Category Archives: Bread

69. Ukrainian Sweet Chestnut Babka

Posted by aroundtheworldin80bakes in Around the World in Eighty Bakes, Baking, Bread, cake and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Sweet Chestnut Babka recipe

Sweet Chestnut Babka

Seinfeld introduced the idea of the Babka to me. It’s an enriched sweet dough usually flavoured with chocolate popular in Eastern Europe. The episode focuses on Jerry and Elaine’s desperation to get their hands on the last Babka in the bakery. I’ve wanted to find out what all the fuss was about for ages. It was definitely worth the wait.

Sweet Chestnut Babka recipe

Sweet Chestnut Babka

I love how beautiful the Babka looks in all it’s braided glory. Dark brown sweet chestnut stripes peeking through the sweet dough, glistening in their honey glaze. I also love how complicated and impressive it looks too! I’ve plaited bread before, before but this was my first attempt at a braid and it’s not as difficult as you’d think.

Traditionally Babka, which means Grandmother in Polish, is a comforting bread flavoured with chocolate and baked at Easter time. As I like to do things differently (and I had ran out of chocolate) I found a tin of chestnut paste in the cupboard and thought I would put it to good use.

Babka swirls

Babka swirls

It’s absolutely delicious with it’s soft light texture and not too sweet, although you can add more sugar if you wish. I added cocoa powder to my chestnut paste along with poppy seeds to give a nod to the traditional chocolate and nut versions. The cocoa added depth to the chesnut paste and poppy seeds feature heavily in many European bakes and give a lovely crunch.

Having never baked with chestnut before, I was so happy with the result. I bought the tin on an impulse and it’s lay at the back of the cupboard forgotten until now. It’s an unusal flavour, rich nutty and rather savoury. Do check your can to see if it’s sweetened or natural. If unsweetened you’ll need to add sugar to you get your preferred level of sweetness. You could add chocolate chips, or use chocolate spread or nutella (or anything you fancy!) if you prefer.

How I made my Sweet Chestnut Babka

  1. Mix ingredients together til fully incorporated
  2. Knead for 10 mins until the dough is smooth and springs back when pinched
  3. Place in bowl, cover with cling film and leave to prove for 1-2 hours till doubled in size.
  4. Knock back the dough.
  5. Knead lightly on oiled work surface and roll out to a rectangle approx 5mm thick.  30 cm by 20cm.
  6. Spread even layer of chestnut paste over the dough and sprinkle lightly with Poppy seeds and light brown sugar.
  7. Roll dough up from long edge to long edge to form a sausage of dough with a spiral of chestnut running through the centre
  8. Cut the dough sausage with a sharp lightly oiled knife lengthways all the way along the sausage. Cut all the way through the dough to spilt it down the middle and expose the filling.
  9. Seal the strips together at one end
  10. Twist the two halves together,  folding one half of the dough over the other keeping the stripes of filling in the outside
  11. Seal the other two ends together to form a braided ring. You can trim the ends of the Babka with sharp knife to seal the twists together before joining the ends to form a ring
  12. Lift carefully onto a greased and lined baking sheet.
  13. Cover with greased cling film and prove for 1-2 hours till doubled in size
  14. Bake for 25 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.
  15. Brush all over with honey syrup whilst still hot
  16. Cool and eat!

Things I used to make my Sweet Chestnut Babka

Dough

  • 350g strong white flour (you could use all white strong flour if your prefer)
  • 115g strong wholemeal flour
  • 25g butter
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/4 tsp instant yeast
  • 300ml milk
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • splash of water and vegetable oil if needed to bring the dough together into smooth ball

Sweet Chestnut Paste

  • 300g chestnut puree (unsweetened)
  • 30g cocoa powder
  • 50 g light brown sugar
  • splash of milk to mix the paste together until smooth and spreadable (not too runny or thick)
  • *1 tbs sugar to sprinkle over paste
  • * 2 tsp Poppy seeds to sprinkle over paste

Honey Syrup

  • 2 tbs runny honey
  • 30ml water
    boil gently for 1- 2 minute to thicken syrup

66. Finnish Apricot Cardamom and Pistachio Pulla

Posted by aroundtheworldin80bakes in Around the World in Eighty Bakes, Baking, Bread, Food, recipe, traditional food and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Braided Pulla infused with cardamom, orange, apricot and pistachio

Braided Pulla infused with cardamom, orange, apricot and pistachio

I realise that I’ve slowed down on the old blogging front in recent months sorry! Partly due to it being Summer and not feeling the need to have an extra cake layer to keep me warm and also due to breaking my phone (and camera) which meant I’ve lost quite a bit of data and worked my way through 5 faulty handsets in 2 months… Anyways I’ve salvaged enough to bring you my braided Pulla.

Apricot Cardamom and Almond Pulla recipe

Apricot Cardamom and Almond Pulla

I felt the urge to bake something delicious and not too sweet. This cardamom infused apricot and almond pulla braid is just what the phone doctor ordered.

Fluffy, fragrant, light and slightly sweet Pulla is an enriched dough that compliments a good strong coffee perfectly. Gently scented with cardamom and studded with dried apricots for extra pops of flavour. If you were in need of additional luxuriousness ribbons of water icing would transform this into an excellent iced bun too.

wpid-1405407895190.jpg

Traditionally Pulla is served with coffee in thin slices or as individual buns. Leftover Pulla (if you ever get that far!) can be twice baked to create a crisp biscotti type biscuit to dunk in your coffee.

Prove the dough until doubled in size

Prove the dough until doubled in size

As with all other yeasted doughs bring the ingredients together and knead for 10 minutes to allow the gluten to develop. Once the dough is shiny, stretchy and springs back when pressed it’s ready to place in a greased bowl, cover with greased cling film and prove.

pulla recipe

Proven pulla dough awaiting it’s cardamom and orange zest

Enriched Dough proves best in the fridge overnight, allowing the freshly kneaded supple dough, permeated with butter, sugar and an egg to slowly rise and firm up. Making it much easier to shape the following day. But if you’re in a rush to get it in your face feel free to prove at room temperature for an hour then shape and prove it again.

pulla recipe Now to knead in the pistachios and dried apricots

Now to knead in the pistachios and dried apricots

Once you’ve kneaded in the finely chopped nuts, and apricots along with the grated orange zest and ground cardamom into the dough so the flavours are fully incorporated, split the dough into 3 equally sized pieces.

3 little dough balls pulla plaiting bread dough

3 little dough balls

Roll the 3 pieces into long thin sausages (making sure you pop any little air bubbles that sneak there way in) and gather the strands together at one end.

The beginning of a plait

The beginning of a plait

Push the strands together so that they stick to each other and plait them together to form a braid. Once you reach the end, carefully join the two ends of the plait together to form a braided ring. Squish the ends together to form a join and tuck any loose bits underneath (no one will ever know after it rises.)

Plaiting the pulla

Plaiting the pulla

Place your braided Pulla crown into a semolina sprinkled baking sheet or dish. Cover with greased cling film and leave to prove a room temperature for an hour or two until doubled in size.

Ready to prove it's worth

Ready to prove it’s worth

Bake it at 190 degrees c for 30 minutes until it’s golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Whilst still warm glaze your Pulla generously with runny honey. Whilst the honey is sticky sprinkle with flaked almonds to decorate. Or if you’re feeling extra indulgent feel free to use water/glace icing to make an extra rich white icing that would look oh so pretty against the plait.

The final baked Pulla braided Crown

The final baked Pulla braided Crown

This is such a gorgeous sweet treat. It’s fluffy and tender with an wonderful spicy warmth from the cardamom. Balanced against a chewy nugget of apricot and a crisp morsel of pistachio. I love this bake and enjoyed it au natural with coffee to bring out the exotic notes and subtle sweetness. Delicious! And perfect for a special breakfast.

Things I used to make my Apricot and Cardamom Pulla

Enriched dough

  • 350g strong white flour
  • 5g salt
  • 40g sugar
  • 7g yeast
  • 45g margarine/butter
  • 175ml milk

Flavours to infuse the dough with after the first prove

  • 31 cardamom pods (seeds taken out and ground to fine powder)
  • zest of 1 orange
  • 8 chopped dried apricots chopped into small chunks
  • 20g pistachios chopped roughly

Topping/decoration

  • A handful of flaked almonds for sprinkling on top
  • Honey to glaze the top whilst still warm
  • You could also whip up a thick sticky water icing with the juice of the orange and icing sugar to pipe on top of the pulla if you would prefer a sticky bun effect.

Method

  1. Knead the flour, yeast, salt, butter, sugar and milk together for 10 minutes to create a sticky dough
  2. Leave to prove overnight in the fridge (or until double din size at room temp)
  3. Knead in the flavours; ground cardamom, orange zest, chopped apricots and pistachios
  4. Split the dough into 3 equal pieces and roll out to long strands
  5. Join one end of the 3 strands together and plait it into a braid
  6. Join the two ends of the braid together to form a circle
  7. Cover with greased cling film and prove on a semolina lined baking tray/dish until doubled in size
  8. Bake at 190 degrees c for 30 minutes until it’s golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped underneath
  9. Whilst still warm glaze with runny honey and sprinkle with flaked almonds

65. Bazlama Turkish Flatbreads

Posted by aroundtheworldin80bakes in Around the World in Eighty Bakes, Baking, Bread, Everday Cooking, Food, international baking, recipe, Turkey and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Recipe Bazlama -Turkish Flatbreads

Bazlama -Turkish Flatbreads

I’ve eaten quite a few flatbreads in my time. The most memorable being the fresh Moroccan breads purchased from a family’s converted front window along with a couple of mini bananas for essential sustenance for our 13 hour trek and overnight camp in the Sahara. I can still taste that soft fluffy white bread as I devoured it during the extreme heat wave washing it down in between swigs of proper sugary coke. The only thing that helped with the dehydration before we slept out under the stars on the hot sand.

Camel trekking into the Sahara fuelled by flatbreads

Camel trekking into the Sahara fuelled by flatbreads

I’ve been searching for a recipe that could help me recreate that moment of sheer bread delight. The kind of delicious every day bread that meets every basic need. Versatility is one of it’s many virtues, it could be a meal in itself if required or the perfect accompaniment to any dish.

Bazlama the perfect accompaniment to any meal

Bazlama the perfect accompaniment to any meal

This recipe originates from Turkey and is an absolute pleasure to make and eat. It’s an enriched dough with Greek yoghurt and oil which helps to retain it’s moisture so it keeps a little longer than it’s Moroccan counterpart which had to be eaten entirely on the first day, especially when it was over 50 degrees C most days!

Beautiful Bazlama

Beautiful Bazlama

My previous attempts at flatbread making have been a bit hit and miss. (You will not find my hideous chapattis on here yet which were more like sofa cushions than delicate wholemeal wraps.) I blamed my pan, which has lost it’s non stick entirely and adds a beautiful dusting of metal to most dishes.

Cooking in cast iron

Cooking in cast iron

I longed for cast iron cooking equipment and discovered a small cast iron frying pan in Oxfam for £3 which is a joy to use. It reaches temperatures that other pans a simply can’t maintain and needs only the tiniest drop of oil to prevent it sticking. Armed with this pan I intend to conquer flat breads once and for all.

Mix all the ingredients together to a shiny dough

Mix all the ingredients together to a shiny dough

This recipe is enough for 6 – 8 hand sized small flat breads. Mix all of the ingredients together into a shiny dough (keeping the salt away from the yeast). Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth and springy. Then leave to prove at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours until at least doubled in size.

Leave the kneaded dough to prove

Leave the kneaded dough to prove

Prove the dough until doubled in size

Prove the dough until doubled in size 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth and springy. Then leave to prove at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours until at least doubled in size.

Knock the dough back and knead lightly

Knock the dough back and knead lightly

Knock the dough back and gently knead it on a lightly floured surface until it comes together in to a smooth ball.

Bazlama recipeDivide the dough into 8 equal sized balls

Divide the dough into 8 equal sized balls

Divide the dough into 8 equal portions, shape into a ball and cover with greased cling film.

Roll each dough ball out into a flat circle about 5mm thick Bazlama recipe

Roll each dough ball out into a flat circle about 5mm thick

Flatten each dough ball out onto a lightly floured surface . Using a rolling pin roll out each ball into a circle about 5mm thick. Cover again with greased cling film and leave to rest and prove for 15 mins, until puffed up slightly. You’ll see the yeast get to work pretty quickly when these are laid out in a warmish room.

Gently proven Bazlama ready for cooking

Gently proven Bazlama ready for cooking

Whilst the dough awàits it’s final prove, heat the frying pan adding a splash of olive oil until sizzling hot. Gently place a proven circle of dough into the scalding hot pan. It will sizzle on impact, so watch out for any splashes oil. The Bazlama will puff up even further with the heat from the pan and bubble up in some places.

Bazlama hitting the cast iron pan

Bubbling Bazlama hitting the cast iron pan

Cook the Bazlama for one minute and flip it over and cook it for another minute on the other side. It should start to turn a golden brown and crisp slightly on the outside.

Cooking in cast iron

Cooking in cast iron

You may want to flip it over again to check that the Bazlama is cooked evenly all over and reached your desired degree of brownness. I like a slightly deeper colour on my breads to add to the flavour and texture. Once it’s cooked remove it from the pan and cover with a clean tea towel to keep it warm and soft. Repeat, until you’ve cooked all the Bazlamas!

Bazlama recipe Check out that deep brown sizzle pattern

Check out that deep brown sizzle pattern

I love how each Bazlama takes on a slightly different charred pattern as it sizzles in the pan. The beauty of cooking in a cast iron pan means that if it starts to get too hot and you smell burning, just take the pan off the heat and it will continue to cook as the pan retains the heat. Once it’s cooled slightly you can safely return your pan to the heat to continue your cooking.

That pan spring! Pillowy soft Bazlamas

That pan spring! Pillowy soft Bazlamas

Cooking one side at a time gives the Bazlama the opportunity to spring up fully as the yeast activates fully reacting to the intense heat. You can see how much your Bazlama rises in the pan. Check out that fluffy white mid section at last an inch thick!

Beautiful Bazlama

Beautiful Bazlama

I adore Bazlamas. They have a wonderful chewy texture almost like a pretzel but much softer. Bazlamas are a perfect comforting addition to any meal or a meal in itself, as they are quite filling.  I served my Bazlamas with homemade Tabbouleh and hummus. Delicious!  They’re best eaten warm from the pan, but they also freeze extremely well. I defrost them in the toaster on a low setting, as I prefer to eat them warm. However they also make an excellent portable lunch and have eaten many unadulterated Bazlamas straight from my handbag whilst on foot in between meetings.

 Things I used to make my Bazlama 

  • 650g plain flour (not strong bread flour)
  • 8g instant dried yeast
  • 16g (1 tbs) caster sugar
  • 16g (1tbs) salt
  • 280g water
  • 120g Greek yoghurt
  1. Mix the ingredients together to form a dough
  2. Knead for 10 minutes til smooth and shiny
  3. Cover with greased cling film and prove until doubled in size
  4. Knock back the dough, knead and divide into 8 balls
  5. Roll out each ball to a flatbread
  6. Leave to rest for 15 minutes
  7. Cook on each side for 1 minute in a hot pan
  8. Remove from the pan and cover the cooked Bazlamas with a cloth whilst cooking the remaining Bazlama

62. Russian Black Bread

Posted by aroundtheworldin80bakes in Around the World in Eighty Bakes, Baking, Bread, Food, international baking, recipe, traditional food and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

If you suggested that I put chocolate, coffee and onions into a loaf of bread a year ago I would have probably checked if you were feeling ok. It sounds vile doesn’t it? But then often the most unexpected ingredient combinations produce the most interesting results. Intrigued by the traditional Russian Black Bread I stocked up on espresso, caraway and fennel seeds ready for this strange bake.

Russian Black Bread recipe

Russian Black Bread

I was not disappointed. This is an extremely flavoursome and dark loaf. I found this recipe originally in a Jamie Oliver magazine but adapted it (as per usual) to fit my ingredients. It was supposed to be for 2 loaves. As I was expecting this bake to be a bit on the odd side, I wasn’t convinced that I could consume 2 entire loaves of it. So I scaled it down. (Feel free to double the ingredients if you would like to stockpile Black Bread.)

Russian Black Bread recipe

Who wouldn’t love a slice of Russian Black Bread?

Considering how much sourdough bread I’ve been baking recently I have transferred some of my newly acquired bread skills into this bake as I like to split my bread baking into manageable chunks to fit in around work and enjoying life. Using the fridge to prove my dough overnight is a great help. This means the flavours develop slowly and deepen. it also makes the dough easier to handle, especially if the dough is a wet and sticky or enriched with butter. Fridge proving produces a firmer more pliable dough, that needs very little kneading! Result!

Russian Black Bread Recipe

  • 7g instant yeast
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp/70g treacle (molasses)
  • 40g butter
  • 40ml espresso
  • 13g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa)
  • 350ml water
  • 2 tbsp cider vinegar
  • 30g strong wholemeal flour
  • 200g strong white flour
  • 200g rye flour
  • 70g bran
  • 10g salt
  • 1 tbsp caraway seeds
  • 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 small shallot (diced)
  • * approx 100g Rye Flour (you may need more or less) to help bring the dough together if it’s too sticky when kneading

Russian Black Bread Method

1.  Heat butter, espresso, treacle, and water in a pan until butter is melted

Heat butter, espresso, treacle, and water in a pan until butter is melted

Heat butter, espresso, treacle, and water in a pan until butter is melted

2.  Add cider vinegar

3.  Measure all of the yeast, flours, bran, salt, sugar, diced shallot and seeds into a large bowl.

Russian Black Bread: Measure all of the yeast, flours, bran, salt, sugar, diced shallot and seeds into a large bowl.

Measure all of the yeast, flours, bran, salt, sugar, diced shallot and seeds into a large bowl.

4. Pour in the chocolate liquid and mix together either with a wooden spoon or electric mixer. You may not need to add all of the liquid, or if the dough becomes too sticky, gradually add a little more rye flour until it comes together into a ball, (or a slightly less sticky mess.)

Russian Black Bread: Mix the wet and dry ingredients together, adding more flour as necessary before kneading for 10 minutes

Mix the wet and dry ingredients together, adding more flour as necessary before kneading for 10 minutes

5. Knead for 10  minutes (by hand or using an electric mixer – I used my Kitchenaid dough hook).

6. Cover your dough in a large bowl with cling film and prove either overnight (up to 24 hours) in the fridge or at room temperature for 1-2 hous until it’s doubled in size.

7.  Knock back the dough after it’s first prove. Knead it on a lightly floured surface and shape into a smooth ball

Russian Black Bread: Knead it on a lightly floured surface and shape into a smooth ball

Knead it on a lightly floured surface and shape into a smooth ball

8. You could prove it directly on a baking tray if it’s firm enough so it won’t spread too far. I wanted to make mine pretty so I proved it in my round banneton basket, which I coated with wholemeal flour first.

9. Cover your loaf with a shower cap or oiled cling film and prove for 2 hours at room temperature.

Ready to prove in the fridge over night

Ready to prove in the fridge over night or at room temperature for 2 hours

10. Pre heat the oven (and a casserole pot with a lid) 30 minutes before the end of your loaf proving time at 250 degrees C. (See the Hot Pot sourdough method for more details)

Russian Black Bread: Second prove done. Ready for baking!

Second prove done. Ready for baking!

11. Sprinkle the bottom of the hot casserole pot with ground semolina and gently tip the proved loaf from the banneton into the hot pot. Use a razor blade to score a design into your loaf to help it cook evenly. (I went for a heart shape but you could try a few other designs.)

Getting creative with the razor blade. Heart shaped Russian Black Bread

Getting creative with the razor blade. Heart shaped Russian Black Bread

12. Bake with the lid on at 250 degrees for 20 minutes. Turn it down to 220 degrees for the final 40 minutes. Check that the bread is baked by tapping the bottom of the loaf. If it sounds hollow it done. If not, pop it back in the oven in the pot with the lid on for 5-10 more minutes.

Russian Black Bread baked in a hot pot

Russian Black Bread baked in a hot pot

I love how the wholemeal flour (that I used to dust the banneton with when proving the dough) bakes into the loaf, providing the perfect contrast against the rich brown bread peeking through the heart pattern. It even holds onto it’s circular imprint.

Russian Black Bread

Russian Black Bread

Apparently Russian Black Bread is best served with lashings of butter or caviar! The Russians sure know how to live! This bread is soft, pillowy and very rich. It’s a very unusual bread with hints of aniseed and licorice from the caraway and fennel seeds. The treacle also adds depth to the licorice tones without making the bread overly sweet.

Russian Black Bread recipe

Who wouldn’t love a slice of Russian Black Bread?

It’s a wholesome, fluffy and filling bread. The bran, rye and wholemeal flours are balanced with a dash of white flour giving an unexpected light texture. I could imagine this bread being a perfect accompanyment to a hearty stew or soup with a thick coat of butter. It is very rich so, as predicted, I didn’t manage to finish the loaf this week, it’s resting in the freezer for my next round of extra special sandwiches.

Pickled herring and seaweed caviar on Russian Black Bread

Pickled herring and seaweed caviar on Russian Black Bread

It just so happened that I purchased some pickled herring and seaweed caviar (a much more affordable caviar at £2 a pot!) from Ikea last weekend so I had to hand some pretty impressive sandwich making ingredients. In hindsight, pickled herring may be a bit of an extreme pairing for Russian Black Bread which is almost a entire feast all by itself. The herring overpowered the flavours somewhat, but the caviar works very well indeed.

Hot Pot Sourdough

Posted by aroundtheworldin80bakes in @laurenprince, Around the World in Eighty Bakes, Baking, Bread, Cookery, Everday Cooking, Food, recipe, sourdough and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Hot Pot Sourdough recipe

Hot Pot Sourdough

Since my first Sourdough success I’ve continued to experiment and tweak my recipe (which is now mainly in my head and variable) I change it every time I bake, depending on what flour I have to hand and how healthy I’m feeling…

BUT I think I may have cracked my staple sourdough recipe now using quite an ingenious method. Hot Pot Sourdough!

Seeded Sourdough Boule

Seeded Sourdough Boule

I realised that the sourdough strength (how active it is) and thickness (or rather the ratio of flour to water if you want to get all technical about it) plays a massive part in how successful a loaf is.

It's all about the hot (casserole) pot

It’s all about the hot (casserole) pot

Making a true sourdough loaf (not adding any instant yeast at all) can be a bit hit and miss. But after a lot of experimenting (or disasters) I seem to have cracked it! Here’s how…

1. Pour most of your starter away before you feed it. Leaving one quarter of your starter to add flour and water to. (As I explained in my last Sourdough post.)

2.  Feed your starter at least 8 hours before you want to use it!

3.  Feed it a lot! You need a lot of sourdough starter to make this loaf so feed it 400g flour and 400g water (about 2 cups)

Feed me: Stir in your flour and water til smooth

Feed me: Stir in your flour and water til smooth

4.  Leave the rubber seal on the jar of sourdough starter. This means when you close the jar lid it’s airtight. (It seems to help keep it more active and fresher for longer.) BUT you will need to open the lid to release the built up air once a day (especially after its been fed as its most active!) to stop the jar exploding.

Frothy Sourdough starter ready to use

Frothy Sourdough starter ready to use

4. Wait until the starter is frothy (8 to 24 hours after feeding it).Then you know it’s ready to use.

Oh so hungry and unhappy sourdough starter

Oh so hungry and unhappy sourdough starter

5.  If your sourdough starter starts to split and gather a layer of water/black liquid on top it’s hungry! Pour most of your starter away and give it a good feed.

Hungry Sourdough has a layer of darker (smellier) water on the surface

Hungry Sourdough has a layer of darker (smellier) water on the surface

6.  I give my starter a good (400g flour and 400g water) feed once a week, the day before I want to begin my bread. I leave it at room temperature everyday and try to remember to feed it when it’s starting to look hungry/spilt (usually once every 2 to 3 days). I would feed it every day if I was baking a lot of bread. But half a cup of flour and half a cup of water will suffice as a mini feed to keep it active in between big feeds. Try to feed it a small amount every couple of days.

Just fed sourdough starter - smooth and thick

Just fed sourdough starter – smooth and thick

7. Invest in a banneton (proving basket) or two – I have a rectangular and a round one for different style loaves. When working with a wetter sourdough loaf the proving baskets help the loaf to keep its shape.

Proving in my round bannetone basket with a cotton liner to prevent it sticking. You can place it directly into the basket if you prefer to get the pretty swirls imprinted on your loaf

Proving in my round bannetone basket with a cotton liner to prevent it sticking. You can place it directly into the basket if you prefer to get the pretty swirls imprinted on your loaf

8.  Flour the banneton with an even and thick layer. (It helps to leave the pretty swirly patterns). Or if using a cotton liner inside your basket, flour the liner to prevent the dough sticking. Use a shower cap or cling film to cover the top. Prove the loaf in the basket over night in the fridge.

Ready to prove in the fridge over night

Ready to prove in the fridge over night

9.  Score it with a razor blade –  Get creative with your patterns, creating swirls and slices to help the loaf expand in all the right places as the yeast reacts to the heat of the oven. Scoring your loaf will prevent it splitting and it looks so pretty too.

Score your proved loaf with a razor blade

Score your proved loaf with a razor blade (and a chopstick)

10. Bake in a hot pot! When warming the oven put a casserole pot with a lid in to heat through. I whack my oven up to the hottest temperature for 30 minutes. Sprinkle an even layer of ground semolina on the bottom of your pot and gently tip your proven loaf into the pot from the banneton basket. Careful not to knock all of the air out of the loaf as you do so and not to burn your hands on the very hot pot. (Unfortunately you cant bake the bread in the basket so the loaf needs to be removed). I use a round banneton to prove my loaf in and a round pot to bake in.

Before
After: Look at that oven spring! It expanded so much it was touching the lid of the pot
  • Pop the lid on the pot and place it in the oven at the hottest temperature for 15 minutes, then turn the temperature down to about 220 degrees C for the final 15 minutes. I use a glazed terracota casserole pot which can take the heat and protects the bread from scorching.
One Corn Ear patterned sourdough boule

One corn ear patterned sourdough boule

Keeping the lid in place means all of the steam is retained in the bread, which adds extra moisture and softness to the bread AND results in the most amazing ‘oven spring’ you will ever see in your bread. I guarantee it! It will double in size.

Play around with your recipe until you get it just how you like it! Here’s some of my attempts so far…

My Sourdough Family

Staple Sourdough Recipe

  • 500g flour (I usually use 250g ish of white flour 150g rye 100g spelt or wholemeal)
  • 250g water (You may need slightly more water if using a drier flour such as wholemeal, rye or spelt.)
  • 400g frothy sourdough starter
  • 10g salt
  • A splash of olive oil (approx 1-2 tbs depending on the flour, enough oil to bring the dough together into a shiny ball but not to much making the dough wet and sticky).
  • 1 tbsp barley malt extract (optional)
  • 50-100g mixed seeds (optional: linseed, flax, poppy, chia, sunflower, pumpkin)

How to make Hot Pot Sourdough

  1.  Pour the salt, flour, sourdough starter, barley malt extract (if you’re using it) and water into a mixing bowl.
  2. If using an electric mixer, put it on a low speed for 10 minutes, pouring a splash of oil in as and when required to bring the dough together into a smooth and shiny ball. (Or if doing it by hand, mix together with a wooden spoon until it comes together. Adding a drizzle of oil to help it along. Then knead for 10 minutes.)
  3. Cover the bowl with cling film/shower cap and leave to prove overnight in the fridge or for 2- 3 hours at room temperature.
  4. Knead and shape your loaf on a lightly floured surface to knock out the air bubbles. If you want to add seeds, now’s the time to knead them into the dough.
  5. Place into a floured banneton (or loaf tin), cover with a shower cap and prove over night in the fridge or for 2 hours at room temperature.
  6. Pre heat your oven and hot pot at the hottest temperature for 30 minutes
  7. Sprinkle ground semolina on the bottom of your hot pot
  8. Gently tip the proven loaf from the banneton, moving he basket as close to the hot pot as possible. Don’t worry if you’re slightly off centre, the loaf will sizzle as it hits the hot surface, firming the base of the loaf up. It can then be gently slid around the pot if you tilt it to one side. Don’t try to move it with your fingers as you’ll knock the air out and probably burn yourself!
  9. Score the loaf with a sharp knife or razor blade.
  10. Pot the lid on the pot and bake it at your oven’s highest temperature for 15 minutes. (250 degrees c) Turn it down to around 220 degrees c for the final 15 minutes. You can check the bread is cooking by taking the lid off.
  11. Remove from the hot pot when it looks fully risen (30-35 minutes of baking should do it, but check it sounds hollow when you tap it’s base. If not, leave it in for a few more minutes.)
  12. Looking for a soft crust? Wrap your hot loaf up in a clean tea towel to hold in the moisture and soften the crust. Leave it to cool fully in the tea towel.
  13. Looking for a crisp chewy crust? Take the lid off the hot pot for the final 5 minutes in the oven. Leave your loaf to cool on rack.
  14. Slice it up and enjoy! I often eat this bread without any butter at all, as it’s so moist it really doesn’t need anything to liven it up. Just pure unadulterated sourdough joy!
  15. Once cooled I pop the loaf back into my pot to keep the air out and keep it fresh. It lasts for at least a week.
  16. If I’m not going to get through a whole loaf I like to slice it up thinly and freeze half. Then I can defrost a slice at a time as I need it.
  17. Eat and repeat!

P.S. My original sourdough experiments can be found over on my post ‘Starting Sourdough with James Morton’. 

The Best Banana Bread I’ve ever made

Posted by aroundtheworldin80bakes in Around the World in Eighty Bakes, Baking, Bread, cake, Cookery, England, Everday Cooking, Food, healthy baking, leftovers, recipe and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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My Bestest Banana Bread

I’m going to let you into a secret. I’ve been experimenting in the kitchen, trying new combinations of flours and flavours to make some tasty, healthy (ish) cakes using up food that would otherwise go to waste. And what did I conjure up? My bestest banana bread recipe, with coconut, pistachio and rye. Additional bonuses include an extra cake! This recipe is enough for 2 cakes, so you can freeze one for later or give it to a friend who needs a nutritious energy boost. It’s also low in sugar and gluten. (You could choose gluten free flour if you prefer.)

Bonus Banana Bread

Bonus Banana Bread

When my bananas are on the turn and almost ready for the bin I throw them in the freezer in their blacken skins to save for a later date.  (Yes you can freeze bananas. Feel free to peel them first and pop them in a tupperware container first if you want to use them from frozen for smoothies or milkshakes, then you don’t even need to add ice cream for a chilled drink).

Once I have 3 black bananas stockpiled I whip up my Banana Bread. Leave your bananas to defrost for an hour or so before you peel them to make your banana bread, as if they’re too cold it will make your butter solidify and could give you denser cake and an uneven bake.

This is really quick to make. Basically beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Followed by your bananas, vanilla and eggs, then the combination of flours and baking powder. Finally beat in a handful of sultanas and chopped walnuts. This takes about 15 minutes with an electric mixer.

I use two 6 inch round tins to bake this recipe, or you could bake one large banana bread loaf if you prefer. Liberally sprinkle the cakes with chopped nuts (whatever you have to hand is fine). I use pistachios which gives you gorgeous green flecks singing out in between the flaked almonds and hazelnuts.

As the cake bakes the batter rises up and supports the nuts, holding them in place for the final cake. It’s also the perfect way to disguise any uneven finishes on your cake, if like me you have an unpredictably hot oven.

My initial experiments involved using 100% coconut flour, but this ended in disaster. I think coconut flour needs to be balanced against other nuttier flours (I like using rye flour but spelt or wholemeal would work well too) to absorb some of the natural oils and sugars and avoid the quick to burn, blackened mess that I made.

In less than an hour (50 minutes at 150 degrees c to be precise) you will produce two beautifully moist banana cakes, that are perfect accompanied by a large mug of strong tea, perhaps after a bracing stroll by the coast. I’m drooling just thinking of that sweet sponge and nutty crunch of a cake. Wonder how many bananas I have lurking in my freezer today…

Perfect Cake spot: A blustry day by Alnwick Castle

Perfect Cake spot: A blustery day by Alnwick Castle

 Things I used to make my Bestest Banana Bread

  • 125g margarine (or butter)
  • 250g caster sugar
  • 3 over ripe bananas
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste
  • 100g coconut flour (or finely ground dessicated coconut if you can’t find the flour)
  • 90g Rye Flour (or spelt or wholemeal) -NB: Spelt and Rye flours are not gluten free but may be more suitable to those who have a wheat intolerance. Use a wholemeal gluten free flour if you want to avoid gluten in this recipe.
  • 60g plain flour (feel free to use gluten free flour)
  • 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1tsp ground cassia (or cinnamon or mace)
  • Handful of chopped sultanas
  • Handful of chopped walnuts
  • * Topping: (2 handful of chopped/flaked nuts: almonds, pistachio, walnuts, hazelnuts
  1. Beat together sugar and butter until fluffy
  2. Beat in bananas
  3. Beat in eggs one by one
  4. Beat in vanilla paste
  5. Beat in coconut, plain, rye flours and baking powder and spice
  6. Beat in sultanas and walnuts
  7. Pour into 2 greased 6 inch round tins (or one large loaf tin)
  8. Cover the top of each cake entirely with a layer of chopped nuts
  9. Bake for 50  mins at 150 degrees c (or until a skewer comes out clean)

My other banana based recipes are Fanny and Otto’s Fijian Banana Cake

Cooker Chaos and the Fiery Beast in my Kitchen

Posted by aroundtheworldin80bakes in Around the World in Eighty Bakes, Bread, cake, cake decoration, Cookery, Everday Cooking, Food, gluten free, healthy baking, iranian cake, recipe, traditional food and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
An Armenian Gluten Free Orange Cake with Orange Blossom icing and candied peel

An Armenian Gluten Free Orange Cake with Orange Blossom icing and candied peel

January has been a busy month filled with baking and frustration with the new-to-me-yet-old-to-our-house oven which has no temperature or oven settings remaining on it. Leaving the delicate science of oven temperature in the lap of the gods or in my case the sizzle of the grill.

This month I have successfully

  • set fire to my oven gloves and a pan lid!
  • grilled a puff pastry pie
  • charred a cake that took me 4 hours to make
  • threw 5 inedible cakes away – even Super Hans turned his nose up at them and he has been know to eat raw sourdough starter when it’s been dropped on the floor
  • and sobbed silently at the oven window glued to my newly purchased thermometer checking the temperature hasn’t yet reached ‘towering inferno stage’ and frazzled my Madelines.
Grilled pie anyone?

Grilled pie anyone?

I must admit I considered throwing the fiery beast in the bin, but the bin isn’t quite big enough… so back to patiently burning my cakes and starting over, and over, I went.

Charred Challah
Challah – not so charred on the inside

I guess this oven is a bit like baking with an Aga? (Having never used an Aga I may be making this up) I put my limited Aga knowledge to good use and attempted to control the heat by placing extra baking tins in the oven, to protect my precious cakes from the uncovered elements in the oven and ward off the extra hot spots. Adding tin foil hats to my cakes wherever possible to guard against the scorch. If you have any suggestions on how to bake in a small, yet very hot, electric fan oven please send them my way!

Chocolate Marzipan Tarte with sweet almond pastry
Homemade Turkish Delight!
A proper Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting
Mini Rosemary, Parmesan & Onion Fougasse
52. An Armenian Gluten Free Orange Cake with Orange Blossom icing and candied peel
Cramming many international elements into one cake: A 4 layer Iranian Pistachio Cake, with homemade lemon curd, Turkish Delight and Rose Italian Meringue
Chocolate Marzipan Tarte with sweet almond pastry

Undeterred I continued and eventually managed to bake some edible and rather lovely cakes, although I had to admit defeat on some of the more delicate bakes. It seems I shall be baking only robust cakes and breads that can withstand the heat until I can get to grips with the animal in my kitchen.

This month I’ve taken the opportunity to recreate some of my most favourite around the world in 80 bakes with a slightly new twist. Mainly that I have crammed as many international elements and Middle Eastern flavours that I could possibly think of into one cake. And the result? My 4 layer Iranian Pistachio Cake with cardamom; home made lemon curd, Turkish Delight and Rose Italian Meringue. Which means I finally conquered the ever elusive Turkish Delight using a very good Rachel Allan recipe. I even treated myself to 2 new cake tins that are the same size! Unheard of in my house, so now I can actually make cakes that sandwich together. Hurrah! I predict there will be many more layered cakes in my future.

Cramming many international elements into one cake: A 4 layer Iranian Pistachio Cake, with homemade lemon curd, Turkish Delight and Rose Italian Meringue

Cramming many international elements into one cake: A 4 layer Iranian Pistachio Cake, with homemade lemon curd, Turkish Delight and Rose Italian Meringue

I also re imagined my Armenian Gluten Free Orange and Almond Cake into a bundt cake with ribbons of orange blossom icing and home made candied peel. Much less syrupy than my last attempt with thick piped glace icing which gave a great sweet contrast to the slightly bitter orange and almond cake.

An Armenian Gluten Free Orange Cake with Orange Blossom icing and candied peel

An Armenian Gluten Free Orange Cake with Orange Blossom icing and candied peel

Thanks for reading and I hope January is treating you well. I’m looking forward to hopefully baking not burning some new and exciting international recipes very soon.

Starting Sourdough with James Morton

Posted by aroundtheworldin80bakes in @laurenprince, Around the World in Eighty Bakes, Baguette, Baking, Bread, Cookery, Everday Cooking, Food, GBBO, healthy baking, recipe, The Great British Bake Off and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,
Meeting James Morton - the King of Sourdough

Meeting James Morton – the King of Sourdough

My friend Kate very kindly offered to drive us to Glasgow for James Morton’s ‘Stollen Moment’ show. Armed with James’s new book, a cheese board, a selection of homemade scones, sticky buns and a flask of tea we trotted off merrily to Glasgow to enjoy the show and meet the lovely Great British Bake Off finalist in person.

My new favourite bread book and now it's even signed by James

My new favourite bread book and now it’s even signed by James

What a great show. James patiently answered our questions whilst demystifing the art of bread and sourdough baking and making a lovely sourdough stollen on stage for us to sample. He explained how it’s not really scary and you don’t actually have to knead your bread all that much to get a brilliant loaf! You can prove it in the fridge and save your energy for more important things like eating the bread. Music to my ears. We even got to take away a bit of James’ sourdough starter home with us.

My first attempt at sourdough bread where the lid has stayed intact!

My first attempt at sourdough bread where the lid has stayed intact! Check out that golden crust and even crumb! Success at last!

Mine is merrily bubbling away in it’s jar fed with equal amounts of flour and water with some sultanas thrown in for good measure. (You take them back out again once the starter is bubbling and frothy again. Yet another great tip on reinvigorating a tired sourdough starter from James)

I’ve tried and failed so many times before to make sourdough. I now realise where I’ve been going wrong, I never threw any of it away! I was merely accumulating large quantities of floury water. Resulting in a very weak yet well fed sourdough which produced rubbish flat, doughy bread. My loaves were rather mishapen and usually split along the side so the top normally fell off. Yum. Delicious (!)

Christmas morning breakfast. Sourdough mince pie cinnamon buns. They're rather filling!

Christmas morning breakfast. Sourdough mince pie cinnamon buns. They’re rather filling!

I’m now wise to it. You’ve got to dispose of a third of your starter before you feed it, every time. This gives a much stronger and active sourdough. One that can actually rise bread and give a glorious sour note to the loaf too. I’m simply using a cup measure to throw in a cup of flour (any flour, strong, white, rye, malted, plain, brown etc. will do) and a cup of water. Then I give it a good stir with the handle of a wooden spoon. (My jar is quite tall so the handle works best)

Mincemeat sourdough crown

Mincemeat sourdough crown

I feel a little guilty pouring large amounts of sourdough down the sink, so have started sharing my cast off starter with friends too which they can just feed as normal. Do let me know if you fancy a bit! I can provide sandwich bags and I’m than happy to share the sourdough joy. (But it’s not that difficult to make your own too… have a look below.)

Sourdough Starter bagged up and ready for sharing.

Sourdough Starter bagged up and ready for sharing.

Apologies for my lack of bloggage over the last few weeks. I’ve been very busy, painting decorating and moving house, celebrating our first wedding anniversary (where has the time flown!?) and baking vast quantities of Christmas puddings and sourdough bread in all forms over the holidays. (Think rosemary foccaccia, wholemeal pizzas, buns, loaves and rolls!) The freezer is full of enriched doughs, mincepie rolls and scones. I can’t wait to try out the rest of the recipes. I think we’re going to need more flour!

Painting a house is a bit like icing a cake… a REALLY big messy cake
It’s already been a year since we got married! Happy first anniversary to us!
One of my new kitchen dressers already bursting to the seams with kitchen stuff!
Phew! We managed to get into our new home just before Christmas!

My Basic Sourdough Starter

It’s still going strong one month on!

  • 1 cup of flour (any flour, strong, white, rye, malted, plain, brown etc. will do)
  • 1 cup of cold water
  1. store in a non air tight container at room temperature (Take the rubber seal out of a kilner jar to avoid nasty sourdough explosions with all the built up gases!)
  2. discard a third of the mix and feed every day if you’re baking regularly
  3. or store your starter in the fridge and feed once a week if your baking less frequently
  4. feed it the day before you want to use it (or when it’s really bubbly)
  5. stir in some sultanas to reinvigorate a tired (flat) starter. (pick them out again if you don’t want sultanas in your bread)
  6. use 200g of sourdough starter in your dough when wanting to make a full sourdough loaf
  7. or add 100g of sourdough to other breads alongside instant yeast to give a subtle sourdough flavour

Basic Sourdough Bread

Since this post I’ve experimented more and created another sourdough recipe ‘Hot Pot Sourdough’ which also works a treat.

  • 500g strong flour (I like to use a combination of whatever I have in the cupboard which is usually strong white flour, rye flour, malthouse brown, and some wholemeal chapatti flour)
  • 10g salt
  • 200g sourdough starter
  • 300g (or ml it’s the same if you’re using a electronic scale) water
  1. Knead the mixture together and allow to prove over night in the fridge. (Yet another life changing tip from James. You don’t have to knead your bread very much if you leave it for a long first prove. Chilling it means the bread proves slowly and allows the bread to develop a more rounded sour flavour!) My fridge is now always filled with a loaf proving, ready for the next day.
  2. Knead the dough to shape it and add some seeds for more texture (I like to use linseed, sunflower and poppy seeds)
  3. Allow it to prove at room temperature for an hour or so, or over night in the fridge
  4. Bake at 220 degrees C for 10 minutes then reduce to 200 degrees and bakes for a further 20- 25 minutes
  5. wrap in a tea towel whilst still hot, to soften the crust and eat with whatever your heart desires! Maybe, hot soup, butter, jam, nutella.

Please note: I’ve taken elements from a couple of my favourite bread recipes here to make something that I know I and my oven can handle. It’s a slightly wet dough which compensates for the drier brown/wholemeal flours but not too liquid  so it can be handled and shaped. I can’t recommend James’ book enough if you haven’t already bought it. I’ve learnt so much from it and I’ve only read the introduction and tried a couple of recipes so far. (And I haven’t been paid to say that!) I’m still yet to master some of the more advanced bread recipes in James’s book but I’m enjoying practising and getting a lot of dough up the walls and in my hair in the process.

Happy New Year! Thanks for reading my blog! I promise there are more international bakes to come as soon as possible once I’ve got the hang of my new oven which unfortunately no longer has the temperatures on the dial! An oven thermometer is winging it’s way to me now as I type.

The Alternative Gingerbread House – Gingerbread Cave and Christmas Tree (or how not to make a gingerbread igloo)

Posted by aroundtheworldin80bakes in @laurenprince, Around the World in Eighty Bakes, biscuits, Bread, cake, cake decoration, Christmas, Food, recipe and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
The gingerbread Christmas Tree and Cave with the Bear and the Hare

The gingerbread Christmas Tree and Cave with the Bear and the Hare

I had a grand plan to bake a Gingerbread Igloo for this year’s Gingerbread House Challenge to raise money for The Sick Children’s Trust. In my mind this would be wonderfully easy. Simply slap a circle of gingerbread dough on a greased upside down pyrex bowl and bake. Easy?

Melted ingerbread mess

Melted gingerbread mess

Perhaps if I had given myself enough time to chill the dough before baking it or used ribbons of greaseproof paper to line the outside of the bowl I might have managed to salvage the igloo. But as it happens I did none of these helpful things and ended up with a lot of gingerbread on the floor of my oven instead.

Taking my sharpest knife I hacked away the excess gingerbread leaving a rather rugged (and uneven edge). Returning it to the oven for a second bake ‘to crisp it up’ was an equally bad idea as the gingerbread then firmly welded itself onto the bowl. Once cooled it then had to be chipped off the bowl. Leaving behind a cave-like gingerbread construction instead.

The first gingerbread igloo/cave

The first gingerbread igloo/cave

‘Who lives in a cave?’ I asked Chris. ‘What can I make this this gingerbread mess?!’ ‘How about the Bear and the Hare from that John Lewis Christmas advert?’ He suggested. I took the idea and ran with it. Whipping up thick white royal icing to cement my cave onto my cake board and adding extra for support. But this gingerbread was far too thin to hold it’s own weight, even with internal gingerbread scaffolding it self destructed over night.

Collapsed gingerbread cave - yet another gingerbread mess

Collapsed gingerbread cave – yet another gingerbread mess

I had now really committed to the idea and already fashioned some fondant animals so I had to construct another cave. A new and improved cave.

Using a half sphere cake tin I layered up gingerbread bricks (or rectangles of rolled out dough) about 3mm thick on the inside of the tin after greasing it heavily. I also included 2 ribbons of greaseproof paper laid (like a hot cross bun cross) inside the tin to act as lever and help me remove it later on. I decided to use a pastry technique and ‘blind bake’ the dough by filling it with a layer of greaseproof paper and kidney beans to hold it in place and avoid disastrous meltage. It worked!! I put it all in the freezer to chill it before baking and help it hold it’s shape. Then 15 minutes in the oven with the beans and 5 minutes baking without the beans led to a good solid cave!

Almost finished Gingerbread Cave

Almost finished Gingerbread Cave

I also experimented with a cave baked on the outside of the half sphere tin, but this spread and looked more like a tortoise shell… Perhaps another alternative gingerbread house for the future!

With the leftover bits of gingerbread dough I thought I best bake some emergency-if-it-all-goes-wrong gingerbread houses. Making it up as I went along (as who has time to make precise templates and measure things?!) armed with a palette knife and a pizza cutter I cut out 3 large (similar size and shape) triangles to make the walls of my wigwam.

This wigwam was then magically transformed into my Christmas tree. It didn’t really look substantial enough to be a house in it’s own right, after I had joined the triangles together to make a 3d wigwam shape. (Using just a line of royal icing on the inside join of each triangle). Inspired I added food colouring to my royal icing and zig zagged the pine needles in place using a  piping bag with the end trimmed off. (Not too large a hole or too much icing gushes out!) Returning with red and yellow coloured icing to dot on baubles. With a generous sprinkle of glitter a rather festive gingerbread Christmas tree had arrived. Once the icing had set I carefully prised the tree from it’s resting place (on a baking tray lined with cling film) with a cocktail stick and plopped it onto even more royal icing on the cake board.

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree how lovely are your baubles

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree how lovely are your baubles

To decorate the cave I whipped up a batch of royal icing, using merriwhite (pasteurised egg white powder that you can buy from cake shops, so you don’t have to use raw egg whites if children or pregnant women might eat your baking). I smeared a good rough layer of royal icing all over the board to cover the silver foil and give a snowy effect. This is then the perfect base for glueing the gingerbread cave in place. I then piped more ‘snow’ around the the edges of the cave, all along the join between the cave and the board to hold it in place, but also to suggest a snow build up. I let the icing flow freely and smoothly to give as natural an effect as possible.

Piles of icicles

Piles of icicles

I wanted to create icicles to dangling from the cave mouth. Once the initial layer of snow had dried I could then use this icing to ‘hook’ the icicles on to. I piped a blob of icing behing the inside lip of the cave attatching it as far in to the roof (and joining on to the snow trim) as possible. Simple strings of icing didn’t hold and didn’t look right. I found it easier to squeezed the piping bag gently letting the icing build up and then stretch the icing with the nozzle of the piping bag before you stop piping. THis means you can then shape it as you wish. You can then even add more layers to your icicles if you want to build them up further. A good sprinkle of edible glitter (white hologram glitter is my preferred choice with a hint of blue) gives it a frosty twinkle.

wpid-IMG_20131130_230254.jpg

As I added my Gingerbread Cave to the amazing array of Gingerbread Houses I breathed a huge sigh of relief that I had successfully managed to get it there in one piece! Here’s some of the beautiful gingerbread creations from the day. There were over 20 houses to gaze and wonder at. What a wonderful start to the festive season!

The winner! The amazing 3d stripey lighthouse by @loopygirl
Daddy or Chips – The 3 little pigs by @cakepoppins
The Bear and the Hare
Wouldn’t you like to live on Gingerbread street?
A beautiful lighthouse by @iona_owen
What a cathedral! Check out those stained glass windows!
Gingerbread Street
The beautiful Greek Goddess Athena @gunshotglitter_

Things that I used to bake my Gingerbread Cave and Christmas Tree

  • 675g plain flour (plus extra for dusting)
  • 1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 tbsp ground ginger
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground all spice
  • 175g unsalted butter
  • 225g soft light brown sugar
  • 1 large, free range egg
  • 3 tbsp golden syrup
  • 3 tbsp black treacle
  1. Beat all the ingredients together and chill.
  2. Roll out to 5mm thickness
  3. Grease and line tin. Place dough in a spherical tin (lined with paper inside and baking beans) and chill for 1 hour in freezer. You can bake it from frozen, no need to defrost
  4. Bake for 10 mins with beans at 180 degrees c.
  5. Remove beans and bake for 5 more minutes
  6. Allow to set in the tin but remove it whilst still warm

For the Royal Icing

  • 16g merriwhite
  • 500g icing sugar
  • 6 -10 tbsp cold water (enough to create a really thick pipeable paste with a smooth shiny finish)
  • Red, green and yellow gel food colourings (if you want to colour some of the icing too)

Beat the ingredients together adding the water gradually until you get the right consistency for you. It should be shiny and thick. It might take 5- 10  minutes of beating. Keep it in an airtight container to stop it drying out.

Put a little in a separate bowl and add colourings if you wish to colour some icing. I used 3 bowls for my 3 colours and kept the white icing in the mixing bowl to fill up my piping bags as needed.

To Decorate

  • edible glitter!
  • silver lustre spray (I sprayed the bear silver)
  • gold lustre powder (I painted the hare gold)
  • fondant icing to model animals and clock
  • a fork/cocktail sticks (to add details to the animals… eg. claws, eyes, mouth, whiskers, textured fur)

Flavoursome Fougasse – Rosemary Onion and Parmesan

Posted by aroundtheworldin80bakes in Around the World in Eighty Bakes, Baking, Bread, Everday Cooking, Food, france, recipe and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,
Massive Fougasse

Massive Fougasse

Am I attempting to elongate my around the world in 80 bakes challenge somewhat or am I just easily distracted? Perhaps I’ve exceeded my capacity for cake. Who knows. But it seems I’m having a dalliance with bread baking at the moment.

Mini Fougasse rosemary parmesan and onion recipe

Mini Fougasse

I couldn’t let Fougasse pass by undocumented, as something I’ve baked and forgotten about disappearing into the reams of photo I’ve #justbaked on instagram. I had to tell you about them. I realise I’ve baked rather a lot of French things thus far from Tarte au citron, to baguettes so I’m not counting Fougasse as one of my around the world in 80 bakes. BUT they are deliciously simple, despite their extremely complicated and masterful appearance. I gleefully clapped my hands together upon opening the oven door to reveal perfectly formed bread fronds.

Homegrown Rosemary

Homegrown Rosemary

 

You can flavour Fougasse with any herb that you like.I foraged some rosemary from a sandwich buffet that was only used for decoration for an hour and was binward bound. I couldn’t face such waste so pocketed it for baking, to put it to good use alongside rock salt, shallots and pebbles of pecorino cheese. Future Fougasse that I have planned in my head include, roast pepper and garlic; mint and feta; basil and chilli; chia and sesame seed. I’m also taking advantage of the Rosemary bush we’ve inherited in our new home.

I can’t stress enough how simple a dough it is. It’s a basic white dough that can be adapted to make 2 large fougasse or as I’ve made since, many small palm sized fougasse. An impressive side dish to whip out when friends come for tea which can be frozen and defrosted as required.

fougasse recipe

Proven and knocked back dough. Kneaded with rosemary and onions

As with most doughs mix the ingredients together to form a sticky dough. Knead for about 10 minutes until smooth. Place in a large bowl, cover with greased cling film and leave to prove for 1 hour until doubled in size.

Roll your dough to a palm leaf sized shape

Roll your dough to a palm leaf sized shape

Once proven, knock the dough back and knead in your chosen flavours. If using rosemary and onions chop them finely first and sautee the onions in a little oil Then divide your dough into 2 equal amounts (if making large fougasse) or 12 pieces (if making mini fougasse). Roll it out on a lightly floured bench to a thin rectangle about 5mm in depth and about 20cm x 25 cm. The onions will make the dough a little sticky and can be a little more tricky to slice through later on.

The first cut is the deepest fougasse recipe

The first cut is the deepest

Then comes the fun bit. Pop your flat dough onto a lined and semolina sprinkled baking sheet. I like using a pizza cutter for my long slashes in the dough. You have to split the dough up the middle, cutting all the way through and gently encourage the dough to separate, so there’s a space (you can see the baking sheet underneath). Make one diagonal cut (1cm in from the edge so there is still some dough attached to hold your fougasse together) from one end of the dough to the other, leaving 1cm at the opposite end untouched.

Make 3 diagonal cuts at an angle from your central cut fougasse recipe

Make 3 diagonal cuts at an angle from your central cut

Then to add the additional detail. Make 3 diagonal cuts, either side of the split, moving your blade back towards you, at an angle from your central cut. If you want to get all technical these cuts are made at about a 45 degree angle. Make sure you leave at least 1cm of dough un cut at either end so that your fougasse doesn’t fall apart. Don’t forget to encourage the cuts to widen, use your fingers and blade if you have to, to make some space. As your dough rises the gaps will disappear and so will your carefully cut design. (As demonstrated beautifully by my first slightly botched attempt below…)

Perhaps I should have separated the dough a little more before backing this one...

Perhaps I should have separated the dough a little more before baking this one…

Stud your fougasse with chunks of parmesan and any extra rosemary that you’ve saved for extra flavour. If making mini fougasse, repeat this until you’ve shaped all of your dough. Cover it with greased cling film and leave to prove for 20 minutes until puffed up.

Stud your Fougase with chunks of parmesan

Stud your Fougasse with chunks of parmesan

Bake your Fougasse in a pre heated oven at 220 degrees c for 13 – 15 minutes until golden brown. These are delicious served warm, with a rich tomatoey or pestoey pasta dish, but equally tasty served cool and enjoyed independently as a feast in the palm of your hand. They also freeze very well so you can save some for later, or bake it in advance.

Massive Fougasse

Massive Fougasse

Things I used to make my Flavoursome Fougasse

  • 500g strong white flour (or 250g strong white and 250g strong wholemeal flour)
  • 7g instant yeast 
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 TBS olive oil
  • 300ml water

1. Knead dough together for 10  minutes. Cover and prove for 1 hour.

  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic chopped

2. Sautee the onions and garlic in a little oil and allow to cool

  • 3 stems of rosemary and a little extra for the final decoration

3. Chop the sprigs of rosemary finely

  • 100g parmesan cheese cut broken into rough cubes for studding into the fougasse before final prove

4. Knead the onions, garlic and rosemary into the proven dough

5. Divide dough into 2 and roll into rectangles 20x25cm and 5 mm thick

6. Place on semolina sprinkled baking sheet and cut into the dough as described above. Studding with parmesan.

7. Cover and prove dough for final 20 minutes

8. Bake at 220 degrees C for 13 -15 minutes until golden brown and the parmesan cheese crisps up slightly.