Over the summer months I’ve been reading rather than writing. I’m currently reading Nate Silver’s ‘The Signal And The Noise’, which is a fascinating look at the world of Big Data; not really the sort of thing I discuss here, but I would highly recommend it none the less. What might be more relevant to my readers however is a book which has made a huge impression on myself and my family; it has changed the way we look at many foods and has genuinely altered the way we source and cook ingredients. Continue reading
bread
Water Content Of Sourdough- Is Wetter Really Better?
I have a confession to make: I first attempted to take up sourdough baking around five or six years ago, but gave up after several weeks because of frustration. I couldn’t decide whether I was just a rubbish baker, or whether all the hype around sourdough was a case of everyone admiring the Emperor’s new clothes. Self-taught, using online resources such as The Fresh Loaf, I found my breads lacked structure, and resembled vulcanised rubber when being chewed. The dough was extremely difficult to handle, and refused to accept shaping into anything other than a flat ovoid. It’s hard to enjoy baking when the process becomes a bit of an ordeal, and the result is unspectacular. When my starter developed a mould infestation after several days of neglect, I felt almost relieved to allow it to succumb. Continue reading
What Is Diastatic Malt Flour?
I’ve been having a lot of fun experimenting with new ingredients this week; not only have I recently discovered a wonderful local Irish wholemeal flour, but I received a surprise package from BakeryBits in the mail.
Continue reading
Rediscovering Ancient Wisdom In Bread Baking
I think it’s amazing that Western society is having to re-learn the importance of fermentation in bread baking in the 21st century. There is abundant evidence of humans producing fermented bread many thousands of years ago, although presumably the earliest bakers didn’t realise exactly what benefits the fermentation conferred to their diet. Continue reading
Soft Sourdough Cinnamon Swirls
Following on from my sweet cocoa and hazelnut sourdough, I thought I’d continue the sticky and sweet theme with these lovely breakfast rolls, a healthy alternative to their more commonplace sugary cousins which you will find in every bakery and café. Continue reading
Cocoa & Hazelnut Sourdough With Honey Toffee
While all my recipes to date have been for relatively ‘lean’ breads, sourdough makes wonderful enriched breads, and this is the first of a number of sweet treats I have in mind for the blog
Country Sourdough Seaweed Experiment
My mum loves seaweed; as a child I was always vaguely fascinated by the way she could work her way through a bag of the dark, pungent leathery stuff she picked up in the fishmongers. Continue reading
The Effects Of Sourdough On Blood Glucose & Insulin
By nature and by training I’m a scientist, and while I do love the flavour and texture of my sourdough, it’s the science that really gets my juices flowing. Continue reading
Easy Sourdough Pizzas With No-Cook Tomato Sauce
I would imagine that pizza ranks highly on most peoples’ list of favourite foods, it certainly does in our house, and Saturday is generally pizza night in Chez Nous. It’s always a hit with our little people, particularly when they get to choose and arrange their own toppings. Homemade bases are always so much better than store-bought, but if you have your sourdough starter up and running you can take this to a whole new level Continue reading
Clonakilty Black Pudding & Porridge Sourdough
I found myself in the Cornucopia that is Cork’s English Market the other day, and with Conor Bofin’s recipe for pork belly fresh in my mind, I headed straight for the butcher’s counter. I somehow seemed to end up with the porcine equivalent of Giant Haystacks, and I anticipated significant quantities of leftovers, so I was in need of a bread which would make the most of the belly sandwiches to follow. Sticking with the leftovers theme, the inspiration (and ingredients) for this recipe came from my kids’ breakfast dishes yesterday morning. Continue reading
