The Finished Product...

On the whole, the sourdough loaf wasn't bad for my first attempt. 

The crust was fantastic and it tasted nice but the texture is too tight.  Given that I was up at the crack of dawn I decided to put my time to good use and attempt a second one.  Whereas last time I put in the lower quantity of water stipulated (as per his recommendation), this time I've added more water and I hope that this will give me a springier texture.  The loaf I am currently attempting is a 'Spitfire' loaf and as things stand, the initial dough has a more pleasing appearance than the dough for the loaf above in its initial stages; time will tell.

For the Love of Sourdough...

My flirtation with sourdough has been a long distance affair since Christmas with much time being spent gazing fondly at pictures of super crusty golden loaves and of hands gently stretching out dough made with fresh yeast but with absolutely no action taking place.  All of that changed on Tuesday the 15th April when I decided to be brave and take the plunge. 

Following a Paul Hollywood recipe for fresh yeast, I weighed out the requisite amount of flour and water before adding one grated apple (the operation required an emergency pit-stop to pile on five padded plasters in an attempt to stop my thumb, which has a love hate relationship with the micro-planer, from gushing far more blood than I realised could possibly come from a thumb!).  Blood flow temporarily halted, the picture below shows the fresh yeast at the start of the process:

I then had to wait for three days until the yeast had darkened in colour and started to bubble.  The yeast must have been quite healthy because not only did it darken and bubble, it also expanded far more than I expected it to. 

When the morning of Friday the 18th of April came, I emptied half as required and added more flour and water as stipulated.  Apparently, I then had to leave it for another two days, however, this wasn't necessary because after returning home on Friday evening, I found that my yeast had gone a little crazy had expanded right to the top of the jar.  After consulting with Dad, I was advised that this meant it was now in a state where it could be, and should be used to make some sourdough bread.  Feeling rather excited by this, I decided to start the bread making process at 9pm. 

Mercifully, sourdough breads take a long time to prove so I was able to leave it overnight and continue the process on Saturday.  However, after making the dough on Friday and re-feeding the yeast, I found that it had once again risen in record time.  As such, I had to put the yeast in to the fridge in order to halt the process until I am ready to make some more:

There is something truly magical and exciting about the smell and the appearance of fresh, healthy yeast and I feel like a proud mother admiring the continued growth and progress of my creation:

The dough is now in the proving basket and come 5:30am tomorrow I hope to have a sourdough that has doubled in size and is ready to be baked in the oven just in time for Easter Sunday breakfast - fingers, toes, etc crossed!

A Little Something to Sweeten the Monday Blues...

I must be going through a pastry phase!  Today I finally made some time to make Paul Hollywood's apricot tart; it was worth the wait.

Delia's Tomato Tart with Swiss Cheese and Rosemary

Determined to provide some good quality homemade food next weekend without spending valuable family time in the kitchen, I thought I'd spend today cooking some dishes that could be frozen and then re-heated on the day.  I didn't quite manage to make everything that I'd planned, however, I still have the next few days.  The dish below is one of the things that I made this weekend and I hope that it tastes as good as it smells!

Bye Bye Haagen Dazs...

I have, for a long time (ever since tasting Dad's home made ice cream), hankered after an ice cream machine of my own.  Now that I have one, I think that I, or rather my waistline, may be in serious trouble!  Why must my hobbies revolve around food rather than the gym? 

I was going to try making some lemon ice cream but the recipe required some lemon syrup and as I couldn't find any, I decided to settle for a traditional vanilla recipe instead.  Boy oh boy, is it good!

Slow Roast Beef with Orange Gremolata and Sweet Potato Mash

I've finally discovered a good local butchers (Patrick's of Camelon) who are wonderfully helpful and obliging  and this means that I am now in a position to source a wider range of ingredients, for example, the shin of beef that was required to make the Gordon Ramsay dish below.  Thanks to all of my work buddies for your recommendations regarding a good butcher, you weren't wrong!

Szechuan Chicken Thighs...

A recipe from Gordon Ramsay that is simple to make and delicious to eat. 

Marinade the chicken in a combination of rice wine, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, water and seasoning.  When the time comes to make the meal, fry some fresh root ginger that has been grated, some sliced garlic and a red chilli that has been de-seeded and finely chopped.  Fry this mixture for a few minutes before adding some toasted szechuan peppers that have been crushed and some orange rind.  Fry for a few seconds before adding the chicken and the marinade, cover the pan and leave to cook on a low heat for 25 - 30 minutes.  Serve with fragrant rice and spring onions.

Perfect for a cold winter evening.