vegan Campfire Stew is every bit as good as its meaty counterpart.
While the original Campfire Stew uses gammon, this version is completely vegan, with jackfruit in place of the meat. You can throw in whatever veg you have that needs using up and then let all those flavours come to life as it bubbles away in your slow cooker or Instant Pot.
Then, just serve with whatever bread takes your fancy. A chunk of baguette or a crusty ciabatta will be lovely dipped in that rich sauce.
Sandwiches and burgers
If bread week on The Great British Bake Off 2023 has got you thinking of bready lunches and dinners for the week ahead, you’ll probably want to include a few sandwiches and maybe even a burger recipe.
The best use for bread is often the simplest! This BLT Sandwich is hard to beat. You’re not in the Bake Off tent so there’s no need to make the bread yourself – Prue’s not watching and there’s no chance of a Hollywood handshake!
This is a mega-sandwich, with two layers and three slices of bread. We’ve weighed out the bread to help keep an eye on the calories, but if you’re not calorie counting you don’t need to worry about this so much.
Flatbread thins are a great choice for lunch, and they’re the key to these yummy Cheesy Bacon Flatbreads. Ready in under 15 minutes and just 237 calories, they’re a perfect light dinner to enjoy in front of the telly.
With melted cheese, bacon and watercress in the middle, they’re deliciously savoury and satisfying.
If that’s not bready enough for you, these Melty Bacon and Cheese Pork Burgers call for a 60g wholemeal roll. We’ve switched out traditional beef for homemade lean pork patties, and topped them with irresistibly melty cheese and bacon.
Finish building your burger with salad and a slice of tomato in-between the two halves of your bread roll, and enjoy a treat of a dinner for Bake Off bread week. They’re so good!
You can find the full recipe for these luxurious burgers in our Family Meal Planner.
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Even more bread recipes
If you just can’t get enough of bread, there’s good news – we’ve got plenty of other creative ways to use it as part of your slimming-friendly meals!
How about turning a simple bread roll into a pizza, just like we’ve done in this French Bread Pizza Recipe? Or you could blitz up a slice of wholemeal in a food processor to make some breadcrumbs for this Herb Crusted Cod.
Perfect for enjoying while you watch The Great British Bake Off 2023, these Summer Puddings are a sweet treat with a bready twist!
They’re made from soft white bread, soaked in tangy, sweet fruit juices. Get some of these chilling in the fridge, ready to be served just in time for the contestants’ signature bakes.
Let’s get retro! Our Blueberry and White Chocolate Bread Pudding is the ultimate decadent-tasting dessert. Our twist on a classic, homely pud everybody knows and loves, we’ve used a white chocolate custard and a sprinkling of juicy blueberries to make the flavours really pop.
It’s surprisingly simple to make, especially if you rustle it up in your slow cooker! Turn to pages 262-263 in your copy of Pinch of Nom: Enjoy for the full recipe.
What are your favourite recipes to enjoy with bread, on bread or in bread?
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