Dunster dough!

Recently we enjoyed a break in Somerset. A beautiful part of the world if you've never been. We had many days out but the best was our day at Dunster Castle, which is just outside Minehead and can be seen for miles around as it's situated (as all good castles should be) on top of a hill!

Once inside, the castle has been returned to its glorious 1920's heyday. All of the rooms have been dressed accordingly and its a real privelege to see how they lived in the castle all those years ago. Here's a pic of the study. Wow!

A prize is on offer if you see any Mary Berry books

The grounds are immense, too much for us to cover on one afternoon, but we wanted to stroll down to see the water mill, as we'd heard it was used to make Dunster Castle's own flour.

The water mill was a sight to behold. As we wound our way towards it, we could hear the ripples of water getting louder until we crossed a Lovers Bridge and there it was!

Lovers Bridge

Dunster Castle water mill

Everything was working and we headed inside to have a good look around, determined to find a bag of flour to purchase.

Inside, we were given a very detailed explanation of how the mill works and, hopefully, how it will be used more regularly in the near future due to the local demand for good flour. Brilliant news.

All too soon we were in the gift shop and we bought some flour, which I had to wait until we got back to our nest to use.

Dunster Castle wholemeal bread flour

I opted for the wholemeal. If you're gonna do it, do it right!

Once home, I made up a poolish ( or starter) using my ongoing white bread flour sourdough starter and the lovely wholemeal flour. I then left this to prove overnight, before mixing it with more wholemeal flour and kneading, finally resting it in a banneton for several hours. Eventually, it was baked!

Sourdough starter

Dunster Castle wholemeal sourdough...

The taste was lovely and the crust chewy with Somerset tang!

A few days later, I increased the white bread flour to a 40:60 mix (ie more wholemeal than white) as it was a tad strong for the kids!

...with a bit more white bread flour!

If you're near Somerset, why not pop into the castle. There's lots to do - oh, and buy some flour while you're there! :)

Soda bread - 3 ways!

Tonight the quite brilliant Great British Bake Off will feature quick breads, bread which requires no proving and must be ready to eat within 90 minutes. For us in the nest that means only one thing - soda bread!

Soda bread is an incredibly simple and fool proof way to make a tasty loaf, one that can stand on its own but usually works best as an accompaniment to a casserole, or a lovely homemade soup.

I will be showing you how to make three different versions of soda bread. The first is the most basic and stress free. Following that I have developed a lovely stout soda bread and finally a dairy free and gluten free soda bread.

We teach the basic recipe at our bread making classes - http://blackbirdbread.blogspot.co.uk/p/baking-classes.html

The utensils for all three are the same: 

Large mixing bowl
Wooden spoon
Scales (digital is best for baking but whatever you have)
Roasting tray
Wire rack
Sharp knife
Tea towel

I have chosen to repeat the instructions for each of the bakes. They are almost identical but the gluten free recipe has some vital differences. Enjoy!

Basic soda bread

450g plain flour (plus extra for dusting)

Tub of buttermilk (approx 284ml)

100-125ml milk

Tsp bicarbonate of soda

Tsp salt

Tsp caster sugar

Heat oven to 200C.

Mix all of above, excluding the milk, in bowl, using wooden spoon. Half fill the empty buttermilk carton with milk and add to the flour. Stir, If it is too dry then add another 25ml. If it is too sticky and won’t stir, then add another handful of flour.

Stir until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.

Place into a well floured baking tray. Add extra flour to the dough. Pat out into a ball (don't knead) and gently flatten the top until it's approx 10cm high. Keep its round shape!

Using a sharp knife (breadnife) cut a 5cm line right across the surface. Cut another line across the surface, making a cross.

Place in the oven for 10 mins at temp listed above.

After this time, rotate the loaf  and bake for 10 mins.

Rotate again and bake for 5 more mins.

After this time the bread should be a golden colour, remove from oven, turn it upside down and place back in oven to cook the base of the loaf. This takes 5-10 mins. It's cooked when it sounds hollow!

Place on a wire rack and let it cool completely before getting stuck in! Please don't slice it while it's hot, or even warm, you risk losing a lovely loaf! 

Stout soda bread

330g wholemeal flour (plus extra for dusting)

100g plain flour

100g buttermilk

200g stout

Tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp salt

Tbsp treacle

Mix all of above in bowl, using wooden spoon. Stir, If it is too dry then add another 5-10g of buttermilk. If it is too sticky and won’t stir, then add another handful of flour.

Stir until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.

Place into a well floured baking tray. Add extra flour to the dough. Pat out into a ball (don't knead) and gently flatten the top until it's approx 10cm high. Keep its round shape!

Using a sharp knife (breadnife) cut a 5cm line right across the surface. Cut another line across the surface, making a cross.

Place in the oven for 10 mins at temp listed above.

After this time, rotate the loaf and bake for 10 mins.

Rotate again and bake for 5 more mins.

After this time the bread should be a golden colour, remove from oven, turn it upside down and place back in oven to cook the base of the loaf. This takes 5-10 mins. It's cooked when it sounds hollow!

Place on a wire rack and let it cool completely before getting stuck in! Please don't slice it while it's hot, or even warm, you risk losing a lovely loaf! 

Gluten free and dairy free soda bread

100g gluten free plain flour (plus extra for dusting)

300g gluten free white bread flour

238-250g soya yoghurt (natural)

100-120ml soya milk (unsweetened)

Tsp gluten free baking powder

Tsp bicarbonate of soda

Tsp salt

Tsp caster sugar

Lemon juice (a few drops!)

Combine the soya yoghurt, the soya milk and the lemon juice (just a few drops) in a bowl. Stir well and leave, uncovered, for 5 mins.

Lightly flour a roasting tray.

Weigh out the dry ingredients, (the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and the caster sugar) together in another bowl.

Pour the liquid into the bowl containing the dry ingredients. Stir well, until it forms a sloppy dough.

Wet your hands thoroughly and remove the dough from the bowl onto the tray. Shape the dough into a ball. Put more water on your hands if needed – it is important to keep the dough wet.

Once shaped, coat the dough in plain flour and slash a cross into the dough.

Place in the oven for 10 mins at temp listed above.

After this time, rotate the loaf and bake for 10 mins.

Rotate again and bake for 5 more mins.

There we go. Three ways to make a loaf within 90 minutes. Get practising after tonight's Great British Bake Off as they're all good enough for Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood to tuck into!

The Lambert Loaf

This is the Lambert Loaf, named after two of my class members who I met earlier this year, Paula and David Lambert.

As anyone who has attended a bread making class will tell you, they are a great opportunity to chat about all things bread related. The actual class itself does not restrict the topic of conversation - the Lamberts were attending an olive bread class - and everyone shares tips which I'm always happy to, erm, promote. :)

David told me that the loaf that is most popular with his family is a loaf that he created to suit everyone in one mouthful. So he mixes two doughs together so that those who want white bread are happy whilst those who want brown are satisfied too!

It's a very simple yet ingenious idea. Basically, you knead out identical amounts of white and wholemeal dough and prove them separately. When they have passed their first prove, you knock back the white dough into a large rectangle, then place the wholemeal dough in the centre of that dough. The wholemeal dough is then flattened upon the white dough using your fingertips into a smaller rectangle, with a gap of approx 1cm around each edge.

Both doughs, having now formed one dough, are now folded into a ball and left to rest for 15 mins, before being shaped for the final prove. This technique creates the amazing crumb within the bread.

The effect is lovely, a marbelled texture with free falling patterns forming. It's a fabulous tasting loaf, but really suceeds when it's toasted, as the wholemeal goes a darker colour which stands out, particularly when slathered in butter! (Sorry no pic of this - it went too quickly with my nest of blackbirds!)

So try out the Lambert Loaf. For a guide to amounts check out my basic bread page, and halve the amount of white bread flour to substitute the remaining flour with wholemeal flour. http://blackbirdbread.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-loaf-for-heather-or-bread-basics-101.html

If you'd like to come to a class, like David and Paula, then check them out here! http://blackbirdbread.blogspot.co.uk/p/baking-classes.html

Thanks to the Lambert family!

Mini toads!

This might be the best thing I've ever made for my kids! Great for any time of year, mini toad in the hole, small enough for a grown up to pick up and take a bite out of, (if your kids let you!) but also big enough to fill small tummies.

The recipe is ripped almost entirely from the brilliant Allegra McEvedy's essential tome, Big Table Busy Kitchen. I've simply halved the quantities.

Speaking as someone who has struggled with making yorkshire puddings over the years, the recipe here will never let you down, with or without the addition of sausages!

It takes about an hour to make and is very straight forward. It's an excellent way to use up stray sausages, leftover eggs and other larder bits and pieces. One note: you will need ovenproof bowls. If you don't have these, then use a small roasting tray.

Mini toads - makes 2 medium bowls

For the yorkshire pudding:

Plain flour - 55g

Egg - 1 large

Milk - 150ml

Sunflower oil - splash (okay, 2 tbsp)

Salt and pepper - pinch of each

Sausages - anything between 2-4 (depending on audience) - chopped into small chunks

Ok, the first thing is to whack the oven on. Full blast. Yes. All the way to the top!

Whisk together the flour and eggs in a bowl, or a jug. Slowly add the milk. Keep whisking until you have a nice, runny batter. Add the seasoning, then cover and pop in the fridge for at least 30 mins.

After approximately 10 mins, find 2 medium sized cereal bowls. (Make sure they are ovenproof). Drizzle 1 tbsp of oil into each bowl, place the bowls on a large roasting tray and pop into the oven for a couple of mins.

Chop up the sausages into bite sized chunks. Remove the bowls from the oven and add the sausages to the bowls. Pop back into the oven for 10 mins, to brown the sausages.

Remove the batter from the fridge, give it a final brisk whisk. Remove the bowls from the oven and pour the batter over both bowls, making sure the sausages are well covered.

Pop the bowls back into the oven as quickly as you can and leave for at least 15 mins before you take a peek! This gives the batter the best chance to rise.

After 15 mins, open the oven door a tiny bit. They might need another 5 mins. Move them around if you think they're cooking more on one side of the oven, but try to be as quick as you can. Don't let too much cold air into the oven!

Remove and let the bowl cool for a few mins. Depending on the age of the child, or adult, either serve on a tray, or turn out the pudding onto a plate.

Tuck in!

Beauty and the yeast!

A block of Bioreal - that's organic yeast!

This is a post about that most feared bread making subject - yeast.

When I teach classes, I always have people who who ask what yeast to buy, how much to use and so on. The most basic advice I give them is, when beginning, to use a tiny bit more than is recommended by a recipe. This will usually ensure a good bake and once you gain a bit of confidence, you can start to reduce it a little for subsequent loaves, until you end up at the recommended amount. (However, avoid using recipes on the back of most flour packets - they are usually woefully wrong! See my previous post for details. http://blackbirdbread.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/mis-spelt.html )

I always used to use Fast Action Dry Yeast. It's reliable, readily available and reasonable. You simply add the required amount to the flour and mix in. However, it does contain additives that some may find disagreeable.

100g tub of Easy Bake/Fast Action Dry Yeast

Sachets of Fast Action Dry Yeast - 7g each

This type of yeast normally comes in green packaging. At classes I always bring along a tub, plus I bring along it's friend, the yellow tub of yeast, also known as Dried Active Yeast.

100g tub of Dried Active Yeast

The difference between the two is significant. The yellow tub does not contain as many additives. It is this yeast that requires proving before you can use it. You add the required amount of yeast to a bowl of warm water and leave for ten minutes, or until it starts to bubble/prove, then you add it to the flour.

A QUICK WORD OF WARNING ABOUT YEAST AND SALT! They are not happy playmates. Salt will attack and 'kill' the yeast if they are placed on top of each other when weighing out. The solution is to weigh them out on separate sides of the bowl. :)

Of course, there are other types of yeast. For the more adventurous you can harvest your own wild yeast, known as a sourdough starter, or a poolish. There are many recipes for how to get a starter going, but all you need is some starong white bread flour, some bottled water and a tub with a lid! This is how it should look just before you use it!

Sourdough starter - I can smell it from here!

Once again, the bubbles are very important. If it's not bubbling/proving, then it has less chance to rise in the oven.

Recently, I have started to use organic yeast. It's called Bioreal and is available from Bakery Bits. http://bakerybits.co.uk/bioreal-reg-organic-fresh-yeast-1654.html Quite simply, it's the best yeast I've used. 

Bioreal - 1kg 

Using organic yeast is very easy. You multiply the normal amount of yeast by two when using it. You follow the normal rules about not mixing it with salt and you can keep it in your fridge for several weeks. If you're put off by having 1 kg of it, then smaller amounts are also available from Bakery Bits . Just ask my good chum Patrick!

It's worth the effort. The taste and smell brings back the bread you used to buy at your local bakery. You know the one!

So go forth and buy some yeast!