There are so many other ways to naturally ferment bread than sourdough. Any form of live culture – yogurt, sauerkraut, beer – is a potential bread-maker! In this recipe, I’ll show you one of my favourite methods; using milk kefir … Read More
What our own ancestral kitchens and this virtual community has taught us in 2021.… Read More
Mutton chops fried in home-rendered lard (both from @valledelsasso).
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Lettuce and rosolaccio salad (both from Irene at #mercatointransizione) topped with a dressing made from chestnut vinegar, olive oil, mustard, honey, sumac and spent ginger from ginger beer.
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Sourdough rye bread (get the recipe from my profile linktr.ee) spread with lard.
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Together with a home-made ancient beer and some sauerkraut, this is the lunch I served my hubby today. He was happy 🙂
When I saw a Christmas ‘fermented’ gingerbread dough being mixed up in October by @kitchencounterculture I *knew* I had to create-a-long! I combined local raw honey with my beloved spelt flour…the combo has been sitting in a cool spot in my apartment doing its thing since then.
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I wasn’t the only one who wanted in – @elliemarkovitch and @zerowastechef mixed up some in their parts of the world and we are all very excited to dig out our super-charged doughs and make them into cookies in time for Christmas. We’re loosely following the fermented gingerbread recipe on King Sandor @sandorkraut’s website.
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I don’t think I’ve had so many messages about a bake before – thank you to everyone who’s joining in. We’re planning a live Zoom bake-up on December 13th at 8am EST/2pm CET. Come see what each of us has made and mix your final doughs with us.
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If you’d like to join us, send me a DM and I’ll make sure you get the Zoom details!
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Thank you to @elliemarkovitch for the beautiful photos of her rye dough baking.
Mixing another castagnaccio today.
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It astounds me that such simple food (it’s chestnuts, water and oil) can be so attractive. And that a food that literally saved people from dying of starvation here in Italy can be so incredibly tasty.
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That’s joy of cucina povera – the recipe lexicon that was born of necessity – it’s the collective ingenuity of thousands. Sustenance and deliciousness from what was around them, because they needed to.
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I am blessed to be able to access food easily. And yet, every time I bake castagnaccio, I think back to those before me who took painful restrictions and with creativity, created beauty.
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Amidst all the ridiculous food systems and marketing we swim in these days, this is the food and these are the people who need honouring.
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It’ll soon be ready. I wish I could cut you a slice.
Spelt loaf risen with milk kefir.
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This loaf might sound daunting, but if you’ve got some live milk kefir, spelt flour and a warm place, it’s surprisingly simple.
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And it tastes amazing – smooth, creamy and sweet.
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Let me know if you fancy giving it a go. I’ve not written it up yet, but if it’s wanted, I want it to be made!
Have you *listened* to your sourdough starter recently?
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I took mine out of the fridge this morning, popped the lid, and it sang to me. The noise of tiny little bubbles, lively and high-pitched was awe-inspiring.
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Whilst I go about my day, there are communities of microbes living a parallel life in my home. That makes me smile.
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In case you’re curious, I keep a 100% wholegrain rye sourdough starter. It’s thick, not watery, as I find this helps it to last longer between refreshes. I keep it in the fridge, bringing it out the night before I want to bake and spooning a bit into fresh flour and water to make a ‘levain’ for the next day’s loaf. When it’s getting low, or when it’s smelling vinegary, I make a new batch and pop it back in the fridge.
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I use this rye starter in virtually all my breads, even my spelt ones. I love rye’s enthusiasm to host lactic and acetic acid bacteria; it makes strong breads.
The quality of our holidays is important. And they are almost here!
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The latest podcast episodes cover US and UK traditions, our Christmases-past memories, how we do Christmas now and lots and lots of food talk!
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Again and again Andrea and I return to the unspoken quality of the festive period and how we can cultivate that in ways that don’t cost much.
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You can download our episodes from your favourite podcast app or stream/download them from my site, the link for which is in my profile.
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I’m looking forward to seeing how you celebrate the holidays. As the season ramps up, please do share and tag @farmandhearth and I 🙂
Festive traditions from both sides of the Altantic and a big heap of inspiring Christmas food ideas!… Read More
I had my sourdough spelt pizza dough cooked in a hand-made wood-fired oven this weekend!
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It’s the first time I’ve had the honour of having my recipe baked in such a traditional, amazing way and I was super-excited. We did a few like this, and then others a schiacciata (think focaccia but thinner) with just olive oil and herbs on top.
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It tasted very good. Gabriel, my 7 year-old was so excited, I thought he was going to pop!
I’ll put some more pictures from the lovely day out at a community garden in my story today.
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And, if you want a go (it works in normal ovens too!) the recipe for the pizza is in my profile.