Sour Dough Loaf - Basic

Sour Dough Loaf - Basic

Sour Dough Loaf - Basic

This loaf is rather special, it is made from a culture that sat on the kitchen bench for 3 days. During this time it wasn't fed or stirred. I did this as I want to post some culture to a friend, who lives in South Australia. I needed to know that the culture would survive the trip. So after 3 days I followed the following process to make a loaf. The result is in the pictures above. The only difference that I noticed was that the 2nd. rise in the cooking dish, took a bit longer. It is also important that the 1st. 1/2 hour of cooking is in a covered dish.

220g Warm filtered water
250g bread mix (I use Laucke), if just flour add 2 teaspoons of both salt and sugar.
Additional 300g flour, to be added later
220 Sour Dough culture, should be the consistency of thick pancake mix

When culture arrives by post, pour into a large glass jar with lid.
Immediately feed with 1/2 cup of bread flour and 1/2 cup of filtered water. stir until smooth. Leave at room temp and feed for the next 2 days. ( 3 days ) This will activate the culture. If you don't wish to make bread the next day, put the lid on and refrigerate. Feed weekly.
If you wish to make bread immediately, remove the amount of culture required, feed the culture ( in the jar again and leave at room temp for a couple of hours before refrigerating.)

Add the above ingredients ( except the additional flour to the TMX bowl and knead at interval for 5 mins. Leave in bowl or tip into a container to prove for 18 hours. (I usually do this mixing at 4.00pm, and then it can prove over night and be ready at 10.00am. next day. The dough will be very wet and should be covered with plastic while it rises. It should almost double.
Next day, at 10.00am, Knead for 2 mins in TMX, adding the additional flour.
Tip onto Thermo mat and fold dough over several times. It is messy getting it out of the bowl.Add more flour to make handling easier.
Prepare baking dish. It should be one with lid, or dough formed on baking sheet so that a lid can be placed over it, and allowing it to grow to 3 times what you have formed. It is wise to oil and line, with baking paper , the dish.
Sit covered dish, with plastic, in a warm spot for it to double. This may take up to 4 hours, depending on temp of room.
Preheat oven to 220.
Spray bread with water or egg wash and then put lid on bread and into oven.
Cook for 30 mins. with lid on, remove lid and cook for a further 30 mins.

This gives a large loaf, but 1/2 mix can be made
If a cooking container with lid is not available, then a 'tent' of foil can be placed over the dough. It is not as good as a lid, but does keep some steam in to give a final 'bounce'
This bread freezes very well.

Novel Apple Pud.

Novel Apple Pud.

This recipe has been a favorite in our family for years. Aunty Glad would make it and we would line up for seconds. I like it with cream, but others like it with ice cream. This recipe is really improved by making in the Thermomix as the mixing of the flour, sugar and butter, before adding the water is important. This allows a smooth sauce to develop around the apple rings.

4 cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into thick rings (3 from each apple)
3/4 cup of sugar
1 Tablespoon of butter
2 Tablespoons of Self Raising flour
1 cup of cold water.

Place apple rings into a baking dish in a single layer.

Place sugar, flour and butter into TMX bowl and zap on speed 7 for 20 seconds.
Add water and mix
, speed 7 for 10 seconds.
Pour over apple rings.

Bake in oven, 200 until light brown on top and a jelly forms around apple rings.

If the apples are extra large, prepare in the same manner, but double the sauce.
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Granny Smith and lemon Curd

Granny Smith and lemon Curd

I am always on the lookout for recipes where I can use produce from our garden. I recently noticed a recipe from the River Cottage's Hugh Fearnley- Wittingstall, It uses apples, lemons and eggs, all of which we produce plenty. It also seemed perfect to make in the Thermomix. When I tasted it I realized that an extra bonus was the multitude of ways this curd could be used.

500g Granny Smith Apples, after peeling and coring
500g sugar
125g unsalted butter
5 eggs (to weigh 220g. or a bit more)
2 whole lemons, (unwaxed washed and cut into 8th.'s)
Juice of 1 lemon.

Add sugar and cut up lemons to TMX bowl, zap for 20 seconds, speed 7.
Add 1/4ed apples and zap 20 seconds,speed 7
Add butter, ( cut into cubes), and eggs, and extra lemon juice.Zap for 20 seconds, speed 7.
Cook on 100, for 10 mins., speed 3, then
Cook for 10 mins., 90, speed 3
Pour into sterilized jars and seal, turn upside down. Cool


Makes about 4/5 medium jars.
Best refrigerated because of the eggs.

Can be used with/on, Pancakes, Waffles, Queen of Puddings, over ice cream, filling in Lemon Tea Cake, crumpets, toast, and added to an Apple pie filling,

No Knead, Sour Dough Oat Bread

No Knead Sour Dough Oat Bread


Nothing could be easier than this recipe. You mix in T.M at about 4pm. one day and form it to cook at 10 am the next morning. It will need to double on the second rise, so should be ready for lunch. Because it is 18 hours ( mostly overnight) a good flavour develops.

90g. oats
90g whole wheat flour premix ( I use Lauke)
300g white bread flour premix ( I use Lauke)
1 cup of starter ( about the consistency of thick pancake batter)
1 cup of water, warm
AT 4pm...........
Weigh above ingredients into T.M bowl Mix 5 seconds on speed 7.
Knead 1min 30 seconds on interval speed.
The mix should be a bit sticky, if not add another Tablespoon of water and mix at interval for 15 seconds.
Oil a large bowl and pat mix into a round shape and place in bowl.
Spray with water and cover with plastic,a shower cap, glad wrap,or into a plastic shopping bag tied so that it is fairly air tight.
Dont worry if nothing seems to have happened by the time you go to bed .Just leave it in a warm place.
NEXT MORNING.........
It should have nearly doubled, by about 10 am. tip it onto your bench and form it into whatever shape you wish.
Leave on the bench while you prepare tin, Pyrex cooking dish, cast iron pot . or what ever you choose.
Oil tin, coat generously with rolled oats, bottom and sides.
Place dough into tin with any folded seams underneath. Spray with water, sprinkle with oats, spray again (this helps the oats stick)
Cover with plastic, place in warm place to double. Should take about an hour to 1 1/2. If it is cold and the dough is slow to double, fill the sink with boiling water and place a rack over the water , place the bread on the rack and cover the lot with a table cloth. or put it in the car which is in the sun, or in the over set at 50 or in the bed with the electric blanket on.

Heat oven to 220
Make a "tent" with foil allowing for a little more "bounce"(growth) in the oven.
Make 1cm. slashes across the top, spray again with water.
Place in center of oven.cook for 30 mins with "lid" on , remove lid and cook for 20 mins. more. Take out of tin turn upside down and bake for a further 10 mins.
Resist cutting, if you can, for 1 hour.

This is a basic loaf that can be adapted in many ways, but is best to start out simple and get the feel of the bread.
The texture is good fresh but also very good toasted.

Custard cooked in Varoma and covered with a layer of Raspberry Jam and Raspberries.












Queen of Puddings

Queen of Puddings

This is one of those old fashioned desserts. It is easy, inexpensive in that you have most of the ingredients on hand, and uses fresh bread crumbs. It is also flexible in that you can make the middle layer to suit what you have on hand. It is traditionally made with lemon butter, but today I didn't have any so I used what I had, which was raspberry jam and the last of the Autumn raspberries. I have been thinking of making it for some time but was undecided as to whether to cook the custard first or pour the uncooked custard mix over the breadcrumbs and then cook it. Thermomixer solved the problem for me today when he posted his B&B pud, Aussie Style. He cooked it in the Varoma.


50g. sugar
Peel of 1/2 a lemon.
185g. milk
65g. cream
2 egg yolks
1 cup of fresh white breadcrumbs

Filling layer, e.g. lemon butter, jam, cooked rhubarb, fruit-cooked or fresh.

2 egg whites
30g caster sugar


Zap lemon peel with sugar on TMX bowl
Add milk,cream, egg yolks, mix 15 sec. on speed 3.
Select a heat proof baking dish that will fit into the Varoma, and will accommadate the breadcrumbs and the mix in the bowl. ( about 350g )
Place the bread crumbs into the dish and pour over the contents in the TMX bowl.
Cover the baking dish with glad wrap, and place in Varoma, I put an egg ring under the baking dish so that plenty of steam would circulate around the dish.
Place 750g of warm water in the bowl, Varoma temp. for 20 mins. speed 3
Place Varoma on TMX and steam
After 20 mins. check that custard is set, ( it will set up after you remove it from Varoma)
Remove glad wrap, let stand for 5 to 10 mins. During this time you could beat the egg whites until stiff adding the caster sugar gradually.
When the custard has set up a little on standing, spread a thin layer of filling over the custard.
Spread the egg whites over the filling, covering right up to the edge of the baking dish.
Place in a preheated oven 200, to set the egg white and lightly brown the top.

This makes 4 generous serves.

The custard could be flavored with spices instead of the lemon zest.

Parmesan - crumbed mushrooms with aioli

Parmesan - crumbed mushrooms with aioli

Rodney Dunn, from The Agrarian Kitchen, has done it again. In the April 2010 issue of Gourmet Traveller he has a collection of Mushroom recipes. Today I cooked the parmesan crumbed recipe,and it was delicious. They could be served as an entre or as a side to a main meal. I didn't make the aioli as we ate the mushrooms with seafood pancakes as it is Good Friday. I used the TMX to make the batter that the mushrooms are dipped in, prior to the parmesan breadcrumbs. The pramesan cheese I grated in the TMX before adding the breadcrumbs, and then mixed together.

Rice Bran oil for deep frying
150g seasoned flour
3 eggs
250ml. milk
240g. fine white fresh breadcrumbs
100g. finely grated parmesan
800g. large Swiss Brown mushrooms,( about 12), thickly sliced.

Place parmesan in TMX bowl and zap to form fine mix, add breadcrumbs and mix briefly. Set aside in shallow dish.
Place flour, eggs and milk in TMX bowl and zap for 6 seconds, speed 5. Place in shallow dish.
Heat oil to 180 in deep pan on stove.
Dip mushroom slices in egg wash and then in breadcrumbs.
Fry until golden, drain on hand towel.

Aioli

2 eggs
Juice of 1 lemon
4 garlic cloves
125g, EACH of Rice Bran oil, and olive oil.

Place eggs, lemon juice and garlic in TMX bowl and press TURBO button twice.
Scrape down sides
Place Butterfly in bowl and beat for 1 min. on speed 4.
Slowly add oil over 4 mins.

This makes 6 generous serves

Mushrooms