Toad-in-the-Hole is an English dish that combines the gloriousness that is sausages with the deliciousness of a crispy, bready surrounding. It is filling and comforting. I love it. Traditionally, it is made with a white flour batter. Being a Toad-in-the-Hole … Read More
Bread, soaked in stock, layered with bolognaise sauce, topped with cheese and baked till it’s bubbling and crispy and all melded together. It’s this month’s #ancestralcookup – you can find the recipe via the link on my profile. I’d love it if you fancy cooking with me.
Water kefir grains can be used in a lot of ways. You don’t just have to put them in a sugar/water solution. They work with honey, I’ve used them in green juice and here’s the result of putting them with watermelon: Watermelon kefir.
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I’ve transferred it to a swing top with some sliced pear (added so its sugar can be further fermented and the drink will become fizzy) for a second ferment.
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Feels a bit like pink champagne. Tastes complex – fresh from the watermelon, tart from my likeness for sour ferments (I leave them a long time) and sweet from the pear.
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You do not need a juicer for this. I blended the watermelon flesh and then drained it through a sieve.
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Cheers!
The crust. Is it the best bit? Or is it the place where the juicy topping meets the dough? Or maybe the crispy bottom?!
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All of those places on the wholegrain spelt sourdough pizza I make are gooood.
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What’s your favourite bit?
Is a pizza a pizza if it doesn’t have tomato or cheese? Perhaps it’s a focaccia (or as they are called in Tuscany, schiacciata)? This was supposed to be a Fitascetta, but it’s not as I couldn’t find red onions in the groovy local shop that I have fallen in love with since lockdown.
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Arghh…you know what (she says quietly considering she lives in Tuscany), I don’t really care what it is. Or if it breaks the ‘rules’. What I know that it tastes d.i.v.i.n.e. 🙂
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Sourdough spelt dough, mixed by my 6-year old, topped with lard-fried onions, olives, olive oil, garlic and oregano from the garden. Every ingredients is organic. It took 5 minutes in our oven – that’s the quickest I’ve ever got a pizza done. It makes such a difference to the base and dough.
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We’ve got a huge wooden table in our kitchen. There’s extra space. I wish you could come and share…
Oven-baked fermented semi-wholegrain millet cakes. They are easier to eat than to say! 4 days in the making, but it’s mostly hands off. Still, it makes me sound like a pro so here we go 😉 This is what I did with the millet (there’s a pic a few posts back of it straight from the shop): Soaked, rinsed, sprouted, blended, fermented, dolloped (the technical term) and then baked.
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They really do not keep and are best, as here, straight from the oven. .
Looking at the long description above, I can see how absurd this might seem to one who takes a slice of bread from a packet. But I love it. We eat these often.
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You can also use the fermented mix to make porridge. It is very good.
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A few days left of April to have a go at the #ancestralcookup Beef & Barley stew. We are doing it again tomorrow here. I’d love to see your pictures if you do – the recipe template is in my bio.
If you want to bake sourdough but aren’t, what is the biggest thing that’s stopping you?
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I have spent a lot of the last year and a half teaching myself sourdough, focusing on wholegrains and local flour. It has brought me so much. And I want to pass that on.
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So, if you’re struggling to bake it, tell me where you are having problems; what you’re struggling with. I’ll take that and try to figure out how I can mix it with my own skills and turn out something that’ll help people move on.
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In addition, if you want to help me out, please feel free to share/re-post this. The more people I can reach, the better I’ll get at figuring out how to get more beautiful loaves out there. A big THANK YOU!
There is still time for you to join me in the #ancestralcookup. We are making beef and barley stew together! At mine, we are enjoying it again for lunch – with home-made soda bread, goat’s butter and some sauerkraut. Check out the link in my bio for all the details of how to join in – I’d love to cook with you 🙂
It was *really* hard to not eat all of last week’s rye sourdough. But we did it! And here is what I wanted it for: Bread Kvass. I’ve put lots of very dark sugar in it too, so the flavours should be deep and rich.
I’m getting another batch of the current Ancestral Cook-up – Beef & Barley Stew – ready for cooking tomorrow. I couldn’t get any cabbage this week, so it’ll be a lot of Tuscan Kale instead. That’s fine – I planned the cook-up like this; so we could add in what we could get hold of. If you fancy cooking along with me, I’d love your company. The link to all the details is in my profile.
Want to cook along with me on this dish? If you fancy some company and inspiration in your kitchen, the #ancestralcookup is for you. This first one is Beef & Barley Stew. Click the link in my profile and you’ll find a template recipe and all the details you need to make a tasty, comforting, super-nutritious meal. I’ve written it in a way that makes it easy for you to cook along in your own home no matter what ingredients you can get hold of, no matter what your family can or can’t or like to eat. I’d love it if you want to join in, cook up and show me what you make!
