 You'll know by now how much I hate waste! I spend a lot of time developing recipes to use up those ingredients that got overlooked for just a little too long and are seemingly past their best. This always happens to grapes in our household. The bunches are attacked when they are plump, luscious and firm. But after a while, they wither and people start to avoid them in the fruit bowl. Past their best, they are overlooked and, invariably, find their way into the compost or bin! It's time to see these wrinkly old grapes for what they are: young raisins! Too moist still to be substituted for raisins without further dehydration, but perfect for a wet batter mix such as carrot cake! Et voila! Our grape and carrot loaf cake! A delicious variation of an old favourite: sweet, moist and beautifully textured with seeds and nuts, and complemented by a tangy sour cream frosting. It's an easy all-in-one-bowl batter method. Just take your time preparing all your ingredients before you start, turn your oven on and away you go... Grape and carrot loaf (makes 1 large loaf cake) For the batter: Self raising flour 200g Vegetable oil 170ml Grated carrots 200g ‘Old’ black grapes 80g Pecans 50g Pumpkin seeds 30g Sultanas 50g Granulated sugar 90g Brown sugar 90g Medium eggs 3 Vanilla extract 1 tsp Fine sea salt ½ tsp Cinnamon* 1 tsp Cardamom* 1 tsp Zest of 1 orange Freshly grated nutmeg *(if you don’t have individual spices, substitute with 2 tsp mixed spice overall) For the sour cream frosting: Unsalted butter, softened 150g Icing sugar, sifted 300g Sour cream or crème fraiche 100g Method Preheat your oven to 160°C (140°C Fan)/320°F Firstly sift together your SR flour, spices and salt. Now, place your oil, sugars and eggs together in a mixing bowl and beat together. Stir in your vanilla extract and grated carrots. Depending on the size of your grapes and how wrinkled they have become, either half or quarter them and add to your bowl. Now throw in your nuts, seeds, orange zest and sultanas and combine. Mix the final batter by gradually stirring in your flour/spice mix. Don’t over beat your batter at this stage (you will develop gluten which will make your cake rubbery); the flour just needs to be evenly incorporated. Pour your batter into a greased and lined tin – I like to use a large loaf tin for this cake. Place your cake into the preheated oven. The wet batter mix is going to need long, slow baking at a cooler than usual temperature - approximately 90 mins at 160°C. Check the cake after 80-85 minutes. The cake will appear ‘set’ if gently jiggled, will have shrunk away from the sides and a skewer will come out clean. However, it is far easier to use a digital probe thermometer, which takes the guess work out of baking and avoids the disappointment of a soggy middle or bottom. The cake will be ideally cooked in the range of 96°C - 98°C. At 100°C, the moisture in the cake will begin to evaporate, leaving your cake dry and overcooked. When cooked, leave to cool for twenty minutes or so in the tin and then turn out to cool completely on a wire rack before icing. To prepare the frosting: Make sure your butter is very soft before attempting to mix your icing. Use the butter softening mode on your microwave, if necessary. Then, to the softened butter add your sifted icing sugar and gently blend in. Once incorporated, you can beat your buttercream until light and airy, then beat in your sour cream or crème fraiche. The slight acidity of the cream cuts through the sweetness giving a wonderfully tart edge to your frosting. When the cake is completely cool, frost and decorate your cake with pecans, orange zest or edible flowers. Store somewhere cool - remember the frosting contains fresh dairy.   So you've made your starter, and you're rightly proud of this bubbling, fermenting pot of life that you've grown and nurtured. Here is our basic country sourdough recipe. This uses a kneading method. Some days, it just helps to bash out your frustrations on an inanimate lump of dough! Remember, this is sloooooowwww dough. All good things are worth the wait!
Country White Sourdough (makes 1 medium loaf) Plan ahead. Sourdough will always be at least 2 days in the making. Feed your starter about 8 hours (overnight is perfect) before you are ready to make your sourdough, so that it is lively and active before you begin. 300g strong white flour 80g wholemeal flour 120g active starter (liquid, 100% hydration) 250g water 8g fine sea salt Measure your dry ingredients into a large bowl. Place your starter and water in a separate bowl and mix roughly together. Now pour these into the dry ingredients. Mix with your scraper until all the ingredients are combined and a rough dough has formed. Turn out onto your clean work surface and knead for 15-20 minutes until you have an elastic dough which doesn’t stick to your fingers or to the work surface. Alternatively, place in your mixer with the dough hook attachment and mix on medium for about 7 minutes until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl. Form the dough into a ball and place back into your lightly floured bowl. Cover with a large plastic bag or a baking cloth and leave to prove. After 30 minutes, fold and stretch your dough: using your scraper, turn the dough carefully out onto a lightly floured surface – with the ‘top’ of the dough now underneath. Taking the 4 points of the compass in turn, pull the dough gently to one side then bring over to the middle point of your dough (as if you were making a paper windmill). When all 4 ‘corners’ have been brought into the middle, turn your dough back over and place back in the bowl, so that the top of the dough remains uppermost. Repeat folding action every half an hour. This is the ‘bulk proof’ stage and should take 3 or more hours. Stretch and fold your dough about 6 times during this stage. Each time you will be building the strength of your dough and improving the final loaf. After 3-4 hours (depending upon ambient temperature) you are ready to shape your dough. Don’t expect it to have doubled in size like a yeasted dough. It will not need de-gassing. Using the round side of your scraper, carefully tip out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, so that the ‘top’ of the dough is now lying underneath on your floured countertop. Shape your loaf by stretching the edge of the dough and bringing onto the middle, like when stretching and folding your dough during the first prove. Go around the entire circle of dough, then flip and place it seem side down on your counter, ensuring there is no flour underneath the seam. Now you can ‘tighten’ your ball by dragging it towards you and allowing the friction of the counter to resist the movement. This should cause the ‘skin’ of your ball of dough to tighten a little. Adjust and do the same in a few different directions around your ball. Do not over-tighten. A few little stretches are all it takes. You don’t want to tear the skin that is containing your dough under tension. When you have a tight ball, place seam side up into a pre-floured proving basket – wholemeal flour works best here, as the bran prevents sticking (do not use rye flour). However, a well-shaped loaf will not stick in your banneton. It is essential that you pay attention to the tightening of the dough at this stage. If your loaf collapses when you tip it out, ready to bake, it could well be you have not tightened sufficiently before placing in the basket. If you have no proving basket, flour a good quality linen cloth well, placed inside a round 1litre bowl (eg Pyrex bowl). This prevents your dough relaxing into a puddle whilst it proves for a second time. Cover with a loose-fitting plastic bag or baking cloth for about 3-5 hours (depending upon ambient temperature) until the dough appears ready. At this stage, the dough will bounce slowly back when pressed gently with a floured finger. If it bounces rapidly back, it needs a little longer. If the indentation remains, you have over-proved your dough. Alternatively, you can place the dough in the fridge when it appears to be nearly ready, say after 3-4 hours, and leave overnight. When the loaves are ready to bake, turn them out onto a lightly dusted peel. Be gentle with your loaves at this stage. Slash the loaves at an oblique angle of about 30 degrees, to allow extra expansion in the oven. Place in a very hot oven, pre-heated to 240°C. As you place the loaves in the oven, spray the walls, ceiling and floor of your oven with water, avoiding the loaves themselves. Now turn down your oven down to 220 °C and bake for 35-45 minutes for the larger, until golden or dark brown, according to preference. Alternatively, bake inside a pre-heated Dutch oven or cast iron casserole dish – the lid will keep in all the steam that is released by the dough during the first 15 mins, after which you can remove the lid and continue to bake and crust over. To check reliably whether your bread is baked, place a probe thermometer into the centre. A loaf will be reliably baked when the thermometer reads 95°C or more. Notes on refreshing your starters: Wheat starter: Wheat starters can be kept in a liquid state (usually 100% hydration) or a stiff state (usually 50% hydration). This recipe uses a liquid starter. To refresh your liquid starter, take 100g of starter (discarding or using the rest) and add 100g water and 100g of flour, ie equal parts flour and water. If using a new recipe, always check whether a stiff or liquid starter is required and adjust your overall water/flour quantities in the recipe, if necessary. Leave the refreshed starter at a warm room temperature for 8-12 hours before using. If it is not required straight away, simply place in the fridge after a few hours. Your starter will keep refrigerated for a couple of weeks (and can even be dehydrated or frozen!), but it is best to refresh it every 7 days even if not being used.  Pane Pugliese
(makes 1 large loaf) Although many of my recipes are inspired by the Tuscany region, this recipe is a Southern Italian treasure from the Puglia region. Pane Pugliese is made with either all or the greater part hard durum wheat – fine semolina or ‘semola rimacinata di grano duro’. The finest example of this is Pane di Altamura, now granted PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) status. The loaf is a beautiful pale gold in colour and has the characteristic crumb and crunchy crust of a semolina bread. It is utterly delicious and well worth a try. If you wish, you can use all semolina for this recipe. Simply replace the bread flour in the biga and dough with more semolina. Ingredients Overnight biga: Strong bread flour 100g Tepid water 100g Fresh yeast 2g For the dough: Strong bread flour 100g Fine durum semolina 400g Tepid water 300g Biga, from above 200g Fresh Yeast 10g (or 5g instant dried yeast)* Sea salt 10g *if you intend to prove overnight in the fridge, reduce the amount of yeast to about half. Method The night before, mix together the ingredients for the biga and leave, covered, overnight at ambient room temperature. Make the dough by combining the above ingredients and knead for 10-15 minutes until you have a smooth elastic dough. Leave, covered, in an oiled bowl for 30 mins, after which you can stretch and fold your dough. Cover once more and leave for a further 30 minutes. When your dough has significantly increased in size, after this first prove of about 1 hour, tip it out onto a lightly floured surface and shape tightly into a ball. Place into a floured banneton, cover and leave to prove again for 1 – 1½ hours, depending on ambient temperature. Alternatively, place in the fridge and allow to prove slowly overnight*. Pre-heat the oven to 240°C. When your loaf is ready, slash the top with a sharp knife or baker’s lame and either slide from a peel onto a hot baking stone, or bake inside a preheated cast iron pot. Turn oven down to 220°C and bake for 45-50 minutes. If baking in a cast iron pot, remove the lid after 15 minutes to allow the loaf to develop a golden crust. The loaf will be baked when the crumb reaches 95°C. Leave to cool on a cooling rack.  Rhubarb is seasonal and abundant. Here we've coupled it with the last of the Spanish blood oranges, but any orange will do!
Ingredients: For the sweetcrust 75g icing sugar 125g butter 1 medium egg 250g plain flour For the filling 4-5 sticks of rhubarb 250g sugar 250g water 1 orange (or blood orange) For the frangipane 150g caster sugar 150g butter 3 medium eggs 150g ground almonds 30g plain flour Method: This recipe involves making 3 elements - the sweetcrust, the filling and the frangipane - separately, and assembling together at the end. For the sweetcrust:
For the filling:
For the frangipane:
Now you're ready to assemble!
 Porridge bread (Makes 1 large loaf, 2 small or about 8 rolls)
For the porridge*: 80g porridge oats 220g boiling water *alternatively, use 300g leftover porridge For the dough: 300g above porridge 330g strong bread flour 180g tepid water 10g fresh yeast (or 5g instant dried yeast) 8g fine sea salt Method: First, pour over the boiling water over your oats, mix and set to one side to cool. Alternatively, use any leftover porridge you may have. When cool, place with the tepid water in a bowl or mixer. Add the flour, salt and yeast, ensuring the yeast is kept separate from the salt, at least initially. Mix with your scraper until all ingredients are combined and a rough dough has formed. Turn out onto your work surface and knead for 15 minutes or so, until you have an elastic dough which doesn’t stick to the work surface or your fingers. Alternatively, knead in your mixer, using the dough hook attachment for approximately half the time. Form the dough into a ball and place back into your lightly floured bowl. Cover with a large plastic bag or a baking cloth and leave to rest for about an hour. Now it’s time to fold and stretch your dough: using your scraper, turn the dough carefully out onto a lightly floured surface – with the ‘top’ of the dough now underneath. Taking the 4 points of the compass in turn, pull the dough gently outwards then bring over to the middle point of your dough (as if you were making a paper windmill). When all 4 ‘corners’ have been brought into the middle, turn your dough back over and place back in the bowl, so that the ‘top’ of the dough remains uppermost. Rest, covered, for a further 15-20 minutes so the dough can relax again. Now, you are ready to shape your dough ready to place into a tin, a proving basket or into rolls. Carefully tip out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Turn the dough back over so that the ‘top’ of the dough is now uppermost. Divide into portions for rolls or loaves, then shape into a smooth ball, or oval if baking in a tin If shaping your dough in an oval to fit a tin, remember to grease your tin before placing the shaped dough inside, with the seam concealed neatly underneath. Cover your loaf/loaves/rolls whilst they prove for a second time for about an hour until they appear nicely ‘bloated’ and are approximately double in size. Preheat your oven to 240°C. When the dough is ready (slowly springing back when you prod gently with a floury finger), place into your hot oven. Spray around the floor and walls of the oven to create steam then quickly close the oven. Turn down the oven to 220°C and bake until golden brown on top and bottom. Rolls will take 12-15 minutes, a small loaf will take about 25-35 minutes and a large loaf, 40-45 minutes. If you have a probe thermometer, the bread is cooked when the centre of the loaf reaches 95°C.  Schiaciatta – literally ‘squashed’ or ‘flattened’ – is a Tuscan version the popular Italian flatbread focaccia. Their shape and size can vary, much like pizzas, but they are generally thin, resembling giant crackers in some cases. To stretch so thin the dough must be very well rested, so this dough should be made well ahead of time and can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days. I like mine to have a varied thickness rather than uniform, so I prefer to hand stretch, leaving some parts very thin and crispy and others with a bit more of a chew. Like focaccia, you can top with a variety of different toppings, but going with the classic olive oil, scattered herbs and flaky sea salt is never a disappointment. This recipe is also perfect for when figs are in season, but substitute for whatever you have to hand. Black grapes make a delicious alternative.
Schiacciata (makes 1 large tray, approx. 40cm x 30cm) Ingredients For the dough: 360g 00 flour (or half plain, half bread flour) 50g wholemeal flour 6g fresh yeast (or substitute 3g dried instant yeast) 260g tepid water 40g oil 7g salt Suggested toppings: A few tablespoons of olive oil A scattering of flaky sea salt A few sprigs of rosemary Method Mix and knead the dough for about 10-15 minutes until strong and elastic. Leave covered for 30 minutes in an oiled bowl. After it has rested, stretch and fold the dough and return to the bowl. Repeat after another 30 minutes then place, covered, in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you want to use the same day, simply make in the morning to use in the evening. Two or three hours before you wish to use the dough (less, if a very hot day) remove from the fridge. Preheat your oven to 240°C. Prepare a shallow tray, preferably the largest baking tray you have that fits your oven, by smothering in olive oil. Now place your dough, with the top side uppermost, onto your tray. Use the weight of the dough to gently stretch the dough to fit your tray. Encourage the dough to stretch from underneath, rather than ‘pushing’ the top of the dough, which risks tearing it. Concentrate on thinning particularly thick areas, but don’t get too hung up on uniformity. The wafer-thin parts will be delightfully crispy, the thicker parts more like pizza. If struggling to fit the area, cover and leave to rest in the tray for a few minutes. When you return, the dough will have relaxed and be more than ready to stretch further. When stretched, cover the dough and leave for a further 15-20 mins, unless it is a particularly warm day and it looks as if it is ready to go. Just before baking, scatter the rosemary, drizzle generously with olive oil and top with flaky sea salt. Place in the oven and reduce the temperature to 220°C. Bake for 20-25 mins until crisp and golden. When baked, remove from oven onto a rack. Enjoy while warm.  Potato Bread (Makes 1 large loaf, 2 small or about 8 rolls)
For the potato: 300g potatoes (peeled weight) 280g water For the dough: 300g above cooked potato, riced or mashed 350g strong bread flour 180g above potato water 6g fresh yeast (or 3g instant dried yeast) 8g fine sea salt Method First cut your peeled potatoes into rough chunks, about 2cm cubes. Place in a pan with about 280ml of water and bring to the boil. Boil for about 15 minutes until just tender but not falling apart. Drain and reserve the potato water. This starchy liquid will be used to make your dough beautifully soft. When cool, either mash your potatoes or place through a potato ricer. Now place your potato and starchy water in a bowl or mixer. Add the flour, salt and yeast, ensuring the yeast is kept separate from the salt, at least initially. Mix with your scraper until all ingredients are combined and a rough dough has formed. Turn out onto your work surface and knead for 15 minutes or so, until you have an elastic dough which doesn’t stick to the work surface or your fingers. Alternatively, knead in your mixer, using the dough hook attachment for approximately half the time. Form the dough into a ball and place back into your lightly floured bowl. Cover with a large plastic bag or a baking cloth and leave to rest for 30-40 mins. Now it’s time to fold and stretch your dough: using your scraper, turn the dough carefully out onto a lightly floured surface – with the ‘top’ of the dough now underneath. Taking the 4 points of the compass in turn, pull the dough gently outwards then bring over to the middle point of your dough (as if you were making a paper windmill). When all 4 ‘corners’ have been brought into the middle, turn your dough back over and place back in the bowl, so that the ‘top’ of the dough remains uppermost. Rest, covered, for a further 20-30 minutes so the dough can relax again. Now, you are ready to shape your dough ready to place into a tin, a proving basket or into rolls. Carefully tip out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Turn the dough back over so that the ‘top’ of the dough is now uppermost. Divide into portions for rolls or loaves, then shape into a smooth ball, or oval if baking in a tin. Be gentle with this dough and don’t be too worried about tightening your chosen shapes, as this soft, tender dough is easy to tear. Feel your way and be guided by your dough. If shaping your dough in an oval to fit a tin, remember to grease your tin before placing the shaped dough inside, with the seam concealed neatly underneath. Cover your loaf/loaves/rolls whilst they prove for a second time for 45-60 minutes until they appear nicely ‘bloated’ and are approximately double in size. Preheat your oven to 240°C. When the dough is ready (slowly springing back when you prod gently with a floury finger), place into your hot oven. Spray around the floor and walls of the oven to create steam then quickly close the oven. Turn down the oven to 220°C and bake until golden brown on top and bottom. Rolls will take 12-15 minutes, a small loaf will take about 25-35 minutes and a large loaf, 40-45 minutes. If you have a probe thermometer, the bread is cooked when the centre of the loaf reaches 95°C.  Quick and easy pitta breads (makes 12)
For the dough: 600g Strong white bread flour* 15g fresh yeast (or 7g instant dried) 2 tbsp olive oil 300g tepid water 10g fine sea salt *or substitute plain flour, if you don’t have bread flour. Method Place the dry ingredients in your bowl, ensuring the salt is on one side, the yeast on the other. If you don’t have ready yeast, follow the instructions on the packet for activation. Now add the water and oil and, using a dough scraper or your hands, bring the mixture together into a rough dough. Take out of the bowl and need for about 10 minutes until you have a smooth and elastic dough. Place back in a lightly dusted bowl, cover and rest for 1 hour at room temperature. Preheat your oven to 240-250°C, with a good quality baking sheet or baking stone in place to get super-hot. After about an hour or so, remove the dough and divide into quarters. Take each quarter, squash it a little, then divide into 3 pieces and form each into a small ball with a tight seam underneath. Each piece should finish up as a smooth ball, with no edges or rough bits showing. Cover once more and leave to rest for a further 15 minutes. Take the first 4 balls and roll out into ovals about 20cm long and even thickness. Place them on a lightly dusted peel, or onto a silicone sheet that can be slid straight into the oven. Slide into your oven and bake for about 5 minutes. They should puff up in the oven. Remove after 5 minutes and cover with a linen cloth whilst you cook the remaining two batches. Keep covered whilst they cool, so the pittas remain soft and pliable. If you don’t, they will dry and crisp up. When cool, they can be kept in an airtight container for several days or frozen immediately.  This cake was created to use the delicious curd cheese I brought back with me from Wildes Cheese after a delightful day spent learning about cheese-making. Philip and Keith run this small urban artisan dairy in Tottenham, North London. On reading about their passion for their craft I knew that this is where I wanted to learn. They say they were drawn to cheesemaking “because it’s pure magic, a form of alchemy”. Now, where have I heard that before?!! The curd cheese’s soft and velvety texture is perfect for making a rich bundt cake, especially paired with the sweet sharpness of lemon. The resulting cake is light and moist, in spite of its characteristically dense crumb. And it’s wickedly moreish!
Method Pre-heat your oven to 170°C. First prepare your bundt tin, by greasing and covering with granulated sugar. Set to one side. Zest two lemons and rub into your caster sugar. Now cream together your softened butter and caster sugar, until light and fluffy. Mix in the curd cheese and crème fraiche. Now split and scrape the seeds from your vanilla pod and stir in together with the lemon juice and ground almonds.
Whilst the cake is baking you can prepare the drizzle. Mix together the juice of one lemon and 50g caster sugar. When your cake is cooked, leave it for about 10 minutes in the tin then turn out onto a wire rack. Using a spoon, drizzle your lemon mix evenly over your cake and leave to cool completely.
 Our communal village orchard is heavy with wonderful produce right now. The plums, mulberries and greengages are over, but now the apples, pears, quince and medlars now have their chance to shine. Even the hedgerows enclosing the old orchard are bearing blackberries and nuts to gather. With my basket laden, I set about baking something to use the village bounty. The nuts are, as yet, too young and fresh to grind down to a useful flour, so I used ground almonds – but if you have your own hazelnuts, do use once they’re dried. Just grind them down to a fine meal. The young cob nuts will be fine for the crumble topping.
Eat with pleasure. You have spent time making a thing of beauty from things you have foraged. Take your time to savour. Enjoy. |
Our workshops are run by award-winning sourdough baker Helen Underwood.
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