SOURDOUGH (The Bitch Lives!!)

A few days ago, at work, I made a potato rosti mix. When I make rosti, I grate raw potato into a colander resting over a stainless steel bowl to drain off any excess liquid and proceed from that point.
Anyway, after I had finished I had quite a bit of starchy potato liquid in the bowl, so I added some plain flour to make a paste and set it aside. By the end of the day it was a bubbling seething mass, so I fed it some more flour and left it overnight

Day 2.  The mass as still alive, so that evening I fed her again. At home I started to research sourdough starters and found out that stainless steel is their enemy and to get them started you should probably use spring or filtered water, as distinct from town water, and organic flour. Alarm bells!!!!! Mine was in a stainless steel bowl, mixed with some town water and fed with ordinary, everyday plain flour.

Day 3.  Off to the supermarket and back with natural spring water and certified organic flour, armed with my wife's plastic mixing bowl, I arrived at work. The bitch was still alive, so immediately transferred her to the plastic bowl and that evening fed her with spring water and organic flour.

Day 4. She lives!!! Smelling slightly yeasty with a hint of banana and bubbling away nicely, fed her again
spoke to her lovingly and left her overnight.

Day 5.  Today she rests. No feeding required.

Day 6.  She is, what appears to be , an active, fermenting liquid sourdough starter. So I now have a semi leaven, plus pure sourdough bread doughs on the go. Will post the results.

FLOURLESS LEMON CAKE

There are loads of recipes for flourless cakes available in books or via the Internet.
Had some juicy, slightly old lemons, laying around so made a flourless lemon cake
and the result was surprisingly good. Stays moist for days and if you pour a syrup onto it
while it is still warm, it adds another dimension.
Here is the cake recipe:--

2.25 Cups Almond Meal                 

6 Eggs

12 Tablespoons White Sugar

Zest of  5  medium size Lemons

Juice of 1 Lemon

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

Pinch of Salt

Grate the Lemon Zest

Separate Eggs

Beat together egg yolks, 3 Tablespoons of sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest

until light and creamy and double in volume.

While this is happening, Mix together almond meal and 3 tablespoons of sugar.

Fold together creamed egg yolk mixture and almond meal until well combined.

Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks start to form and then sprinkle

in the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar and continue to beat until medium glossy

peaks form.

Add about a quarter of the whites to the almond/egg yolk mix and combine well

to loosen the mix a little and then gently fold in the remaining egg white mix.

Pour into a 20 Cm spring form tin which has been greased and the base lined with

baking paper

Bake at 190C for 50 minutes or until a skewer come out clean.

If you wish, you can make a lemon syrup with the juice of the

remaining lemons and after about 10 minutes, prick the top of the cake and

pour over the syrup. This should be done while the cake is still in the tin.

Allow to sit for a further 10 to 15 minutes and then release the cake from the tin.

Alternatively, dust with icing sugar prior to serving.

This cake is a great gluten free, dairy free option for those with allergies.

MACARONS, MACARONS & MORE MACARONS

I have been busy over the last few months perfecting the macaron.
In fact it became a bit of an obsession. It all started before Xmas when I attempted to make some as a garnish for one of my Xmas desserts, foolishly thinking that I had mastered the evil little cookie.
Well, the more I tried, the more I failed, so I ditched them until after Xmas and went back to the drawing board.
Now I beleive I have mastered the little brutes, having made a variety of colours and flavours, all turning out beautifully., to the point where I am thinking of making and selling them.
Flavours I have perfected are:

Licorice
Strawberry
Cherry
Banana
Peppermint
Chilli Chocolate
Peanut butter Ganache
Salted caramel ganache

The three flavours I am currently working on are popcorn, bubblegum or gumball and pear walnut and blue cheese.

In the meantime here are some photos to look at

 From the top, Strawberry, Peanut butter ganache, peppermint and banana, and licorice.

Tiddy Oggy

The reruns of Britain's Best Dish 2007 are now finished and the Champion
starter was a dish known as Somerset Tiddy Oggy.
I remember watching a few episodes of this show a couple of years back
and this dish didn't really grab me at the time, but having watched the series
more closely this time around, I decided to give it a go.
Well, the Tiddy Oggy is just fabulous and there are just not enough superlatives
to describe the pastry, it is just so light and flavoursome. The addition of sage
was of my choosing and in my opinion it lifts the flavour.
A word of warning, this is not a recipe for those on low fat diets or those watching
their cholesterol etc.
I will stress here that this is not my recipe and you can find full details at

www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/.../Tiddy-oggy
INGREDIENTS

SHORT CRUST PASTRY
• 100g lard
• 100g butter
• 450g plain flour
• salt
• 120 mls iced water

FILLING
• butter for frying
• 1 small onion
• 1 medium cooking apple
• 50g celery
• 225g minced pork
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley – chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh sage – chopped

• salt and pepper
• 1 egg for glazing
• 2 tbsp grated cheddar cheese
• 4 tbsp breadcrumbs to cover

1.Put the lard, butter, flour and salt in a food processor and whizz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Gradually add the iced water, a very little at a time, until the mixture just comes together into a ball. Remove from the dough from the food processor, lightly knead acouple of times, wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the refrigerator for 30 mins. (I left my dough overnight)


2.Peel, core and finely chop the apple. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat and fry the onion, celery and apple until the onion is soft and translucent. Transfer to a bowl. Put the mince in the same pan and fry it in its own fat, stirring frequently, until lightly browned. Add to the onion with the parsley and sage, season well with salt and black pepper and stir well. Allow to cool, then chill in the refrigerator until needed.

3.Preheat the oven to 180°C. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and allow it to come almost back to room temperature (this helps to avoid cracking). Roll out the pastry on a floured work surface and cut into 15cm (6in) rounds.

4.Place a spoonful of the mince mixture in the centre of each pastry round, brush the edges with water, then pull up the sides and press together, leaving a hole at the top. Fill the holes with the cheese and top with breadcrumbs. Brush each of the pastries with a little beaten egg to glaze.

5.Place the tiddy oggys on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 30 mins until the pastry is cooked and golden. Serve warm or cold with a good relish or chutney.

Paratha (Indian Flat Bread)

Recipe

3 Cups Plain Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 Generous tablespoon Butter
I Cup Water

6 Tablespoons Butter
Extra melted butter for cooking

Sift together flour and salt and rub in
1 generous tablespoon of butter.
Add water and mix to a firm dough.
Knead for 10 to 15 minutes until a smooth shiny elastic
dough is achieved.
Cover with cling film and allow to rest for at least 1 hour.



Divide the dough into 12--14 portions and roll
into smooth balls.
Melt the remaining butter.

Lightly flour your bench and roll each ball into a thin disc.
Brush a disc with melted butter and then make a cut
from the centre to the outside edge.
Starting at the cut edge, roll into a cone shape.
Place the cone on it's base and gently work the apex down

towards the base and flatten slightly.

Repeat process until all balls of dough are finished.

Lightly flour your work surface

again and reroll the doughs

taking care not to press too firmly

as to push out the air at the edges.

Roll to a roughly circular shape

and not as thin as the first time.

Brush the top with melted butter

and flip into a hot pan and fry until

it starts to puff up a little, brush the top with butter, flip and fry until the

underside turns golden brown.Turn onto your serving plate, or to add extra flakiness, cup your hands around the outside and quickly and firmly clap them together as you would for a roti style bread.




 

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Buttermilk Scones

Had some buttermilk left over from last night's apple pie,
so made some buttermilk scones. when it comes to baking,
buttermilk and self raising flour seem to be the perfect match.

Recipe

2 cups SR Flour

1 Tablespoon caster sugar         
Pinch salt
65 Gms chilled butter
3/4 Cup Buttermilk
Buttermilk for Glazing

Sift together dry ingredients
Chop the chilled butter into the dry ingredients
and then with the tips of your fingers, rub in until the mix resembles
fine breadcrumbs.(When rubbing in the butter, lift the mix up and let it
rain back into the bowl as you go. This helps to continually aerate the mix.)
Make a well in the centre and add the buttermilk, and then combine using a flat
bladed knife until the mix forms a slightly sticky dough.

Turn onto a lightly floured bench and gently knead three times to form a
just smooth dough. It is important not to overwork the dough
Pat or gently roll to approx 2 cm thick and cut your scones.
Place on a greased and lightly floured tray and glaze with buttermilk.
The scones should be just touching each other as this helps push them up.
Bake at 200 C (fan forced) or 220 C (conventional) for approx 15 minutes
until golden brown. They should sound hollow when tapped.

Sublime Apple Pie

Actually this really is all about the pastry.
I was watching Britain's Best Dish the other night and the episode where retired Chemist
John Blenkinsop made his apple pie. The judges raved about it so much, in particular the pastry
so I decided to give it a shot.

So, In reverence to Mr Blenkinsop, and with a couple of modifications, some by design and a couple by accident, here is my version.                            

PASTRY
350 Gms Self Raising Flour
85 Gms Lard
85 Gms Butter
200 Mls Buttermilk
Pinch of Salt

Sift flour and salt into a bowl
Add lard and butter and cut into the flour with a knife
until it starts to combine and the add the buttermilk and continue to mix
until it comes together as a dough.
Turn the dough onto a floured bench and lightly form into a rectangular block.
(This is the first time your hands should come in contact with the dough)
Take approx 2/3 rds of the dough and roll into a rectangular shape approx 1 cm thick.
Fold in three as for puff pastry.
Turn 90 degrees and repeat the process.
Allow to rest for approx 1/2 hour and repeat the process.
Allow to rest and then roll out and line a pie tin, trim and set aside the trimmings.
Fill with your desired pie filling.

For the lid, roll out the remainig 1/3 rd of the pastry and fold in three.
Turn 90 degrees and repeat.
Allow to rest and then roll out to a rectangle.
Dot butter on the pastry and roll out or place cut trimmings over half
of the rectangle and then fold over the remaining half.
Turn and roll out and then fold in three. Rest for approx 1/2 hour.
Roll ot the pastry, brush the edges of the piecase with little buttermilk
and place the lid on top.
Cut a small hole in the middle, brush with buttermilk and sprinkle
with sugar.
Bake at 200 C for approx 25 minutes or until golden brown.


This pastry is every bit as good as the Judges said on the show.
It is simply magnificent.
I am not going to suggest a filling, but will leave that up to you.
I made a simple apple pie filling, but you could leave the sugar off
the top and make a savoury filling--up to you, but the possibilities are endless.