October 12, 2014
I’ve been searching for the perfect burger bun for a while now. Or rather – I’ve been thinking about the qualities a perfect burger bun should have. More to the point – this bun also needs to stand up to juicier stuff like pulled pork as well as accommodating a decent burger. The bun needs to be soft and light but not fall apart half way through eating. It needs to be fluffy but not condense into a glue-like paste when you put it in your mouth. There needs to be sweetness but not overly so (on this point I know...
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March 22, 2014
If you’ve not come across ‘nduja before I recommend you give it a try. A spreadable spicy sausage from Calabria, ‘nduja can be used spread on warmed bread, in pasta dishes (think spicy pork mixed in with shellfish and pasta) or however else you see fit to make use of it. I sourced mine from the same place I get my tomatoes and olive oil – Lupa Foods. They’ve started stocking their own ‘nduja and I have to say it’s incredible stuff. Hot – no doubt about that but incredible in flavour and texture. For me – this stuff just had to...
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March 10, 2014
Steamed Buns – if you make these in advance you can freeze them and have them ready to use on a week night by giving them a quick blast in a steamer. And – they offer the perfect solution to “what should we do with leftovers from Sunday dinner?”. I used some leftover Sous Vide Ox Cheek but any meat will work well. Just give it a good splash of soy sauce to complement the sweet buns and you’re on your way. The recipe 450g Strong White Bread Flour 3 tsp active dried yeast 2 tablespoons caster sugar 1 tablespoon...
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August 1, 2012
As long as you have decent enough ingredients and patience, knocking out decent focaccia isn’t that difficult. It’s a rustic bread with plenty of flavour – you’ll keep coming back to it once you start eating it. What you’ll need: 500g strong white bread flour a generous pinch of salt a generous pinch of sugar 1 sachet of yeast – the stuff you can buy in the supermarkets is perfectly fine Half a pint of tepid water A good quality extra virgin olive oil A few sprigs of rosemary Sea salt & black pepper. In a large bowl mix the...
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April 21, 2012
What with installing new kitchens and dining rooms, feeding my sourdough starter once a week has kind of gone to pot. In fact I think it had been about 5 weeks since I last fed it. I normally feed it on a Friday night making sure we’re in good shape for bread making at the weekend. But – after 2 or 3 weeks of not feeding it I kind of thought I’d killed it off and forgot about it while I was working on the kitchen. This Friday night I took it out of the fridge – there was a thick...
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