One year on…

Facebook reminded me this week that it’s a year since I made my first sourdough loaf at the height of last year’s first lockdown: that’s one whole year that I’ve managed to keep my starter going, which is quite some achievement. I still have it bubbling away (in the fridge most of the time), even though I don’t make quite as many loaves as I did when I had a house full last year. Sourdough buns and sourdough pizza, both with discard (also still in a pot in the fridge and stirred/topped up regularly) are probably my most frequent bakes, although I probably make a loaf at least once a month, then put one half in the freezer for later.

Last weekend, inspired by an old friend’s Instagram post, I experimented with a new sourdough bun recipe, loosely based on a Waitrose recipe for blueberry and pistachio buns, but adapted to my standard sourdough bun recipe and inevitably tweaked to suit my own taste. I felt they needed a lot more cooking than the original recipe suggested, but I took a couple round to a friend that same morning and they absolutely loved them. Blueberries. marzipan and pistachios really are a match made in heaven…

So here’s what I did:

Blueberry, Marzipan & Pistachio Sourdough Buns (makes 9)

115g sourdough starter (discard or fed if you prefer)
360g strong bread flour
2 1/2 tsp dried yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 heaped tsp salt
1 large egg
75 g softened butter
150g lukewarm water
1 tsp vanilla essence

For the filling:
200g marzipan (homemade if you have it)
200g fresh blueberries
50-75g chopped pistachios (hazelnuts or flaked almonds also work well)

Icing sugar to dust

100g icing sugar, sifted
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Combine all the dough ingredients in a bowl or stand mixer and knead until your dough is soft and smooth. Alternatively, you can use the dough mode on your breadmaker as described above, or a stand mixer if you have one. If not using the breadmaker, you’ll need to leave the dough to prove in a greased bowl in a warm place for about 2 hours.

When the dough has proved, knock down on a floured surface and gently roll/pat out to a rectangle measuring approx. 45 cm x 25 cm (or 18″ x 10″ for those of you, like me, who are old enough to still prefer to visualise measurements in Imperial units!).

Brush the dough with water (or you can use an egg wash if you prefer). Crumble or finely chop the marzipan, then sprinkle over the dough, leaving a bare strip along one edge for ease of sealing. Add the blueberries and chopped nuts. Then roll up from one long edge until you have a long, thin roll. Turn to face you and cut into 9 neat sections. I usually do this by eye, but if you’re aiming for perfection, you can measure each one. If you’ve managed to roll out a 45cm long roll, each section should measure 5 cm wide, but it really doesn’t matter if they’re not spot on!

Grease and line a 20cm square deep cake tin with baking parchment (I like to use a loose-bottomed one for ease of removal). Carefully place the buns in the tin in rows of three.  You may find that blueberries and nuts drop out, but just sprinkle them back over the top. Cover with a cloth (or I use one of those large, re-usable plastic shower caps from Lakeland) and either prove in a warm place for an hour and a half or prove in the fridge overnight for a long, slow rise. Perfect if you’re looking to serve them warm for breakfast – and who wouldn’t?!

The following morning, leave to come to room temperature for 1/2 to 1 hour (counsel of perfection – I’ve cooked them sooner and they’re still delicious!). Heat the oven to 180°C/Gas 5 and cook the buns on the middle shelf for 40-45 mins or until golden brown. The original recipe suggested cooking for 30 minutes at 200°C, but this definitely wouldn’t have been long enough in my oven and the higher temperature would have risked burning the tops before they were cooked – everyone’s oven is different so use your discretion.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin, then dust with sifted icing sugar. Eat and enjoy! They freeze well too – just reheat to serve.

Tulips (Sanne) and wallflowers

more sourdough: the perfect bun

As I mentioned in my previous post, sourdough ‘discard’ makes delicious bakes in its own right. The sour tang of the dough leads to great pizzas, pancakes, crumpets, crackers and of course buns. Hot cross buns are a revelation with an added dollop of sourdough starter and cinnamon buns are just divine.

I can’t claim to have created my own recipe for sourdough hot cross buns as I stumbled across one by Jacqueline Bellefontaine that works just perfectly. You can either just use the discard as the raising agent – in which case you’ll need to allow a much longer rising time and the whole process will take a full 24 hours from start to finish – or you can add yeast (now it’s available again!) for delicious hot cross buns, ready in a couple of hours – or for breakfast if you do as I do and prove the buns overnight, then bake in the morning when you get up. I follow the recipe in the link above pretty much to the letter, either making the dough in my breadmaker, or using the Kitchen Aid to do the kneading – either works well. I then prove in the fridge overnight and add the flour & water crosses in the morning. Equally, if you’re not making these at Easter and don’t want to make the crosses, just leave them off. I added edible borage flowers in the summer for pretty summer spiced buns instead.

A recent discovery has been iced cinnamon buns. I hunted high and low for a recipe using sourdough discard to make these iconic Swedish delicacies, but drew a blank, so decided to cobble together my own – which works a treat. Many of the recipes I found used fed starter, but with an ever-growing mound of sourdough discard in the fridge, I was determined to make inroads into that. My starting point was the Cinnamon Raisin Loaf recipe (also very good) from King Arthur Baking, duly adapted to turn into buns. Do try them and see – I don’t think you’ll be disappointed… Oh, and if you fancy a twist on the original recipe, do check out the Iced Cardamom Bun variation at the very end of the post – very Scandinavian, but equally delicious.

I like to make the basic dough in my breadmaker for ease, especially in the winter months as, to my profound regret, I don’t have an airing cupboard. Using a breadmaker solves the problem of finding somewhere warm enough to prove the dough. The conservatory works perfectly in summer, but if the heating is off during the day in the winter months, it can be tricky to maintain a high enough temperature for proving.

Iced Cinnamon Raisin Buns – makes 9

115g sourdough starter (discard or fed if you prefer)
360g strong bread flour
2 1/2 tsp dried yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 heaped tsp salt
1 large egg
75 g softened butter
150g lukewarm water

For the filling:
60g soft light Muscovado sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp plain flour
75g raisins (or other dried fruit/nuts of your choice)
1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water

Icing

100g icing sugar, sifted
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Combine all the dough ingredients in a bowl or stand mixer and knead until your dough is soft and smooth. Alternatively you can use the dough mode on your breadmaker as described above. If not using the breadmaker, you’ll need to leave the dough to prove in a greased bowl in a warm place for about 2 hours.

Make the filling by mixing the sugar, cinnamon, raisins and flour in a small bowl. You could add other mixed fruit such as apricots or dried cranberries and nuts to vary the taste and texture sensation.

When the dough has proved, knock down on a floured surface and gently roll/pat out to a rectangle measuring approx. 45 cm x 20 cm (or 18″ x 8″ for those of you, like me, who are old enough to still prefer to visualise measurements in Imperial units!).

Brush with the egg & water mixture, then sprinkle over the filling, leaving a bare strip along one edge for ease of sealing. Then roll up from one long edge until you have a long, thin roll. Turn to face you and cut into 9 neat sections. I usually do this by eye, but if you’re aiming for Paul Hollywood perfection, you can measure each one. If you’ve managed to roll out a 45cm long roll, each section should measure 5 cm wide, but it really doesn’t matter if they’re not spot on!

Grease a 20cm square deep cake tin (I like to use a loose-bottomed one for ease of removal). Carefully place the buns in the tin in rows of three.  Cover with a cloth (or I use one of those large, re-usable plastic shower caps from Lakeland) and either prove in a warm place or prove in the fridge overnight for a long, slow rise. Perfect if you’re looking to serve them warm for breakfast – and why wouldn’t you?!

The following morning, leave to come to room temperature for 1/2 to 1 hour (counsel of perfection – I’ve cooked them sooner and they’re still delicious!). If you’ve any of the egg mix left over, you can brush all over the rolls to glaze at this stage. Heat the oven to 180°C and cook the buns on the middle shelf for 40-45 mins or until golden brown and shiny.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin. Transfer to a wire rack and glaze haphazardly with a runny icing made using 100g sifted icing sugar and the juice of half a lemon. It should be stiff enough to pour thickly so it doesn’t all disappear when it hits the warm buns and still stays in visible stripes on the top. If too thick, add a few more drops of juice or water, and if too thin, add more sifted icing sugar – never an exact science!

Tear apart and serve lavishly buttered with a cup of steaming hot tea and a very satisfied smile.

Iced cardamom buns:

On a roll (sorry) with the success of this recipe, I decided to experiment with a variaton on a theme, adding cardamom to the mix for even more of a Scandinavian twist – with delicious results. This time, I added the crushed seeds from 15 cardamom pods to the dough and the same to the filling with just 1 tsp cinnamon rather than the 1 1/2 tsp in the original recipe. Then, instead of raisins, I topped the filling mix with 25g each of dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots and flaked almonds – not that you can tell from the outside. I also used the juice of half a tangerine in the icing rather than lemon juice. The end result? Divinely spiced and fluffy cardamom buns. Cardamom is an underused spice in sweet recipes here in the UK, but one I adore. They are just heavenly!

Spiced Apple & Marzipan Buns:

Year another variation on the theme that I just had to share. Proceed as above, but add 1 tsp ground cinnamon to the basic dough mix. Then grate 200g marzipan (homemade if possible) over the rolled-out dough (I had some left over from the Christmas Stollen making). Grate 1 large cooking apple or 2 sharp eating apples into a bowl, then mix in the juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 tsp mixed spice, 50g raisins and 25g flaked almonds (or all raisins if you prefer) . Distribute evenly over the marzipan, then roll up from a long edge to a long, narrow roll. Cut into 10 equal-sized pices using a dough scraper, then arange them with their cut side facing upwards in a greased 23cm round cake tin. Cover and prove in the fridge overnight, then cook at 180°C as above for 30-40 minutes or until deep golden. Dust with icing sugar and eat warm with great glee.

 

claire’s adventures in sourdoughland

I’ve been promising to write up my lockdown-inspired introduction to sourdough for quite some time and as the gardening year draws to a close and the harvesting pressure is off, this is my moment. I have to confess that my inspiration came in the first instance from my son and daughter-in-law in Boston, who pointed me in the direction of a recipe they’d found online, after which I’ve followed my nose and adapted other online recipes – I’ll attempt to credit all the original sources as I go through and provide links to those pages.

I used to buy sourdough bread from my local wholefood shop or the deli in my village every few weeks, freezing half as a whole loaf is far too much for one. They came from the renowned Lighthouse Bakery in Robertsbridge, just down the road (now sadly no more since lockdown) or Judges Bakery in Hastings – and were delicious. I’d never thought of baking my own, thinking it sounded far too much faff, and in any event, I have a breadmaker (Panasonic – probably 20 years old and counting!), and am very happy with the bread it produces, usually overnight. I also use it with great success to make dough for focaccia, individual bread rolls and Stollen.

However, come the Covid lockdown back in March/April and suddenly we were facing restrictions: not only flour, but also yeast suddenly became really hard to get hold of. I tend to use the Dove’s farm organic yeast, which lasts ages, but typically I was nearing the end of a pack when the restrictions took hold. I managed to get a couple of sachets in one online shop, but started to worry that I would run out – and having to buy supermarket bread was not the route I wanted to go down! My very kind neighbour managed to get hold of various kinds of flour for me via online millers, so that wasn’t a problem, but yeast was becoming an issue.

As I’ve mentioned before, my elder son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter ended up staying with me during lockdown. My daughter-in-law is gluten-intolerant, but can tolerate bakes made with spelt flour and sourdough seems to be fine too. Sourdough is based on natural yeasts in the air and in the flour, which multiply in the feeding process and make for a dough that’s easier to digest. Hardly surprising then that my thoughts turned to sourdough when the yeast shortage was at its height. If the pages of Instagram and Twitter were to be believed, the world and his wife seemed to be experimenting with sourdough and it was about time I joined the throng! My younger son had caught the bug (sourdough not corona, I hasten to add!) a few weeks earlier and sent me the recipe they’d used. Local friends very kindly (and in a socially distanced manner, of course) passed on some of their sourdough starter to get me going. We were off! If you haven’t got a friend you can beg some starter from, you can make your own by following these instructions: just be aware that it will take 4-5 days before you can use it in the recipe below (but well worth the wait!).

Once you’ve got your starter, you can set to making your first loaf. I use this recipe from King Arthur Flour for no-knead sourdough bread, but I’m going to write it out again here for ease of reference and because I can include the tweaks and discoveries I’ve made in the process. Enjoy!

One thing to note before you start: this isn’t a quick process and planning is crucial. To have bread for Sunday lunchtime, you’ll need to start feeding the starter on Thursday evening. By Saturday evening your starter should be bubby and doubled in size, so you can make the dough and allow to rise overnight. On Sunday morning, you shape the dough, allow to rise one last time, score and bake – phew! It sounds a lot of effort, but once you’re into it, it really isn’t.

No-knead Sourdough Bread

50g bubbly, active starter (see first step below)
350g warm water
500g strong bread flour (+ extra to feed)
1 heaped tsp salt

If you’ve been given starter rather than making your own, you’ll need to feed it before starting your bread to make sure it is sufficiently bubbly and active. I store mine in the fridge between loaf-making sessions and it needs to be brought back to room temperature and fed before you can use it.

Feed the Starter

I use a tall plastic freezer container with a lid, but you could just as easily use a glass jar. Weigh the empty container and keep a note of what it weighs, then add 50g starter, 50g flour (I often use spelt or wholemeal spelt, but good strong bread flour, preferably organic, is fine) and 50g lukewarm water. Mix together well (I find a mini spatula is best so you can move down the sides and get to the bottom) and put the lid on. Put a rubber band around the container to mark where the starter is (to help tell when it doubles).

Leave the container out on the work surface in a warm room. The next morning, it should have risen above the rubber band and be bubbly. Feed by weighing the container, taking off excess starter other than the weight of your container + 50g and adding flour and water as above. Repeat morning and night over a couple of days (usually 3-4 times in total) until it looks really bubbly and has doubled in size – hence the rubber band! Don’t, whatever you do, throw away the “discard” when you take the starter off. Keep in the fridge and use in sourdough discard recipes – sounds awful, but they are absolutely delicious: see below for some examples and links.

Then use the recipe (start it at night and have it rise overnight for the next day). To recap, to have bread for Sunday lunchtime, you’ll need to start feeding the starter on Thursday evening. See above for schedule.

If you aren’t making bread soon, put the starter the fridge, where it keeps for a surprisingly long time without feeding.  Ideally, I feed it about once a fortnight if not using, but it has been as long as four weeks with no ill effects! Just stir in any brown liquid that gathers on the top; it should still smell sweetly sour, if that’s not a contradiction in terms. The same applies to the discard container: store in the fridge, stir in any liquid and use as required.

Make the dough (finally!)

1. In the evening, whisk 50g starter and 350g water together in a large bowl. Add 500g good, preferably organic flour and a heaped teaspoon of salt. Combine until a stiff dough forms, then finish mixing by hand to incorporate all the flour. The dough will feel dense and shaggy, and it will stick to your fingers as you go. Scrape out as much as you can. Cover with a damp towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.
2. Feed your starter with fresh flour and water, and store in the fridge as usual.
3. When the dough has rested, work it into a fairly smooth ball by getting hold of a portion of the dough and folding it over, pressing your fingertips into the centre. Repeat, working your way around the dough until it begins to tighten, about 20 seconds.

BULK RISE:

1. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and let it rise overnight at room temperature. This will take about 8 to 10 hours at 20°C. The dough is ready when it no longer looks dense and has doubled in size.

SHAPE:

1. In the morning, coax the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. To shape it into a round, start at the top and fold the dough over toward the centre. Turn the dough slightly and fold over the next section of dough. Repeat until you have come full circle. Flip the dough over and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, dust a bread proving basket (banneton) with flour (alternatively, you can use a bowl lined with a tea towel or greased greaseproof paper, then floured, but I found the dough often sticks after rising. Not a huge problem as it rises again in the oven, but the basket is so much better! The flour gets into the grooves and stays there, meaning the dough doesn’t stick to it when turned out). With floured hands, gently cup the dough and pull it toward you in a circular motion to tighten its shape. Using a bench scraper, place the dough into the basket or bowl, seam side up.

SECOND RISE:

1. Cover the bowl and let rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour. The dough is ready when it looks puffy and has risen slightly, but has not yet doubled in size.
2. Preheat your oven to 220°C. Cut a sheet of baking paper to the size of your baking pot (I use a large (25 cm diameter) Le Creuset casserole dish), leaving enough excess paper around the sides to remove the bread after baking.

SCORE:

1. Invert the basket or bowl over your paper-lined pot to release. Sprinkle the dough with flour and gently rub the surface with your hands. Using the tip of a small, serrated knife or a razor blade, score the dough with a pattern of your choice. This is easier said than done! You have to be quite firm and use a very sharp knife. I soon invested in a bread ‘lame’, but a clean Stanley knife would work just as well. Other tips include dipping the blade in water between cuts or spraying with cooking oil – I’m still a novice, but getting there.

BAKE:

1. Bake the dough in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, covered. Remove the lid, and continue to bake for 30 minutes. I find this is enough, but the original recipe suggests removing the loaf from the pot at this point and finishing off directly on the oven rack for the last 10 minutes to crisp the crust. I suppose a lot depends on your oven, but my crust is perfectly crispy enough without that final 10 minutes. When finished, transfer to a wire rack and cool for 1 hour before slicing. It freezes beautifully too and I still tend to freeze half when baking for my single household.

I love sourdough fresh with cheese and cold meats, toasted with homemade soup, or sliced and served as bruschette with chopped fresh tomatoes, basil and garlic for the perfect summer lunch.

As for the inevitable discard, I almost think this is the best part of the whole process. Rather than throwing it away (what a waste!), you can use it in a whole host of recipes from pancakes and crumpets, to sourdough crackers and pizza, and of course hot cross buns and cinnamon rolls. Again, I find the recipes on the King Arthur Flour Sourdough Discard page excellent: I’ve yet to come across one that hasn’t been great.  I’ll leave you to experiment, but particularly recommend the sourdough pizza dough, cinnamon raisin loaf and crumpets. I’ll post my recipe for sourdough cinnamon buns very soon.