The Aussie - Summer 2020 final

You only have to search the internet or ask Google and you
will find hundreds of recipes for your Aussie to enjoy. You
will even find dog bakeries that have taken the hassle out of
you visi<ng the supermarket for all the right ingredients and
maybe even conver<ng from cups as it is a recipe with an
American source.
But don’t worry the solu<on is here. Oggi’s Oven Baking
Mixes. These are manufactured in the UK and are all free
from ar<ficial colours, flavours or preserva<ves and they use
the term made from human grade ingredients. Although
most dog foods sold in EU should have this criteria.
There are 3 varie<es available, Scones, Biscuits and
Cakes. With op<ons of Blueberry, carrot and cheese
available.
The packets contain the mixes ready to go, all you need to
add is water and/or vegetable oil and the Biscuits and
Scones come with their own cuUers. Full instruc<ons for all
are included on the box so now there’s no excuse not to get
baking.
Scones (with paw cu:er): £3.50 on Amazon
No need to use a mixer, I stuck with a bowl and spoon as
suggested and was pleasantly surprised to end up with a
lovely sob dough and less washing up! I rolled it out to what
I guessed was about 6mm and found that I didn’t have quite
enough to make the 14 scones stated on the box, instead I
ended up with 12. Luckily that was enough to divide evenly
between our 3 dogs.
They cooked quickly and rose slightly. When I took them out
of the oven, they smelled delighwul. The dogs were hanging
around hoping I may drop one or two but no such luck.
Biscuits (with bone cu:er: £3.50 on Amazon
Once again it was easy to mix straight from the packet but
this <me it was a much s<ffer dough to roll out. At first I
wasn’t sure about the cuUer as the bones seemed to s<ck
inside, but a firm tap was all that was needed to release
them. I managed to get 24 bones from the mix rather than
the 20 stated on the box and they were nice and chunky just
the way the dogs like them.
Cakes: £3.50 on Amazon
For the cake mix there are a couple of suggested
op<ons, either a 12 bun <n or a 7″ cake. I chose to use cup
cake cases in my bun <n. These need to be removed before
serving as I’m sure our dogs wouldn’t bother and would wolf
the whole lot down. I thought that the cup cakes cases were
a bit on the big side, our dogs have to watch their waistlines,
just like us, so I used some of the mix in pe<t four cases.
They were more bite size and would make a beUer training
treat.
I was a bit confused by the mixture, expec<ng it to be of
pouring consistency like a normal cake mix. Instead it was
like chewing gum. I thought maybe I’d not added enough
liquid but I’m sure I followed the instruc<ons to the leUer. I
carried on regardless and dolloped the mix into the cases
safe in the knowledge that the dogs wouldn’t complain if
they weren’t perfect (unlike some cri<cs I know, no names
men<oned!). Despite the thick mixture they cooked OK,
apart from the fact that I didn’t get the domed rise you
would expect to see on a cupcake, instead they remained
rather “rugged” looking, more like a muffin.
The verdict: All three mixes were quick and simple and
cooked perfectly – no soggy boUoms there. Since they state
human grade ingredients, we were keen to taste them
ourselves.
The scones we found slightly sweet, despite claiming to be
savoury on the box.
The biscuits I thought tasted a bit meaty but this may just
have been my imagina<on.
The cake, again was rather sweet and very “cakey”.
As suspected the smaller ones were beUer as quick bite.
Overall, I think they are ideal for a bit of a doggy treat. The
bones would be the beUer choice if you were going to use
them for training, you could always add a bit of smelly
cheese to the mix to give them some extra incen<ve!
Looking back on the baking day, it was good fun and an ideal
gib for any dog loving friends. WOUld certainly make them
smile.
And what did the dogs think?
Well there were no turned up noses, they were keen to try
all three, although Daisy was reluctant to let anyone else join
the tea party.
Would I do it again?
Probably when the grandchildren are round. A great ac<vity
for them and the dogs already associate them with FOOD.
You can’t beat a bit of home barking, sorry I meant baking….
Not sure Paul Hollywood would approve. Fortunately my
dogs have different views when it come to tasting!
The cup cakes before baking and after
baking