Archive for the 'bread' Category

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An experiment with bread: the iron pot!

Published by Lucina, on 20 maggio 2014 in bread and English Recipes. 9 Comments Tags: , .

bread in the iron pot

Hello everyone! Let me share with you this novel way of cooking bread: using an iron cast pot. I never knew about this method until I accidentally stumbled upon a recipe last week. Well, I never! Cooking bread in a pot? With a lid on? I was intrigued…. As it happens I do possess an iron cast pot by Le Creuset (which hardly ever sees the light of day) so what better way of putting it to good use? As you know I LOVE bread and I have been baking my own for months now. I am getting rather good at it, modestly speaking, but I’m still looking for new ideas all the time. This particular method is truly great as you end up with a lovely crusty loaf which is crispy on the outside and lovely and soft on the inside. I’ve never quite achieved this level of perfection before. Before I made this loaf I was worried it would stick to the pot but no: it just lifted out leaving the pot absolutely clean. I followed James Morton’s technique (the Scottish young guy who was in the Big Bake off programme). Apparently he loves cooking bread using iron pots. And if it’s good for James it’s good for me! Continue reading ‘An experiment with bread: the iron pot!’

Tomik is one!!!

Published by Lucina, on 14 aprile 2014 in bread and Chiacchiere/Chatting. 2 Comments

my beloved Tomik- ONE today!!!!

Tomik , for those who don’t know, is the name I gave my beloved sourdough. And today it’s his first birthday!  I did look for a suitable birthday card to give it but haven’t been able to find one specifically for sourdoughs, despite the fact here in England they seem to have a card for any occasion! :-) Seriously, who would have believed it, when I “gave birth” to my beloved Tomik a year ago (read here) , that 12 months later it would still be alive? Not me! Well…I nurtured it and fed it , just like a real mum would, and today it is as happy as anything, as you can see from the picture. So…has it all been worthwhile? Well, of course! I have experimented with it and baked many loaves using it. All generally successful, I haste to add. I also always put a small amount of it in any bread I make using normal yeast. It’s supposed to improve the texture. And that’s the other thing: I hardly ever buy bread from the supermarket these days. I have got into the routine of making my own. I’d urge anyone to have a go at baking bread. As well as being a relaxing activity it’s also a lot healthier as you know exactly what’s in it.

The legendary pretzels

Published by Lucina, on 30 gennaio 2014 in bread, Cucina regionale and English Recipes. 2 Comments Tags: , .

pretzels

I absolutely ADORE pretzels but I always thought they could only be done professionally hence never attempted making them. Until very recently, that is. As you know I am experimenting with all things yeasty at present so decided that the moment had come to try them out. Why not? At worst they were going to be a disaster not to be repeated and blogged as a misdemeanour, right? So imagine my surprise when I sank my teeth in my very first pretzel and ….. WOW! I discovered it tasted damn close to the real thing! Ok, ok…I am sure that what I produced was not 100% kosher and a German person might very well turn his/her nose up at my creation (Beate? Your comment, please) but oh boy! They were soooooooo good!! I made them reasonably big in order to be able to cut them in half and butter them. I have tried them three times now and every time they were a success. They are not dissimilar from bagels in the sense that you need to boil them in water first before baking them. But that’s hardly complicated, right? The recipe was found on the BBC Good food website. I have adapted it slightly. If anyone out there likes pretzels DO HAVE A GO! You will be surprised about how easy they are. By the way I had to put a search on google for a video to show me how to knot them up. If you just go on Youtube  you’ll find more than one. Once you have learnt the technique you can do them with your eyes shut. I promise! Rocket science it ain’t!

Continue reading ‘The legendary pretzels’

Savoury brioche with ham,cheese and olives

Published by Lucina, on 30 dicembre 2013 in bread, English Recipes and Torte salate, pizze. 1 Comment

savoury brioche with ham, cheese and olives

Hello everyone, I bet you are all reeling from the Christmas excesses. Well, here’s another excess you MUST indulge yourself in: this incredible savoury brioche. It’s to die for! Amazingly soft and very, very tasty. You will impress family and friends if you produce one of these, I am sure.  I have already made it three times with very pleasing results. This one has ham in it but you could make it vegetarian by substituting the ham with mushrooms. What I like about it is that, unlike other brioches I have seen, it doesn’t contain ridiculously high amounts of butter.  I found the recipe on this amazing Italian blog called Zenzero e limone (Ginger and lemon to you!) and slightly adapted it. The lady who blogs is clearly passionate about cooking and knows her stuff in the kitchen . I will be trying some more of her recipes soon for sure!! Anyway, if you are interested in trying your hands at some yeasty type of bread try this one. Success guaranteed! Continue reading ‘Savoury brioche with ham,cheese and olives’

Date and honey wholemeal bread

Published by Lucina, on 19 dicembre 2013 in bread and English Recipes. 0 Comments Tags: , .

                                     date and honey wholemeal bread

Despite my previous post this bread was not made with sourdough. Anybody can do it, don’t worry! (Having said that I confess I am now in the habit of adding a dollop of sourdough to all the breads I bake. It is supposed to improve the texture.) My fascination for bread continues, following the two bread making courses I attended. I hardly ever buy bread from the supermarket these days. At a push I get it from the local artisan bakery but I have now got into the swing of baking my own. Once you get into the routine it is really quite easy. Plus I get a lot of pleasure and satisfaction out of it. I’m sure it’s much better for your health anyway (have you looked at the ingredients list of those supermarket loaves- the sliced ones sold in plastic bags, I mean? There is all sort of rubbish! How else could they last for weeks? SCARY!). Continue reading ‘Date and honey wholemeal bread’

How is Tomik??? Is he still alive?

Published by Lucina, on 14 dicembre 2013 in bread and Chiacchiere/Chatting. 4 Comments
The legendary Tomik the sourdough. View from above

Followers of this blog may recall that back in April I “gave birth” and started experimenting with sourdough. Tomik is how I christened it (apparently master bakers give names to their sourdough starters. Not that I’m a master baker of course but I liKed the idea!) Some of you might wonder, after all these months, whether the love affair has continued or if I managed to kill the baby sourdough off….. WEEEELLLL, you’ll be happy to know that Tomik is alive and kicking and has never been healthier. It (he?) even survived being put in the freezer during the summer while we went on holiday (Yes! can you believe it? You can freeze sourdough!) Since it was born I have made lots of things with it: pizza, pancakes (blogged) and obviously different types of bread ( not blogged as I don’t want to become a one trick recipe pony). I won’t lie to you: it is a bit of a faff to keep it alive. You have to feed it regularly (only with flour and water, don’t worry. I wouldn’t want you to think I have a strange beastie lurking  in my house!). Definitely a labour of love then! BUT don’t be put off: the results are very pleasing indeed. And let’s not forget that sourdough is all natural stuff and that the  bread made with it is much easier to digest? Continue reading ‘How is Tomik??? Is he still alive?’

Naan bread

Published by Lucina, on 14 agosto 2013 in bread, Cucina regionale and English Recipes. 5 Comments Tags: , .

naan bread

I bet I’m not the only one who loves naan bread!  I often order one to accompany a curry when I go to an Indian restaurant. It’s one of my favourite things. Despite my love for it, for some reasons, I never attempted making one until now. I thought it was complicated and you needed a special oven. But apparently not so:  you can use a normal oven at a very high temperature. A bit like what you would do for a pizza. So I had a go (being very interested in bread, as you know) at making some to accompany a vegetarian Indian dish called  dal recommended to me by my son Tom (recipe to follow).  The naan bread turned out just as it should be: lovely and fluffy on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside. Great! Definitely something I shall do again. By the way the recipe I used is by Madhur Jaffrey, slightly adapted. Continue reading ‘Naan bread’

Sourdough bread (at long last!)

Published by Lucina, on 28 aprile 2013 in bread and English Recipes. 2 Comments

sourdough loaf

As I promised yesterday here I am to blog my very first sourdough creation. YES! Let me introduce to you  my newly born, fresh out of the oven  sourdough loaf, and lovely it was too. Ok there is room for improvement (I would like it to be softer inside, for example, with bigger holes) but give me time, right? You can’t be perfect right from the start. If you recall, when I first embarked on the experiment I mentioned that there are many different ways of starting a sourdough. Well….the same applies when it comes to bake with it:  there are many different recipes and techniques out there! (and by the way: rest assured I will try them). Before I continue let me give you a word of warning: sourdough is definitely NOT for the busy, impatient , “right here, right now” person.   Continue reading ‘Sourdough bread (at long last!)’

An experiment with sourdough (part 4)

Published by Lucina, on 24 aprile 2013 in bread and English Recipes. 1 Comment

the sourdough experiment rocks on!

Dear readers, I bet you are all waiting with bated breath for the latest sourdough instalment. After all it’s exactly ten days (EEEKK!) since I embarked on this crazy experiment. SOOOOO…..Is it still alive? I hear you ask. Am I still nurturing it? Or have I thrown it in desperation down the toilet? Well….I am glad to report that all is well with Tomik. It (he?) is definitely a happy, contented little sourdough now that I have given him some rye flour to eat and started storing it in the much warmer airing cupboard (my kitchen was too cold). This morning I had proof that it is very much alive and behaving like a good, little sourdough should as, once I fed it, it doubled in size. OH YEAH! And in less than an hour! Continue reading ‘An experiment with sourdough (part 4)’

An experiment with sourdough (part 3)

Published by Lucina, on 19 aprile 2013 in bread and English Recipes. 2 Comments

Welcome back! I honestly thought I would have to announce the demise of my sourdough today and blog it as a misdemeanour (misfatto) but no! The sourdough is still alive and kicking (see photo)! By the way: I read that ,apparently, there is a tradition amongst sourdough hardcore makers to name their sourdough. That’s right! Just like what you would do with a pet. Bizarre,eh? So in line with this tradition I have decided to call mine after the little cat I brought back from Hungary. So Tomik it is! Anyway, let’s rewind a bit and I’ll tell you exactly why I thought Tomik had met his maker (Ha ha…ok, the metaphor doesn’t quite work in this case, but you know what I mean). The reason was that after the first feeding took place (part 2 of the experiment) I noticed that shortly afterwards all bubbles had disappeared and the mixture had gone flat and separated into a top layer of acetone smelling liquid and a bottom layer of oily, gungy looking dough! What on earth was THAT??? Continue reading ‘An experiment with sourdough (part 3)’