Home-Made Sausages are one of the most flexible foods we have available to us. Whether it’s a comforting plate of bangers and mash, fending off the cold weather. A quick buttered sausage roll as a snack or the compulsory BBQ sausage, it’s a year round go to treat.
Learn how to sharpen your kitchen knives, and keep them sharp in this definitive guide. Part 1, using a whetstone.
Christmas is really a once-a-year dinner party. And this is my Essential 12 tips for a Successful Christmas Dinner, without all the stress.
As its only once a year we want to make it special for everybody. But often the day become a chore that YOU don’t enjoy and leaves you no time to enjoy the day with the family.
What’s worse is that dinner party guest are normally very polite and complimentary. Of course, at Christmas we have the pickiest guest of all – The family. So, lets guide you through some hints and tips so make the day less stressful, less work, and more fun!
And if it’s not Christmas? Read on, most of these tips equally apply to any dinner party.
Don’t leave it until the week before to decide what you’re having for the meal. Remember that good looking starter you saw Jamie Thingamabob produce on TV last week? It may be a great dish, but can you make it in your kitchen? Do you have the right skills or even the right cookware to make it?
Always stick to something you know you can make and works in your kitchen. Don’t plan to roast everything, then find you don’t have enough oven space. Remember your Christmas KISS, (keep it simple, stupid).
If your still looking for ideas, don’t forget to check out our Christmas recipes.
Our Cranberry and Whisky Luxury Mince Pies.
The definitive Chestnut Stuffing.
Helston Pudding a light alternative Christmas pudding.
Now you know what you’re serving its time to make a time plan. This should start to when you need to order / buy the ingredients needed. Then work your way right through to putting the food on plates
Serve some snack and nibbles on the table as the family sit down. If you have ever eaten at a posh restaurant, you may have been served a complimentary ‘Amuse’ as you sit at the table. This originally was designed to sharpen the pallet for the meal, but the main reason may restaurant do this is to by time for then to prepare the starter and main course with you getting bored.
You can do the same thing just by laying out a few bought-in snacks and appointing someone to open the wine. You can now focus on the starter without the slow hand clap coming from the dining room.
Failing that, serve a cold starter that is already on the table before your guest sit down.
Work as far ahead as you practically can. If you make your own stuffing, make it a couple of weeks ahead then freeze. If you’re roasting a chicken in the weeks before Christmas, put some chicken winglets (you can sometimes by turkey winglets in the butchers) in with the chicken. Get some fresh stock from the supermarket and make your gravy in advance. You guessed it, pop it into the freezer. Some desserts also freeze well or even make a frozen dessert the week before Christmas.
Make sure if you are freezing cooked food, it is completely cold before freezing.
Root vegetables can be peeled and cut up the day before. Peel your sprouts ready to cook Place a sheet of damp kitchen paper on top then cling film and they will be fine overnight. That means a great deal of time saved on the day, and less mess to deal with.
Your firm green vegetables can be ‘Blanched’ in the morning ready to reheat later.
To do this have a large pan of boiling salted water ready on the stove. You will also need a bowl large enough to fit the vegetables three quarters full of iced water.
Drop the green vegetable into the boiling water and return the pan to the boil as quickly as possible. As soon as they are nearly done lift then from the pan into the iced water. When they are completely cold drain them well and dry them off on an old tea towel. Return the vegetables to the dried bowl then pour over a little melted butter. The butter should set on the outside of the veg at which point it can be transferred into microwavable containers. When needed reheat the vegetables in the microwave on half power (don’t nuke them on full power) ready to season and serve.
For me, this an essential piece of kitchen kit. I could spend all day discussing its benefits. For Christmas, its mainly making sure our meats are not over or under cooked
Turkey needs to be cooked all the way through whereas red meats like venison and beef don’t.
If you have bought a frozen bird, it must be completely thawed before cooking, and that’s harder than you think. Don’t however stick it in the bath or on top of the radiator as I have heard people doing. It will probably take a couple of days in the fridge. And put some kitchen paper around to absorb moisture. Follow the same basic rules as cooking chicken.
Don’t cook your turkey trussed up, it makes the legs difficult to cook through. When the bird has It’s estimated time push the probe of the thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and the thigh. It you get a reading of 74-75˚c, its cooked.
If you are having Christmas pudding or any steamed pudding like my Helston pudding it can take up valuable hob space. Slow cookers are not all that slow nowadays so why not use it to cook the pudding.
Make sure it’s been fully warmed up and filled with boiling water before you pop in the pudding.
When you have made or re-heated your gravy pour it into a clean, pre heated thermos flask. It will happily sit there until you are ready to serve. Less mess and one less thing on the hob.
N.B. this works well for custard or any sauce you need to store hot.
I’m thinking here of the meat not you. But if you have been clever with your time plan a break should be possible.
Meats need time to recover from the stresses of cooking. I would aim to rest by turkey for at least 45 minutes before carving.
No, it won’t get cold but keep it out of a drafts. Lay a piece of foil over the bird, but don’t wrap it up like a Christmas present. Think of it this way. If it’s been in a red-hot oven for two hours, is it going to cool down in a few minutes? No. In fact meat continues to get hotter in the few minutes after cooking is completed. Check it with your thermometer if you don’t believe me!
The full Christmas dinner can be a heck of a lot of items on one plate. Don’t try and get all of them onto the plate at once. By the time you have done that the food will be cold, and your guest fallen asleep. Rope in a spare pair of hands to distribute stuffing or chipolatas. Place the vegetables in warm bowls on the table so your guests can serve themselves. Get the meat and stuffing onto the plate with some gravy to keep it warm and serve. The bowls of vegetables will keep hot for some time.
Wash up your utensils as you go. If you’re in the habit of pudding dirty items in the sink, you can guarantee the item you need is at the bottom of the sink. Also, if you need to drain anything, you can’t, its already full of equipment. I prefer to keep the dishwasher for the plates and cutlery, but you may be able to fit in a dishwasher load before the meal begins.
Its amazing how many people associate cooking and drinking together. Its better to keep eating and drinking together. Resist that glass or two of wine when getting the meal ready. It’s the only recipe you don’t need, and that’s disaster! Keep yourself, focused and steadily work down your time plan.
Once you’re at the table, there’s plenty of time to catch up.
Enjoy Life! and have a Wonderful Christmas.
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
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.
Learn how to make the best Basil Pesto. Simple tips and tricks to get the best from this classic sauce.
Make your own Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce, it’s easy! You simple can’t buy a ready-made sauce that compares with a homemade fresh tomato sauce. Processing spoils the fresh flavour of the sauce and adds in preservatives. And the best thing- as I said, it’s dead easy to make.
The ideal is to make this in season with home grown ripe tomatoes. I have used my San Marzano Tomatoes from the polytunnel. As they have more flesh and less seeds than a traditional tomato. But don’t despair, normal main crop tomatoes will do fine.
If you don’t have home grown tomatoes, don’t use shop bought unless you have a good farm shop close by. You can used tinned, but buy the best. I use Muti Tomatoes ether tinned whole or as Poppa which is produced purposely for making sauces.
So, if you need to remove the tomato skins, here’s how to do it.
Using the tip of a small knife carefully remove the core of the tomato about 1.5 cm deep. The turn the tomato over and make a small shallow cut through the skin. Repeat this will all the tomatoes to be peeled
Fill a medium sized saucepan two thirds full of water and bring to the boil.
Have a large bowl of cold water ready with plenty of ice added.
Take your slotted spoon or spider and lower two tomatoes into the water and cook for 10 seconds. When the time is up lift the tomatoes out the boiling water directly into the iced water.
Let the tomatoes cool for a few moments then lift them out onto a plastic tray to drain. Test one of the fruits to see if the skin will peel off easily. If its stubborn give the next two tomatoes 12 seconds cooking, but don’t go over that time.
If the skin is mushy and just slides straight off reduce the cooking time by a couple of seconds. Once you are happy, repeat the process with all the tomatoes to be skinned.
After the first have a dozen tomatoes, all that steam and dripping water you will be wishing you had a Moulin!!
My personal recommendation for making soups and sauces is to obtain a food mill known in kitchens as a Moulin. It’s one of my favourite pieces of kitchen equipment. They have been around even longer than me. And have been tried and tested in thousands of kitchens across the world. Basically, it’s a mechanical sieve with different plates supplied that dictate the finish of the food you are processing. Pop the food in, turn the handle and the finished product if squeezed out of the bottom. If you’re old enough to remember these were popular for making baby food years ago.
They can be bought in various sizes but a size of 200cm to 250cm will be fine for most people. If you are a lover of mashed potato a moulin is a must. Go for a slightly larger size.
I know you’re thinking why bother? Well by using the moulin it not only gives me my finished sauce consistency. It also filters out the skins and any hard pieces of tomato or basil stalks. This saves all the bother of skinning the tomatoes before cooking.
Whatever you do, don’t use a blender, it adds air to the sauce and changes the flavour closer to a processed sauce.
A wide shallow pan (not aluminium)
Spatula
Chopping board and knife
Medium bowl
Potato masher or Similar
Food mill (moulin) if available
Slotted spoon or spider
Med sized saucepan
Large bowl of cold water and ice
Plastic tray
800g ripe tomatoes
2 plump cloves of garlic
4tbsp olive oil
½ tsp sea salt
Large bunch of fresh basil
Black mill pepper
Optional pinch oregano
Peel the garlic then cut in half longways, removing any green shoots visible. Finely chop the garlic (don’t crush) and add to the cold pan with the olive oil.
It’s important to chop and not crush the garlic. Crushing the cloves will expand the flavour of the garlic where it will begin to overtake the tomatoes. We need the garlic to enhance the tomatoes not to dominate them.
Slice the tomatoes into wedges and place into a bowl.
Place the pan over a low heat and watch the garlic begin to sizzle in the oil. We are going to gently cook the garlic in the oil for three to four minutes to release the flavour. It’s crucial that the garlic does not burn, or your sauce will be spoilt. Even if you think you may have just lightly burnt it, throw it away and start again, before adding the tomatoes.
When the garlic is ready, add the tomatoes and bring to the simmer over a medium heat. Add the salt and a couple of turns of mill pepper, then pop on the lid.
Cook the sauce for fifteen minutes then remove the lid and crush the tomatoes with a potato masher. Don’t overdo it yet, we just want to extract all the juices from the flesh.
Add the bunch of basil, stalks and all and mix in. A pinch of oregano can also be added if wished. Continue simmering the sauce for about 15 minutes or so until it thickens.
If you are using a moulin, set it over a bowl with the large or medium plate fitted. The basil can me removed if you like a pure tomato sauce, but I leave it in. You will get bits of basil floating around in the sauce, But I don’t mind that. Pour the sauce into the moulin and turn the handle clockwise. Use a spoon the move the contents around a little every 6 to 8 turns of the handle.
Once all the sauce is though remember to catch any sauce sticking to the bottom of the plate. Turn the moulin over and give it a scrape off. All the skins, and stalks will be held in the moulin and can be thrown away.
If you are not using a moulin remove the basil. Take the pan off the heat and break the sauce down with the potato masher until you are happy with the consistency.
Whichever method you use all that’s left is to check the seasoning. Ether reheat the sauce to use at once or cool the sauce over iced water before storing in the fridge. You can also freeze the sauce; I think it loses a bit of freshness, but still better than from a jar. It’s a great way of using up an excess of tomatoes from the garden
Your tomatoes are just not up to the job. If when you cut them open they have a pale colour below the skin it’s a sign they have been artificial ripened and will lack flavour. Add some good quality tinned tomato (see above) to the sauce to help the flavour.
Try adding a pinch of dried chilli flakes and just a dash of Worcester sauce. But don’t overdo it!
Absolutely, It’s great with vegetable dishes or used as a quick base for a curry.
If you want to use it with meats like chicken, try this.
Add one finely chopped red onion into the pan with the garlic. Use half the oil and cook the onions for five minutes over a low heat.
Add the tomatoes with 35g of butter a pinch of dried chilli flakes and just a small amount of basil.
Cook as before but use the medium plate on the moulin to give a smoother sauce.
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
Easy to make Tomato and Chilli Jam. One taste and your hooked! Great with meats and shellfish. The possibilities are endless
Want to know how to make Blackberry Jelly? It’s not that difficult, and so satisfying to make the best of the (free) autumn harvest.
Courgette and Tomato Tarts, with feta cheese and Basil. It’s mid-summer, the tomatoes are ripening, and the courgettes are going wild. These Courgette and Tomato Tarts are an ideal way of using up this seasonal bounty. And impressing your guests.
I have been making this starter for years and it has always been a favourite of my guests. Light, crispy and full of flavour it’s easy to make. And the best part is to serve it, you just pop it into the oven.
In fact, some years ago my team served this to 300 people for a charity dinner. With each of five chefs producing a course. It was quite a bit of work to prepare the tarts. But when it came to the time to serve the course it was the quickest and easiest of the entire meal.
Before you start look up our pages on Blanching Tomatoes, Chive Oil, and Making your Own Pesto at Home
Chopping board and knife.
Baking sheet.
Frying pan.
Small saucepan.
Baking sheet.
Fish slice.
Small bowl.
Small fine sieve.
Baking paper.
4 sheets filo pastry.
50g unsalted Butter.
3 slices garlic.
1 sprig thyme.
4 med courgettes.
Olive oil.
1 clove garlic (bruised).
1 sprig thyme.
4 ripe tomatoes.
4tsp pesto sauce.
170g feta cheese.
2tsp Pine kernels.
Basil leaves.
Sea salt.
Mill pepper.
chive oil to serve
Place the butter into a small pan with the bruised garlic and thyme then put it on to melt. We don’t want to toast the butter, just melt it enough to separate the milk and fat. When you see the butter begin to clear, stain it into a warm bowl leaving the milky part in the pan. This can be discarded.
Take the pastry and carefully unwrap it. Then cover the pastry with a tea towel to avoid it drying out. Lift off a sheet of pastry and place it on a flat surface. Brush lightly with the melted butter then cover with a second sheet of pastry.
Repeat the process until you have a sheet of pastry three layers thick and with butter. You can if you wish use olive oil instead of the butter, however you will need to cook the flans as soon as they are made. The butter will cool on the pastry and form a waterproof layer to protect the pastry. This allows us to make the flans in the morning. Pop them into the fridge, then cook them at night. How easy is that!
Cut out disks of pastry using a saucer or small plate about 10cm diameter cutting around with the point of a sharp knife. Arrange the disks on squares of baking paper on a tray that will fit in the fridge and put aside.
Remove the skin of the tomatoes. Blanch, peel, and de-seed the tomatoes. Cut the flesh into 8mm dice and set aside
Top, tail and wash the courgettes then slice into 4mm thick slices. Pour some of the olive oil into a large shallow pan over a medium heat. Half cook the slices by tossing in the hot oil with a clove of garlic and sprig of thyme for flavour. Spread the cooked courgette on to a tray and allow to cool.
Arrange the courgette on the filo discs in concentric circles starting 5mm in from the edge. Overlapping each slice slightly until the disc is covered. Don’t be tempted to season the tarts yet, the salt will make them weep.
Lay a tablespoon of tomato in the centre of each tart. Set a teaspoon of pesto on the tomato then cover with the remaining diced tomato. This will protect the pesto from the heat of the oven, while adding a little punch to the flavour.
Drain the feta and dry off with kitchen paper, then cut the cheese into 6mm dice. Divide the cheese between the flans and sprinkle with pine kernels. Again, if you want you can change the cheese, but I find feta to be ideal. In the oven it gently toasts without running and it’s salty tang gives the tarts a bit of a kick.
To serve. Lift the flan’s on their paper squares onto a baking sheet. Lightly season then bake in a 200˚c oven for about 10 mins when they should be crisp and golden. The edges of the pastry will souffle up to form a border around the courgettes. Lift each flan onto a serving plate, sprinkle with freshly cut basil and pour a little chive oil around.
This is one of the most flexible dishes I know. Serve it as a starter, light lunch, or replacement fish course. I have even tiny ones to use as a canape in the past. I would love to know how you get on.
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
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.
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.
This guide to Flour Types and uses will explain the difference between flours. How and why we use different types of flour and explain alternative types of flour available.
It’s is one of those ingredients we use all the time. But are we using the correct type of flour for the dish we are creating? Were not just talking white or brown here but what grain was used in its production. What are the characteristics of the flour we are using? Will it help us? Make things difficult, or just cause an absolute disaster.
Read on and we will aim to solve some of the mysteries. use this guide along with our pages on Making Bread at Home, and What is yeast.
For more flour facts look up fabflour.co.uk and flour.com
Well, what is flour? A type of flour can be made from many grains, beans, nuts, roots, or seeds. As long as they have enough starch content to allow us to grind them into flour.
Most of the time we are talking about wheat flour but there are many other options out there. For example, rye, spelt, cassava, arrowroot, corn, rice, chickpeas, potato, and nuts.
Each of these flours have there uses but as a baker our primary consideration is gluten. The gluten content of the flour provides strength and elasticity to a dough. While a high gluten content may be an advantage in making a perfect loaf. It would spoil our attempts at making perfect shortbread.
Gluten is formed when two proteins in the flour are hydrated and merged together. The higher the ratio of protein in the grains the more gluten can be formed in a dough. By stretching the gluten (kneading). We can strengthen its elasticity, allowing the dough to rise in the oven without breaking.
If you have ever wondered why your pastry shrinks back as you try to roll it out, it’s the gluten. The dough has been overworked. This toughens the gluten which like an elastic band is pulling back against been stretched. That’s why a lighter hand produces the best pastry and shortbread.
It’s important to use the correct flour for the job in hand. In British kitchens we refer to cake flour, plain flour, and strong flour. This is simply a useful reference to the amount of protein in the flour.
Cake Flour. 8-9% protein. Not that easy to find now, most people use plain flour as a replacement. If you want to try it out add roughly 15% cornflour to plain flour and sift together. Semolina or rice flour can also be used for a coarser texture. This is quite a common technique in making shortbread.
Plain Flour, 10-12% protein. Readily available and possible the most common flour found at home. Self-Raising flour is simply plain flour with chemical raising agents added.
Strong Flour, 12-16% More commonly used for bread or leavened products. We will cover this in more detail with a later post on bread making.
The everyday flour you will use. This is made by crushing the kernel of the wheat to make flour. The flour is then sieved to remove the outer layers. This process removes flavour from the flour. But been so fine allows for better gluten development.
Most flour is produced on a roller mill which is very efficient keeping costs down. Some flour is still produced by stoneground milling where two millstones are used to crush the grains. This is less aggressive than a rolled mill. And more of the nutrients are retained within the flour and have a better flavour.
This is flour which contains 100% of the kernel, endosperm, germ, and bran. The bran content produces a coarser texture that white flour. As most of the nutrients in the grain are in the bran the flour is more nutritious than white flour.
Similar to above but brown flour will contain less bran and may not contain any germ. This will produce a smother, and lighter dough than wholemeal flour.
One of the best flavoured flours for baking bread. Rye is a grass (like wheat) and has a rich fruity flavour. Bread made with rye flour don’t need as much working as with white flour. This means less work, and a shorter production time.
Basically, an intermediate process in the flour production. Semolina is the coarsely ground endosperm of wheat. This can be found both coarse and fine milled grades. Soft wheat versions are used cooked as a dessert. The classic Durum wheat version been used for the production of pasta and breads.
Durum Wheat produces a high gluten content flour that is difficult to turn into fine flour. And is more commonly found in a semolina version.
The French and Italians use a grading system to describe their flour. The French have a ‘T, number attached to regulate the ash content of the flour. T110 is a brown flour and as the numbers go down so does the flour’s ash content. This makes the flour finer and whiter. T55 been a common grade to use in kitchens. The flour will be named according to its purpose. So in a French bakery you will see sacks of flour marked croissant, baguette, etc
The Italians again tend to name their flours but grade them differently according to milling and bran content.
000, very fine flour.
00, fine flour.
0, medium fine flour
Tipo 1, a coarse grade
Tipo 2, very coarse flour
Farina almost straight from the mill, a wholemeal flour.
00 flour is the version banded about on the media and is really an all-purpose flour.
Gluten free almond flour is basically very finely ground almonds. It is possible to make at home by blanching and peeling the almonds. Then dry them off and grind in a food processor.
Chickpea flour is made as you might suspect from chickpeas.
It’s an extremely useful flour with a mild and slightly sweet flavour. It has both a high protein and fibre content and is very useful as a gluten free alternative.
Commonly used to thicken sauces this is made from whole corn kernels, and is gluten free
It can also be mixed with wheat flours to reduce the protein content of the flour in pastry, shortbread, and cakes.
As the name may suggest, arrowroot flour is made with the starch of the root of the arrow, a type of tuber.
Mainly used to thicken dishes it gives a clearer, glossier finish that cornflour. It is very low in protein and again gluten free.
Nutritionally it is very high in carbohydrates with minimal amounts of fat and protein.
Not In common use, but with a sweet nutty taste can but used to make breads, muffins, flatbreads, and pastries. Naturally gluten free it is commonly mixed with other flour.
Buckwheat flour is ground from buckwheat seeds which are actually a herb. The resulting flour with its earthy flavour is both healthy and again gluten free.
Oat flour is a whole grain flour made from oats. Once more the flour is gluten free, (see tips below) Great mixed with other flours and easy to make at home.
Yet another gluten free flour, Cassava flour comes from a starchy tuber called cassava, and it has a nutty and savoury taste.
Great for desserts, cakes, and pastries this is a very starchy flour with a sweet flavour. While not as well-known as other flours it is gaining in popularity and is a feature of some Italian cooking.
A good tip when making a wholemeal loaf is to remove the bran with a fine sieve and set it aside while making the dough. This stops the shards of bran cutting into the dough, which makes gluten development harder. Once the dough has had its initial development the bran can be added back in or dusted on top. So, you still get enjoy the extra flavour and texture of wholemeal flour.
Wholemeal and rye flour have a wonderful flavour, but the bread can be heavy textured and difficult to cut. Adding a proportion of white bread flour to the recipe will give structure and lift to the dough.
Baking with rye flour? It makes great bread however it is very sticky and can be difficult to handle.
The best solution to this is to wet your hands and tools with cold water, before handling the dough. This will allow the dough to slide off and not stick.
When using nut-based flours remember to check for nut allergies with your guests.
Use semolina or polenta as a dusting agent when rolling out the dough. When baked you will have a crisp, sandy crust.
Remember not to make your dough too dry when bread making. A dry dough will be difficult to knead and will inhibit the creation of gluten.
As you will have seen there are a number of Gluten free flours available to us. But beware! Just because the product used to make the flour is in itself, gluten free be careful. It may have become cross contaminated in production or packaging. Be careful to check that the product is certified gluten free before serving to anybody on a gluten free diet.
Enjoy Life!.
John.
©John Webber. 2023
Making bread at home? All your questions answered here. Together with hints and tips to help you.
This baker’s guide to yeast will explain all you need to know about using yeast.
Learn the different types of yeast available and how to use them to get the best results in your bread and baking