Breads

Sourdough starter
Day 1

1 litre water, lukewarm
500g strong baker’s flour (You should be able to buy ‘strong bakers flour’ in most supermarkets, Edmonds do a good white and wholemeal one. We use “Champion” Epic Bakers flour.)
450g spray-free grapes

Mix water and flour in a very clean bucket with lid. Wrap up grapes in a large square of muslin and tie off ends with string. Push grape bag into the bottom of the flour and water. Cover bucket with a plastic lid and leave for 3 days at room temperature.

Day 4

1 cup strong baker’s flour
1 cup water

On the fourth day, feed starter by adding flour and water. Mix well, replace lid and leave to ferment at room temperature for a further 5 days.

Day 9

Remove grape bag from starter, squeezing out as much juice from the bag as possible. For the next 5 days, feed starter 3 times a day. Mix well with your hands each time. The first feed the following day should be no longer than 15 hours from the previous evening’s third feed. After 5 days of feeding, your sourdough starter is ready for use.

Repeat feeding schedule each day to maintain starter.

1st feed (morning)

2 cups starter
1 cup water
1¼ cups strong baker’s flour

2nd feed (mid-afternoon)

2 cups water
2½ cups strong baker’s flour

3rd feed (early evening)

4 cups water
5 cups strong baker’s flour

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Sourdough
Makes two 450g loaves

Ingredients

1¼ cups sourdough starter (See recipe above)
7 cups strong baker’s flour
2¼ cups tepid water (36degC)
½ cup wheat germ
4 tsp sea salt
vegetable oil

Day 1

Place sourdough starter, flour, water and wheat germ into the bowl of an electric mixer and mix with a dough hook attachment on low speed for 5 minutes. Turn off machine and leave dough to rest in the bowl for 15 minutes before adding salt and mixing for a further 5 minutes on low.

Remove dough from mixing bowl and place into a large stainless steel bowl, lightly greased with a little vegetable oil. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to prove in a warm place for 3 hours. Remove dough from bowl, divide in half and “knock back” by picking up each half and slapping dough down on to a bench top 3 to 4 times. Cover dough on bench top with a tea towel and rest for 15 minutes before kneading and shaping each half into a ball. Lightly flour 2 round cane banneton baskets or medium-size bowls and place shaped balls of dough, smooth side down, in baskets. Pinch dough together so that there are no loose seams facing upwards. Put baskets on to an oven tray and place both into a large, clean rubbish bag. Leave to prove at room temperature for 1 hour before placing into the refrigerator overnight.

Day 2

Preheat oven to 220degC. Take bread out of refrigerator and remove rubbish bag. Cover with a tea towel and allow to prove in a warm place for a further 2 hours. Tip bread gently out on to 2 lightly floured baking trays. Using an old-fashioned razor blade, make a large C-shaped cut in the top of the loaves, about 1cm deep. Place into oven and bake for 40 minutes until dark brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

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Ciabatta
Makes 3 loaves

Day 1 – Biga

500g strong baker’s flour
2g dried yeast
275ml cold water

Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix with a dough hook on the slowest speed for 5 minutes. Place biga in a floured bowl and cover with cling wrap. Leave to prove at room temperature overnight.

Day 2- Ciabatta

500g strong baker’s flour
4g dried yeast
25g table salt
550ml lukewarm water

Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix with a dough hook on the slowest speed for 1 minute before adding the biga. Mix for a further 15 minutes, still on slow speed, then turn dough into a floured bowl and cover with a tea towel. Allow to prove until double in size. Turn out dough on to a well-floured work surface, removing all the dough from the bowl with a dough scraper. Dust dough with flour and fold into thirds from the outside in. Flour bowl again, return dough, cover with a tea towel and prove for 30 minutes. Turn dough out once more and repeat the folding process. Cover again and prove for another 30 minutes. Repeat the folding and proving process for a third time, then turn dough out and divide into 3 pieces using a floured knife or scraper. Gently lift the dough pieces on to a lined baking tray, cover with a tea towel and prove for a final 30 minutes. Remove tea towel and bake in a 230degC oven for 30 minutes. Ciabatta is ready when the crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

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Burger buns
Makes 12 buns

Ingredients

800g plain flour
550ml lukewarm water
10g dried yeast
10g salt
80ml olive oil
¼ cup milk
2 Tbsp sesame seeds

Method

Preheat oven to 220degC. Place flour, water, yeast, salt and half of the olive oil into the bowl of an electric mixer with dough hook attachment and mix on low speed for 15 minutes. Turn out into another large mixing bowl greased with remaining olive oil. Cover dough with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to prove for one hour or until almost doubled in size. Tip dough out on to a clean bench top and divide into 12 equal pieces. Knead and shape each piece of dough into a small ball and place on to a baking tray liberally dusted with extra flour. Brush tops of dough balls with a little milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Cover tray with a clean tea towel and allow to prove in a warm place for a further 30min to 45min or until almost doubled in size. Place buns into oven and bake for 20min or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 2-3min before placing on to a wire cake rack. Burger buns are best eaten on the same day.

Tip: Any spare burger buns can be frozen and simply reheated by splashing with a little water and placing into a 180degC oven for 5min to 10min.

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2 tsp dried yeast granules
1/2 tsp sugar
250ml warm water
125ml warm milk
350g high grade flour
100g standard flour
1 tsp salt
rice flour or fine cornmeal

Put the yeast and sugar in a small bowl with half of the warm water. Stir and set aside for a few minutes, then add the remaining water and the milk. Put the flours and salt in a large bowl and use your hand to mix in the yeast, water and milk mixture. Knead the mixture, which will be sticky, thoroughly in the bowl. (Or use the dough hook of an electric mixer.) Cover the bowl with a damp teatowel and set aside to rise until more than doubled. Although this may take only a couple of hours, the dough can also be allowed to rise overnight. Deflate the dough by pulling it away from the sides of the bowl. Lift it out of the bowl and divide into 8 pieces. Drop each piece on a tray liberally dusted with rice flour or cornmeal and roll them over until well coated. Form each piece into a thick disc. Place the discs on a baking tray and place another tray on top. Leave to rest and rise for 20 minutes, then remove the covering tray. Place a cast-iron griddle or large frying pan over a low heat. When only moderately hot, place 4 of the muffins on it and cook for about 10 minutes until light beige on the bottom. Turn the muffins over and cook the second side for a similar length of time. Wrap the cooked muffins in a dry teatowel. Pull apart with your fingers and eat while still warm. For toasting, pull the muffins apart and toast on both sides. Makes 8 large muffins.

Making sourdough can be more convenient than making a loaf from scratch.
This three step process is perfect for those who don’t have time to bake a loaf from scratch. You can fit your baking routine into 3 simple 10 minute steps over 24 hours.

2 tbsp wholemeal bread flour
2 tbsp strong white bread flour
Small piece rhubarb, about 3cm
4-5 tbsp starter
300g strong flour (white, wholemeal or a mixture)
300g strong bread flour (white, wholemeal or a mixture)
10g fine sea salt

How to make sourdough loaf
To make the starter
1. In a large bowl, mix the flour for the starter with enough warm water to make a batter roughly the consistency of double cream. Beat it well to incorporate some air, drop in the rhubarb, then cover with a lid or cling film and leave somewhere fairly warm. A warm kitchen is fine, or a coolish airing cupboard. Check it every few hours until you can see that fermentation has begun – signalled by the appearance of bubbles on the surface and a smell of… well, of fermentation (it can actually smell quite unpleasant and acrid at this stage but don’t worry, it will mellow as it matures). The time it takes for your starter to begin fermenting can vary hugely – it could be a few hours or a few days. But make your starter with wholegrain flour (which offers more for the yeast to get its teeth into), keep it warm and draught free and you should be rewarded with the first signs of life within 24 hours.

2. Your starter now needs regular feeding. Begin by whisking in another 100g or so of fresh flour and enough water to retain that thick batter consistency. You can switch to using cool water and to keeping the starter at normal room temperature – though nowhere too cold or draughty. Leave it again, then, 24 hours or so later, scoop out and discard half the starter and stir in another 100g flour and some more water. repeat this discard-and-feed routine every day, maintaining the sloppy consistency and keeping your starter at room temperature, and after 7-10 days you should have something that smells good – sweet, fruity, yeasty, almost boozy – having lost any harsh, acrid edge. By this stage, it should be actively enticing you into baking with it. But don’t be tempted to bake a loaf until it’s been on the go for at least a week.

If you’re going to bake bread every day or two, maintain your starter in this way, keeping it at room temperature, feeding it daily, and taking some of it out whenever you want to create a sponge.

To make the sponge
1. The night before you want to bake your loaf, create the sponge: take about 4 or 5 large tablespoons of the active starter and combine it with 300g flour and about 250ml warm water in a large bowl. Mix well with your hands, then cover with cling film and leave overnight. In the morning it should be clearly fermenting – thick, sticky and bubbly.

To make the dough
1. Add the 300g flour to the sponge, along with the salt. Squish it all together with your hands. You should have a fairly sticky dough. If it seems tight and firm, add a dash more warm water. If it’s unmanageably loose, add more flour, but do leave it fairly wet – you’ll get better bread that way.

2. Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and silky. This takes about 10 minutes, but it can vary according to your own style and level of confidence. Keep going, stretching and folding, giving the dough a quarter turn every few stretches, until it is silky and smooth. Alternatively, use the dough hook on your mixer!

3. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and turn it to coat with the oil. Cover with lightly oiled cling film, or put the bowl into a large plastic bag, and leave to rise. Don’t expect it to whoosh up to twice its original size in an hour, as a conventional loaf does. Sourdough rises slowly and sedately. The best thing is to knead it in the morning, then simply leave it all day – perhaps while you’re out at work – in a fairly cool, draught-free place until it has more or less doubled in size and feels springy if you push your finger gently into it; alternatively, you could knead it in the evening and then leave it to rise overnight.

4. Knock back (deflate) the risen dough by punching it down with your knuckles on a lightly floured surface. You now need to prove the dough (i.e. give it a second rising). You are also going to be forming it into the shape it will be for baking. If you have a proper baker’s proving basket, use this, first dusting it generously with flour. Alternatively, rig up your own proving basket by lining a medium-sized, fairly shallow-sided bowl with a clean tea towel, then dusting it with flour. Place your round of dough inside, cover again with oiled cling film or a clean plastic bag and leave to rise, in a warm place this time, for 1½-3 hours, or until roughly doubled in size. Then the dough is ready to bake.

5. Preheat the oven to 250°C/gas mark 10 (or at least to 230°C/gas mark 8, if that’s your top limit). If possible, have ready a clean gardener’s spray bottle full of water – you’ll be using this to create a steamy atmosphere in the oven, which helps the bread to rise and develop a good crust. (You can achieve the same effect with a roasting tin of boiling water placed on the bottom of the oven just before you put the loaf in, but the spray bottle is easier – and much more fun.)

6. About 5 minutes before you want to put the loaf in the oven, place a baking sheet in it to heat up. Then take the hot baking sheet from the oven, dust it with flour and carefully tip the risen dough out of the proving basket/bowl, upside down, on to the baking sheet; it will now be the right way up. If you like you can slash the top of the loaf a few times with a very sharp serrated knife, or snip it with a pair of scissors, to give a pattern to the crust.

7. Put the loaf into the hot oven and give it a few squirts from the spray bottle over and around it. After 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 200°C/Gas Mark 6, give the oven another spray, and bake for a further 25-30 minutes, until the well-browned loaf vibrates and sounds hollow when you tap its base. Leave to cool for at least 20 minutes before you plunge in with the bread knife – it’s okay to slice it warm, but not piping hot.

River Cottage

For great garlic bread, start with a good quality baguette.

1 clove garlic, peeled and finely diced
125g soft butter
½ (half) cup fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 good quality baguette

Preheat oven to 200C fan forced.
Mix garlic with butter and parsley to blend.
Make vertical cuts into the baguette, three quarters of the way down, at 2cm intervals all the way along.
Spread generous amounts of garlic butter on all cut faces of the bread. Spread any leftover butter over the top of the baguette.
Wrap tightly in foil and bake in oven for 30 minutes, until the butter has melted into the bread. If desired, open up the foil and bake for a further 5 minutes until the top is golden and crisp.
Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

from Sarah-Kate Lynch

Starter

juice from 3 fresh organic apples, strained
organic unbleached bread flour

Leave the apple juice in a partly covered jug or jar for 7-10 days.
When the juice is bubbly and fermented, add it, in a glass or ceramic bowl to 1 1/2 cups flour and 3/4 cups water and leave, covered with plastic wrap poked with holes or a loosely tied plastic bag.
Then, stir in another 1 1/2 cups flour and 3/4 cups water, recover and leave overnight.
Discard half the mixture and add another 1 1/2 cups flour and 3/4 cup water.
Repeat this, and do so every day until you know your starter is alive and kicking because it will rise up the sides of the bowl or container in between feeds and will be bubbly and smell sharp and cidery.

The starter will keep in the fridge unfed for up to 2 weeks. When you want to use it, bring it out, get it to room temperature and feed it for a couple of days before you use it.

The starter is best used in the bread dough 8-12 hours after its last feed.

Pain Au Levain

makes 1 round loaf

1/3 cup organic rye flour
2 cups organic unbleached white bread flour
1 3/4 organic whole wheat bread flour
3/4 cup starter
1/2 Tbsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups + 1 Tbsp water

Mix all ingredients except the salt in a large ceramic or glass bowl, by hand for 5 minutes. The mixture will be quite wet but if you are having trouble mixing it, try just using 1 1/2 cups water.
Rest for 5 minutes, then add the salt.
Mix another 5-10 minutes on a countertop, without adding any extra flour, until mixture is smooth and elastic. Then put it in a lightly oiled bowl and leave for 3-4 hours loosely covered so air can still get in.
Punch it down with a gentle fold, then leave for another hour.
Tip the dough out and gently premold the loaf by folding it in on itself and turning it over; let sit for 10 minutes. Then give it a final mold, dip it in flour and put it in a round basket (25cm diameter) lined with a heavily floured linen or cotton dishtowel. Rub the flour well into the dishtowel and don’t wash it between uses. If it’s not floured enough, the dough will stick to the towel.
At this stage you can leave the dough for half an hour, put it in the fridge overnight, then bring it out and let it sit for an hour before baking.
Or leave for 3 hours in the basket, then tip out onto a preheated pizza stone. With a very sharp knife, cut your first initial in the top of the bread so the gases can escape and bake at 240C (500F) for 15 minutes, and then 210C (425F) for 10 minutes, remembering to steam the oven when you put the loaf in by spraying the sides of the oven with a waterbottle and quickly shutting the door. This makes the crust crunchy.

3 tsp yeast
450g flour (3 1/2 c)
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp milk powder
1 tsp salt
320ml water
1 c sultanas (preboiled 5 mins and drained)

Handmade:
For bread making you need a warm environment. I place my glass bowls in the oven at its lowest setting, to warm the flour, activating the yeast, and for the first rise.

In a pot melt the butter, add to this the sugar, and the water, and the milk powder, heat till luke warm.
Place in a warm small bowl, sprinkle yeast on top, knock below the surface. Set aside for 10-15 mins till this is frothy.
Place flour, salt, fruit, and spices in a large warmed glass bowl, mix. Make a well.
Pour the water, yeast mix in the flour well.
Using a dinner knife slowly work in the ingredients in the bowl working from center to outside, till it is worked in. Add more tepid water if necessary.
Tip on to floured bench and knead for four to five minutes, don’t hesitate to add more flour, your dough should not be sticky, nor dry.
Place in a large greased bowl (glass). Cover bowl with cling wrap and let rise in a warm area till it has doubled in size, approximately half an hour.
Take out and knead a couple of times. Place in a greased bread loaf tin*.
Let rise in warm area for about 20-30 mins.
Bake 200°C 25-30mins (when the bread is golden and sounds hollow when tapped). Let cool for half an hour before cutting, if you can wait this long.

I personally obmit the milk powder, and use whole milk instead of the water.

*Unless the tin is Chicago Metalic brand it is essential the tin is lined with baking paper to avoid a gradual breakdown in the pans surface, due to the acids in the bread.

Bread-machine:
Place all ingredients, bar the sultanas, in the pan. Set to raisin mode. Add fruit when the machine indicates.

4 c flour
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda, level
1 tsp salt
50g butter, cubed
2 c buttermilk

Line a tray with baking paper.
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl,fork lightly to ensure there is no lumps and that raising agents are evenly dispersed.
Rub in cubed butter. Make a well in the centre. Using a round tipped knife briskly mix buttermilk to form a dough.
With floured hands bring together on a floured surface to form a ball.
Shape dough into a round shape roughly 4cm thick. Place on the tray. Cut a cross in the top, (this assists distribution of heat)
Bake 190C for 35-45 minutes or until golden and hollow sounding when tapped.

250g high grade or unbleached flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
4g dried active yeast ?
1 egg
25ml water
125g butter, softened
50g dried apricots, diced

Sieve the flour onto your work surface or a large bowl. Make a well and add the salt, sugar and yeast. Slowly add the water and 3/4 of the egg, knead the dough for 6 – 7 minutes or until the dough is almost fully developed (it is important to develop the gluten structure before all the egg is added).
Continue to add the balance of the egg slowly whilst the dough is still being kneaded.
Add sufficient egg to achieve a very soft, elastic, very smooth and shiny dough.
Whilst kneading slowly, add the softened butter in small amounts. Knead in all the butter to achieve a smooth elastic silky dough. Do not over mix the dough as this will
cause over heating and the dough will become oily and greasy.
Add the apricot pieces and knead tin.
Transfer the dough into a lightly oiled container covered with glad wrap, give a bulk fermentation time of 1 hour in a warm draft free place. The dough should have
doubled in size.
Gently knock back the dough to expel all the gases, reactivate the yeast and strengthen the gluten structure. Finally push the dough out to a thickness of 5cm and
place into a shallow container, cover with glad wrap.
Place into the refrigerator over night (12 hours). This makes the dough easier to work off and mould since the dough will be cold and firm.
The following day remove the dough from the refrigerator and scale off into 120g pieces and roll into long rope shapes.
Plait into 1 x 3 strand plaits and place onto a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Cover and prove in a warm, draft free place until double in size (2 – 3 hours).
Using a pastry brush gently glaze with egg wash. Place directly into a preheated oven at 200C (410F) for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown in colour.
Remove from the mould after 10 minutes and place on a wire cooling rack.

3 1/2 c high grade or unbleached flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 c scalded milk
1/4 c granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
50g (2 oz) butter
3 tsp yeast
2 eggs
2 1/2 tbsp melted butter (for brushing over)

Cinnamon sugar (for topping)

In large bowl place the flour and cinnamon, mix to combine, make a well in the centre.
To the scalded milk add sugar, salt and then the first measure of butter, stir till disolved. Add the water. Allow to cool till luke warm.
Pour into well center, then sprinkle the yeast over, submerge it below the liquid surface. Leave to rest in a warm place till frothy.
Add eggs. Using a kitchen knife, mix all through, adding more water if needed so mixture is not dry, nor too sticky.
Cover and let rise until double in size, about 1 hour.
Turn dough onto a well-floured board. Roll dough around to coat with flour. (Dough will be soft.) Cut with floured doughnut cutter or cans. Lift carefully with spatula and place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheet. Brush with the melted butter. Cover and let rise until doubled (about 20 minutes).
Bake 8 to 10 minutes at 210C or until golden.
Immediately brush with more melted butter and shake in cinnamon sugar.
Or serve with a dollop of whipped cream in the center, and a smidgem of raspberry jam. Yum.

This is a diverse recipe, where one use any flour of choice (can be a combination). Honey, sugar, spices, fruits, nuts and seeds can also be included; use the Apricot hippie bread is an example for quantities. It can also be made in a normal loaf tin*, double the recipe for two.

Makes one large boule
Prep 24 hours

1/4 tsp dry yeast
3 c flour
1 tsp salt
125ml water

Add all ingredients to a bowl, with enough room for a little rising.
Mix.
Allow to rise at room temperature for 18-24 hours.
The dough is ready to handle when the top is dotted with bubbles.
Sprinkle a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) with flour (or corn meal, bran, seeds, etc.)
Pat the dough into a blob and place on top of the flour (or as above).
Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour, then place another towel on top.
Allow to rise for another 2 hours.
20 minutes before the dough is fully risen, heat the oven to 220C (450F).
At the same time, heat in the oven the dish you aim to cook it in (a 2 litre or larger ceramic, cast iron, or pyrex pot with a lid).
Dump dough into the pot, give a shake or two to distribute the dough, and cover and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid and bake for an additional 15-30 minutes.
Remove from the baking pot and enjoy!

*Unless the tin is Chicago Metalic brand it is essential the tin is lined with baking paper to avoid a metal reaction with the yeast (it can make the bread flop).

Apricot Hippie Bread

A mildly sweet and spiced breakfast bread.

1 dsp honey
1 c dried apricots
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

In a pot mix the honey in the water of the no knead bread recipe, heat, stir until dissolved.
Cut the dried apricots into small pieces, add them to the honey-water mixture, leave to soak till it is cold.
Combine the spices with the dry ingredients of the no knead bread recipe in a big bowl.
Mix all together, adding apricots mix.
Continue as with the no knead bread.