Make Your Own Amazing Buttermilk Bread Rolls
These Buttermilk Bread Rolls will really impress your dinner party guests. They go well with most starters that don’t require crispy rolls served alongside.
Tag: baking
Easy, Spiced Carrot and Walnut Cake, With Mascarpone Cream
This Easy Spiced Carrot and Walnut Cake is one of my favourite cakes. Great for making in advance as the flavour develops over a couple of days. The cake also becomes moister as the sugar in the cake absorbs moisture from the air. I sometimes make two at once and freeze one for later use.
Indulgent, Chocolate Brownies, easy to make, easier to eat.
Who doesn’t like chocolate? Well not me, I think i’m addicted. These Chocolate Brownies never fail to please and rarely are there any leftovers. Like any cooking, use cook quality ingredients to get the best results. I’ve used 70% cocoa solids chocolate, unsalted butter, and quality cocoa powder. Don’t use drinking chocolate, it’s not the same. They do freeze, if you can resist……
Makes 9-12 Chocolate Brownies.
Oven temperature 190˚c – 175˚c fan.
100g unsalted butter (plus extra for greasing)
85g dark plain chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
4 large eggs
dash vanilla essence
350g golden caster sugar
120g plain white flour
30g cocoa powder
120g dark chocolate drops
100g walnuts, chopped
You will need-
A 20 x 24cm shallow baking tin
Baking parchment
Saucepan with a heatproof bowl
Jug
Hand Whisk
Flour sieve
Spatula
Chopping board and knife
Cooling wire
Getting organised
Fill the saucepan about ¼ full of water and place over a low heat. You will need a heatproof bowl (Pyrex is ideal) that will sit in the pan without the base of the bowl sitting in the water.
Dice up the butter and pop it into the bowl along with the 85g of chocolate. It’s important that the water doesn’t boil and overheat the chocolate, or it will become grainy.
While the chocolate is melting lightly grease the baking tin and line with baking parchment. The lining needs to come up the sides of the tin to avoid the mixture seeping underneath.
When the chocolate and butter have melted remove the bowl from the pan and place to one side.
Crack the eggs into the jug and add the vanilla essence then whisk to lightly aerate the eggs
We are now ready to finish the brownies.
Fold the beaten eggs into the melted chocolate with the spatula, followed by the sugar.
Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the chocolate mixture and fold in Finally fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts and you’re ready to go.
Transfer the mixture into the lined tin scraping the sides of the bowl with the spatula. Level off the surface and pop the tin into the oven
Baking the brownies
Baking will take between 25 and 35 minutes depending on your oven and how firm you like your brownies.
To see if they are cooked, pierce the centre with a metal skewer, it should be set but still quite moist. If you like them cakier, cook for another 10 minutes.
If you have a probe thermometer aim for a 85˚c core temperature for a soft centre.
When ready place the tin on a cooling wire and leave to cool in the tin.
When completely cooled down, carefully remove from the tin and cut into portions. I cut into three on the narrow edge and ether three or four on the long side depending on hunger.
To serve as a dessert gently warm the brownies. Don’t microwave them, it makes them tough.Serve with ice cream of crème fraiche.
Tip.
The walnuts can be omitted from the recipe if you wish. Add another 40g of chocolate drops in place of the walnuts for the most chocolaty, gooey brownies possible.
Enjoy Life !
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
If you enjoyed your visit with us, please subscribe up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at The Westcoaster. Subscribe Here
©John Webber. 2023
Try A Beautifully Light Helston Pudding, My Easy Christmas Dessert.
Beautifully light Helston Pudding. It’s easy to make comfort food which makes a light alternative to Christmas Pudding. I have put in a couple of minor changes to make it even more Christmassy, and served it with an orange brandy sauce.
How to make, Rosemary and Red Onion Focaccia Bread
Homemade Focaccia bread is a joy and very versatile. It’s sure to become a family favourite, and a great accompaniment to a BBQ or picnic.
The Best, Walnut Bread, Rich, and Delicious
Rich, and delicious, Walnut Bread is a perfect bread to serve with cheese at a casual lunch. Or as part of a dinner party meal. Savoury yet sweet it’s very moreish and is just as good lightly toasted and served with butter.
If you’re not familiar with making bread. Read our page on Making Bread at Home for all the information and tips you need to make your own great bread.
Makes two small loaves.
Ferment.
2tsp – 7g dried yeast
3 tbsp water at blood heat
Good pinch flour
The dough.
330g granary flour
½ tsp- 3g Salt
45g unsalted butter
25g dark brown sugar
190ml milk at blood heat
60g chopped walnuts
60g sultanas
Oven temperature 200˚c 395˚f
You will need.
2 x 1lb loaf tins with liners
Mixing bowl or mixing machine
Small saucepan
Bowl for the milk
A fine sieve
Small bowl for the ferment
Measuring spoons
Chopping board and knife
This is a complex bread enriched with brown sugar, sultanas, and walnuts. All of this can be a struggle for the yeast to cope with, so a ferment is used to help the bread prove. Look up our post on ‘What is Yeast a baker’s guide’ to get the lowdown on how to use yeast and get the best from it.
How to make, a ferment.
Put the flour into a clean mixing bowl and add the salt. Mix the yeast with the lukewarm water in a small bowl add a good pinch of flour stir in and leave to stand for 15-20 minutes. The contents of the bowl should be light and bubbly when ready for use.
Getting organised.
To enhance the ‘nutty’ flavour of the bread we are going to toast the butter and make nut brown butter. The French term for this is ‘Beurre Noisette which is commonly used at a dressing for fish, pasta, and vegetables.
Before you start whisk the milk and sugar together in a small bowl. Have a small fine sieve ready and keep both to hand.
How to make, Beurre Noisette.
Dice the butter and pop into a small saucepan. Place the pan over a medium heat and watch it closely. This will need your undivided attention. You can go from Beurre Noisette to Beurre Noir (black butter) very quickly.
Watch the pan like a hawk. The butter will begin to foam and make a crackling sound as the moisture is driven off. After a couple of minutes, the foaming will slow down the noise from the pan become quieter. You are now seconds away from been ready. The butter will start to become golden brown with a light crust on the surface.
Immediately strain the butter through the fine sieve into the milk and stir well.
If you think the butter has gone too far DON’T put into the milk. You will just waste everything. Get some fresh butter and have another go. Don’t worry once you have mastered it its quite straightforward.
Making the dough.
Put the flour and salt into a mixing bowl with the dough hook attached and mix on a slow speed. Pour the milk and butter mixture into the flour a little at a time. Then add the ferment water which should now be actively bubbling with yeast.
Mix on a low speed for 10 minutes to stretch the dough after which it should be soft and elastic.
Roughly chop the walnuts and add them to the dough with the sultanas.
Remove the dough hook then cover the bowl with a cloth leave in a warm place (about 25°C/75°F) for the dough to rise. This will take about 1 hour.
Moulding the dough.
Tip the dough out onto the work surface and ‘knock back, the dough. Do this by punching it with the heel of your hand 2 or 3 times; this will release some of the gases in the dough. Then fold the dough over three or four times to spread the yeast cells through the dough.
Roll out the dough into a long sausage shape and divide into 2 pieces. Place the dough ‘sausages’ in the lined tins and cover with a tea towel. leave the tins in a warm, draught-free place to ‘prove’ for about 45 minutes. When ready the loaves should have almost doubled in size.
Alternatively, the dough can be formed into small loaves on a baking sheet.
Baking the bread.
Bake the bread in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
When baked turn the loaves out of the tins onto a wire rack to cool completely before use. Use within three days or freeze for later use.
Tips.
A packet fast action yeast can be used instead of the dried yeast if wished.
To add even more flavour, try the addition of ½ tsp of chopped fresh rosemary leaves into the dough.
Do give this bread a try. I guarantee once you have, it will become a regular treat.
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
If you enjoyed your visit with us, please subscribe up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at The Westcoaster. Subscribe Here
©John Webber. 2023
A guide to Flour Types and uses.
This bakers guide will answer all your questions about flour. Types and grades of flour are explained. Along with a range of alternative flours. See our tips on baking and using different types of flour.
Making Bread at Home.
Making bread at home? All your questions answered here. Together with hints and tips to help you.
What is yeast? A Baker’s guide.
What is Yeast? Yeast is all around us, in different forms. It’s a single cell organism without which life would be all the poorer. We know that bakers use it to make a dough ‘rise’. Without it, our bread would be like flat, hard cakes. A little understanding of how yeast works and what it needs will improve our baking. And reduce our failures.
In the days when people made their own bread, they would go to a brewer and get a jug of fluid and yellow brewer’s yeast.
Nowadays, yeast is made commercially on a large scale. The yeast you buy at the shops is compressed into moist blocks of a grey / yellow plasticine like mass. Fresh yeast like this is my favourite form of yeast. It produces a better flavour in the bread and is easy to use, but its shelf life can be a problem if you don’t bake frequently.
Also, if you don’t live in or near a city you may have problems buying fresh yeast. For that reason, all the recipes in the blog use yeast in a dried form.
Yeast types.
As far as our bread is concern, we have four options we can use: –
Fresh, or ‘wet’ yeast.
As I’ve said great to use, but a problem to find and store. If your local wholefood store doesn’t sell a lot of yeast, it may be deteriorating before your get your hands on it. Also, as the wastage can be high, so shops will charge a premium for fresh yeast. fresh yeast can be crumbled directly into the flour or used to make a ferment (my preference).
Freezing fresh yeast.
You can freeze fresh yeast. Wrap it in tinfoil and if you have it pop the parcel into a small bubble wrap bag then freeze. The bubble wrap will protect the yeast from the harshness of the freezer and prolong its life.
The yeast will be fluid when defrosted and you will need to add a little more to the recipe when making the dough. This is because some of the yeast cells may have been damaged during the freezing.
Natural yeasts – sourdough.
This is a simple basic process where we mix flour and water together and allowing the natural airborne yeasts begin to ferment the batter. This is then cleaned and fed each day for five to seven days to make our ferment, or sourdough starter as it is known. Look up our post on making your own sourdough starter.
The long slow proving needed for sourdough produces a bread with great flavour and keeping qualities. Nothing beats sourdough toast!
Dried yeast.
This is fresh yeast dried and compressed into pellets. Usually sold in a small tin and needs to be mixed with water before use. DO NOT add it directly into the flour as it will not dissolve in the dough. Works fine, I would always recommend making a ferment to make sure the yeast is properly dissolved.
Fast Action Yeast.
This in the one you buy in the little tin foil pouches. Originally developed for bread making machines this is a finer grain. This means it will dissolve in a dough without pre-mixing with water. The ‘Fast Action part is because vitamin C has been added to the yeast to supercharge it and help the machine produce a lighter loaf.
Changing from fresh to dried yeast.
Both are fine to use at home and there is a basic rule for converting a recipe from fresh yeast to dried or visa vera. Use half the weight of dried yeast to the fresh quantity. And of course, use double the weight of fresh yeast to dried in the recipe.
How yeast works.
Yeast requires sugar (glucose) before it can ferment. Luckily, yeast contains enzymes which are capable of changing both cane sugar, (sucrose) and malt sugar (Maltose) into Dextrose. So almost any sweet material (except milk sugar) will assist in fermentation.
The problems with sugar
As wheat flour already contains 2.5% of these sugars. Any mixture of flour and water will readily ferment without the addition of any extra sugar. What’s important is the concentration of sugar that the yeast has to cope with. A dough with more than 12% sugar will be inhibiting the actions of the yeast. This must be remembered when doughs are made which are very rich in sugar. The yeast content must be increased to compensate for this effect. I would always use a ferment as well to give the best chance of success.
High fat breads.
Excess, fat, salt, sugar, and spices all slow down the progress of the yeast. Where we have a dough with very high concentrations of fat like a brioche dough. The majority of the fat is added to the dough at the ‘knocking back stage’. This give the dough time to prove and develop before the fat is worked in.
Salt.
Direct contact with salt will kill yeast. 7-10g of salt per 0.50kg of flour should be plenty for the dough without inhibiting the action of the yeast too much.
Making a ferment.
This is something a like to do. And is beneficial for the dough, particularly rich doughs like my walnut bread.
Take the yeast and mix to a smooth paste in a small dish using blood temperature water. The mix should be the consistency of double cream. Add a good pinch of the flour you will be using and mix in. over the dish with a tea towel and leave to stand for a while. When the yeast is bubbling and has risen in the dish your ferment is ready to use.
And that’s where the term ‘Proving’ comes from. Many years ago, before modern cold storage you couldn’t be sure if the yeast was still active enough to make bread. Mixing the yeast with flour and water and seeing it ferment and grow proved the yeast was fit for use. Today we still do this but for a different reason. It allows the yeast to get a head start. And begin to multiply before having to cope with concentrations of fat or sugar.
Temperature.
How many times have you seen ‘warm’ water specified in a bread recipe or prove in a warm place? The problem here is our interpretation of ‘warm’. You may have noticed above I specified ‘blood temperature water’ for making the ferment. We are warm blooded, so anything warm feels neutral to us.
Yeast is dormant at (0°c) but as the temperature increases so too does the activity of the yeast until at (49°c) it becomes killed. The best working temperatures are between (21-28˚c).
Without understanding this, it is easy to be tempted to ferment yeast at too high a temperature. Even 28°c) feels comparatively cool to the touch. Too high a temperature causes the dough skin ove and spoils the formation of the interior of the bread.
If you’re not sure how warm your water should be, here’s a simple baker’s trick.
Take the temperature you want your dough to be, let’s say 26˚c then double it, that’s 52˚c.
Take the temperature of the flour you are using. Let’s say it’s been in the larder and is only 18˚c.
Take that from the target temperature, and that’s the water temperature you need- 52˚c-18˚c =34˚c.
So, when you are making your bread remember it’s a living thing. Using yeast is not unlike growing a plant. You start with a few cells that need to cared for in the right way.
Not too hot, some moisture, be careful with the minerals and your yeast will grow and flourish. And of course, so will your bread.
Enjoy life!
John.
©John Webber. 2023
Quick and Easy, Ricotta Hotcakes.
Quick and easy Ricotta hotcakes. perfect for breakfast with honey butter and berry fruits. Alternatively serve them to enhance a full cooked breakfast.
Easy Soda Breads to Make at Home.
Make these easy soda breads at home. It’s so satisfying and rewarding everybody should be doing it.
Make Your Own,- Welsh Cakes.
These homemade Welsh Cakes are easy to make and are a great addition to an afternoon tea spread. They are a variation of a griddle scone and shortbread, lightly spiced and finished with a coating of sugar.
