Crusty White Bread

It’s bean a month or so since I baked bread & these Autumn days have again put me in the mood for bread.  Winter makes me want comfort & along with soup, casseroles, stews & potatoes there is bread.  Bread baking in the over, the smell wafting through the house ti just makes you crave a slice or 2, or even 3, slathered in butter.

“Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.”

James Beard

This month’s Twelve Loaves challenge is your favourite bread.  Much as I tend to the brown & the grainy when baking & for breakfast every day it is white bread that is my favourite.  Pour, maligned, evil white bread.  However for me it has fond memories of my childhood back before it became evil incarnate; we hadn’t heard of Dr Atkins back then, carbs weren’t the bad guys & I hadn’t hear of gluten either! This was the ‘80s  & sitting around the kitchen table with friends we would drink cup after cup of coffee & eat lots of toast, white toast, while we gossiped & laughed & put the world to rights. It was also the go to snack at university when you arrived home in the wee hours. 

“I like bread, and I like butter - but I like bread with butter best.” 

Sarah Wiener

Bread & butter is the simple pleasure & for me the other classic with white bread is the bacon sandwich.  The bread should be white, the bacon crisp & the only accoutrement some good butter. To toast or not to toast?  Well I just go whichever way I like, sometimes it’s fresh & sometimes it is toasted.

Toasted reminds me of my Gran.  She ran a B&B on the Isle of Skye & when staying with her over the Summer holidays we feasted on bacon sandwiches after all the guests were fed.  White toast, a lot of butter, bacon & cut in 2 quarters.  So you see for me white bread, toasted or fresh, has always been associated with good memories. As with most things I think a little of what you like is always a good thing, moderation & balance are the key.

Crusty White Bread adapted from here & here

Makes 3 small loaves

Ingredients

1 tbsp runny honey

370ml lukewarm water 500g /1lb. flour, plus a little for dusting

1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Place the water & honey in a small bowl & whisk to dissolve the honey. In to a large bowl sift the flour & add the yeast & the salt.  Stir to mix everything together.  Make a well in the middle & pour in the water & honey mixture.  Mix everything together with a fork & then as it is all just coming together use your hands to gently knead the dough in to a ball.  The dough will still be a little rough but that is all OK, we are talking easy & a little bit rustic here.  Sprinkle a little flour over the top, cover with cling film & place in a cosy corner to rise for an hour or 2.

Pre heat your oven to 220C/425F

One the dough has double in size turn it our on to a floured surface.  Divide the dough in to 3 & shape in to little logs. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper & place in the oven, yep straight in to the oven no more proving or rising required.  From here on in the oven will do all the work.

Bake for 15 minutes & then turn down the temperature to 160C/320F.  Cook for a further 10-15 minutes until the bread is light golden & cooked through.  Use the tap test, tap the bread & if it sounds hollow it is cooked.

I know here is where I should say let the bread cool....but really?  I can never resist a slice straight away with butter as there is not much that beats freshly baked bread with a generous dollop of butter. Or as my Gran would have it a little bread with her butter!

This bread is a winner, for me not too light & not too heavy & perfect for a bacon sandwich.

“‘A loaf of bread,’ the Walrus said, ‘is what we chiefly need: Pepper and vinegar besides are very good indeed.’” 

Lewis Caroll

If you like this you might like this Rosemary & Walnut Irish Soda Bread
One year ago Auckland Eats Villa Maria
Two years ago Beef Bourguignon

Enjoy!

Saffron Tagliatelle with Spiced Butter from Ottolenghi's Plenty - IHCC

So this week it is noodles with Ottolenghi & it was always going to be this saffron tagliatelle with spiced butter. Yes, I do seem to have a thing for butter it does after all make most things better.  This time round it is lots of spice rather than chilli & lime.  Saffron spiked noodles doused in an exotically spiced butter was a combination I could not resist.   It’s a little like Italy meeting Morocco with ginger, paprika, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne & turmeric & what a match.  Though this spicy butter would be a good match for so many things...chicken, fish, maybe even the humble spud.  The spices do make the golden tagliatelle flecked with saffron threads really something to savour, but it is the saffron that make it all the more decadent & just a little exotic.

Saffron...the world’s most expensive spice.  Prized since the dawn of civilisation as a spice, a medicine, a dye & even magic potions.  So expensive as each little stigma needs to be harvested by hand & before the flowers wilt at the end of the day.  Small these little threads may be but they are potent so a little goes a long way.  Too much & they can make your dish bitter, but just the right amount & you have a vibrant golden colour with an earthy, almost hay-like flavour that will transport you somewhere exotic.

Saffron Tagliatelle with Spiced Butter

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the tagliatelle*

2 tsp saffron threads

4 tbsp boiling water

4 eggs

4 tbsp olive oil

440g /15 1/2 oz "00" pasta flour, plus a little extra for rolling

1 tsp ground turmeric

80g / 2 1/2 oz pine nuts, toasted & roughly chopped

4 tbsp mint, roughly chopped

4 tbsp parsley, roughly chopped

*If you don’t want to make the pasta use some good store bought tagliatelle & add a few saffron threads to the cooking water.

For the spiced butter

200g butter

4 tbsp olive oil

8 shallots, finely chopped

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp salt

Black pepper

Directions

Place the saffron in a small bowl with the boiling water & leave to infuse for at least 10 minutes. Add the eggs & oil to the saffron & beat to mix. Place the flour & turmeric in the bowl of a food processor & add the saffron mix. Blitz until you have a crumbly dough. Add a little more oil or flour as needed, the dough should be between sticky & dry.

Lightly dust your bench or board with flour, tip out the dough & knead into a ball for a few minutes until the dough becomes silky smooth. Wrap the dough in clingfilm & chill for at least 30 minutes, or up to a day.

When ready to make the past divide the dough into two pieces & keep one well covered. Roll the other piece into a thin rectangle. To start set the pasta machine to its widest setting & pass the dough through. Continue rolling the pasta, narrowing the setting by a notch every time, until you get to the lowest setting. You can either now cut the pasta in to wide ribbons or use the tagliatelle cutter on your machine.* Hang them on the back of a chair to dry for at least 10 minutes.

For the the spiced butter place the butter & oil in a frying pan & cook the shallots gently for about 10 minutes, or until they soften & the butter turns slightly brown, see this butter just gets better & better. Add all the spices, the salt & some pepper. Remove from the heat & keep warm. 

To cook the pasta bring a large pot of salted water to a boil & cook the tagliatelle for 2 to 3 minutes, or until al dente. Drain & return to the saucepan. Pour the spiced butter over the pasta & stir well to coat each ribbon, then divide among four plates, sprinkle with the pine nuts & chopped herbs & serve immediately.

*Next time I think I will go not quite to the thinnest setting & hand cut for a little more rustic dish & a little more bite to the tagliatelle.

Yes this one is quite spectacular. Pasta doused in butter how could that not be good??  The saffron come through & the butter is sweet & spicy so the herbs add a welcome freshness that lighten & brighten this dish.  Well worth the effort of making homemade pasta, which, once you have done it a few times doesn’t really take too much time at all.  The clean up probably takes more time!!

If you like this you might like these...
Green Pancakes with Lime Butter
Marinated Peppers with Pecorino
Multi Vegetable Paella

Enjoy!

In Season:Roasted Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

Doing the weekly shop I spotted these little beauties at my local veggie shop. One of winter’s little treats.  They may not look the prettiest but their knobbly bumpy interior hides sweet & nutty flavours that are perfect roasted & blitzed in to a soup to warm one up on what was a wild & wet Sunday afternoon.  

Jerusalem artichokes also known as sunchokes, sunflower choke or topinambour if you are French.  Originally from North America they are a member of the sunflower family they were cultivated by Native Americans. They then became popular with early settlers & then made their way to France in the 17th century & became popular throughout Europe before potato took over in the middle of the 18th century.

These knobbly little tubers pack quite the nutritious punch; rich in carbs, low in calories & packed with potassium, iron & vitamin C not to mention a good dose of fibre too.  They are versatile little fellows, equally at home raw in a salad or boiled or roasted like potatoes & of course they can be the star ingredient in soup.

The wet & the wild weekend allowed this little soup to shine & come in to its own as it warmed me up & brought a smile to my face on an otherwise dreary Sunday.  Though as I think I mentioned before, I am kind of like these days at the moment, especially when snuggled up inside with a bowl of something comforting, taking it easy, reading or watching a movie or just snoozing. I am going to make the most of enjoying these darker days as soon enough I will be pining for Spring!

In the meantime we can enjoy soup.

Roasted Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

Ingredients

750g Jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed clean & dried

2 tbsp hazelnut oil, if you don’t have hazelnut oil use olive oil

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

3 sprigs fresh thyme, tied with string

2 sprigs rosemary, tied with string

3 cups chicken stock, or vegetable stock

Sea & pepper

Toasted hazelnuts

Greek yogurt

Another sprig of rosemary

Directions

Pre heat the oven to 190C/375F

Place the Jerusalem artichokes on a baking sheet & drizzle the hazelnut oil.  Yes that’s right no peeling! If some are a little large cut them in half.  Sprinkle over a little salt and pepper & place in the oven & roast until they are cooked through; 35-40 minutes. When done they will feel soft inside when pierced with a knife. 

Meanwhile heat the olive oil over a medium heat in a heavy based saucepan & add the onions, garlic & a pinch of salt.  Sauté until soft & translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the thyme & rosemary & cook for a few minutes more.  Add the stock, Jerusalem artichokes & season with salt & pepper.  Bring to a boil & simmer for 5-10 minutes, really just to allow all the flavours to meld.  Blitz with a hand blender until smooth.

To serve ladle in to bowls, top with a dollop of yoghurt, a few toasted hazelnuts, a sprig of rosemary, a little hazelnut oil & a slice or 2 of crusty bread. The roasting & the hazelnut oil add a few more layers of nuttiness & the yoghurt a little richness. The rosemary provides a fresh herbal hit.

If you like this you might like this Spiced Roast Carrot & Lentil Soup with Toasted Dukkah Flatbreads

One year ago Cavalo Nero & Ricotta Bruschetta

Two years ago Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Enjoy!