OK then – sit up straight and pay attention. This is my first foray into long-fermented bread. The theory behind long (or slow)-fermented bread (fermented for a day or two in the fridge), is that it develops a much better flavour** than normal bread. And I have a batch of Canadian flour with a stronger than normal protein structure which, allegedly, is perfect for the job.
**My worry is Continue reading
Definitely not resolutions – as I said earlier, I don’t do those – more along the lines of ambitions. These are things that need to be done if I’m to get my life back on track now my legs are healing – Lymphoedema is incurable, but the leaks have gone and the remaining lesions have almost completely healed, though I have to accept that either or both might be back at some point – first among them being get out more, before Cabin Fever sets in! If, indeed, it hasn’t already.
Before I can do that, I need to Continue reading
Since, with warmer weather, some people get an urge to make bread, it seemed like a good idea to post this. By the way, as long as your kitchen isn’t frigid, winter is no bar to bread-making. Yeast requires no special conditions – if you’re comfortable, it will be too.
As I’ve said before, most tins sold as loaf tins, here in the UK, are seriously Continue reading
If you followed my recommendation, and used Fermipan Red yeast to make your bread, you might be finding it elusive as my normal supply has dried up (I buy a couple of year’s worth at a time – it freezes well).
Anyway, I’ve found a new supplier at Continue reading
As I said last time, the bowl supplied with my Kenwood Silver Chef Premier is rubbish, so I was reverting to the much better bowl from my Chef Classic.
Did that today, all the problems I’d had with the bowl went away.
I also changed my technique slightly. Normally I pour the water/vinegar/yeast starter mixture into the bowl with the machine running, then add the oil. This time, I Continue reading
I’ve just bought one of those, and that “Silver” matters, as the basic Premier Chef, sans glass blender and Flexible Beater, and also without the Silver appellation, is distributed only through Argos.
Anyway, one of the problems with my previous Chef Classic, aside from a battery of ominous noises, is that it vibrates dreadfully. The new one doesn’t.
It is, though, by virtue of its Continue reading
A year or more ago I promised I’d make 100% Emmer bread – and never did.
Emmer is a primitive form of wheat that, like Spelt, Einkorn, and Khorason, dates back to when god was in short pants, and it makes very nice bread mixed 50-50 with white bread flour so, based on the fact that Italy allegedly has a thriving 100% Emmer bread industry, I thought I check it out – finally got round to it this week.
First problem Continue reading
Last Wednesday I made my weekly bread with 50% wholemeal Khorason flour instead of the normal 50% wholemeal, and it was a seriously strange experience.
Khorason, by the way, is an ancient strain of wheat that has remained unchanged for thousands of years – its origins are unknown, but it seems certain that it predates the Pharaohs. It is though to be a variant of Emmer which, itself, has been dated back to 7,000 years BC. The grain for my flour comes from the Khorason region of Iran, from which it takes it’s name (not Iraq as I might have said in an earlier post or Tweet).
Khorason is grown commercially in the US under the Continue reading
15 years ago, when I moved to my current building, an elderly fridge and cooker came as part of the deal. Last year, as they were all getting a bit long in the tooth (about 30 years old), the management company “gifted” them to the tenants – by which I mean saddled us with the inevitable replacement and removal costs!
I never used the fridge, it was Continue reading
And the rest of the year, of course, but summer is particularly problematic.
My home-made bread is, as I might have mentioned previously, excellent. It has a downside though – the keeping qualities of a Cameron pre-election promise. Not a defect, except in Cameron, but I hate waste.
A loaf will last me a week, but by day three, especially in warm weather, it’s starting to smell a bit ripe, and by day five it’s furry and in the bin.
OK, not unexpected, as it’s Continue reading
Ron's Rants... 