Heck! It's Valentine's Day or Fancy a Valentine's roll?

Valentine's day. What a wonderful time of the year! A day to show how much you love that special person in your life.

This year, why not try to make something for them? Yes, make something! Don't rush out and buy flowers or chocs. Make a lovely heart shaped bun and enjoy breakfast in bed (we'll draw a veil at that point..)

I will share our recipe a bit later. First, here's why we decided to make them!

This year we were asked by the fab chaps at Heck to provide heart shaped buns for their Valentine's heart shaped sausauges/burgers, sold in Tesco. They're called Peck, which we love!

They wanted to provide breakfast for various broadcasters in the London area on the Friday before Valentine's day and they wanted 175 rolls. Gulp! Our tiny oven can only bake 25 rolls at a time, so it took some time, but it was worth it!

We dropped off at a fab cafe in the shadow of the BBC studios in London and the guys at Heck  filled them for their special deliveries.

They look fab and judging by the response of the recipients (including Ken Bruce!) they taste amazing.

So how can you do it?

To make a dozen large buns, you'll need:
500g white bread flour
10g fast action yeast
6g salt
125-150ml tepid water (approx)
Butter (to grease the oven trays)
Heart shaped cutter (ours is 8.5 cm diameter)
Rolling pin
2 chopping boards
Bowl
Wooden spoon
Cling film
2 oven trays

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Add half the water and stir (with a spoon or hands).

Keep adding small amounts of the water until you have a dough that cleans the side of the bowl.

Knead for 5 mins.

Prod with the tips of your fingers until flat. Stretch the dough and shape into a ball (go to http://blackbirdbread.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/a-loaf-for-heather-or-bread-basics-101.html ) for more tips.

Pop the dough back into the bowl. Cover with clingfilm. Leave for 45 mins.

After 45 mins, switch the oven onto 200 C.

Remove the dough and, using a rolling pin, roll out to 1cm thick on a well floured chopping board.

Using the heart shaped cutter, carefully (but firmly) cut out your heart shapes and transfer onto another well floured chopping board.

Re-roll the dough until you have used it all up!

Leave the rolls to prove for 30 mins on the boards. Grease the oven trays with a bit of butter.

When ready, carefully transfer the rolls onto the greased oven trays.

Pop in the oven for 15 mins. Ater 10 mins, check the rolls and rotate the trays by 180 degrees.

Leave to cool for 10 mins then dive in! Enjoy with Heck sausages, or some smoked salmon and soft cheese....

Happy Valentine's Day all! :)