tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41748285047439784252024-03-13T20:44:50.310-07:00The Sour SideA hold your hand foray into sourdough.Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-74857716223546997042013-02-25T13:39:00.001-08:002013-02-25T13:39:21.062-08:00I'm moving<br />
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I've really enjoyed writing this blog over the last three years. And I'm going to carry on writing it, but at a new home!</div>
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I've consolidated both my blogs: this one and my consumer blog and they can now both be found at <a href="http://paneamoreechachacha.com/">http://paneamoreechachacha.com/.</a></div>
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Please join me over there.</div>
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Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-49689169009419603992013-01-18T07:24:00.001-08:002013-01-18T07:24:15.929-08:00Every day sourdough baking<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UU2ksqpF-tg/UPllsalwV2I/AAAAAAAAAaw/afON7WSjgwU/s1600/IMG_9964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UU2ksqpF-tg/UPllsalwV2I/AAAAAAAAAaw/afON7WSjgwU/s400/IMG_9964.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A gratuitous picture of a loaf of sourdough, baked this morning</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I get asked, a lot, if sourdough bread is hard to make. I am tempted to say "really hard" to make myself look clever but the truth is, it isn't.<br />
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Sourdough seems uniquely complicated amongst bread baking. I don't know if it's purposely shrouded in mystery. I know that it took me about two years to finally get down to it, to be brave enough to try, as it seemed magical and mystical. It is, but it isn't difficult. The hardest thing about sourdough baking is being mentally ready.<br />
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Because once you have a good starter going, sourdough baking is almost bomb proof.<br />
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I bake sourdough about three times a week. Mostly I bake <a href="http://thesourside.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/barbieri-bread.html">this</a> bread, which is half wholemeal and half white. <br />
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Although I only bake half of the amount in that recipe, so 500g of flour, 200g levain (starter), 333g of water and I've got the salt down to just one teaspoon.<br />
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I divide the dough up to prove over two baton shaped bannetons so I have bread for two bakes.<br />
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It's easy. The hard bit with sourdough, in terms of faff, has always been the starting off of it. Once I've weighed it out and refreshed the starter I know I need to be relatively close for the first three kneads (ten mins apart) and not too far for the one that requires a 30 minute rest. But after that I can do the school run or go out or do whatever. If I know I'm not going to be back in time - be really ages - then I put it in the fridge, and when I get back, simply bring it back to room temperature and take up where I left off.<br />
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You could never do that with bread with commercial yeast, because the yeast would get exhausted.<br />
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I've had a sourdough loaf going over <a href="http://thesourside.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/making-sourdough-whilst-drunk.html">three days</a>.<br />
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Various people have said to me that they want to try sourdough baking. Instead of abstemious resolutions that make you feel miserable (isn't January miserable enough?) try a resolution that will make you feel really good. With a good loaf you always have a meal. And when everyone else is out panic buying because it might snow, you can be smug knowing that with your starter, some flour, water and salt you can turn those tins of stock-piled baked beans into something really glorious. <br />
Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-22440294019813092792012-12-14T05:59:00.000-08:002012-12-14T06:00:14.269-08:00What to do when someone gives you some of their starter so you can start your own starter..<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YSYx98UqlsU/UMsuvcocaqI/AAAAAAAAAYE/l16hW3MReYM/s1600/IMG_9518.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YSYx98UqlsU/UMsuvcocaqI/AAAAAAAAAYE/l16hW3MReYM/s400/IMG_9518.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A present of a little of your established starter really can be the present that keeps on giving</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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My starter came from my friend Emily; about three years ago now. Her starter was already going on for 18 months old itself, if I recall correctly.<br />
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Since I got that fantastic, promising present, my own starter has gone on to spawn many other sourdough starters, not least that of <a href="http://www.flintoff.org/">John-Paul Flintoff</a>.<br />
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Anyway. I've been meaning to, for ages, write up here about What To Do when someone gives you some starter, so here I go. <br />
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You could of course give someone a full jar of starter ready to go since, if you have some levain on the go, it wouldn't take long at all for you to build it up to a whole other working jar size. But this isn't madly practical unless you can actually hand it over in person. And, also people like to build it up themselves. So what I do when I'm sharing starter is send it on the dry side, so it's less frisky and likely to tire itself out. I either send it in a small plastic lidded box or double bag it in those sealable sandwich bags.<br />
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Hopefully, before you are sent a starter of starter, you will have ready:<br />
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A large jar<br />
Some white, strong bread flour.<br />
Weigh the jar when it's empty and make a note of it. <br />
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What you do when you get it is this:<br />
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Put the starter in your jar. Add 50g white strong bread flour, and 40g of out of the tap water. Mix it up well and put the jar aside. In the fridge or a cool place in your kitchen.<br />
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You don't need to remove any starter, you do that when your starter is big and to keep refreshing it would mean you'd end up with unfathomable amounts of the stuff.<br />
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The next day, if you want to, take out a tablespoon of starter and discard it. There is no reason for this, it just kinda feels authentic. Add another 50g white strong bread flour and 40g of water.<br />
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What you want to do is build up so that you have about 300g of starter in your jar (because for most breads you use about 200g of starter). So you keep repeating this until your jar is about 3/4 full when it's <i>just</i> refreshed.<br />
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Never fill it up to the top as if you do, as the starter grows (because it will go up and down during the day until it settles) the jar can explode. Don't worry if you look at your starter during the day and it regularly goes up to near the top, that's normal. What it mustn't ever be is that full when it's just ben refreshed.<br />
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When you've got about 300g of starter going (this is why you weigh the jar empty) you're ready to go. Every time you bake - presuming you use 200g of starter, refresh your jar with 120g of white bread flour and 100g of water. Or, if it's looking a bit full already, 100g of flour and 80g of water.<br />
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And you're ready for a life time of baking.<br />
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Unless you bake every day, keep your starter in the fridge. I bake bread about 2/3 times a week and never need to discard starter to refresh it, I just use it straight from the jar.<br />
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I hope this makes sense, do ask any Qs if you need to (on here please so others can benefit).<br />
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<br />Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-410921858252189812012-06-13T15:37:00.003-07:002012-06-13T15:42:17.083-07:00Schiacciata<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qf9JfXQgd5o/T9kVdDmhTOI/AAAAAAAAARw/shk93r3gsrA/s1600/IMG_7224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qf9JfXQgd5o/T9kVdDmhTOI/AAAAAAAAARw/shk93r3gsrA/s320/IMG_7224.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aerial view before going into the oven</td></tr>
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Schiacciata means squashed in Italian, and this is a recipe for a sort of foccaccia bread with grapes squashed into it. It's not a sourdough recipe, you don't need a bread maker. It's really very simple. I have had this recipe for ages, cut out from an Italian magazine and converted into English stuff.<br />
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It's an odd bread though. People often say to me things like "oh God I couldn't make my own bread I'd just spend all day eating it". Well, I don't spend all day eating bread. I think this is largely because sourdough (what I usually make every day) is delicious, but satisfying. Even though it's a sum of parts of water, flour and salt, the way it's made makes it far more satisfying than bread made with commercial yeast plus those same parts. My partner makes a foccacia that is so addictive I am as bloated as a puffer fish by the end of a meal as I carry on eating it well after my stomach is stretched to fullness.<br />
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This is an odd bread, however, because what would you eat it with? Well cheese is an obvious one. A salty cheese especially I think (actually, almost any after-dinner type cheese, I just really wanted to write the words 'salty cheese'). And I think it would be perfectly wonderful with Parma ham. Whatever you have it with, it makes for a very attractive centre piece, would make a lovely present, is easy and quick to make but really needs to be eaten within a day of making it. It's lovely warm, but not too hot, from the oven. And it's very hard to resist, so don't make this if you've just gone on a diet (loathsome word). You won't get a big, airy crumb. This is altogether a more cakey bread.<br />
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So, this is what you need:<br />
<br />
1tsp of dried, fast acting yeast (I use Dove's)<br />
1tbsp of caster sugar<br />
80ml extra virgin olive oil<br />
Fresh rosemary sprigs, I dunno, like about five or six<br />
200 strong white bread flour<br />
200-300g red or black seedless grapes, washed and dried, all off the stems.<br />
a generous half a teaspoon of salt<br />
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You can easily double up or treble the recipe. I double it usually and make it in a big rectangular tin. But really, that gives you enough for a dinner party and you don't really want that unless you are actually having a dinner party. And as this bread doesn't keep I'd keep the quantities modest until such time as you know you'll be feeding the five thousand.<br />
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This is what you do:<br />
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Chop up the rosemary sprigs (take the leaves off the stems) until you have very finely chopped bits, about a tablespoon's worth. Put in the olive oil in a pan and warm very gently through for a few minutes. Then take it off the heat and let it cool and infuse. You want it to be back down to kinda blood temperature, honestly as long as it's not boiling hot you can't go wrong.<br />
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Whilst that's happening, mix the yeast in 90ml of warm water and a scant tsp of the caster sugar (more like half really, kinda like a pinch). Whisk gently and leave for 10 mins until frothy. Maybe longer, but it will have frothed and puffed up a bit.<br />
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Now add the flour and salt to a bowl, make a well in the middle and then the yeast mixture and half the rosemary oil. Mix together roughly with your hands until you've got it mostly together. Leave, covered, for about 8-10 mins.<br />
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Turn out onto an oiled board and knead for about ten seconds. Leave for 8-10 mins.<br />
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Turn it out onto an oiled board again and knead for about ten seconds. It should be all nice and smooth now. If not then do it one more time. If it looks good and smooth, cover with a bowl and leave to rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours. Sorry not to be more accurate, but it depends on your room temperature. Until it's doubled in size. As a guide, my kitchen was at 22C and it took about 90 mins.<br />
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When you feel it's ready, oil a suitable oven proof dish - you can use a round cake tin (23/24cm) or a rectangular one. You need something with sides really as you're going to be brushing it with a lot of oil and you want to keep the oil in the dough, not escaping out onto a baking tray. I sort of squash the bread in, and over about 10 - 15 mins (so the dough is nice and relaxed) I push it out to the sides of the tin so it fills it. You want a thin layer of dough, not thin-crust pizza thin, but about 1-2cm thick.<br />
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Now squash the grapes in. I say squash but don't break them, kinda push them in. Brush the bread with the remaining oil. yes it will see like a lot. Now scatter over some more rosemary, sprinkle over some caster sugar (not loads) and set aside for about half an hour, covered with cling film or a very wrung out damp teatowel.<br />
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In the meantime preheat the oven to 250 (or as high as it will go if not as high as that). Bake for about 10-12 mins, then turn down to 220 for a further ten mins or so. It's done when it's golden brown.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sBC49ARnE0Q/T9kWFV6WUpI/AAAAAAAAASU/vnP7vUYVH0Y/s1600/IMG_7234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sBC49ARnE0Q/T9kWFV6WUpI/AAAAAAAAASU/vnP7vUYVH0Y/s320/IMG_7234.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cooked and heavily nibbled by someone.</td></tr>
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<br />Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-38120618582118613972012-05-30T03:00:00.004-07:002012-05-30T03:06:06.437-07:00What to do with your starter when you go away<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/may/30/the-sourdough-hotel-cultural-centre?commentpage=1#end-of-comments">This piece</a> in the Guardian today is getting quite a lot of attention on Twitter. I think some people have taken it a tad too seriously...(it's about checking your sourdough start into a hotel).<br />
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But it does bring me onto something pertinent, which is that people who I've got into sourdough (I'm a sourdough pusher) and have shared my starter with, have gone into a panic about going away.<br />
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It's really no big deal. If you go away on holiday:<br />
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Make sure your starter is in a big enough jar to cope with any expansion.<br />
If you're worried about your start erupting (I never do, but I know some people do) then refresh it about 24hrs before you go away, not just as you leave. So you can keep an eye on it.<br />
Keep the starter drier than usual so it's less frisky.<br />
Put your starter in the fridge.<br />
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I have to say, I don't do anything different as I know my jar is big enough and I know how my starter behaves, but just to be extra cautious. <br />
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It'll be fine. When you come back, refresh it as normal once or twice before you bake.<br />
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That's all. Happy hols!Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-17062741469981346682011-11-01T06:49:00.000-07:002011-11-01T06:51:04.261-07:00Burger/hotdog buns<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-66KMQ7dl7-8/Tq_43t-97VI/AAAAAAAAANM/SskcYcGO2-A/s1600/burgerbuns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-66KMQ7dl7-8/Tq_43t-97VI/AAAAAAAAANM/SskcYcGO2-A/s320/burgerbuns.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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The hole in my bread-making repertoire was, until yesterday, burger-bun shaped. Despite making my own sourdough, <a href="http://thesourside.blogspot.com/2011/02/bagels-not-sourdough.html">bagels</a>, monkey bread, <a href="http://thesourside.blogspot.com/2011/03/petes-pizza-dough.html">pizza</a>, I hadn't managed to make (in truth hadn't ever really tried as I thought it was beyond me) any sort of soft roll to enclose a burger or sausage or hot dog. And any time we bought them in the supermarket, those cotton woolly rolls, I felt more annoyed with myself.<br />
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I really dislike supermarket bread.<br />
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Yesterday we had people round and we were going to make <a href="http://paneamoreechachacha.blogspot.com/2010/09/spicy-butternut-squash-and-coconut-soup.html">spicy butternut squash soup</a> and sausages in a roll. So I determined to finally make my own rolls.<br />
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I remembered, a while back, Dan Lepard had written about making burger buns (the article and full recipe is <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/may/28/burger-buns-poppyseed-barbecue-recipe?INTCMP=SRCH">here</a>), and the response had been that they were very good. So I gave them a go. <br />
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Because we had so many people round I doubled the recipe, and I hope Dan will forgive me for reproducing it here, but I just find it easier to have everything in one place.<br />
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You need: (Dan says this makes about 6-8, I made them smaller and submarine roll shaped and got about 24 out of doubling the mixture).<br />
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275g sliced white onion<br />
50ml sunflower oil plus extra for greasing the surface you knead on<br />
75g low fat yoghurt (I used Greek yoghurt, as that's what I had)<br />
2tsp of honey (oil the spoon first so the honey just drops off)<br />
1 medium egg<br />
1 sachet or 7g fast-action yeast (I use Dove's Farm)<br />
75g wholemeal (normal, plain) flour<br />
425g strong white bread flour<br />
2tsp salt (I grind up Maldon sea salt)<br />
poppy seeds<br />
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The first thing you do is put the onions, with the oil and a bit of water, into a pan and let them sweat until very soft and translucent, with all of the moisture gone. Leave to cool then tip into a large bowl (with any oil that's still in the pan). To this add yog, honey and egg. Then add 125ml warm water and the yeast, the flours and salt. Mix together. You will very likely have to add more water - Dan suggests 50ml - it depends on how much moisture is in the onions and how you like your dough to be. I'm quite confident now with a very soft dough. But add the water bit by bit to see how you go.<br />
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Leave for 10 mins then tip it out onto an oiled surface and knead lightly for 10 seconds. Cover with a bowl or put back in the bowl and cover..and repeat this twice more - leaving it for ten mins then kneading it for ten seconds.<br />
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After the third knead, leave it covered and undisturbed for one hour.<br />
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Then take bits off it and start shaping - either large round buns, or long ones, whatever you like. Put on a baking parchment lined tray. Brush with water and sprinkle on poppy seeds (or you know, any seeds you like or no seeds). Cover and leave to rise for about 90 mins - Dan says until they're 50% risen. In my kitchen (about 21 degrees) this timing was pretty spot on.<br />
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Put rolls into a preheated oven: 220C. Dan says 15 mins, mine were done in 10 (my oven is very hot), they're done when they're just "brown on top". <br />
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They are delicious - really soft and tasty. I didn't tell the children there was onion in the dough and they all seemed to love the rolls. And it saves having to add onions to the burger/hot dog, although you can add more if you want to. There's really no sharp taste of onion or anything like that. That said, if you want to leave the onion out, I asked Dan and he said "the precooking of the onions sweetens them and softens the flavour, but
leave them out if you like and only add in half the oil to the dough."<br />
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Really top notch, so easy and delicious. I have frozen some for emergency burger needs. <br />
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Now, someone gave me a recipe for panettone last year: if it was you please could you let me have it again? <br />
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<br />Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-69592459914334858652011-10-06T02:19:00.000-07:002011-10-06T02:19:21.950-07:00Absent but busy, bakerAnyone visiting this blog probably thinks I gave up on the sourdough.<br />
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Wrong!<br />
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I bake all our own bread several times a week! I just ordered a new banneton, this time going for the more expensive <a href="http://bakerybits.co.uk/1kg-Heavy-Duty-Round-Lined-Banneton-P1346752.aspx">Matfer</a> one at £26.99 (just saying it made my eyes water), rather than the cheaper one I got <a href="http://bakerybits.co.uk/1kg-Lined-Wicker-Proving-Basket-P388377.aspx">last time</a> which has already fallen apart after 18 months use (the other, cheaper ones, are fine still but the 1K round one was the one I used most). Matfer are industrial strength so they should last. I did toy with Vannerie which are hand made but really, that is too much for me.<br />
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Am also toying with idea of baking cloche, anyone have one? I feel it's a bit superfluous as my oven is a great oven which makes lovely sourdough, and next year we're building a wood fired oven in the garden. But I did wonder if anyone had one, and if so what they thought of it?<br />
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I did mean to do a post over the summer, as I had so many enquiries about 'what to do with my starter when I go on holiday'. Honestly people. You just put it in the fridge, enjoy your holiday, and refresh * the starter when you get back. One friend even thought he had to bring the starter with him on holiday. I'd have loved to have seen customs deal with that.<br />
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*take out half of it, refresh with 125g strong white bread flour, 100g cold water, stir and leave for about 12 hours before using it to make dough.Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-46194210450390762072011-04-27T11:04:00.000-07:002011-05-30T14:22:49.230-07:00Colomba - one of the most delicious things I've ever made<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-COexl2NSTvE/TbhaXA_WDiI/AAAAAAAAALA/yl_vQa1Ypas/s1600/colomba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-COexl2NSTvE/TbhaXA_WDiI/AAAAAAAAALA/yl_vQa1Ypas/s400/colomba.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colomba, soft, orangey, classy.</td></tr>
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Colomba means dove in Italian and it's a traditional Easter cake. It's much like panettone - traditional Italian Christmas cake - except it doesn't have sultanas. <br />
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Both colomba and panettone use a <i>biga</i> - or sponge starter. I've never attempted panettone because it's not meant to be easy. Not difficult per se, but the recipe is long and there are various stages during which you really need to concentrate. Plus you need to hang panettone upside down when it's done (until it 'sets'). I was almost tempted last year when I found out that Patrick at Bakery Bits had started selling the waxed paper cases you need for panettone but then my mamma's friend bought an exceptional one back from Italy so I never bothered to make my own. <br />
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Then Patrick posted <a href="http://blog.bakerybits.co.uk/?p=549#more-549">a recipe</a> for colomba and started selling <a href="http://bakerybits.co.uk/Aroma-Veneziana-Orangey-Citrus-Essence-P1923629.aspx">Aroma Veneziana</a> which is rich with citrus and almond oils with a hint of vanilla. He also sells the <a href="http://bakerybits.co.uk/Colomba-Pasquale-Case-750g-Pk10-P1840866.aspx">colomba cases </a>(I found the 750g ample big enough for the recipe below. You can make the cake in a traditional cake tin but the dove shape is traditional). So I decided to try it.<br />
<br />
God it was delicious. One of the best things I've ever made. So good that I couldn't believe I'd actually made it myself. (I'm aware Easter has passed now, but this shouldn't put you off trying it.)<br />
<br />
I made a few changes to Patrick's recipe which I've detailed below. I actually made two colomba cakes - retardeding the proof time on my first attempt because I ran out of time (I put it in the fridge at the stage marked * below, because from start to finish this cake takes quite a long time, you really need to start it in the morning) and cooked it for 40 mins. Refrigerating it didn't seem to affect it at all, if anything I think it was tastier. It was supremely moist - a tiny bit underdone and doughy at the very centre, but unnoticeable to all but me. I cooked the second one for longer - probably 50 mins and it was more authentic 'colomba' but slightly dryer. My oven is ferocious so I cooked at more like 180/190C. Patrick's tip of putting silver foil on top is one to be followed, as the egg white/sugar coating burns easily. In fact I covered the whole of the colomba for the middle portion of the cooking time.<br />
<br />
Anyway, this is what you need to do.<br />
<br />
<u><b>First stage: the sponge</b></u><br />
<br />
<br />
15g caster sugar<br />
100g warm water<br />
3 egg yolks (reserve two egg whites, freeze the others if you don't know what to do with them immediately)<br />
11g instant dried yeast <br />
70g strong white bread flour<br />
<br />
Mix together the sugar and water with the egg yolks; separately, mix together the yeast and flour and add this to the egg/sugar/water mixture. You get a thick batter. cover with cling film and leave for a good 30-40mins until it's really bubbly and frothy (note: my kitchen is about 20 degrees, if yours is warmer/cooler you'll nee to adjust the time accordingly).<br />
<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b>Second stage: first dough</b></span><br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b><br />
</b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">The frothing, elastic sponge, as above.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">75g warm water</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">45g very soft unsalted butter </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">6g dried yeast</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">210g strong white bread flour</span><br />
</b><br />
<br />
Whisk the water into the sponge, then mix in the butter. Separately mix the flour and yeast together and add these to the sponge. You should have a thick, stick, moist batter. Cover with cling film and leave for about two hours, until doubled in volume.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b>Third stage: second dough</b></span><br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b><br />
</b></span><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">The first dough, as above.</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">145g caster sugar</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">15g honey</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">3 egg yolks</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">grated zest of two oranges</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">2 teaspoons of Aroma Veneziana (this is my favourite big, I adore the smell and it gives you a hint of the good things to come).</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">115g very soft unsalted butter</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">250g strong white bread flour</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">5g sea salt, finely ground</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">150g chopped mixed peel</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">Take your first dough and now mix in the sugar, honey and egg yolks. It'll look a bit unpromising and 'separate' - don't panic. Add the Aroma Veneziana, the orange zest and butter, then the flour and salt. Now, Patrick didn't add the mixed peel til later (see his original recipe, link above), but I added mine here too. Mix all together.</b><br />
<br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">Now here, Patrick says to knead until you have a soft, smooth, elastic dough. My dough was sticky and a bit unmanageable so I rested it for ten minutes, then gave it a light knead, rested it for ten minutes, then gave it a light knead, rested it for ten minutes, then gave it a light knead. I did this on a lightly oiled chopping board.</b><br />
<br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">Then I picked up the original recipe which says to put it in a oiled bowl and cover with cling film * and leave to rise 'dramatically', Patrick says until it's about three times the original volume which takes about 3-4 hours.</b><br />
<br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">(For the first colomba this * is where I refrigerated it and the next morning, took it out and let it sit all morning until it got to room temperature and then started to rise 'dramatically'.)</b><br />
<br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">When that's done, Patrick cuts his dough in half and puts it in the case (after rolling it), one half making the 'wings' and one half the head to tail bit (so they overlap). I didn't do this, I cut three pieces to fit head to tail, and two for the wings, rolled it out to flatten it put it in the case and pinched the dough together. </b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">I found the case was quite floppy once the dough was in it, so I sat it on a baking tray and when the time came put the whole lot in the oven.</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">At this stage you let it sit and rise again for about 2-3 hours, until doubled in volume, covered with a damp tea towel. Mine easily took more like three hours. </b><br />
<br />
<b><u>Fourth stage: the delicious topping</u></b><br />
<br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"> </b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">2 egg whites</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">25g caster sugar</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">25g ground almonds</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">crushed sugar cubes</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">flaked almonds</b><br />
<br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">Just before baking you make a paste of the topping ingredients: 2 egg whites, 25g caster sugar, 25g ground almonds and put the whole lot on top of the colomba, spread out with a pastry brush/back of spoon to make sure every bit is covered. Please don't miss this bit - it's the topping which really makes it. Scatter broken up sugar cubes and flaked almonds on top - I used three sugar cubes and that was plenty.</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">Cook for 40 mins at 200C and check if it's done by putting a skewer in. If it's burning put silver foil on top. Even if it looks really done - do check with the skewer, if it comes out really gunky it's not done yet. </b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">I can't even begin to tell you how great this is. Patrick says it keeps for four days in a tin, but I made my two a week ago and although one is gone, the other is still superb. But if you do have any left you can always toast it/butter it. We eat it in the morning dipped in caffe latte.</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">This recipe seems long - it is. But take your time and try it. It's pretty fool proof considering the result!</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;">Let me know how you get on...and don't save it just for Easter!</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</b>Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-62815305614497403912011-04-03T14:58:00.000-07:002011-04-03T14:58:16.619-07:00"There are buns for tea"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-huk5wT6WXdc/TZjsZ1pm9GI/AAAAAAAAAK4/KoAsod8Ivys/s1600/teacakes2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-huk5wT6WXdc/TZjsZ1pm9GI/AAAAAAAAAK4/KoAsod8Ivys/s320/teacakes2.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bun. This one from the first batch, thus without its top hat of crushed sugar cubes and amaretti biscuits, which I now regard as obligatory.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
As regular readers will know, I don't really like cooking with yeast. I trust it to the breadmachine - see <a href="http://thesourside.blogspot.com/2011/02/bagels-not-sourdough.html">bagels</a> - but making dough from scratch, I don't really like using yeast.<br />
<br />
Which is why I'm so comfortable, and confident, with sourdough.<br />
<br />
But recently a <a href="http://blog.bakerybits.co.uk/?p=286">recipe</a> for Panettone teacakes on the Bakery Bits blog caught my eye, or rather, the Tweet advertising them did. So I tried them. The first time, I didn't read the recipe properly and only realised you needed white chocolate when it was too late. I had dark chocolate (I always have dark chocolate) which I thought I could substitute because I thought the recipe might use the chocolate as 'chips'. But it doesn't - it's used as as lard substitute. See Dan Lepard's original recipe <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/nov/24/foodanddrink.baking22">here</a> from 2007, which explains it all rather beautifully (one of the many reasons that I love Dan's recipes is that he tells you a bit about the whole chemistry of it too, so I always learn something, beyond how to make a new bun or bread).<br />
<br />
Anyway I left the white chocolate out in my first batch, and also didn't have enough candied peel. And used mostly sultanas rather than raisins. And didn't have the recommended topping. But they were still great if a little less sweet than I think they should be. The second time I made them I had all the relevant ingredients and they were strangely, slightly less soft but completely delicious. These are the new house teacakes.<br />
<br />
But the dough makes quite a lot (about 14) and that's too much for us. So I decided to freeze some.<br />
<br />
"But won't you kill it if you freeze it?" asked my boyfriend.<br />
"Er, I don't know.." I answered (articulate, me)<br />
<br />
So I did what any sane person does these days. No, I didn't ask on FB, I asked on Twitter. If anyone knew, they weren't saying. Joanna from <a href="http://zebbakes.com/">Zeb Bakes</a> urged me to be brave and try it. So I did. I placed half the dough in the freezer (at the stage just before you'd divide them up). A few days later, when teacakes were called for (freshly baked, and buttered, they make an excellent after swimming treat I've discovered), I got the dough out, defrosted it, shaped it, put it in the warming drawer to rise and they were absolutely perfecto.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://bakerybits.co.uk/Aroma-Panettone-P1549400.aspx">Aroma Panettone </a>is an absolute must here.<br />
<br />
These teacakes have promoted me and my friend Jo (a different Jo to Zeb Bakes Jo!) to constantly say "there's buns for tea" now. We've decided that there are few words more jolly in the English language than 'buns', it's so comforting, so Enid. Ironically the Railway Children was on today and they said, at least twice "we can have buns for tea".<br />
<br />
Anyway here's what you need to do to have buns for tea:<br />
<br />
14g instant yeast<br />
125g warm water<br />
600g strong white bread flour<br />
50g milk - any type<br />
50g honey<br />
25g caster sugar<br />
75g white chocolate, melted<br />
150g sultanas (original calls for currants, I prefer sultanas)<br />
150g mixed candied peel<br />
Zest of one orange<br />
1 teaspoon of salt<br />
3 large eggs, 3 egg yolks (yikes I know, a lot of eggs!) plus one extra egg for the egg wash although I find milk works almost as well and is less wasteful, especially if you freeze the mixture and make in batches.<br />
2 teaspoons of Aroma Panettone<br />
<br />
Amaretti biscuits<br />
La Perruche sugar lumps<br />
<br />
Measure out the flour. From the 600g, take 3 tablespoons and put that in a bowl with the yeast and water. Mix it up til it's all dissolved. Leave it for about 15/20mins, until there is obvious bubbling. Because I whisk my mixture up, be sure the bubbles you see are the yeast working (these look more like geyser bubbles) rather than just 'whisk' bubbles. On a hot day you'll see this fairly quickly. My kitchen is quite cool and it can take 20 mins plus.<br />
<br />
Heat the milk up, then add the chocolate, sugar and honey. There isn't much milk so you do think "how will the chocolate melt" but it does. If you get stuck you can always just very gently heat it up again, but I've never found the need. To this add the sultanas, peel, zest, salt and Aroma Panettone.<br />
<br />
Separately, whisk the eggs together - the 3 whole eggs and the 3 yolks (freeze the whites, I've got a killer Madeleine recipe coming soon). You're just combining them, you don't have to whip them into a frenzy. To these add the yeast mixture and then the milk/peel mixture. Then the flour. Use a dough hook and a food mixer if you like, or do it by hand.<br />
<br />
Just until it's all incorporated.<br />
<br />
Leave the dough to rest for ten minutes. Then you give it a light knead, on an oiled surface, with a 30 minute rest each time. Do this three times (so to recap, after the first mixing, leave the dough for 10 mins, then light knead, rest for thirty mins, light knead, rest for 30 mins, light knead, rest for 30 mins.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JwJULS8ertk/TZjsgglnWhI/AAAAAAAAAK8/ZYsjUUSyWiI/s1600/teacakesdough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JwJULS8ertk/TZjsgglnWhI/AAAAAAAAAK8/ZYsjUUSyWiI/s320/teacakesdough.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Egg-wash on, about to go into the oven</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
Now divide the dough up into a bun size. Patrick said 100g a piece, I find my buns are slightly smaller. Roll into a ball with your hand and place on a buttered baking tray (you'll be cooking on this same tray so make sure it fits into your oven). Flatten to about 2cm thickness, or leave thicker if you prefer (they do rise up). Ideally don't have them touching but if they do it really doesn't matter - you just tear them apart when they're cooked.<br />
<br />
Now leave them to double in size. This takes about 30 mins in my warming drawer.<br />
<br />
Beat the last egg and brush over the top of the teacake just as you're ready to bake them and sprinkle over the crushed amaretti biscuits and sugar lumps. You can live without them of course but they really do add something.<br />
<br />
Patrick recommended cooking his buns for 15 mins at 220, mine can be done in half that time (our oven is practically industrial in its heat), so set a timer and check for yourself.<br />
<br />
These are lovely on their own or, you know, split and buttered...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wUzskW0AtK0/TZjsSm_AnvI/AAAAAAAAAK0/cBOIqJknW5E/s1600/teacakes1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wUzskW0AtK0/TZjsSm_AnvI/AAAAAAAAAK0/cBOIqJknW5E/s320/teacakes1.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh out of the oven..</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-3012330297774740482011-03-28T04:24:00.000-07:002011-03-28T04:24:29.998-07:00Pete's pizza doughThis isn't sourdough, and it's a bread machine recipe. But it's a lovely pizza dough, and one which Pete, my partner, has perfected over the years.<br />
<br />
I don't understand people who ooh-ahh over the fact that we make our own pizzas. It's simplicity itself and you can make them in advance.<br />
<br />
I make these in two <a href="http://www.johnlewis.com/230497721/Product.aspx">Mermaid trays </a>- but I like them thin. If you like your pizzas thick well, I'm not sure I have much to say to you really. Pizzas shouldn't be thick.<br />
<br />
From start to finish you can have pizzas on the table in about fifty-five minutes. The pizza-dough cycle on my bread machine takes 40 mins, then you just roll out, put toppings on and they're cooked in 8-10 mins. And for those of you who have children, this is a lovely thing to get them involved in.<br />
<br />
Here's what you need (Pete works in ounces, I work in grams, I've kept true to his recipe here):<br />
<br />
8floz hand hot water<br />
2tablespoons olive oil<br />
12oz of plain white, soft flour (note: not bread flour)<br />
1teaspoon caster sugar<br />
1teaspoon salt<br />
2teaspoons yeast<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
You put all the ingredients in your bread machine in the order the manufacturer recommends, above is the order I put mine in as that's what Panasonic recommends. The pizza dough cycle is, as I said, 40 mins long on my machine. (The regular dough cycle is 2.20mins so that should give you an idea, you don't want a long cycle.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iaQaq-HpTfM/TZBuHecKDxI/AAAAAAAAAKs/di39kyf7rYA/s1600/pizzadough.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iaQaq-HpTfM/TZBuHecKDxI/AAAAAAAAAKs/di39kyf7rYA/s320/pizzadough.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pizza dough before rolling</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
When it's done, oil a suitable surface (I use a very large chopping board so that I can move it about if need be) and your hands, and take the dough out. Sometimes this dough is really sticky, other times more manageable. It makes for a better dough when it's stickier (higher hydration) so there is a compensation.<br />
<br />
Because I use the dough across two baking trays, I cut mine in half; but if you're making - say - four round pizzas, cut into four..etc. I'm sure you can work it out..<br />
<br />
Roll out the dough, as thin as you can, to fit your tray/tin. If you can do that thing of throwing the dough up in the air to make it thin, great: do teach me how to do it too!<br />
<br />
When it's rolled out to an approximate size, I lay it on the tray (note: I oil the tray and coat it with polenta/cornmeal), rest if for five mins and then stretch it into the corners/sides.<br />
<br />
Now you can, at this stage, go straight into doing the toppings and either cook it or put it in the fridge (naked or with all the toppings on, I put mine in naked). You can also freeze it (in which case cook straight from frozen, just give it a few more mins). I cover mine with cling film place one tray on top of another (if no toppings on) to save space in the fridge. <br />
<br />
When you're ready to cook, if you haven't already, put on whatever toppings you want. For the tomato bit on the top, I use Waitrose Sundried Tomato paste - a tiny amount spread on the pizza base (it's quite salty so go carefully). Then I put on artichoke hearts, salami slices, olives, ham, mushrooms, mozzarella, asparagus if in season etc. Or just the tomato paste and some mozzarella for those who like it really simple (boring..) Just before it goes into the oven, splash some olive oil on it and cook it for 7-10 mins. My oven is very hot and has a pizza setting, yours might too. You can tell when it's done as it will have bubbled up and be golden.<br />
<br />
Take out and slide onto a chopping board, slice up, eat and feel very virtuous. Pizza doesn't have to be unhealthy..or at least whilst not pretending this is a health food, it's as healthy as pizza can be.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-67PIaswjiXw/TZBuYiRjy0I/AAAAAAAAAKw/fFeo80Apli4/s1600/pizza.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-67PIaswjiXw/TZBuYiRjy0I/AAAAAAAAAKw/fFeo80Apli4/s320/pizza.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La pizza, I put the rocket on after it came out of the oven</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-80345645771378659802011-03-16T04:27:00.000-07:002011-03-16T04:30:48.956-07:00Le Couronne, or the loaf with the holeI got really excited when Patrick from <a href="http://bakerybits.co.uk/">Bakery Bits</a>, tweeted to say he had <a href="http://bakerybits.co.uk/1kg-22lb-Couronne-Cane-Banneton-P1840173.aspx">a new banneton</a> in stock in a couronne, or ring shape. It was in cane, which I've never used before (all my bannetons are wicker and lined in linen).<br />
<br />
I've a healthy collection of bannetons that I've built up over the last year, but in baton and round shapes. I really fancied a couronne shaped one. (I've been obsessed with round bread with a hole in it since my purchase of a Tortana from Flour City.)<br />
<br />
So I bought one, and also took the opportunity to replenish my <a href="http://bakerybits.co.uk/Aroma-Panettone-P1549400.aspx">Aroma Panettone</a>, which immediately transports me back to my childhood (you seen that scene in Ratatouille where whathisface the restaurant critic, goes back in time to his mother's kitchen? That's what this does to me).<br />
<br />
Anyway, I was EXCITED about it. Made a batch of <a href="http://thesourside.blogspot.com/2010/12/barbieri-bread.html">my every day bread</a>, put it into the fridge for a retarded proof and got up in the morning.<br />
<br />
First thing: the dough stuck to the banneton (the middle bit is wood). Not a good start. I slashed and cooked it and the hole completely closed up so that I ended up with a round loaf with a tiny dimple.<br />
<br />
Not good.<br />
<br />
I emailed Patrick. He recommended rice flour to aid non-stick (I had used rye). That remedied the sticking situation, but I just couldn't get the hole to keep. (Sadly no pictures of bread proved in this banneton as I just never had a camera handy.)<br />
<br />
When you cook bread, you want it to rise, but you can't choose where it rises, so any hole you make (like in <a href="http://thesourside.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html">bagels</a>) has to be bigger than you want it to end up with. But I just couldn't get the hole to stay.<br />
<br />
I knew the fabulous (and far more experienced baker than I) Joanna from <a href="http://zebbakes.com/">Zeb Bakes</a> had also bought one, so I asked her what she thought. She was also struggling with it. We both thought the middle bit should be thicker.<br />
<br />
Patrick was v.helpful and kept going back to the manufacturers who said it should work. But it didn't. Patrick got another banneton in, this time <a href="http://bakerybits.co.uk/1kg-22lb-Couronne-Wicker-Banneton-P1901049.aspx">in linen lined wicker</a>. He sent it to me free of charge. This banneton just looked much better, the middle bit was thicker and the whole shape was more promising.<br />
<br />
It worked much better, too. Here is the loaf I made that first time. I did however, enlarge the hole once it was on the baking tray, which isn't for the nervous. I haven't fully got the hang of slashing the dough however (any thoughts anyone?) as I find it quite hard to make slashes on such a small ring of dough, such as it is before it puffs up.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-rbvBxgZ-O5M/TYCcdsNX4zI/AAAAAAAAAKc/s2SV8gy3BZI/s1600/couronne3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-rbvBxgZ-O5M/TYCcdsNX4zI/AAAAAAAAAKc/s2SV8gy3BZI/s320/couronne3.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First loaf using linen-lined wicker couronne banneton. V.nice.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-sH5ttAOxKfo/TYCc7CfBcxI/AAAAAAAAAKg/HRqIGBAG1VA/s320/couronne1.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second loaf in the couronne, this was a white dough</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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Second time I made a white loaf but was more gung-ho didn't enlarge the hole on the tray. This is what happened:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z1Ach2MG3wE/TYCd9RNVYDI/AAAAAAAAAKo/9jYn_EjHM3k/s1600/couronne2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z1Ach2MG3wE/TYCd9RNVYDI/AAAAAAAAAKo/9jYn_EjHM3k/s320/couronne2.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hmm.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The third time I tried sticking a muffin ring in the middle. This did indeed hold the middle open, but a) the middle didn't crust up properly and b) the ring sort of got swallowed into the bread. It was fine, and a really great loaf. I'm going to carry on experimenting with a tin in the middle and maybe even - gasp - put ice cubes in there. Just till the bread has developed a crust and then remove the tin.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, if you're careful you can get a really nice ring shape, but you need to play around with the dough on the tray. I do love the couronne bread shape however as you get maximum crust, not great for children who are fussy about these things, but good for me, who does.<br />
<br />
Any more experienced bakers out there with any tips, I'd welcome them. Grazie! <br />
<br />
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</div>Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-86843757984238474572011-02-02T01:33:00.000-08:002012-06-24T08:01:21.961-07:00Bagels - not sourdough<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TUkjhTRNrDI/AAAAAAAAAJU/aMZEX3jUibs/s1600/bagels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TUkjhTRNrDI/AAAAAAAAAJU/aMZEX3jUibs/s320/bagels.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We call these buglies - ugly bagels. But my are they delicious.</td></tr>
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<br />
<br />
I really ummed and ahhed about putting these on here. This is my incrediblygeekysourdoughblog. But I'm starting to get embarrassed by how much food stuff I have on my <a href="http://paneamoreechachacha.blogspot.com/">pane amore e cha cha cha blog</a> which is meant to be a consumer blog with the occasional bit of food, not vice versa.<br />
<br />
Plus these bagels are not just not sourdough, they're made <span style="font-size: xx-small;">in a breadmaker.</span> Nevertheless, here they are, all blousey and almost industrial compared to my artisan sourdough.<br />
<br />
But look: they're delicious. Nothing at all like bought bagels which may look surgically enhanced but are as interesting as dust to eat (although if you remember that fantastic sketch from Little Britain, dust is a valuable diet food...). The only memorable bagel I ever had out was at the <a href="http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk/">Geffrye museum cafe</a>, I had it with smoked salmon and a very fine cappuccino. A memorable little lunch that shows food doesn't have to be fancy to be remembered.<br />
<br />
So, my bagels. I've been making them for years and the recipe is from some bread machine book I had but adapted slightly (in what way I can't remember now but anyway it works which is what matters). They don't look pretty - ignore that and just enjoy the taste.<br />
<br />
These are excellent for children - they just love them. In which case I make them smaller and end up with 12-16. <br />
<br />
For eight large bagels you need:<br />
<br />
2 teaspoons of dried yeast<br />
450g strong white bread flour<br />
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt - I grind up Maldon sea salt<br />
1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar - I use caster<br />
230ml water, whatever temperature it comes out of the cold tap.<br />
<br />
egg or malt wash - see later<br />
<br />
baking tray<br />
clean tea towels<br />
saucepan and slotted spoon<br />
<br />
I put it into my bread machine, which is a Panasonic bread machine and the only sort I recommend. Your bread machine may ask for the ingredients to go in in a different order but mine asks for the yeast first. You then select the dough cycle. Mine is 2hrs 20mins long. Be careful not to put it on a short dough cycle (mine also has one for pizza which is 45 mins long) as it won't work.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, get a baking tray <br />
<br />
When the dough is done you take it out and scrunch off eight balls or more, smaller, ones. You then make a hole in the middle of the ball and stretch out the hole with your fingers. Lots of books advise you to make bagels by rolling a sausage shape out, and then securing the ends together. I've never found this works - the bagel always falls apart at the boiling stage. Next time I make them I'll take a picture of this stage so you know what you're working with. You should end up with what looks like a doughnut. It won't look very pretty. Don't worry.<br />
<br />
As you make them, place each one on a lightly oiled baking tray - make sure they're not touching or you'll have a hard job separating them and they will collapse as you manhandle them. When they're all shaped, leave them to rise, covered with a dry, clean [why do they always say this, does anyone use a dirty one?] tea-towel for about 10-30 mins (30mins if your kitchen is cold, 10mins if it's warm or you put them in a warm place). There's a lot of yeast in them so don't overprove. <br />
<br />
Whilst they're resting and puffing up, put a big saucepan of water onto boil and preheat the oven to 220C/Gas 7. I use a casserole dish pan which is shallow, but wide. You don't need the water to be deep deep, as the bagels will float, but if you have a wide aperture then you can get more in at once.<br />
<br />
When they're done and the water is on a rolling boil, put the bagels in to the pan. Unless your pan is a huge paella pan, you will have to do them in batches - that's fine. You boil them for about a minute each side (so turn them over with the slotty spoon). Watch them puff up more. Take them out one at a time with the slotted spoon and place on a clean tea towel to drain them and do the next batch til they're all done.<br />
<br />
Either get a clean baking tray and oil it lightly, or wipe off the last one you used and re-oil it. But either way, place the boiled bagels onto the tray. It's fine if they touch, because once cooked they're more stable than at the proof stage, so you can tear them apart. But if you can do them so they don't touch all the better. Mine are always crammed together as that's the only way you can get them cooked all in one go and at this stage - i.e. proved and boiled - you don't really want them hanging round waiting to be baked for longer than necessary.<br />
<br />
Once the bagels are on the tray, you're on the home run. Either make an egg wash of egg white, a bit of water and a pinch of salt and brush over, or use this fabulous <a href="http://bakerybits.co.uk/Dried-Malt-Extract-DME-P778640.aspx">dried malt extract</a> which I mix up with some water and brush on. You can then either cook the bagels plain or scatter on some sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower, linseeds etc.<br />
<br />
Cook for 15-20mins. They'll be a lovely dark golden brown when they're done. <br />
These keep for a day or two but are best eaten on the day of being made and toasted thereafter.<br />
<br />
An update on 24th June 2012.<br />
<br />
The holes in my bagels were forever closing up on cooking, so after a while I addressed this problem. The best thing to do is, using the handle of a wooden spoon, make the hole a bit bigger just before baking them (i.e. after you've boiled them). I find you only have to do this a bit to get the hole more pronounced. <br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--N_C0FEVd_o/T-crH-Vmb-I/AAAAAAAAAS0/VRdLvn0rooE/s1600/IMG_7343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--N_C0FEVd_o/T-crH-Vmb-I/AAAAAAAAAS0/VRdLvn0rooE/s320/IMG_7343.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The shaping is getting better..</td></tr>
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<br />Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-55602826511840457242010-12-09T04:40:00.000-08:002010-12-17T02:09:26.328-08:00Number of the beast bread<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TQDNQLdr82I/AAAAAAAAAIA/7G0kA4aSBEA/s320/my+loaf.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love this loaf</td></tr>
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<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We do love white sourdough in our house, but there's only so much white flour stuff you can (should) eat. I like the Mill loaf but that's not sourdoughy enough for us. What I wanted was something very similar to the bread I get in Italy that's not white, not wholemeal but suitably tangy and 'paysan' as we call it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> <br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I think this loaf is it, although the more I make it the more I've realised that it really improves from a very long proving time, it doesn't like being too cold and the dough should be fairly wet and sticky, so you need to be brave whilst kneading and use oil and not add any more flour. There can be a dramatic difference - better crumb, better flavour - between a loaf that's been proved over 'just' 12 hours and one that's had 24hrs plus. If the prove is too (relatively speaking) short, the bread becomes a bit too 'wholesome'. It's a difficult bread in that respect, to get right. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> <br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is what you do to make two loaves.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> <br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You take </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> <br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">400g white leaven</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">666g cold water (number of the beast, hence the name)<br />
500g white flour<br />
500g wholemeal/other flour<br />
3tsp salt (I'm experimenting with cutting this down).</span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You mix the leaven with the water, add the flours and salt and mix to a messy dough. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Rest for 10 mins, then, a la Dan Lepard, knead lightly. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Rest 10 minutes then knead lightly (I knead for twelve counts). </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Rest for 10 minutes then knead lightly. Rest for 30 minutes then knead lightly. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Rest for 1 hour then knead lightly. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Rest for 1 hour then knead lightly. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Rest for 1 hour then knead lightly. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Rest for two hours, then knead lightly and shape and place into two </span><a href="http://thesourside.blogspot.com/2010/07/bannetons-pannetons.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">bannetons</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (I use a 1kilo round and a 600g baton). </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Rest in fridge overnight for a good twelve hours or more. I've rested it for </span><a href="http://thesourside.blogspot.com/2010/07/72-hour-prove.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">up to 72 hours</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Preheat oven to 220 with one baking tray on a high shelf, one underneath. When up to temperature turn loaf out of the banneton, slash with a bread knife and put in the oven. Whilst oven still open, turn ice cubes onto the bottom tray. Close oven and turn the temperature up to 250C and cook for 15 mins. Lower temperature to 220 for further 15 minutes.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> <br />
</span></div>Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-30166908474905985022010-11-29T07:24:00.000-08:002010-11-29T07:27:05.075-08:00A tale of two loavesI've recently perfected my own little sourdough recipe. It's nothing mind blowing, but it's something I came up with all by myself. So I'm pleased. I'll post about this another time since I can't remember proportions and I've got it all written down at home in my little book.<br />
<br />
The recipe - the one, let me make it clear, I made up myself - makes two loaves. I recently made a batch and put both loaves in the fridge to prove overnight. Except it was really late when I put it in and I got up early, so in fact the loaf that I cooked the next morning had only had about seven hours' proving at 4 degrees. Really I should have proved it at room temperature for such a short period of time.<br />
<br />
Anyway come the morning I put it in the oven and when I took it out a whole little baby loaf had burst out of the side. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take a picture of it. Despite slashing the loaf it still burst out of the side at the bottom.<br />
<br />
This used to happen to me a lot, but nothing as dramatic as this. I'd researched why it could happen and it seemed one of those things (an 'OOTT' to give it its official name) that can happen for a myriad of reasons but the two that kept coming up were underproving and bad shaping.<br />
<br />
Now I'm rubbish at shaping a loaf. Or rather I'm not bad but often by the time it gets to the '10 min rest' before you shape it it's late, so I have just shaped it crudely and cast it into a proving basket. And, despite what the professionals say, honestly I've not noticed a difference. I thought the bursting could also be due to a too sharp change in temperature too quickly (i.e. putting bread straight from fridge to oven). But that doesn't seem to be consistent either. I definitely think underproving is a main cause, and I rarely underprove.<br />
<br />
So the loaf, once I'd amputated the rogue bit off, was okay. But not great. For one the bit that I'd cut off was doughy - like you could scrunch up a bit and it would go to dough. This never happens to me with sourdough and it wasn't cos it was undercooked (it wasn't). The crumb was dense and not very exciting at all. I cooked the other loaf about two days later. It was completely different. Much larger air holes, waxy crumb, delicious. Same dough, different loaves.Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-66149263372480802672010-11-01T06:45:00.000-07:002010-11-01T07:34:16.277-07:00Making sourdough whilst drunkA few days ago I started making some white sourdough, in large part to take to a friend's house and also because I fancied a change from our usual largely-wholemeal sourdough. It turned into a long process. I kept taking out the starter, meaning to get the dough going, but somehow never finding the five minutes I needed to do it. <br />
<br />
On Thursday of last week (it's Monday as I write now) I weighed out my starter, refreshed it in the bowl to make it up to the weight I wanted (400g of starter), refreshed the starter in the Kilner jar and put the latter back in the fridge. However, in between me doing this and the starter in the bowl becoming active, my partner had made a loaf of yeasted-bread (no doubt fed up at having no bread..) and used up some flour. Because I needed a lot of white flour - 1k of the stuff - there now wasn't enough. So the dough became a mishmash of white flour, wholemeal and whatever else I could bung in. It ended up being 500g of white, about 430g of wholemeal and 70g of barley flour. <br />
<br />
I started it off. Knead, rest, knead, rest. Somewhere along the line, that magic, nebulous hour of evening came, the one that tells you it's socially acceptable to have some wine and thus it was that I poured myself 'un dito di vino' (a finger of wine): it really doesn't take very much to make me feel merry. I started chatting to my partner, had another dito di vino, la la la la. Suddenly I remembered the bread. It had sat there for hours (it was at the '30 min rest' stage, some 30 minutes that ended up being).<br />
<br />
I kneaded it, slung it in a bowl and put it in the fridge, thinking "fuck". Over the next few days I kept doing this - taking it out, kneading it and then putting it back in as I kept running out of time. Look, I'm a very social, busy person when I'm not being a hermit. To cut a really long story short, it wasn't til last night that I put the dough into some bannetons and put it in the fridge for what I planned to be the final rise.<br />
<br />
I had no idea what to expect, so we'd made some 'normal' bread for eldest daughter's sandwiches this morning, just in case (I say 'we' it was of course entirely not of my doing). <br />
<br />
What I really didn't expect was to get some bread that was - is - just delicious. It's far more aerated than a normal loaf (which usually contains 60/40 white to wholemeal; this loaf as you see above was 50/50. This is because it had a higher hydration than my usual loaf (65% instead of 55%), whilst having less starter (40% instead of 50%). I have no idea what any of those numbers really mean, but for once, making a mistake whilst cooking has led me to a happy discovery. Not only has it got far bigger holes than my usual 60/40 loaf, because I made it over four days, it has a wonderful taste to it.<br />
<br />
This is, perhaps, how people invent their own recipes. My knead/rest cycle went something like this, for those interested:<br />
<br />
Knead, rest for ten minutes.<br />
Knead, rest for ten minutes.<br />
Knead, rest for ten minutes.<br />
Knead, rest for four hours.<br />
Knead, cover guiltily with a cloth and put in fridge for 14 hours.<br />
Take out of fridge and ignore dough for an hour or so.<br />
Knead, put back in fridge for a day, or so.<br />
Take out of fridge, knead. Put back in fridge for another day.<br />
Take out of fridge. Knead. Rest for one or two hours - who can remember. Shape, put in bannetons, cover, put in fridge for 18 hours.<br />
Cook. Eat. Enjoy.<br />
<br />
When I said sourdough was the most forgiving of breads, I wasn't lying.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TM7PyN_8dhI/AAAAAAAAAH0/hWwPlgwPCKk/s1600/drunk+sourdough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TM7PyN_8dhI/AAAAAAAAAH0/hWwPlgwPCKk/s320/drunk+sourdough.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very good sourdough me thinks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-79302088718979437032010-09-10T14:08:00.000-07:002010-09-10T23:35:37.866-07:00Making sourdough: what equipment do you need?As has been mentioned before, I like gadgets, I like buying new kit. But there are some things that are more important than others. Making sourdough bread should be about connecting you to an easier, but also harder, time. When things were simpler, but more effort went into them. I promise you that once you start making and eating sourdough on a regular basis, your life changes in little ways.<br />
<br />
Yeh, yeh, whateva. But until that happens: shopping.<br />
<br />
<b>What to keep your sourdough starter in?</b><br />
<br />
You need to be a bit careful about what you keep it in. A clean glass jar will do, but it has to have room for the starter to grow. If you refresh it to capacity, there's a very real possibility that your starter could explode the jar as it ferments. I use <b>a Kilner jar.</b> You can use a large jam jar. You can keep your starter in plastic of course, but yuk.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TIqdtmjjyoI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/k0xCkOD1yVQ/s1600/kilnerjar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TIqdtmjjyoI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/k0xCkOD1yVQ/s320/kilnerjar.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My starter in its Kilner jar, aka the mothership</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<b>Okay what other bits do I need?</b><br />
<br />
Disappointingly little, really. If you want a past-time that involves spending loads of money on kit, you need to take up fishing or golf. Things that I use and think are really useful are:<br />
<br />
<b>Large stainless steel bowls</b> that I bought in Ikea once. Actually that's a lie, I inherited them from my boyfriend when we moved in together. But you can buy stainless steel bowls anywhere. Don't spend loads and bigger rather than smaller but not so big you could spin yourself round in them. But don't sweat it if you don't have the, any big old bowls would do.<br />
<br />
<b>A dough scraper</b>: absolutely worth buying if you don't have one. When the dough is really frisky, there are times it's hard to handle and I knead it using just the dough scraper, moving the dough around as I go. Without wishing to start sounding like an ad for it, ours is from Ikea. It's stainless steel and I also inherited it when my boyfriend/partner blah de blah moved in together. See "living with a boy" as Monica from Friends once put it, has it uses. I recommend using a stiff (rather than those super flexi ones) dough scraper, insofar as I'm experienced enough to recommend anything bready. They make it easier to handle the dough and easier to scrap up bits of dough that have dried on any surface you've been working on.<br />
<br />
<b>Bannetons or proving baskets</b> - covered in full <a href="http://thesourside.blogspot.com/2010/07/bannetons-pannetons.html">here</a>. You can make sourdough without them, but they make life so much easier and sweeter.<br />
<br />
You also need something to cook the bread on. You'll have baking trays, so use them. I use my <b>Mermaid baking trays</b> which I also use for tons of other stuff: not cheap but I bake a lot and they last years. I love the older Mermaid trays, the anodised aluminum ones rather than the non stick ones. Non stick, I find a bit scary. Again, any old baking tray will do, what's important is to preheat it.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TIqdQSPhUNI/AAAAAAAAAHM/wkgWzW1N4_w/s1600/choppingboardscraper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TIqdQSPhUNI/AAAAAAAAAHM/wkgWzW1N4_w/s320/choppingboardscraper.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top Gourmet chopping board with my scraper. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><b>Top Gourmet chopping boards</b> - I really rate these. As chopping boards but also as surfaces to make your bread on. I have the big size one (40cm by 30cm) and I can move it around the kitchen as I work. You may not work like that and working on your regular kitchen work top may be fine for you, but remember that sourdough is hours in the making, which means it could be taking up that bit of work surface for half the day. I oil my board before each kneading and rest the bread on it (covered with an oiled bowl, so I lift the dough up, oil underneath where it was laying, then knead etc). So any chopping board will do in theory, but these are good: light and therefore easy to move around, hygenic (you can dishwasher them if you want to, bear this in mind when ordering the really big ones) and they store easily as they're so thin. These are the future of chopping boards as far as I'm concerned. Plus they're black so chic in my book.<br />
<br />
<b>What you really don't need when you first start out:</b><br />
<br />
You really don't need a peel if you use bannetons, you just flip the bread out onto the tray (always preheat the tray).<br />
<br />
You don't need a bread stone. But when you get one, you'll need a peel.<br />
<br />
Special dough hand whisks: a fork will do just as well.<br />
<br />
You don't need a <a href="http://thesourside.blogspot.com/2010/06/slashing-do-you-need-special-tools.html">grignette or lame</a>, just use a bread knife.<br />
<br />
You don't need a couche proving cloth until you start making baguettes.<br />
<br />
Save all that stuff as incentives to go further into making sourdough and for present material.Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-73398938562512911472010-09-08T08:18:00.000-07:002010-09-08T08:18:43.843-07:00Arkansas breadI have a habit of not being able to say certain words correctly. Often I've said a word the same way for years, in the privacy of my head, but no-one knows I can't pronounce it properly. It's rarely a problem unless I have to suddenly say that word out loud and can't get away from it and then people start pointing and laughing. And because of this, I often get words mixed up.<br />
<br />
It started with 'calzolaio' and 'colazione'. When I was a little girl, and in Italy with my Daddie (I feel compelled to point out that my parents are still together, my mother was just back home in central London, this wasn't a 'summer with the estranged parent kinda thing), I remember seeing a sign saying 'calzolaio' (cobblers, shoe-menders). The next day I said to my father "I've found a place we can go to for breakfast (colazione)." You can guess the rest.<br />
<br />
Like a lot of stupid people, I used to pronounce 'Arkansas' just as it looks 'Ar-Kan-sas', instead of Ar-kan-saw. In my head, I still do. I'm not related to George Bush, I promise.<br />
<br />
What has any of this to do with bread?<br />
<br />
In the search for more sourdough recipes, I recently bought Andrew Whitley's Bread Matters. Loads of people, far more experienced bakers than I, rave about this book. So I in no way mean to detract from that. The fact that I didn't get on with it - I didn't - is entirely due to my own failings.<br />
<br />
It's a big book with almost no photographs. I need pictures to help me with the words where food is concerned. Where almost anything is concerned. The way Whitley makes his sourdough is also different from the way Dan Lepard makes his. I can see how people would think sourdough is even more complicated than it is after reading Bread Matters. I just couldn't get my head round it and I almost ended up crying.<br />
<br />
Anyway, in it was, and I'm imagining still is, a recipe for Arkatena bread. Which I immediately, and persistently read as Ar-kan-sas bread, hence the name of this post. I fancied the look of it because it contains gram (chickpea) flour, which I had in and wanted to find a use for. But I could see instantly that I'd never be able to follow the recipe for it, so before I threw myself down and started kicking my feet into the wooden floor, I decided to bloody well vary the recipe to suit myself.<br />
<br />
This is what I did.<br />
<br />
I used <b>300g white levain starter</b><br />
<br />
to this I added<br />
<br />
<b>50g gram flour</b><br />
<b>50g wholemeal flour</b><br />
<b>300g white bread flour</b><br />
<b>7g sea salt, ground up in a pestle and mortar</b><br />
<b>300g cold water</b><br />
<br />
I mixed the starter up with the water, then added the flours and salt and then kneaded it for 10-15 seconds at a time, resting it for 10 mins. Then kneading it for 10-15 seconds and resting it for another ten minutes, then kneading it for 10-15 seconds and resting it for another ten minutes then repeating but this time resting it for <br />
<b> </b><br />
<b>30 mins</b><br />
<b>1 hour</b><br />
<b>1 hour</b><br />
<b>1 hour</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
Then I shaped it and put it in a banneton to prove overnight at 4 degrees. Then I cooked it at 220 for 20 mins or so.<br />
<br />
It was probably the most 'worthy' loaf I've ever made, in other words it was quite dense. And it smelled very 'yeasty' despite me not adding any yeast. It would be very, very good with some soup or cheese and chutney. I'm not sure I'd like it for sandwiches. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TIen4gVHuiI/AAAAAAAAAG8/Px-ttDqwdmA/s1600/arkansasbread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TIen4gVHuiI/AAAAAAAAAG8/Px-ttDqwdmA/s320/arkansasbread.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Arkansas bread as I've named it, with a big cross slash to celebrate the forthcoming visit of the Pope. Yeh right.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TIen6ByqKWI/AAAAAAAAAHA/saajFIY9Tdk/s1600/arkansasbreadcrumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TIen6ByqKWI/AAAAAAAAAHA/saajFIY9Tdk/s320/arkansasbreadcrumb.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crumb. Pretty impressive save, me thinks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b><br />
</b>Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-7430597701515114152010-08-26T05:48:00.000-07:002010-09-10T14:43:51.065-07:00A step by step guide to sourdough<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I thought it'd be useful to do an entry with a step by step guide to sourdough. <br />
<br />
Not, I will add quickly, because I am any sort of expert. But because I know a few people who are interested in 'getting into' sourdough and have been asking me questions about it, so I thought they might find it useful. But also there's nothing like someone who has just learned how to do something to explain it back to you. I know that I had a few questions when I first started (which was only a few months ago!) so this is really to help those that are even greener beginners than I.<br />
<br />
Hopefully, you will have got yourself a copy of Dan Lepard's The Handmade Loaf, which is the book that got me on this incredibly exciting (je jeste pas) journey into artisan bread-making. You will have your starter, which is explained in great detail in his book. And you will know the basics of what you're doing. I'm not including a recipe here as this is really just to show you what to do regardless of which recipe you follow.<br />
<br />
<b>The equipment that I use and find useful:</b><br />
<br />
A large stainless steel bowl, actually two.<br />
A clean, baby muslin<br />
A little whisk that I picked up from somewhere (Bakery Bits does a similar one <a href="http://bakerybits.co.uk/Dough-Whisk-P1341818.aspx">here</a>)<br />
A dough scraper<br />
A fork<br />
<br />
<b>You'll need</b><br />
<br />
Flour - according to recipe<br />
Cold water - according to recipe<br />
Salt - I use Maldon sea salt ground in a mortar and pestle - according to recipe<br />
<br />
All Dan's recipes ask for X g of starter. It took me a while to work out that if I didn't have the actual amount in my starter jar, it didn't matter. I could pour in what I had (not all of it! you always keep some starter to make more out from it), and then top it up with water and flour. But if you do this - i.e. feed the starter in a bowl to make more of it - you'll need to leave it for a few hours before it's ready.<br />
<br />
For example. Let's say the recipe calls for 500g of starter. If you have that to spare in your jar, great. Spoon it in to a bowl. But what about if you don't really have that to spare? <br />
<br />
After a while you will get to know roughly how much starter you have in your starter jar in the fridge. For example, I pretty much know I always have 200g of starter to spare, but I'm pushing it to get to 250g and I would never have a spare 500g in the jar.<br />
<br />
So I get my bowl, put it on the scales and, for white leaven I measure out 100% of flour to 80% water (for a rye starter it's more like 100% floor to 90% water). So for example, I'd put in 150g of flour to 120g water, which weighs 350g on the scales. I then top that up with 150g of actual starter from my jar.<br />
<br />
It sounds complicated, and sometimes the calculations do cause me to stare into space and bite my lip and ssssh my children if they try to talk to me, but you do get your head round it.<br />
<br />
The easier way I remember it is that the ratio equates to:<br />
<br />
100g flour to 80g water or,<br />
125g flour to 100g water or,<br />
150g flour to 120g of water, and I use those three formula calculationy things to muddle me along.<br />
<br />
If you're using starter that's all straight from the starter jar, you can go straight onto 'first dough'.<br />
<br />
If not then you you now mix up the starter with a fork or a whisk or a spoon until it's all incorporated (it will be quite thick). Leave it for a few hours until it's looser looking, more relaxed, with some bubbles. If you imagine that when you first mixed it up it was a bit uptight, top button done up, now it's slipped into a pair of velvet slippers and a smoking jacket and is having an evening smoke.<br />
<br />
Remember to refresh your starter in the jar. I use 125g flour/100g of water or 100g flour/80g of water depending on how much space is in the jar. <br />
<br />
<b><u>First dough</u></b><br />
<br />
I call this first dough, just cos. It's when you add the other ingredients to the starter, which will be<br />
<br />
Flour<br />
Water<br />
Salt<br />
<br />
according to the recipe that you're following. You add it all in and mix it around. The dough will look 'scrapy', with bits sticking out maybe.<br />
<br />
<br />
Do not panic. Do not try to mix the dough until it's smooth. You will be there all day and start to cry. Believe that great things can happen.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THZVYmcZUWI/AAAAAAAAAGM/KmjPM4gwJTM/s1600/white+sourdough+first+mix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THZVYmcZUWI/AAAAAAAAAGM/KmjPM4gwJTM/s320/white+sourdough+first+mix.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a white sourdough dough after the very first mix. Looks pretty unruly huh?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Let the dough rest for ten minutes; all of Dan's sourdough recipes ask for rests of<br />
<br />
10min<br />
10min<br />
10min<br />
30min<br />
1hr<br />
1hr<br />
<br />
then it can vary to another 1hr or 2hrs. You'll need to see the recipe but once you've gone past the first 2/3 stages it's pretty much all of a muchness with a tiny knead and then a rest of X amount of time.<br />
<br />
So, <b>first rest of ten minutes</b>. I just let it rest in the bowl I mixed it up in. The bowl will have scraps of dough around it and every time EVERY TIME, my partner says "can't you scrape them up into the dough".<br />
<br />
And the answer is: no. It doesn't work like that. So you'll have a ball of scruffy looking dough, kinda dry looking (DO NOT be tempted to add more water), in a bowl with bits all over it. See the picture above.<br />
<br />
Cover it with a dishcloth and bite your nails nervously. Set the timer for ten minutes.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, oil a surface. I use sunflower oil and recommend you do too. Dan recommends olive oil, too, but he's probably richer than you or I. Sunflower oil is just fine. I use a big, big chopping board so that I can move my dough around the kitchen. Remember sourdough bread takes hours to make, so unless you are sure you can remain at the same work station unmolested, or don't mind clearing up after yourself each time, use a board. I also find a dough scraper invaluable. I got mine from Ikea, it's stainless steel, it's great. I use it when I go back to the dough after each rest to pick the dough up with and move it around. I also oil the board before each knead. Oil works great and doesn't alter the integrity of the dough. If you add flour or water, I found, you can get into a big sticky mess. Use oil, be brave.<br />
<br />
After ten minutes, turn the dough out onto the board and start to knead gently. I do 12 kneads, sort of turning the dough in on itself, and around. Amazingly, you will see the dough start to get smoother. Don't panic if you've still got some bits that don't seem to quite adhere, and it's not yet as smooth as it could be, although by this stage you should have a dough with promise.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THZWHiZdvnI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/NdqCGRdOmCc/s1600/whitefirstknead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THZWHiZdvnI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/NdqCGRdOmCc/s320/whitefirstknead.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the same dough as above, but after its rest of ten minutes and its first knead. Big difference isn't there?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
Now: either oil a bowl and put the dough in it, covering it with a cloth (I use the baby muslins for this, but a dishcloth would do fine, obviously you don't need to have had a baby and have baby muslins to do this FFS) or put the dough on the surface you just kneaded it on and cover it with an oiled bowl.<br />
<br />
If you have lots of large stainless steel bowls, like I do, then lucky you. You don't need to wash up just yet. Otherwise you'll need to wash up the doughy-bowl, dry it, oil it and put it to use.<br />
<br />
Set the timer for un'altre ten minutes.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THZWrBPpapI/AAAAAAAAAGU/kLMVIH03ERk/s1600/whiteafter3rdtenminrise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THZWrBPpapI/AAAAAAAAAGU/kLMVIH03ERk/s320/whiteafter3rdtenminrise.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the same white sourdough dough, after its third lot of ten minute rises.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
At each stage the dough will have relaxed a little and started to grown. At first, when you're only leaving it for 10 or 30 mins, you won't notice it so much. But when you get to the longer proving times, you'll see how it stretches out and relaxes. When you first get back to the dough you'll also feel how it's softer and starts to stiffen up as you knead it.<br />
<br />
Don't be tempted to knead it more than 10-15 seconds.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THZYw2ZBmPI/AAAAAAAAAGY/Z1uSLNsq1Mc/s1600/whitefirst1hrrise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THZYw2ZBmPI/AAAAAAAAAGY/Z1uSLNsq1Mc/s320/whitefirst1hrrise.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Et voila le dough after the first one hour rise. You can see bubbles on the surface yes? Good sign.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THZY-6FqxvI/AAAAAAAAAGc/mV4tJWJEo50/s1600/white2nd1hrrise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THZY-6FqxvI/AAAAAAAAAGc/mV4tJWJEo50/s320/white2nd1hrrise.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the second, 1hr rise. The dough is bigger, more relaxed, smoother. A bit like me after Christmas.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THZZcKW90zI/AAAAAAAAAGg/GPzoe8MN_YA/s1600/white2hrs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THZZcKW90zI/AAAAAAAAAGg/GPzoe8MN_YA/s320/white2hrs.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here it is after its 2hr rise. Just before it's shaped and put into a banneton for its overnight sleep.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
I should point out that the bread-heads always say that if it's warm (like a hot sunny day or just if your kitchen is warm) then you might be able to leave your bread for less time, say 40 minutes instead of an hour. I've never bothered with this particularly and always do what time suits me. Equally, if you leave the bread for longer than ten minutes (or 30mins or an hour or whatever rest you're on), cos the phone goes, or Corrie is on, it doesn't matter either. Obviously you can't <i>completely</i> take the piss, but sourdough is a bit like a very loving/drunk parent/partner: it is very forgiving. <br />
<br />
When you've done your resting and kneading for the last time, you shape it into a ball, let it rest for ten minutes and then shape it into the final shape you want and put it to prove in a lined bowl or banneton for the last rise of whatever the recipe says (usually about 4hrs or so). I always do the final prove (prove = rise) in the fridge, cos that's what works for me. I leave it for 10-36hrs for white dough, and up to 72 hours for wholemeal/rye etc. I haven't experimented with longer than that yet.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THZaZOBlMiI/AAAAAAAAAGk/Y1L5kCU3JVE/s1600/10hrsinfridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THZaZOBlMiI/AAAAAAAAAGk/Y1L5kCU3JVE/s320/10hrsinfridge.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are my little loaves after ten hours in the fridge. They don't look massively risen, but comparatively, they are. I wanted two smaller baton shapes. Had I put all the dough in one basket it would have been up to the top by this stage.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
In the morning this is what I do: I preheat the oven to 220C. I put in two baking trays, the one I will bake the bread on goes on the top shelf. The tray I will put the ice cubes on will go on the bottom shelf. Don't use your best tray for the ice cubes.<br />
<br />
When the oven is up to temperature, fill a glass with ice cubes and get your polenta ready. Take out the top baking tray - the one that will receive the bread - and dust it with polenta. You can't put the polenta on before this (i.e. at the time of first putting the tray in the oven) or it will burn. <br />
<br />
Turn the bread out onto the polenta. This is where the linen lined <a href="http://thesourside.blogspot.com/2010/07/bannetons-pannetons.html">bannetons</a> really come into their own, because it makes the process easy.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THZaoJ8j47I/AAAAAAAAAGo/c3IqC9EGuD0/s1600/slashedforoven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THZaoJ8j47I/AAAAAAAAAGo/c3IqC9EGuD0/s320/slashedforoven.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are the loaves, turned out onto a polenta dusted tray and slashed.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Don't be afraid to slash the loaves. Even if they look like they're collapsing a bit when you do it. They will recover in the oven. Use a bread knife: be confident and slash the dough deeply, the deeper you slash the more room the bread has to rise in the oven. Try to cut, rather than push: in other words let the knife do the work, not you pushing down. I do about four slashes for a 600g baton shape. Experiment with what works for you.<br />
<br />
When you've slashed, put the bread into the oven, and just before shutting the door, pour the ice cubes onto the bottom tray. They will fizz and steam. That's good. That steam will keep the bread moist. If you have a water sprayer, you should also spray the top of the bread. This is important because once the crust has hardened, the bread can no longer rise, so the longer you can leave it before the crust hardens, the more chance you have of 'oven spring' - the bread making that final push upwards in the oven.<br />
<br />
Things that really make a difference:<br />
<br />
Slashing - your bread won't be so aerated without it.<br />
Ice cubes - you won't get such a good crust or so much rise.<br />
Preheated baking tray - you won't get such a good crust or such a good rise.<br />
Polenta - you can do without it, but it produces a really professional finish, even if it is only on the bottom. <br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THZbDxP5zrI/AAAAAAAAAGs/YKHz9dID-4M/s1600/whitecrumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THZbDxP5zrI/AAAAAAAAAGs/YKHz9dID-4M/s320/whitecrumb.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished product</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
That's it!Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-68900944252192367542010-08-24T10:41:00.000-07:002010-08-24T10:41:30.808-07:0036hr prove potato bread crumb<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THQEGDQ2wGI/AAAAAAAAAGA/Z2lqXR2hR44/s1600/36hrpotbreadcru.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THQEGDQ2wGI/AAAAAAAAAGA/Z2lqXR2hR44/s400/36hrpotbreadcru.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here it is covering a chicken salad sandwich. It was perfect.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div>Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-26776872463124058562010-08-23T04:19:00.000-07:002010-08-23T04:22:15.167-07:00Starting to experiment pt2: potato bread with a 36hr prove<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THJXV17-xwI/AAAAAAAAAF0/o4zToMhOk8c/s1600/potatobread36hr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/THJXV17-xwI/AAAAAAAAAF0/o4zToMhOk8c/s320/potatobread36hr.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
Because we had guests coming for Sunday lunch, I decided to make a double batch of potato bread on Saturday. I had an inkling it would be good, because the dough was really frisky: I could barely contain it on the chopping board I use to knead my dough. It was so alive there was no way I could knead it and leave it on the board, covered with a large stainless steel bowl, as I normally do, because it would have pushed right out from the bowl. So instead I had to put it back into the bowl, and cover it with a tea towel whilst it rested.<br />
<br />
I also discovered that it's so much easier to fold dough, in the fancy way they tell you to (basically folding the dough into three, so take one third of it, fold it into the centre and then the other side, fold in on top) with so much dough. It was really easy to fold in this way, although not easy to keep in any sort of shape. I practically had to pour it into the bannetons.<br />
<br />
I cooked one lot in a 1k round on the Sunday but the other I left in a 600g banneton (in the fridge at 4C) til this morning. It had risen hugely and spread out lots on the baking tray the moment I turned it out. I slashed it four times and it looked very collapsed, but I'm used to that with long-prove breads now and hoped it would revive in the oven. It did.<br />
<br />
Instead of what I usually do, which is put it in the oven at the highest temperature and then turning it down, I've been experimenting with putting the bread in the oven at 220C for the first 8-10 mins, then putting it up higher to 250C, then back down. This is what I did this time.<br />
<br />
The bread rose beautifully, had a great crust (heavier and darker than the one I did for Sunday lunch, probably cos of the shape) and OMG it tastes divine. The longer prove has definitely improved the flavour.<br />
<br />
I'd go as far as to say it's very probably the best tasting bread I've ever made. I will try to photograph the crumb later (if there is any left), it's really good. Not overproved (as I feared), kinda waxy, very white. And so moist. <br />
<br />
Swoon.Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-60403282232726641342010-08-13T06:41:00.001-07:002010-08-13T06:41:42.546-07:00Testing testingI've installed various things on here and this is just to see if they work. Which I'm sure they won't. If anyone understands Google Analytics and/or how to get my 'subscribe to this blog via email' thing to actually work, please tell me!Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-32482646299122799072010-08-12T03:54:00.000-07:002010-08-12T03:57:42.047-07:00Starting to experiment pt1: white sourdough 36 hr proveNow that I'm getting a bit more <strike>cocky</strike> confident about sourdough bread making, I'm starting to experiment a bit more. I know that the bread geeks might poo-pooh at my experiments, and how tame they are. But I'm new to all this and hoping to help other rookie bakers, not really teach anything to anyone, let alone seasoned bakers. Although if I manage that, too, then hoo-RAH.<br />
<br />
I wrote <a href="http://thesourside.blogspot.com/2010/07/72-hour-prove.html">in another post</a> about long proving of loaves. I regularly prove our 'house bread' (Dan Lepard's Mill Loaf) for 72 hours now. But thus far I'd only proved white sourdough for about ten hours regularly, and 24 hours max.<br />
<br />
So the other day, my partner (I'm so fed up of saying boyfyhusband, it sounds so fucking twee) was going to London and I decided to send my Italian Daddie - who lives there with my Italian Mamma - a loaf of my bread. He's the sort of man who eats bread at every meal and he buys his baguettes from the supermarket, and I think they're a poor substitute for the sort of bread he grew up with.<br />
<br />
He likes his bread to be white and crusty. So I made a batch of sourdough, shaped one into a round for us, and one into a baton for him, proved it overnight and got up at FIVE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING to cook it as my partner was leaving at 6am. I kept the other loaf and cooked it yesterday morning, after a 36 hour final prove in the fridge at 4 degrees.<br />
<br />
I am pleased to report that it was splendid. I cooked it for only 20 mins, 15 mins at 250 and 5 at 220, as I was after a slightly softer crust than the usual blackened, sour crust I go for. It was delicious, delicate and here it is, photographed in the morning sunlight.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TGPSggDE9sI/AAAAAAAAAFk/HiHUMkNNGzI/s1600/whitesourdough36hrs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TGPSggDE9sI/AAAAAAAAAFk/HiHUMkNNGzI/s320/whitesourdough36hrs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White sourdough, cooked after a 36hr prove.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-8909167305954880612010-08-10T00:00:00.000-07:002010-08-10T00:00:22.518-07:00The Flour cupboardWe re-did our kitchen last year. Where once there was carved, dark oak cabinet doors there is stainless steel. Where once there was a dark brown (yes) sink with dark brown tap (yes) there is stainless steel. Where once there was the 'smashy floor' as my eldest called it (tiled and mean) there is wood. Where once there were three rooms: kitchen, loo, my study, there is now just one great, big muthaloving kitchen.<br />
<br />
I joke that, had I got into bread baking before the kitchen was done, I'd probably have had an entire bakery area. It's only part-joke since if I had the space, I'd surely do this. But I don't do too badly. I have an entire cupboard dedicated to flour, all labelled. People laugh when they see this except they don't seem to understand I do all this cos I'm lazy. I'm too lazy to be faffing around searching through identical-looking packets of flour, held chaste with Klip-its. I find organisation comforting, or as I often say to my boyfyhusband:<br />
<br />
<i>Organisation brings you freedom.</i><br />
<br />
I find nothing odd in Monica from Friends behaviour. I have a labeller, too. With a labeller chaos is tamed.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TGD2i_uUabI/AAAAAAAAAFY/ioIG5i8UCho/s1600/flourstorage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TGD2i_uUabI/AAAAAAAAAFY/ioIG5i8UCho/s320/flourstorage.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Organisational beauty.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
So anyway. I have these <a href="http://www.johnlewis.com/230458711/Product.aspx">Lock and Lock Counter Top boxes</a> which store about two bags of flour . I have four of these, for the four flours I use most and keep a stainless steel scoop inside to make life even simpler (do you have ANY idea how hard it is to find stainless steel scoops these days?). And then for the flours I use less frequently, such as rye and barley, I have the 1.8 Lock and Lock, which is incidentally, also the size I keep my sugars in. But they're all in the Sugar Cupboard, which has no place here.<br />
<br />
If you think I'm mad, have a look at this:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TGD4B8aq3sI/AAAAAAAAAFc/_esWIB8TWEE/s1600/mla103195_0907_desk2_xl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TGD4B8aq3sI/AAAAAAAAAFc/_esWIB8TWEE/s320/mla103195_0907_desk2_xl.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are Martha Stewart's 'Creative Containers'.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TGD4E38mOCI/AAAAAAAAAFg/8Gpdu3jgkaI/s1600/mla103195_0907_drawer_xl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TGD4E38mOCI/AAAAAAAAAFg/8Gpdu3jgkaI/s320/mla103195_0907_drawer_xl.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You think these scissors ever get out of control? On the right are small spice jars containing glitter. Imagine IMAGINE if someone spilled any.<br />
<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>If you'd like to see more of Martha's Craft Room, and believe me you do, then go <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/marthas-craft-room#slide_1">here</a>. If ever I feel like the world is too big and things are getting on top of me, I go and look at pictures of Martha Stewart's estate and it makes me feel better knowing that in a large corner of Connecticut, a staff of 127 can keep order. Don't forget to check out the 'equipment barn' whilst you're there.Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-38875885115195393732010-07-30T07:08:00.000-07:002010-08-23T02:39:10.869-07:00Bannetons, pannetonsWhenever I get newly into something, I'm a sucker for buying all the gadgets, all the add-on bits. When I was eighteen - eighteen for Christ's sake - I got into cycling and had a racing bike hand made. It cost over £600. This was in 1984, when £600 could buy you a house. The bike had all the latest everything on it, I went completely mad.<br />
<br />
I'd like to point out I funded its purchase myself. Entirely. From the proceeds of selling ice-cream outside my parents' shop all summer, every summer, from 1979. Aside from the loan I extorted off my aunt in Italy. But I paid it back. But the bike wasn't enough. I had to have special cycle shorts (because of course I <i>couldn't</i> ride it without them). And a special cycle jersey. And hand-made in Cumbria (I didn't even know where Cumbria was at that point) cycle shoes. And I had a computer thingy on the handlebars that told me how far I'd cycled (not very far at all) and for how long.<br />
<br />
Thankfully, I lost my virginity a few years later and stopped being quite so mad.<br />
<br />
My friends from school, of whom I still have four (they are my top, top friends, the inner circle): Alex, Claudia, Emma and Sandra, still occasionally hint at my prior madness. They know that it's rare I get into something and don't decide it's really essential that I have that extra bit of kit.<br />
<br />
So when I started making bread, I was determined, really determined, that I wouldn't clutter up the kitchen with any more extra 'stuff'. I proved my first loaf in a bowl, lined with a tea towel. It worked fine. Well, I say that but the teatowel stuck a bit (was it pure linen? who knew) and well, it was a bit of a faff, turning the loaf out.<br />
<br />
I'd read about bannetons (aka pa(n)netons in some books), proving baskets, which are made of wood fibre, or cane or wicker. Because sourdough dough is fragile, it needs support when proving, otherwise it'd just spread out like a thick puddle. I decided I liked the wicker ones best, they seemed to make the most sense to me.<br />
<br />
I was adamant I didn't need them. I could manage fine with a teatowel and a bowl or sieve, which is what loads of people did I was sure.<br />
<br />
But then I bought one. And I can reliably report that they really are a purchase worth making. You put the dough in the panneton for the final proof. Then, I cover it with a teatowel (see, I still am using that teatowel!) and put it in the fridge for an overnight or longer, prove.<br />
<br />
When I'm ready to bake, I simply tip the bread out onto the polenta lined baking tray. No fiddling about trying to transfer the dough out of the teatowel and bowl and onto the tray.<br />
<br />
Mine were the wicker ones from Bakery Bits, my absolute favourite website for buying all things bread-baking related. Everything on there is easy to understand (lots of bread websites are commercial and not reader friendly at all), and the service is great.<br />
<br />
I started off with a 400g round wicker one and now have two 600g batons and 1k round. I really recommend you get them lined, as the cost isn't that much more and I really don't see the point of them unlined. Although NOTE: I washed mine after several uses (you don't wash them after every use, see the <a href="http://blog.bakerybits.co.uk/?page_id=149">BB blog</a> for more advice on looking after them) and they split. So when you do wash yours, take extra care. I put mine on a short rinse in the machine (which is a Miele of course, so double-good), a process I really think linen liners should be able to withstand. But one split so badly it's unusable, the other did along one seam. Only one survived completely intact. I wrote to BB about this and they are replacing them and were very courteous. Which goes to show you can't always control it when something goes wrong, but you can control how you handle it.<br />
<br />
However, in chatting to Patrick at <a href="http://bakerybits.co.uk/Default.aspx">Bakery Bits,</a> I learned some interesting things. Since I bought my bannetons the site now also sells Matfer wicker lined bannetons (advertised as "heavy-duty" on the site). These are about double the price of the Bakery Bits bannetons. So for example a 1k round regular one would be £10.99 (all BB prices excl of VAT), but a Matfer one would be £19.99.<br />
<br />
However, the Rolls Royce of wicker bannetons are Vannerie ones, people on bread blogs talk about these with real reverence. To continue the comparison, a 1k lined Vannerie basket is £34.99. I believe they are things of of beauty, and I'm sure are very robust, but that's just too much for me! But it'd be nice as a present (HINT HINT to all those people who say I'm hard to buy for).<br />
<br />
If you're serious about bread-making - and I guess you wouldn't know that until you'd made lots - then I think the Matfer ones would be good to get, a good half-way house. I can see how the wicker is more substantial and I'd hope the lining didn't rip. I think the Vannerie ones are for people with the money. But I have a soft spot for the most basic ones, they do the job not just well, but great and considering that you can make sourdough just fine with a tea-towel and bowl, anything above that is surely a step up.Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4174828504743978425.post-39774188441898844142010-07-15T01:39:00.000-07:002010-07-15T01:44:30.895-07:0072 hour proveBecause making your own bread seems to make other people feel guilty, one of the questions I get asked a lot, rather accusingly, is "how do you find the time to make your own bread?"<br />
<br />
The ironic thing is that since I've been making my own sourdough I have:<br />
<br />
Lost weight<br />
Saved money<br />
Spent less time shopping<br />
<br />
This is because sourdough is low GI, it's so delicious it's almost (I said ALMOST) like eating cake but without the sugar lurch. So I snack in more satisfying fashion. Because a loaf of bread and some scraps make a meal, I spend less time shopping, ergo I save money. (Because although I do go shopping with a list, I always go off-list, too, so I go in for a tin of tomatoes and come out having spent £23.)<br />
<br />
But also, sourdough, as my friend Lucy told me, is forgiving and easy to fit into a busy schedule. Aside from the beginning bit, the rest you squeeze in in amongst the laundry folding etc. The only thing it doesn't work with is when I am actually away from the house, because sourdough requires lots of little bits of time spread out throughout the day. It suits me perfectly.<br />
<br />
What I've also discovered is that you can make a double batch, prove it in the fridge, bake one lot and then keep the rest in the fridge. So far I've done this for 12 hours, 24 hours, 36 hours, 48 hours...you get the picture. This means that you can have fresh bread without having to have actually made it the day before.<br />
<br />
This was a genius discovery for the likes of me.<br />
<br />
A pure white sourdough doesn't seem to like proving over about 24 hours (although more experimentation is needed). Any longer than this and it overproves. It's still delicious, but you'll get big air bubbles at the top of the bread and the crust starts to come away. But with darker flours it works better. I made a three flour loaf (white, rye, wholemeal) the other day, proved one over 12 hours at 4 degrees then cooked it. But kept the second loaf for 72 hours at 4 degrees.<br />
<br />
The 72 hour loaf looked like it would be my first failure. As I slashed it, it collapsed alarmingly. I checked it after 15 mins at 250 degreees and it still looked collapsed and I prepared myself for failure. But after it's second 15 mins at 220 degrees it looked completely normal. It had risen, it looked great.<br />
<br />
But.<br />
<br />
It tasted <i>absolutely delicious</i>. The longer the prove the longer the taste has to develop, see.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TD7JATUjr3I/AAAAAAAAAEU/JwtjJOSCNHY/s1600/72+hour+prove" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aSPA25BNH4Q/TD7JATUjr3I/AAAAAAAAAEU/JwtjJOSCNHY/s320/72+hour+prove" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">My three flour loaf, baked 72 hours after it was made.</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">It was delicious.</span></div>Annalisa Barbierihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05794348984041332798noreply@blogger.com7