Sourdough Focaccia with Rosemary, Avocado, Goat's Cheese and Balsamic Dressing

 

Whenever I bake Sourdough Rosemary Focaccia and then eat it, enjoying its crunchy crust, and savouring its unique sourdough and rosemary flavours all over again, I wonder why I don't make it more often. It really is the easiest bread to bake, faster to rise than most loaves, and with so much potential to be served in so many interesting ways. The target rise required for Focaccia bread isn't as great as for normal bread, so it's going to be faster to make which is perfect during our Summer. I've also used a very small amount of baker's yeast in this recipe to ensure the dough requires minimal kneading and will conveniently rise and bake on the same day, unlike most sourdough loaves which require overnight fermentation.  Fresh in season avocado, delicious soft goat's cheese, and a Balsamic Vinegar Gourmet Glaze was the perfect lunchtime topping for my latest loaf. 

Herbed Mushrooms on Home Baked Toasted Sourdough

The unique umami of edible mushrooms combined with fresh herbs, garlic and balsamic vinegar shines through in this recipe in both taste and nutritional benefits. Essentially it is a simple dish to make but every element within brings wonderful savoury richness to the plate. This recipe evolved after I had baked two loaves of rye sourdough bread in the morning. I felt like celebrating the success of the bread with a tasty lunch to compliment toasted sourdough. 

Fruit and Nut Sourdough Toast for Breakfast : makes 1 Loaf

This week I bring to you a fruity, hearty, and nourishing sourdough fruit loaf perfect for Sunday morning breakfast. Sourdough is a slow-fermented bread that is beneficial to our gut biome, and doesn't need commercial yeast to rise. It's made with a live fermented culture, a sourdough starter, which acts as a natural rising agent. Once you have a sourdough starter in your refrigerator, "the mother"  you can start baking sourdough bread. 

In My Kitchen - July 2020

I've been doing a lot of cooking this past week, as we have had a succession of visitors here since Friday. It's great to see Queensland travellers on the move in Queensland, travelling North up the East coast to Cairns, soaking up our sunshine, although yesterday was rainy, but that's okay. In addition to three lots of visitors, including my brother and sister-in-law, we had 11 friends from our tennis group for dinner on Friday  night, and then my Mahjong ladies were here Tuesday afternoon for cake and Mahjong, in that order, ha, ha. It was a lovely afternoon, with the lorikeets putting on a dazzling display around our bird bath.

Homemade Sourdough bread with Seeds and Rolled Oats

Sourdough bread with Seeds and Rolled Oats

You can either make your own sourdough starter from scratch, find a baker that will give you some, or perhaps one of your friends already has some. People are generally very happy to share the bread making experience, as was my friend Felicity, who gave me the dough starter and a lesson in how to make it. To make this bread, you don't require a bread maker or a a dough hook in your mixer, just a passion to make your own bread, eat well, and it can easily all be done by hand.

You should already have 500g of Desem or Sourdough  in the fridge. You can take off the exact amount needed from your Mother dough or Desem for the recipe and use as such. Or you can take a small amount and give it 2 feeds to use for the recipe. I have done both and I don't think it makes a lot of difference as far as the quality of the final loaf of bread goes. It is more dependent on whether or not you have the time to wait for the dough to grow in between feeds, or if you want to make your bread straight away. However if you are time poor and need to make your bread straight away, you will need to feed your Desem in the fridge as well so that you don't lose it.

To make this bread, you will either need a large bread tin or tray to cook it in, and a good set of scales. All quantities need to be accurately weighed.

 Take 60g of Desem from the Mother dough in the frig, and double it with 2/3 flour and 1/3 water to double the amount. Add the combined flour and water gradually to the Desem until it is all combined. Let 60 g double to 120g. Take off 90g , feed it again, and let it rise to 180 g. Take off 20g. and use 160g for the following recipe.Allow 24 hours for all of this rising to happen.

Remember: When Desem in the fridge is down to 250g  double it with 1 part water and 2 parts plain flour. Put straight back in the fridge. Leave for 2 days and use as before.

Recipe:

350g Baker's Flour 76%

110g Other Flour 24%

12g salt 2.6%

160g Desem or Sourdough 34.7%

270g Water 58%

Porridge:
Make a porridge in a tray with boiling water from the following and allow to cool:

100g Rolled Oats 21%

60g Sunflower Seeds 13%

40g Linseeds 8%

200g Boiling Water 43%

30g Honey 6%

30g Oil 6%

Next step:

Sift the dry ingredients together into a large mixing bowl.

Mix the 160g Desem and the 270g water with the porridge.

Add the porridge and Desem to the flour and combine well. Rest the dough for 10 minutes.

Turn onto an oiled or floured bench and knead gently for ten seconds. I use flour on my bench to knead the dough.

Knead again and place in a clean large oiled mixing bowl.

 Cover, place in a warm spot,  and allow to make a 50 % rise.(This generally takes a few hours)

Remove the dough from the bowl and knead again and knock back dough and place into the oiled bread tin you intend to cook the bread in or on a cooking tray if you intend to make a round loaf.

Allow to rise another 50%, or until the dough rises to almost fill the bread tin and then cook it. Sprinkle some flour on top for a nice finish.

Oven temperature:

220 deg. C. for 10 minutes

200 deg. C. for 20 minutes.

Remove bread from the tin and if it is still slightly soft around the crust, place it back in the hot oven without the tin to bake for a further 10 minutes to crisp up the outside.

FRIENDSHIP TEA CAKE

FRIENDSHIP TEA CAKE

Ten days ago I met Herman the German. He is a sourdough cake, who starts life as a sourdough starter, and grows on the kitchen bench for 10 days. He has his own website which can be found at:  http://www.hermanthegermanfriendshipcake.com/

My long term foodie friend Julia, visited me at home with some of her deliciously cooked Herman Friendship cake  and a portion of her Herman sourdough starter. I have stirred, fed and nurtured Herman all week, and on the weekend, Herman multiplied to four, and the cooking began. Two friendship cakes and a loaf of sourdough bread later, Herman is officially a member of the family. The cake is delicious and keeps well in the freezer and also makes a sensational dessert with the addition of cream, ice cream etc.

Herman Sourdough bread:

My sourdough bread exceeded all of my expectations. I followed Cheryl's advice from Herman's website, and started the kneading process after lunch, letting it rise overnight, and then cooked the loaf for breakfast the following morning, using half strong white flour, and half Laucke's Multigrain Soy and Linseed bread making flour. No bread maker involved. The smell of the sourdough bread cooking throughout the house early in the morning was heavenly.

The recipe for the bread can be found at Herman the German's website.

Friendship Tea Cake

Ingredients:

1 Herman sourdough starter

1 cup of sugar (8oz or 225g)

2 cups of S.R. Flour (or 2 cups plain flour and 2 heaped tsp. baking powder)

Half teaspoon salt

2/3 cup  of cooking oil (160ml)

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla essence

1 normal can pie apple (or 2 cooking apples cut into chunks)

1 cup raisins (200g)

2 heaped tsp. cinnamon

2 heaped tsp. baking powder

Optional:

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

Method:

Mix everything together in a large bowl,  including the sourdough starter and spoon into a large greased baking dish. Sprinkle with a quarter of a cup of brown sugar and a quarter of a cup of melted butter. (This last step is optional but well worth it.)

Bake for 45 minutes at 170-180 deg. C. Test the middle with a clean knife. I find it cooks beautifully in this time, however you may need to cover in alfoil and bake for a further 20 minutes to ensure it is cooked properly in the middle.

In 9 days time, I will have four Herman sourdough starters, which means more bread baking  and other variations. There are lots of recipes available on his website. If you have always wanted to try a sourdough starter and make your own bread, this really works.

The Herman Sourdough Starter Mix:

150g (5oz) plain flour
225g (8oz) castor sugar
1 packet of active dry yeast
275 ml or 1/2 pint of warm milk
55ml (2 fl oz) of lukewarm water

Method:

1. Dissolve the yeast in warm water for 10 minutes and stir.
2. Add the flour and sugar then mix thoroughly.
3. Slowly stir in the warm milk.
4. Cover the bowl in a clean cloth.
5. Leave in a cool dry place for 24 hours.
6. Now proceed from day one of the 10 day cycle.

From the Herman the German's website: YOU CANNOT PUT ME IN THE FRIDGE OR I WILL DIE.IF I STOP BUBBLING I AM DEAD.

Day 1 - Put me in a large mixing bowl and cover loosely with a tea towel

Day 2 - Stir well

Day 3 - Stir well

Day 4 - Herman is hungry. Add 1 cup each of plain flour, sugar and milk. Stir well.

Day 5 - Stir well

Day 6 - Stir well

Day 7 - Stir well

Day 8 - Stir well

Day 9 - Add the same as Day 4 and stir well. Divide into 4 equal portions and give away to friends with a copy of these instructions. Keep the fourth portion.

What a great idea to be able to give one away to a friend, accompanied by some Friendship tea cake.

Do you think dear Reader, that one of the nicest things in life is when a friend arrives unexpectedly with some home cooked goodies to be shared and enjoyed?

Dame Elizabeth Murdoch Rose, a Hybrid Tea. The flower, a gift from my neighbour.

Australian Premium Wheat makes great noodles

Wheat harvesting in progress

Western Australian wheat ready for harvest

A bumper harvest of Australian Premium Wheat grown near Northam in Western Australia produces great yields. Have you ever wondered where the flour in the Asian noodles at the local IGA or supermarket comes from? I was fortunate to visit with Matthew, my son and an Agricultural Scientist, one of the most productive Western Australian wheat farms near Northam averaging 2.5 tonnes of wheat grain per hectare over an area of approximately 1500 hectares. Wheat is the main cash crop, but Ray, the owner of the property, also grows canola and lupins each year. We were lucky to visit during a bumper harvest with some paddocks yielding 5 tonnes of wheat grain per hectare!

The grain of high protein content is stored in nearby silos, and then exported to Indonesia, Vietnam, and other northern neighbours depending on market price, to be used in the creation of Udon and Two Minute Noodles. Lower quality grain is sold as seed for future crops or as bread wheat.

It was very interesting to ride in the harvester with Ray, and then witness the transfer of the grain from the harvester to the chaser bin that then takes the grain to the silo. Thanks to Matthew and Ray, I drove away feeling very proud of our wheat industry and the passion, knowledge and dedication of the farmer. I learnt a lot and was impressed by the amount of scientific data available to Ray from the cabin computer in the harvester as he worked.

Transfer of wheat from the harvester to the chaser bin

So dear readers, do we take the wheat industry too much for granted and forget that our breads and pastas are also a result of a highly technical and sustainable industry?

Pesto, Pine Nut and Parmesan Muffins

It's Muffin Monday and muffins are on the menu for breakfast, savoury Pesto Pine Nut and Parmesan Muffins that is. These also suit the perfect brunch  for friends who might just pop in. They are  delicious served with a selection of relishes and chutneys.

This recipe serves 12.

Ingredients:

• Oil or butter for greasing or use nice paper muffin cases in a muffin tin
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (no shortcuts here)
• 1/2 cup (80g pkt) pine nuts
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 6 tablespoons sunflower oil or melted butter cooled(can use canola and pine nut oil)
• 2-3 tablespoons pesto

Topping:

• 4 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup pine nuts

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan or line it with muffin paper liners. To make the topping mix together parmesan and pine nuts and set aside.
2. To make muffins: Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Stir in the grated parmesan cheese and pine nuts.
3. Lightly beat the eggs in a larger bowl, then beat in the buttermilk and oil. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the beaten liquid ingredients. Add the pesto and stir gently until just combined. Do not overmix.
4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan. Scatter the topping over the muffins. Bake in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes until well risen, golden brown and firm to touch.
5. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes then serve warm.

Happy cooking

Best wishes,

Pauline