Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day - Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë Francois

I have a pretty good incentive to start baking my own bread. It's just been reported that one of the big supermarket chains, Coles, has been implying that their Irish soda bread was fresh baked, when it was actually imported from Ireland. I don't normally buy much from Coles or Woolworths, because I don't like or trust them anyway, but its as good a reason as any to bake my own fresh bread! Bakery bread is awesome but it does get expensive if you're buying it all the time!

I bought this book a couple of years ago but never got into it for one reason or another. However now that I'm on school holidays I have the time to have a go! Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë Francois has, through years of trials and testing, broken down the steps necessary to bake great bread. The idea is that you make one master batch of dough and keep it in the fridge, then take out a grapefruit sized ball of dough, shape it, rest it and bake it. I was skeptical about it really being THAT easy.


It is.


The dough is awesome, and contains only yeast, flour, salt and water. Its elastic and I used yeast that was past its use by date, so I added an extra sachet to be sure. That thing rose like a champion, it was coming out of the mixing bowl!

It's recommended that you refrigerate the dough overnight before your first loaf, but I was impatient and baked one last night. It came out well, but didn't rise loads - I also realised I had the oven on too low, so that wouldn't have helped!

I left the dough in the fridge overnight, and then baked a small loaf this morning, this time following the instructions exactly and got a MUCH better looking loaf! It rose a lot in the oven which was great!

The dough is meant to take on sourdough qualities the longer it stays in the fridge, and its said to last 14 days. When you take the dough out of the fridge it is tough yet elastic, it's a bit sticky but managable. I have a metal spoon next to it in the fridge to scoop out the dough, it's quite cool how it stretches, and it feels like great dough. I felt like I knew what I was doing!

The book has a variety of recipes, variations and really helpful advice and explanations on just about anything you can think of, as well as recipes for different flours.


I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into this book, because so far it's been really manageable to have a great loaf of bread, every day! I don't think we'd have time to bake it before work, because of the resting/cooking time, but you'd def have fresh bread at night, ready for the next day. The dough is so easy to make and so low maintenance, and then grabbing the dough from the fridge and shaping it is really easy too.


Given that Saturday is Bastille Day (July 14th), I'm going to make some baguettes! Stay tuned to see how they turn out!

Sweet n Savoury Scrolls

Upon looking at the ridiculous collection of jars in my fridge, I decided today that I was going to use some of them up, somehow. I had been reading a breadmaking book earlier, and so I thought that making some scrolls with a variety of different fillings with bits and pieces from the fridge! I recently bought a whole box of seconds strawberries from a local berry farm (Berry Sweet), and because I had so many I made strawberry compote earlier in the week, I figured this would be a great way to use some of it up! I also decided that the Homestay Organic Plantation mango chutney and Margaret River Organics "Cowaramup Crumble" cheese (both from the Urban Locavore box!) would be great together... So I split the dough in half and made both!

I used Nigella Lawsons dough from her Norwegian Cinnamon Scroll recipe, and just changed the filling! It was a beautiful dough to work with, in saying that, it was my KitchenAid that did most of the work! It was originally very sticky, but with a dusting of flour it became very managable! It was soft, supple and elastic - I needed my bakers spatula though!

Heres the recipe for the dough, what you will it with is up to you though!

Ingredients
600 g flour (plus a bit extra for dusting)
100 g sugar
½ teaspoon salt
21 g (3 sachets-yes, really) easy blend yeast or 45 g fresh yeast
100 g butter
400 ml milk
2 eggs

Fillings

Margaret River Organic Creameries "Cowaramup Crumble" (use as much or as little as you like, I used about 1/3 of the block)

Homestay Organic Plantation mango chutney ( I used about 1/3 jar, but you can use more if you like, but I wouldn't recommend using less as you'll get all dough with too little filling!)


Thyme, for sprinkling

4-5 tbsp berry compote or other stewed fruit (if using other stewed fruit you'll need closer to 1 cup to cover the dough)


Sugar, for sprinkling

Method

1) Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. Melt the butter and whisk it into milk and eggs, then stir it into the flour mixture. Mix to combine and then knead the dough either by hand or using the dough hook of a food mixer until its smooth and springy-add extra flour until the dough becomes a good rolling consistency. Form into a ball, place in an oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave it to rise for about 25 minutes.

2) Take one-third of the dough and roll it or stretch it to fit your tin; this will form the bottom of each bun when it has cooked. The tin should be wider rather than tall, otherwise the middle takes far too long to cook, drying the edges out. Roll out the rest of the dough on a lightly floured surface, aiming to get a rectangle of roughly 50x25cm, roughly 1cm thick.

3) I cut the dough in half and spread one half with about 1/3 jar of mango chutney and grated a generous amount of cheese over the top. On the other side I spread about 4 tablespoons of strawberry compote over the dough.

4) Roll it up from the longest side until you have a giant sausage. Cut the roll into 2 cm slices which should make about 20 rounds. Sit the rounds in lines on top of the dough in the tin, swirly cut-side up - half savoury on one side, half sweet on the other. Don’t worry if they don’t fit snugly together as they will swell and become puffy when they prove. If you have some left over then pop them in a muffin tray for individual serves! Brush them with egg, sprinkle the savoury side with thyme and the sweet side with sugar, and let them rise again for about 15 minutes to let them get duly puffy.

5) Put in the hot oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, by which time the buns will have risen and will be golden brown in colour. Don’t worry it they catch in places. Remove them from the tin and leave to cool slightly on a rack - it’s easy just to pick up the whole sheet of parchment and transfer them like that - before letting people tear them off, to eat warm.

No Chocolate Brownies

Upon seeing that S had eaten ALL the chocolate in the house, I had to laugh at his expression when he said he wanted something chocolatey. All forlorn and sad, because he knew the reason there was no chocolate had nothing to do with anyone else but him. I think I ate about 3 squares of it. Super gf to the rescue - I offered to make him something baked with chocolate. I loved the look on his face again, he told me I was a wizard in the kitchen. I took the compliment - I didn't really feel like telling him at that time we had loads of cocoa in the pantry!

So I flicked through Donna Hays Fast, Fresh and Simple, and found a recipe for brownies which had been designed for times when the chocolate stores had been chipped away by nibblers and snackers! Perfect!

Not so perfect though, if you're on a diet, or healthy eating plan or anything like that. Still have some of course, they're delicious! Just do like I did, and cut them up into quite small squares... and hide them! I added a tablespoon of cinnamon into the mix which added a spiced warmth to these already moreish bites!


Standby Brownies
Ingredients
150g butter
1.75 cups caster sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1/2 cup flour


Method
1) Preheat oven to 160C.
2) Place the butter, sugar and cocoa in a saucepan on a low heat, and stir until the butter has melted. 
3) Spoon into a bowl and add the vanilla and eggs, whisking well.
4) Sift the flour over the mix, and stir to combine.
5) Pour the mix into a 20cm square cake tin lined with non stick baking paper, and bake for 30-35 minutes until the centre is just set.
Makes about 16.

Baked Beans - Bill Granger

In an effort to have bigger and more filling breakfasts, we've been buying more baked beans. But really, making your own beans is really easy, you know exactly what goes into it and you can put some extras in that you really like! I've made baked beans before, for my Breakfast with Benefits , and they went down really well - so I thought I'd give it another go! I saw the recipe in Bill Grangers book "Everyday" and the ingredients looked delicious, so that's the recipe I followed. I realised when making it I only had one can of cannellini beans - so I used a can of chick peas instead. It's still really delicious.

I'd love you to try these, they're delicious and what an amazing start to the day, if you have a chunky piece of good sourdough, a poached egg, and these beans poured over top! A hearty breakfast like that will set you up for the day, and will make you a morning person!

Serves 6
Ingredients


1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
100g pancetta, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 anchovies, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp dried oregano
400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 x tins cannellini beans, rinsed
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper


Method


1) Preheat the oven to 160C
2) Heat the olive oil in a large flame proof casserole dish over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring for 5-6 minutes until the onion is soft.
3) Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until slightly crisp.
4) Add the garlic, anchovies, thyme, and oregano and cook, stirring for another minute.
5) Add the tomatoes, 1/2 cup of water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
6) Stir in the beans, put a lid on the casserole dish and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

A short tale of Kuihs - Red Hot Spatula

As most of you are aware, Carolanne and I organise the Perth Clandestine Cake Club (CCC), and last months theme was gluten free. To see the awesome range we got from our talented bakers, have a look at THIS post. It was a day of cake heaven! One of the cakes that was a real standout was the one that broke the rules of the CCC - ONLY CAKE ALLOWED! These were mini cakes, and as Yvonne from Red Hot Spatula explained, thats just how they are served in Singapore, where they originated. So it was totally fine with us when Yvonne showed up with these renegade cakes. They had a really unique texture, a subtle flavour and loads of fresh coconut mixed with a bit of salt on top. They were really something special!

So you guys are all lucky enough to get the recipe, and this guest post from Yvonne of Red Hot Spatula!

A short tale of Kuihs

Growing up in Singapore, I was always spoilt for choice when it came to food. The absolute favourite time of day –especially weekends- was afternoon tea. In Asia there are dedicated shops selling all manner of savory or sweet delicious bites. 
One huge thing I took for granted was all the gluten free options we had. Back when I was little, gluten was not even thought of as a meal definer. Now, practically every other person you meet wants to have some sort of gluten free option available.

The local bakery – which is now a huge baking franchise in South East Asia – had more than just one or 2 things on their menu which I now know is gluten free. So, feeling nostalgic for tastes of the yesteryear and wanting to create a gluten free option for the Clandestine Cake Club I decided to bring out the Kuih Kosui – a fabulous bite sized cake made with rice flour, green pea flour and tapioca flour with the added plus of being dairy free, as well as using coconut sugar. I did not even know it, but I had hit the motherload of the holy trinity of what a percentage of people are now learning to use (to think I was brought up on this)!
Kuih – the Malay/Bahasa name for cake- is always served in small individual serves and in a variety, being, of course, the spice of life, in comparison to western cakes which are whole and often shared as such.

Now, the story behind the Kuih Kosui is quite interesting – it is a cross culture cake brought in from Indonesia, loved in Singapore and greatly duplicated by everyone.

Asian Kuih’s are mostly steamed, not baked, and always using natural colourings to bring forth a variety of festive colours. Some Kuihs are made traditionally to celebrate weddings, birthdays and even 1 month anniversaries of a baby’s birth. 
I can go on at length and wax lyrical about the history of the Kuihs – because there are heaps and heaps of tasty options, some savoury and some sweet. It’s more interesting to talk about the recipe though!

Ingredients

(A)
180 gm wet rice flour* (knead 105g rice flour with 75ml water and knead it)
50 gm green peas flour
30 gm tapioca flour
240 ml water
1 tsp alkaline water (lye/ki water - from asian shops)

(B)
240 gm dark coconut sugar
540 ml water

To serve
200g fresh desiccated coconut
1/2 tsp salt

Method
Boiled ingredients (B), set aside.

Combine all ingredients (A) and mix well.

Mix in the ingredient (B)in the flour mixture and strain.

Use LOW heat to cook the batter until slightly thick.

Pour into a small tart mould and steam on a high heat for about 15 minutes until cooked.

Steam the coconut for 10 minutes after you remove the Kuihs from the steamer. Mix in the salt and toss well.

Once the Kuihs are cooled, roll them in the dessicated coconut.

Ready to serve!
Check out Red Hot Spatula on their facebook page, as well as at Subiaco Farmers Market where they sell their delicious range of spice pastes! See also this post from Col Panna with a special deal on her products!
 

Roast cod with a hot garlic and chilli dressing - Movida Rustica

I've been getting into running this week. This is unusual, really unusual. Running has always been my nemesis, I've never excelled at it, always last, always struggling. That's not to say I wasn't good at sport, it was all I was good at. I had a lot of  "potential" at school apparently, but I never really lived up to it. I was too busy mucking around and being a smartarse. What a surprise huh ;-) But despite being a pretty decent basketball and netball player, handy in tennis and squash, and a trophy holding swimmer - I was, and still am, not a runner. My dad used to tell me that it's one of the only ways to get truly fit, but that he was never a runner either. He played for South Fremantle as a ruckman for years, so his job was to run up and down the field. But you can tell by his gait, he's not a natural. Talented athlete, but not a runner. So it runs in the family? Well, I can try to defy that. 

I recently started the Couch to 5km program, and am currently in week 2. Though still early days, I can feel myself getting better at it each run. I feel like there are more times where I find a rhythm, than where I struggle and shuffle along. I felt like a run today (I can't even believe I would say that. I've always hated to run), so I went down to my new spot, around the lake, and ran. I felt good most of the time! I was starving by the time I got home though...

This is what we had. Simple, healthy, quick. There are fabulous flavours, what you save in time you certainly do not lose in deliciousness! This recipe calls for cod in the title, and groper or trevalla in the recipe (huh?), but we used flounder, which was great for us. We aren't big fish eaters so don't really want a strong flavoured fish, which this wasn't. Meaty and satisfying, covering the fleshy fish in the hot garlic, parsley and chilli oil produced an aroma that will make you call someone over to get a whiff! Served with some boiled new potatoes and a dressed salad, this is a light meal that can be done in no time at all. This WILL be made again!

Roast cod with a hot garlic and chilli dressing

Ingredients (Serves 4)

2 tbsp EVOO

1.2kg skinless groper or blue eyed trevalla fillets, cut into 2 pieces (we used flounder)

Ajada

160ml EVOO

6 garlic cloves, sliced

2 red bullet or othe rmedium hot chillies - halved, seeded and thinly sliced

2 tbsp finely chopped chilli

Method

1) Preheat the oven to 180C.

2) Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large, heavy based ovenproof pan over a high heat. Add the fish, season well and cook for 6 minutes on each side. Transfer to the oven, and bake for a further 6-8 minutes or until just cooked through.

3) Meanwhile, to the ajada, heat the oil in a small heavy based frying pan over a low-medium heat. Add the garlic and shake the pan for 1 minute, or until the garlic is golden but not burnt. Add the chilli and stir for 30 seconds, then stir in the parsley and remove from the heat.

4) Place the cooked fish fillets on a warm plate, spoon over the ajada and serve immediately.

Tomato and cumin soup - Movida Rustica

As a part of the Fitness for Foodies course, they gave us a meal planner that I've found really helpful. It's made me more organised and able to try some recipes from books I've been wanting to get stuck into, because I've been able to buy everything I need for each recipe in advance, on the weekend! There is now less trips to the shops when I realise I haven't got this or that, to make a recipe. It's made life much easier!

One of the books I've wanted to try was Movida Rustica by Frank Camorra and Richard Cornish. I've bookmarked quite a few recipes, and last week I tried a couple. One of them was this tomato and cumin soup, which I chose because it looked like an easy midweek meal, and we had made something similar before and enjoyed it. A twist in its serving, is the inclusion of an egg, poached in the soup just before you dish it up. 

This was such an easy meal to prepare, with few ingredients. It lived up to my expectation of being an easy midweek meal, but exceeded my expectations in flavour. This was a lovely soup, so light and full of flavour, but when you cracked open the poached egg and let the yolk be swirled through the soup, it became silky and gorgeous. The egg made this soup, without it, it is a tasty tomato soup flavoured with cumin and sweet red peppers. But with the egg, it's something much more special. It's simple and healthy, and it's deliciousness is enhanced by quality ingredients - you have nothing to hide behind when you create something so simple. I blended mine, which added to the smoothness, but it would equally as good were it left chunky as rustic, like the book intended.

Ingredients

50ml olive oil

1 red onion roughly chopped

1 red pepper (capsicum) seeded and roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

1 kg ripe tomatoes

1 tsp cumin seeds, roasted and ground

2 tsp caster sugar

2 tsp sweet smoked paprika

2 tsp fine sea salt

6 eggs

Method

1. Score a cross in the base of each tomato, place in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 30 seconds then transfer to cold water and peel the skin away from the cross. Cut the tomatoes in half and scoop out the seeds. (Alternatively you can cheat and use canned tomatoes).

2. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook for 5 mins or until soft and translucent. Add the capsicum and garlic and reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally for 40 mins or until the mixture has a jam like consistency.

3. Stir in the tomatoes and 700ml of water and simmer for 25 mins or until the mixture has a soupy consistency. Add the sugar, 1 1/2 tsps paprika and the sea salt and mix well.

4. Crack the eggs, one at a time into a cup, then gently slide them into the soup around the edges. Cover and simmer gently for 6 mins.

5. Carefully divide the cooked eggs and soup among bowls and sprinkle with the remaining paprika.

This should serve six, but I made it for just 2 of us, and we took leftovers to work the next day!