Wholegrain spelt pain a l'ancienne

Spelt was an important cereal in Europe from the Bronze Age to medieval times. Today it has survived as a relict crop in Central Europe and northern Spain (mainly in Asturias) and has found a new market as a health food: spelt requires fewer fertilisers as it is resistant to diseases so it is easy to find organic spelt.

So with my wholegrain spelt decided last night to make the well known in this blog pain a l'ancienne. I think we always have make this bread in white versions so a bit of a challenge using an wholemeal flour, and spelt.

So mixed the ingredients last night:

- 380g wholegrain spelt flour
- 300g water (very cold)
- 7g salt
- 4g dried yeast

And I said mixed because as you know you don't knead this bread. All well mix and put it in the fridge until this morning (9 hours). then I left it at room temperature for 2 hours until double the size. With an spatula and loads of flour, tried to make 3 baguettes and oven, 230C for 10 min first with some water/steam and then 25 at 200C. 5 minutes extra with the oven off and the door open.

The result was a bit different as I used to have for a pain a l'ancienne: no big alveolus, breadcrumb a bit more compact, probably due to the type of flour but taste was great. You can definitely feel the 9 hours in the fridge and the flavour of the wholegrain spelt.

Looking forward to use again spelt flour. I found a interesting web: a spanish company producing local spelt flour (Triticum aestivum sub. Spelta). They not only sell white and wholemeal spelt flout but the grain as well. It could be another interesting step producing our own spelt flour. anyone else up to? The company is called Escanda Asturiana

SUNFLOWER SEEDS AND CHEDDAR SCONES

Esta receta la subí al blog hace un tiempo, pero fue un poco chapucera, porque no tenía muchos de sus ingredientes... hoy sí he seguido los pasos de la receta original (de Dan Lepard) y, claro, han salido mucho mejor. Lo difícil ha sido hacerles la foto antes de que desaparecieran en el desayuno.

Ingredients:

• 200 g plain flour.
• 2 tsp baking powder.
• 1 tsp mustard.
• 25 g soft butter.
• Small bunch of parsley.
• 175 g cheddar, coarsley grated.
• 1 large egg, separated.
• 100 ml milk.
• 50 ml cream.
• 25 g sunflower seeds.

SCONES ROCK!!

deconstruction: hummus bread

I was chatting last week with Patrick Ryan in twitter as he wanted to bake a bread and I suggested using chickpea flour. I really like using it and it's not the first time I bake something with chickpea flour (pan a l'ancienne or these Bollos de azafran lidia baked). Texture and flavour are unique.

But I wanted to twist this bread and thinking what to do came up hummus, where the main ingredient is chickpeas. So why dont use the ingredients of hummus and bake a bread? voila, and this is how this bread was made. There are a few different versions of hummus but most of them have chickpeas, olive oil, lemon, garlic and salt. I used a few more as I like hummus with tahini, so that's my recipe (be aware that still my baking equipment is in Belfast, so weight is not very accurate):

- 300g strong white flour
- 125g chickpea flout
- 100g spelt flour
- 2tbs dried yeast
- 10g salt
- 250ml water
- 40g olive oil
- 50g tahini
- 1tbs paprika
- 50g chickpeas ()
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tbs lemon juice
- pepper

Of course I was afraid that this experiment wouldn't work for several reasons: the dough was too heavy (chickpea flour, chickpeas and tahini), the combination of flavours after baking wouldn't go well etc. When I was kneading it was quite difficult to work with the dough but I kneaded for 15 minutes and put it to prove for 1hour and a half. The dough responded and raise quite well so I kneaded for a few seconds and put it back to prove for another 1 hour and a half, but this time it wasn't that good. Anyway, oven at 230 °C for 15 minutes and another 30 minutes at 190 °C.

hummus bread

The result, very unusual flavour, you can feel all the ingredients, maybe a touch bitter and too much tahini so net time I will put less. Similar in consistency to a soda bread. But overall an interested experiment.

hummus bread

PAN CON TOMATE FRESCO Y AJO

Pues me dejó tan contenta el eliopsomi del otro día, que he utilizado la misma receta como base para hacer este pan con tomate.
Ingredientes, los mismos, pero el aliño simplemente a base de tomate fresco (escurrido y cortado en pequeños daditos) y un diente de ajo finamente picado.
Una masa muy pegajosa, algo rebelde... pero con la que finalmente me he podido hacer y que no ha resultado mal.

maple syrup and blueberry buttermilk scones

If you read my last post yesterday, I made not only the loaf but home made dill and gomasio butter. And as you probably know, when making butter cream you get buttermilk too.

So I decided to use the buttermilk to make always tasty scones. this time, with maple syrup and fresh bluberries. Here is the recipe:

- 500g of self rising white flour
- 50g caster sugar
- 160g slightly salty butter
- 100ml buttermilk
- 125ml maple syrup
- 100g blueberries

Mixed first the flour and the sugar and add the butter mixed well with the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Apart, mixed well the buttermilk with the maple syrup and added to the flour mix together with the blueberries. then cut them with a pastry cutter, some beaten egg in the top and oven at 200C for 15 min.

just after the oven...

nutty smell and flavour from the maple syrup

Quite interesting scones because of the maple syrup. the dough was compact and brown and all the house smelt toasted syrup but the result wasn't to strong, just enough. Buttermilk gave that particular flavour and what to say about the blueberries? well, probably my favourite ingredient in scones and muffins. Try them, you will see how easy it is and you can't avoid eat 2 or 3 in a row (well, that was me, but who wouldn't be having warm scones right there in front?

goat cheese, honey and spring onion loaf

First bread in dublin...at last. And I wanted it to use one of the books I bought recently and in this way strike back and balance the mediterranean influence coming from Spain! :-)

So I have followed a recipe from the book Bread Revolution by Duncan Glendinning & Patrick Ryan. Small note here: Patrick has his bakery and bread school, The Firehouse, in Heir Island, in Skibereen, West Cork, that I have to say it is one of the most beautiful areas in Ireland. So a few friends and I are going to one of the bread course on the 7th of October. Can't wait to spend the weekend there, stay in the island with my friends and meet Patrick. I will let you know all the details here.

Back to the recipe, originally was blue cheese, honey and walnut load, but I didn't have some of the ingredients and ended it up in goat cheese, honey and spring onion loaf.  I had another small problem: as I am in the middle of moving from Belfast to Dublin, and in Dublin to one to another house, most (lets say almost all) my baking equipment is in self store, including my scales. So I did the recipe a bit by eye so the quantities are not exactly like the book. I put here anyway the ones you can find in the book:

- 500g strong white bread flour
- 10g sea salt
- 10g dried yeast
- 260ml water (I used almost 450ml I guess)
- 2tsp honey
- 80g goat cheese
- 2 stems spring onion


Mixed all the ingredients without the cheese and spring onion for 10 minutes, then added those 2 ingredients well. Left the dough to prove for 2 hours and an half (it needed less time, but I went for some shopping and couldn't make it before), then knocked it down and made one ball (in the book you will find they make 2) and left it to prove for another hour. After that, oven at 230 °C for 10 minutes and another 25 minutes at 190 °C.

The result was honestly a very good bread, with pieces of the strong cheese and the flavour of the onions all over the place, but not overpowering, and a soft crumb.

And well, when I was waiting for the bread in the oven, I couldn't help not to make some more butter, this time a dill and gomasio butter. I rleally liked the combination, dill is probably my favourite herb and gomasio gives that nutty sesame flavour to the butter. they go both well together. So here you can see how I taste the bread with the butter. No good if you are on diet!