The question of how much to knead bread dough, and how one can determine how much kneading is ‘enough’, is one that often causes the beginner great angst. There is much to be said on this subject, but it isn’t today’s topic. What I’m interested in here is how much is too much? It’s not read more…
Jon Snow is a name familiar to the many fans of George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series of books, and the HBO television series based upon them. Perhaps a little less well-known currently is the fictional character’s 19th century namesake, an English physician whose research into a cholera outbreak in London indicated that read more…
After my Swedish misadventure, it was a few weeks before I felt like doing any baking. When I did decide to get back into it, I was dismayed to find the cupboard where I keep all my baking ingredients had been squatted by an army of minute insects. They were everywhere: in the bags of read more…
Although the kneading of dough is one of the most familiar and distinctive images people associate with making bread, it doesn’t have to be part of the process at all. So-called ‘no-knead’ recipes dispense entirely with this input of labour, whether human or mechanical. The Scottish nutritionist, author and campaigner Doris Grant invented her no-knead read more…
We all know and love flour as the essential ingredient in bread. But flour can also perform other functions, acting, as it were, as an assistant or auxiliary in the process of making bread.
A colleague at work was telling me the other day about a lentil loaf she had made for a dinner party. We normally talk about really exciting stuff like skydiving and underwater cave exploration, but the other day it was lentil loaf.
You can reasonably expect most recipes to include directions on both the temperature that your oven should be at and the length of time it should take for the goods to be optimally baked. It wasn’t always so. The gas and electric oven-cookers we are familiar with today are a relatively recent innovation. Back when read more…
Working with soft, sticky bread doughs – those containing 70% or more water by weight of flour – can be tricky. When it comes to shaping the loaf, you need to flour your hands and worksurface to help prevent the dough sticking. The problem is, even if you take care to distribute an even layer read more…
Last night I went to see musician and composer Richard Skelton perform with the Elysian Quartet at Snape Maltings, the concert hall founded by composer Benjamin Britten in 1967. Skelton’s music, which is inspired by the landscape, flora and fauna of the Pennine hills, is not often performed live, so this was a rare opportunity. read more…
As I mentioned a few posts ago, I’ve been experimenting with an alternative form of yeast, Sekowa ‘Spezial-Backferment’ or ‘Special Baking Ferment’. Made from ground wheat, maize and peas and dried honey, it is a sort of dried starter culture, but not quite a sourdough. The yeast in the baking ferment comes from the honey. read more…
