Blueberries and Thyme

Scones are a thing of beauty. Buttery, flaky and oh so satisfying. What a pity that most cafes in Auckland sell only either cheese scones or date scones. Occasionally lemon and blueberry, if they are adventurous.

Thinking outside the scone-box is in order. This recipe is my attempt to explore flavours beyond the well-known crowd-pleasing favourites. The result is a lightly sweet scone with a hint of cinnamon. The praline adds depth to the flavour while surprisingly intense bursts of freshness are coming through from the pear. An absolute delight with a cup of tea or coffee.

Pear and Hazelnut Praline Scones

makes 8 small or 6 large scones

Praline

50g caster sugar

0.5 tbsp water

0.5 tsp lemon juice

25g hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Scones

225g all purpose flour

3 tsp baking powder

a generous pinch of salt

30g brown sugar

0.25 tsp cinnamon

60g butter, cold

120ml buttermilk

75g Packham pear, peeled and cut into small chunks

a splash of milk

Preheat the oven to 220ºC (200ºC fan).

Make the praline: Line a baking tray with baking paper or a silicone mat. In a small thick bottomed saucepan combine sugar, water and lemon juice. Swirl the pot around until all the sugar crystals are covered with liquid. Cook over medium low heat until the sugar is dissolved and starting to colour. Boil for about 5-6 minutes without stirring. Gently swirl around the pan every now and then to stop the sugar from burning in places. Watch closely, the colour changes quite quickly. When golden, add hazelnuts and quickly pour onto the lined baking tray. Pick up the tray and tilt to spread out the praline.

Let cool completely. Break into small pieces and grind into a very coarse 'powder' in a food processor.

Make the scones:

Line a baking tray with baking paper or a silicone mat.

In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt cinnamon and brown sugar. Cut the butter in to small cubes. In a food processor combine flour mix and cubed butter. Pulse a few times until it resembles small crumbs. In a bowl combine the flour and butter mix with the praline powder and pear chunks and mix until the pear is distributed evenly.

Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk. Using a knife, mix until the ingredients are just starting to come together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently into a smooth-ish dough. It should be slightly sticky, add a little more flour if it is too sticky. Avoid overworking the dough.

Pat the dough into a 3cm thick disc. Using a 6cm round cutter, cut out scones or cut the dough into wedges. Freeze for 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax and chill the butter for a flakier texture.

Place them on the lined baking tray. Brush the tops with milk. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.

Serve with cream or greek yoghurt - or simply a pat of butter.

Pear and Hazelnut Praline Scones

Scones are a thing of beauty. Buttery, flaky and oh so satisfying. What a pity that most cafes in Auckland sell only either cheese scones or...

This is my favourite granola recipe. Freeze dried raspberry adds a fruity flavour and freshness, setting it apart from your regular store bought option. The subtle sweetness of honey and orange juice make it the perfect sweet, yet healthy breakfast option.

I have made a fair bit of granola during the last lockdown (and before) and experimented with quite a few flavour combinations. This particular one, however, is my favourite. I prefer granola that is crispy and light, not clumpy or so sweet it makes your teeth stick together.

Many granolas contain either too much nuts and seeds, which makes them tasty, I agree, but also calorie dense or contain large amounts of sugar. Not this granola. The sweetness comes from a little honey, freshly squeezed orange juice and freeze dried berries. The addition of various types of seeds gives it more flavour and the crunchy texture we all love in a good granola.

Oats - the base: I used rolled jumbo oats which I buy from our local bulk food shop. I prefer these to regular rolled oats, which don't have enough body to make this granola the crispy delight it should be.

Rice flakes - the extra crunch: Rice flakes are pretty sturdy flakes. They give the extra crunch in this granola. Do not use rice puffs!

Almonds: Packed with vitamins, minerals, healthy fat and protein, they are the perfect addition to your morning meal. Not to mention how very tasty they are. I used already dry roasted almonds. The double roasting results in an ever so slightly burned flavour. If you don't like that, raw almonds are the way to go.

Seeds: I chose pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and hemp seeds. I recently discovered hemp seeds, also called hemp hearts, as a fantastic alternative to flax seed. Hemp seeds are rich in fibre and apparently a natural appetite suppressant, which can help keep you full for longer.

Coconut flakes: Coconut instantly transports you to a tropical island and adds to the fruity flavour. Don't substitute the coconut flakes for shredded coconut. Shredded coconut is too fine and might burn faster than the granola can crisp up. If you want to add shredded coconut, I suggest toasting it separately in a pan on the stovetop and adding it to the cooked granola at the end.

Chia seeds: Apart from being considered a 'super food', chia seeds add even more crunch. You can also substitute chia seeds for sesame seeds, if you prefer. However, this will alter the taste quite significantly and give the granola a slightly middle eastern vibe.

It doesn't need much more than fresh fruit and a large dollop of smooth greek yoghurt or coconut yoghurt.

Variations

Hazelnut: Try chopped hazelnuts instead of almonds or a mix of nuts
Choc and Coco: Add 2-3 tablespoons of dark chocolate chips along with the freeze dried berries
Protein Powder: add max one scoop of chocolate protein powder into the mix to give it some extra nutritional benefit
Other spices/spice mix such as cardamom, chai or gingerbread spice mix

Fruity granola with nuts and seeds

1.5 cups rolled jumbo oats

0.5 cup rice flakes

0.5 cup almonds, roughly chopped

0.5 cup mixed seeds (I used pumpkin, sunflower, hemp seeds)

0.5 cup coconut flakes

2-3 tbsp black chia seeds

0.5-1 tsp cinnamon

0.25 tsp sea salt

0.25 cup coconut oil, melted

0.25 cup runny honey

freshly squeezed juice of 1 orange

0.5-1 tsp vanilla essence

a handful of crumbled freeze dried raspberries (or other freeze dried berries)

Preheat the oven to 150ºC. You will need a deep baking tray lined with baking paper or a large baking pan. Alternatively, use one of those aluminium grill pans from the DIY store like I do.

Melt the coconut oil over a low heat until runny.

In the meantime, combine all dry ingredients except the freeze dried berries in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients including oil and orange juice in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients and mix everything with a spatula until well combined.

Pour the mix onto your baking tray or pan and distribute evenly. The layer shouldn't be too thick, or the granola won't turn crispy.

Total baking time is about 30-45 minutes. Bake for 10 minutes. Stir the granola with a spatula and distribute evenly again. Bake for another 10 minutes, stir again. Repeat this process until it has the desired crispness, but is not burnt.

Test after 30 minutes, don't bake for more than 50 minutes. It might become too dark and turn bitter.

Once it has the desired crispness, take it out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature. Once cool, add the freeze dried berry crumbs and mix well.

Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Fruity granola with nuts and seeds

This is my favourite granola recipe. Freeze dried raspberry adds a fruity flavour and freshness, setting it apart from your regular store bo...

Soft, chewy, delicious - packed with healthy ingredients and that little bit of sugar which makes them a real treat. Gran Cereale biscuits are a type of breakfast biscuit from Italy. My husband loved them when he was a child and the taste brings up fond memories of summers spent in Italy.

The Italian's have an interesting relationship with breakfast. While the rest of the world is getting more and more inventive with smashed avocado and ways to prepare eggs, in Italy, it's a much simpler - and sweeter - affair. Always coffee, of course, but also biscuits! Yes, you read that correctly. This just tells me that they know how to live la dolce vita every moment of the day.

I don't want to pretend that these biscuits are super healthy, but on top of being sweet, these Gran Cereale biscuits are packed with healthy ingredients like oats, wholemeal flour, nuts and seeds. They are satisfying to eat and easily adapted. And they are vegan too.

Tips and tricks

The dough is quite crumbly. Add enough water so that it comes together and knead it for a while to get a soft, relatively pliable dough.

In order to get the nice chewy texture, the biscuits need a good height and size. Don't roll them out too thinly. Aim for a dough thickness of about 4-5mm. For the biscuits pictured above, I used a 6.5cm round cookie cutter.

The tricky part is to get the cooking time just right. The already golden brown colour of the dough makes it hard to tell when they are done. Start with 15 minutes at 160ºC, test with your fingertip. If they are still very soft in the middle, bake 5 more minutes and test again. Depending on the oven I was baking them in, it took anywhere between 15-25 minutes to get a nice even golden brown colour on the biscuits.

Let them cool completely before storing them in an airtight container.

This recipe is adapted from a recipe I found years ago on Valentina Solfrini's Hortus Cuisine Blog, which unfortunately is no longer online.

Healthy Gran Cereale Biscuits

makes 20-22 large biscuits

150 g rolled oats

120 g wholewheat flour
25 g LSA (ground linseed, sunflower seed and almonds) or ground linseed

25 g ground hemp seeds

50 g ground almonds or nuts

50g brown sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 pinch of salt

80 g vegetable oils (I used 60 g coconut oil, 20 g mild olive oil)

3 heaping tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

water

Preheat the oven to 160ºC. You will need two baking trays lined with baking paper.

Process oats until they turn into a flour. Lightly heat coconut oil and honey to achieve a runny consistency.

Mix all dry ingredients together in a medium size bowl. Mix all wet ingredients except water together in a separate bowl. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mix and use your hands to bring it together.

Add just enough water to bring the dough together. Start with 1 tablespoon, add small amounts until it's just enough. If you added too much and the dough has become too soft, simply add a little bit more flour.

Turn the dough out on a clean surface and knead for a few minutes to bring the dough together. Shape into a ball, cover with cling film and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Take the dough out of the fridge. Cut in half and cover one half with cling film.

Roll out the dough between two sheets of baking paper to about 5mm thickness. Cut out the biscuits and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Scrape the dough together, knead into a ball, roll out and cut out biscuits until there is no more dough left. Repeat with the second half.

Bake for 8 minutes at 160ºC. Turn the baking trays and bake another 8 minutes. Test the centre with your fingertip. If it is still very soft, bake for another 5 minutes, test again. Repeat until they have an even golden brown colour, but are still slightly soft in the middle.

Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Variations

Hazelnut: Try ground hazelnuts instead of almonds
Choc and Coco: Add 2-3 tablespoons of dark chocolate chips and 50g shredded coconut instead of the seeds
Different types of wholemeal flours: Replace 20g of the wholewheat flour with other whole flours such as rye or spelt

Healthy Gran Cereale Biscuits

Soft, chewy, delicious - packed with healthy ingredients and that little bit of sugar which makes them a real treat. Gran Cereale biscu...

Cantucci (or Biscotti, as they are called here in New Zealand) are one of the easiest treats to make and will turn your afternoon coffee break into a sophisticated dolce vita moment.

I love Sicilian flavours - lemon, pistachio, almonds. If I could, I'd put them into every dish ... and to be perfectly honest, I put lemon in most things I cook anyway ;). Cantucci originate in Prato, a town in northern Italy. This recipe combines the best of the Italian north and south in my opinion. They are super easy and fast to make.

Cantucci ai gusti Siciliani

makes 12 large or 18 small biscuits

140 g all purpose flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder

75 g caster sugar

1 large egg

zest of 1 lemon, finely grated

1 pinch of salt

30 g toasted almonds, whole with skin on

25 g toasted pistachios, whole

20 g very dark chocolate (min 75%), coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 180ºC top and bottom heat (160ºC fan).

In a medium bowl, sift flour, cinnamon and baking powder together. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the egg, sugar, salt and lemon zest until lightly foamy.

Pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and combine just until you have a smooth dough. Add a little bit of flour if the dough is sticking to your fingers too much. Don't overwork the dough, you want the biscuits to be crumbly.

Lightly flour the kitchen bench, pat the dough out into a small rectangle and evenly distribute the nuts and chocolate over the dough. Roll into a sausage and knead very briefly to distribute the filling.

Shape the dough into an about 25-30 cm long thick roll. Shorter and wider for bigger biscuits, longer and smaller for smaller biscuits. Don't pat it flat, as some recipes suggest. It should be nice and round.

Bake on a tray lined with baking paper for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden.

Take out of the oven and let cool for a few minutes. With a serrated knife, slice the roll at an angle into diagonal pieces around 2 cm wide. Put the pieces back on the baking tray, cut side up, and bake for 8-10 minutes, turning them over half way through. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

You can vary the amount of almonds and pistachios to your liking, but keep the overall weight about the same.

Cantucci ai gusti Siciliani - Biscotti with Sicilian flavours

Cantucci (or Biscotti, as they are called here in New Zealand) are one of the easiest treats to make and will turn your afternoon coffe...

Pandoro, which literally means "golden bread", is a traditional Italian Christmas sweet bread, originally from Verona in northern Italy. It is similar to Panettone, another sweet bread eaten at Christmas time, but much less rich and usually unfilled. It is incredibly fluffy and soft and smells deliciously of honey, vanilla and citrus zest - irresistible, if you ask me!

In Italy, no one in their right mind would make this bread at home, because it's readily available in supermarkets and bakeries for a good price. Here in Auckland on the other hand, one could spend a fortune on these overseas delicacies. So I decided to make it myself.

I've tried to make Panettone in the past, twice, and failed, twice. Someone told me that Pandoro is much easier to make and I have to agree. For this recipe, I merged two recipes from Bake Street and Tavolartegusto together and adjusted them to my liking. The result is a perfectly golden bread with the typical soft and chewy interior.

The process is a bit lengthy - it takes two to three days to make this bread. Don't try to rush it, the slow rise builds up the flavour gives the dough its characteristic structure. Make sure that you have the right type of flour, which is Manitoba flour, or at least very strong bread flour. I would prefer to have made this bread with fresh yeast, but couldn't get any on short notice. However, I found that active dry yeast worked well enough.

Also, I didn't have the typical star shaped Pandoro baking mould, which are available on Amazon or AliExpress. Luckily, my crown bundt tin worked a treat. The important thing is that you chose a baking mould that is tall and leaves enough room for the dough to rise. You don't want anything narrow as you want as much fluffy interior as possible.

Lastly, I don't recommend to attempt this without a sturdy stand mixer. In order to build up the gluten in this enriched dough, it requires a lot of kneading - 15-20 minutes after all the ingredients are added. I don't know how long it would take to knead this dough by hand.

The process has three "stages" of dough:

- the lievito, a wet pre-dough.
- the first dough in which you add flour, butter and egg to the lievito
- the second dough in which you add more flour, egg and the spice mix

After that butter is folded in, very much like when making puff pastry, and a series of folds are performed. I've added a few pictures of the dough at various stages before and after rising to give you an indication on what to expect. Happy baking!

Pandoro - Italian Sweet Christmas Bread

dough quantity is for a 1 kg Pandoro mould

Spice mix

2 tbsp runny honey

2 tsp vanilla essence (or seeds of 1 vanilla pod)

zest of 2 lemons or oranges or a mix (finely grated)

For the lievito

5 g active dry yeast

60 g water at room temperature

15g sugar

50 g Manitoba flour

1 large egg yolk (ca 20g)

For the 1st dough

200 g Manitoba flour

1g active dry yeast

25 g sugar

30 g unsalted butter at room temperature

10 g water

1 large egg

For the 2nd dough

200 g Manitoba flour

100 g sugar

2 large eggs

5 g salt

To fold in

140g soft butter at room temperature

Prepare the spice mix: Mix the ingredients for the spice mix in a small bowl the day before baking and let stand at room temperature.

Make the lievito: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine water, sugar and yeast and let stand for a few minutes until the yeast has bloomed. Add the flour and egg yolk and mix until well combined. This will be a very wet mixture (see picture on the left below). Cover with cling film and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size. For me, at 26C, it took 1 hour, but depending on how warm it is in your house, it could be 1-2 hours. It's ready when you see lots of little bubbles appear on the surface.

Make the first dough: To the lievito in the stand mixer bowl, add sugar, yeast and egg and mix on low speed until you've got a fairly even dough. Add flour little by little. After the flour is well incorporated, add the butter in small pieces, waiting for each piece to be incorporated. Knead on medium speed for a few more minutes until the dough is smooth (see picture on the right below). Cover the bowl again with cling film and let rise until doubled in size, about 2-3 hours, at 25 C, but watch the dough. Mine took less time because it was warmer in my house.

Make the second dough: Again, in the bowl of the stand mixer with the first dough, add flour, sugar and spice mix to the dough and start mixing at medium speed. Add the eggs, one after the other, waiting for them to be incorporated before adding the next. Once they are well incorporated into the dough, add the salt. Keep kneading the dough at medium speed until the gluten is well developed, about 15-20 minutes. The dough should be slightly sticky, but leave the bowl clean.

You want to avoid the dough getting too warm. If necessary, cover the bowl with cling film and put the dough in the fridge for 10 minutes before continuing to knead it to keep it at room temperature.

With oiled hands shape the dough into a ball and put it into a large, slightly oiled bowl. Cover with cling film and let rise until almost doubled in size, about 2 hours at 25C. Again, watch the dough! For me it took only 1.5 hours.

Once risen, knock back the dough, give it a few kneads by hand and shape into a ball again. Put it back in the bowl, cover with cling film and two tea towels and put it in the fridge to rise for 12-24 hours. (See pics below after having knocked back the second dough and once out of the fridge after 16 hours)

Fold in the butter: Take the dough out of the fridge and let it come up to room temperature, about 1 hour. Lightly flour a surface and your rolling pin and roll out the dough into a 30 x 30 cm square. Distribute butter in the middle of the dough and smooth it with a blunt knife or cake spatula. Leave about 5 cm on each side of the square unbuttered.

Now fold the corners into the middle so that the butter is covered and it looks like an envelope. Make sure that you press down the edges to seal in the butter and that the butter doesn't leak out. Now carefully roll it out into a larger square, about 40 x 40 cm again. Fold in half, cover in cling film and put in the fridge for 45 minutes to rest. Repeat this process another 3 times, 4 in total. Always start with rolling the dough out in a square, then an envelope fold and rolling it out again, then fold in half and back in the fridge.

After the round of folds, tuck in the edges and shape the dough into a tight ball and put it in the cake mould. I had to make a hole in the middle, which you would normally not do if you had a proper Pandoro mould. Let rise at room temperature until it reaches the top of the cake tin, maybe a bit higher. This should take anywhere between 8 - 12 hours. If your dough is rising too fast, put it in the fridge after the first few hours and let it rise in the fridge.

Bake: About an hour before the cake is proofed, preheat the oven to 170C. Butter your cake mould really, really well. If the dough was rising in the fridge, take it out of the fridge 30 to 60 minutes prior to baking to give it another boost in rising. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 160C and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Cover with aluminium foil half way through to prevent it from browning too much. It rises still significantly while baking, so I recommend baking it on the lowest shelf. The bread is done when the interior temperature reaches 90C.

Let cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then invert and let cool completely. It dries out easily, so I suggest to stick it in a zip lock bag or large Tupperware dish as soon as it is cool. Dust with icing sugar before serving. Enjoy!

Pandoro - Italian Sweet Christmas Bread

Pandoro, which literally means "golden bread", is a traditional Italian Christmas sweet bread, originally from Verona in northern ...

I am a huge fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit". Naturally, I couldn't resist when I found a recipe for Beorn's twice baked honey cakes, which I adapted to my taste. The honey cakes mentioned in The Lord of the Rings are a travel food and keep for long. Not convinced that this is the case for these, however, I doubt they'll last longer than a couple of days in your house anyway.

When I started googling Beorn's honey cakes, a million and one different takes on the recipe showed up. This is one of the few that didn't have any refined sugar in it, which I loved (and which I think Beorn would approve of too ;)).

When I first looked at the recipe, I thought they would be overwhelmingly sweet and sticky. With the addition of lemon juice and zest to the glaze used before the second baking, however, they are utterly delicious. Sweet and satisfying, with a slight honey taste. In addition to the vanilla and nutmeg, I added a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to give the cakes even more warmth.

Next time I make them I will whip up some vanilla custard to go with it. The combination already makes my mouth water. I might have to pause writing this blog and make another batch of these right now!

Since the honey is the star ingredient, I advise you to use a good high quality honey as this will ultimately define the taste of the honey cakes. I used clover honey for the cakes and bush honey for the glaze as well as Meyer lemon zest and juice.

I am planning to try out these with orange zest and juice instead of lemon. I imagine this would be a fantastic variation for Christmas time.

Twice baked honey cakes

makes 12 small cakes

250 g all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
scant 1/2 tsp sea salt

scant 1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 eggs at room temperature

180 ml whole milk, slightly heated

120 g butter, room temperature + extra to grease the muffin tins

250 g runny honey

zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp vanilla essence

For the glaze

50 g runny honey

zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

A handful of sliced almonds as topping

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease your muffin tins generously with butter. I used silicone ones and still greased them as you will need to take the cakes out of the tin after the first bake.

In a medium bowl, mix all dry ingredients including salt and spices together and add the lemon zest. Cut the butter into small cubes and work it into the flour mixture with your hands or a fork until it resembles grainy sand. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the slightly heated milk, eggs, vanilla and honey. Mix well until the ingredients are really well combined.

Pour the wet ingredient into the bowl with the flour mix and mix until just combined. Spoon the batter in the prepared muffin tins and bake for about 15-16 minutes until very light golden.

In the meantime, heat the honey over low heat until really runny. Whisk in the zest and juice of half a lemon to make the glaze. Let sit until the first bake of the muffins is complete.

When the first baking time is up, take the muffins out of the oven and out of the muffin tins. Put on a baking tray lined with a silicone mat or baking paper and brush liberally with the honey lemon glaze. Stick some sliced almonds on top of each cake. Let sit for about 10 minutes to allow the cakes to absorb the glaze.

Put the muffins back in the oven and bake for another 8-10 minutes until they are golden brown and slightly crisp on the outside.

Enjoy fresh out of the oven. The still taste amazing the day after.

Twice baked honey cakes

I am a huge fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit". Naturally, I couldn't resist when I fo...

While the rest of the world is winding down for winter, here in New Zealand we are gearing up for summer. And this means a bigger selection of vegetables and fruit at the farmers markets and the shops. The preferred dishes change from hearty soups and stews to fresh salads and bowls packed with vegetables - and vitamins.

Today I would like to share one of my all time favourite salad recipes from Sicily. It's super simple yet really delicious and even a little bit sophisticated, if you ask me.

When served in Sicily the fennel and orange are usually cut in big chunks drizzled with olive oil. I prefer to shave the fennel really thinly and cut the orange in thin pieces to get the full mix of flavours with every bite, but it's totally up to you.

Sicilian Fennel and Orange Salad

serves 2

1/2 large bulb of fennel
1 medium orange
1 shallot or half a small red onion
10 black olives

1/2 - 1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp Italian white wine vinegar

Sea salt to taste

Shave or cut the fennel into thin slices and put into a medium bowl. I like to take the stem out too, but it's not strictly necessary. Peel and thinly slice the shallot and add to the fennel.

With a sharp knife, peel the orange. Cut off all the white pith on the outside. Cut into small slices and add to the bowl.

Season with sea salt, drizzle with olive oil and vinegar and mix well. Add olives. Leave in the fridge for an hour to develop the taste further, but you can also serve it straight away. Decorate with fennel fronds before serving.

Enjoy as a side or a light lunch with a slice of freshly baked bread.

Sicilian Fennel and Orange Salad

While the rest of the world is winding down for winter, here in New Zealand we are gearing up for summer. And this means a bigger selection ...

This recipe is based on the beetroot and feta bread recipe in the book "The Sourdough School" by Vanessa Kimbell. Since we were in lockdown (and also because my lovely husband doesn't like feta cheese too much), I had to make do with the ingredients at hand. So basically, this was a "fridge surprise" bread because I had a packet of cooked beetroot in the fridge which needed using up.

During the last lockdown here in New Zealand, three of my co-workers became avid sourdough baking aficionados. Ever since, our Slack channels are filled with photos of all the various baking experiments we undertake. Someone shared a Tiktok video of a how to make a pumpkin shaped bread. I had always wanted to try this technique so I did for this recipe. Still needs some practice, but I think it's not bad for the first try.

For this specific bread I used the retard method, meaning I proofed the dough overnight in the fridge. I'm not super strict with timing. Usually I bake it when I finish my breakfast and coffee, but I guess you could easily leave it to proof for 24h. Apparently the longer you leave it, the more intense the pinkish read colour from the beetroot.

You can either use cooked beetroot, like I did, or roast the beetroot like suggested in the "The Sourdough School" book. Puree it and add enough water to give it the consistency of applesauce.

I added 1 tsp of cracked black pepper which gave a pretty mild flavour. If you want more kick, double the amount.

Beetroot, black pepper and honey sourdough with rye

makes 1 small loaf

300g beetroot puree (consistency of apple sauce)

40g warm water

90g 100% hydration levain, prepared the night before

320g bread or high grade flour

80g whole rye flour

8g salt

25g honey

1 tsp cracked black pepper

I followed Vanessa Kimbell's master method for this recipe.

Autolyse: Mix flours in a large bowl. Add beetroot puree and water and mix well. Leave to autolyse for 30 minutes.

Final dough mix: Add the levain and work it in well. Cover and leave in for 30 minutes. Add the salt. Again, work the dough well to distribute the salt. Cover and leave in a warm spot or use a dough proofer for another 30 minutes.

Bulk fermentation and bench time: After the 30 minutes perform the first set of stretch and folds. Fold in honey and pepper during this first fold. I wanted the honey to be laced through the dough rather than fully incorporated.

Perform two more sets of folds spaced out by 30 minutes. I left the loaf to bulk ferment for a total 5 h 15 minutes before preshaping it. Give it 20 minutes of bench time, rest the dough uncovered on the bench to give the gluten the possibility to relax.

Shape and floor time: Shape into a tight boule (or whichever shape you like, check out this article on how to make it a pumpkin shape. ) and put it in the banneton or proofing basket. Leave to rest on the kitchen counter for another 30-45 minutes, depending on how warm it is. This floor time gives the dough the possibility to ferment some more in a warmer temperature.

Overnight fridge proof and baking: Cover the basket with a plastic bag and stick it in the fridge overnight to proof. After 12-24h the bread is ready to be baked. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of baking paper. Score the dough with a lame or knife.

I use a cast iron dutch oven for bread baking. Preheat the oven and dutch oven to 250°C 30 min to 1 hour before baking
Take the dutch oven out of the oven, open the lid and carefully ease the dough straight into the dutch oven. Close the lid and put the pot back in the oven. After 20 minutes, remove the lid and bake for another 17 minutes until the bread has a lovely strong crust.

Beetroot, black pepper and honey sourdough with rye

This recipe is based on the beetroot and feta bread recipe in the book "The Sourdough School" by Vanessa Kimbell. Since we were in...

Banana Bread is a fantastic healthy treat that I make on a regular basis. It's the perfect snack with an afternoon coffee as well a good breakfast option when I have only little time in the morning.

Usually, I would make Banana Bread to use discard starter that I collect in a jar in the fridge. I have adapted the recipe for sourdough spelt banana bread from foodbod to create this banana bread recipe. The addition of apple makes it moist and even more delicious.

I have made various additions to this recipe over the last few months, for example added a tablespoon of Tahini or 1/2 cup of roughly chopped walnuts so feel free to experiment.

This recipe can be made with or without sourdough starter. Just replace 50g of flour and 50g of water with 100g of discard or active sourdough starter at 100% hydration.

Banana Bread with Apple

makes 1 small loaf

1 egg
90 ml milk (or 45 ml water, 45 ml milk)
40 g coconut oil
70 g runny honey
2 medium ripe bananas
1 small apple
20 g whole rye flour
200 g all purpose flour
35 g almond meal
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180ºC top and bottom heat (160ºC fan).

Coarsely grate the apple, mash the bananas with a fork.

Mix all wet ingredients (milk, egg, honey, coconut oil) and add the apple and banana to it. If using sourdough starter, add it to the wet ingredients mix as well.
Mix dry ingredients (flours, almond meal, salt, spices, baking soda and powder) in a large bowl.
Combine dry with wet ingredients to form a relatively lose batter. (If experimenting, add in any additions like roughly chopped nuts or swirl through two tablespoons of tahini.)

Line a 20 x 10 cm loaf tin with baking paper. Pour in the batter and use a spatula to even it out.
Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave it in the tin for 10 minutes before taking it out. Leave to cool before cutting it.

Enjoy!

Pro tip: Cut into slices and freeze for up to 3 months. Directly toast the frozen slices for a quick breakfast.

Banana Bread with Apple

Banana Bread is a fantastic healthy treat that I make on a regular basis. It's the perfect snack with an afternoon coffee as well a good...

Parmigiana is a wonderful Italian dish full of flavour and a great way to use aubergines. As fantastic as it tastes, it can be quite high in calories with all the Mozzarella and olive oil. This is my 'lite' version of a Parmigiana. Not the real deal, but still damn delicious.

I experimented a bit with the roasting time of the aubergines. The first time I made it I left them in the oven for about 40 minutes and they had become quite dry but very tasty. Another time I baked them for 25 but they were still quite soft. Try out for yourself which consistency you prefer.

Also, I like to make my own Ricotta, but that's for another post. It tastes just as good with store bought cheese. Here again, experiment with the ratio of Ricotta and Parmesan cheese to get taste you prefer.

Parmigiana Lite

serves 2-3

2 large eggplant
50-75 g firm Ricotta cheese
50 g Parmesan cheese
1-2 tsp olive oil

for the tomato sauce
1 tsp olive oil
400 ml passata or one can of chopped tomatoes (400g)
1/2 yellow onion
a small handful of basil leaves
a pinch of sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the eggplant lengthwise in 1 cm thick slices. Arrange the slices on an oiled baking tray or an oiled a silicon baking sheet. Salt them well on both sides and leave for 30 minutes. This takes away some of the bitterness of aubergines.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C fan (200°C top/bottom heat) and prepare the tomato sauce.

Finely chop the onion. Heat a small saucepan over medium low heat. Add the oil and onion and fry for a few minutes until it becomes soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes (or passata), season with salt and pepper and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently so that the sauce doesn't burn.

Roughly chop basil leaves, add them to the sauce and cook for another 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add a pinch of sugar if it still tastes too sour.

Lightly brush the aubergine slices with olive oil and bake for 30-35 minutes. Once they are done, take them out of the oven and start assembling the Parmigiana.
In a small baking dish start layering tomato sauce, a single layer of aubergines, ricotta and parmesan cheese. Start with the tomato sauce to avoid the aubergines sticking to the bottom of the dish. Finish off the parmigiana with sauce and both cheeses on top.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is slightly browned and the cheese is melted.
Serve hot as main dish or with meat and potatoes. It is also fantastic cold on toasted ciabatta.

Parmigiana Lite

Parmigiana is a wonderful Italian dish full of flavour and a great way to use aubergines. As fantastic as it tastes, it can be quite high in...

These teacakes are easy and fast to make and super delicious with afternoon tea or coffee.

I re-watched old episodes of The Great British Bake Off the other day (don't judge! ;)) and came across something that I didn't know before: teacakes. They are brioche like buns, but less rich and sweet. Spiced and filled with dried fruit - sounded delicious! So here is my take on them.

I really like two very uncommon spices used in Greek baking. Mahlepi, which is ground cherry stones, and Mastic gum, a resin obtained from the mastic tree. These spices are used in sweet bread like Tsoureki which is traditionally baked for Easter in Greece. You can find them in greek shops.

Teacakes and these spices to me seemed like the perfect combination. I'd say however, that it's an accomplished taste, so start off with a quarter of a teaspoon and taste the dough so that you can find out how much of the spice mix is enough for you.

Enjoy them fresh out of the oven or toasted with your favourite toppings.

Recipe adapted from this recipe on BBC goodfood.

Teacakes with greek flavours

makes 4 small teacakes

50 ml milk
50 ml luke warm water
175 g high grad flour (strong bread flour)
3 g dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 - 1/2 tsp spice mix (1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground mahlepi, 1 small rock mastic gum crushed, seeds of 1 cardamom pod, crushed)
35 g dried fruit (e.g. raisins, chopped apricots)
1 egg for the eggwash

Prepare the spice mix by combining cinnamon, mahlepi and the crushed mastic rock and cardamom.

Mix water with the yeast and sugar and let stand for about 10 minutes to activate the yeast.

In the meantime mix flour, salt and spice mix in the bowl of a stand mixer and combine well.

In a small saucepan, combine milk and butter and slowly warm up until the butter has melted. Let the milk and butter mixture cool a little bit before combining it with the yeast water.

Make a well in the flour mix and pour in the liquid ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon until a dough starts to form. Knead the dough on medium speed (setting 6 on my KitchenAid) until the dough is smooth and passes the window pane test, about 5 -7 minutes.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp towl and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 1 - 1.5 hours.

Once it's risen, divide the dough in 4 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, flatten each piece and fill with a quarter of the dried fruit. Roll it up and knead so that the fruit is distributed equally. Shape into a semi-tight ball by cupping your hand over the dough and moving it in a circular motion with the fingers of that hand slightly tucked in and slight pressure.
Leave the shaped buns in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes - 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan (200°C top/bottom heat).
When the buns have risen and the dough springs back slightly but leaves a dent when you poke it with your finger, they are ready to bake. Whisk the egg to make an eggwash and brush each bun with the eggwash. This gives them their characteristic shine. Bake in the top third of your oven for about 16-18 minutes until they have a deep golden brown colour.

I enjoy them warm with (peanut) butter and jam or ricotta, honey and fresh fruit.

Depending on you preference, you can add more spices or a different spice mix. Next time, I plan on flavouring them with Earl Grey tea leaves.

Teacakes with greek flavours

These teacakes are easy and fast to make and super delicious with afternoon tea or coffee. I re-watched old episodes of The Great British ...

This is a healthier version of the classic Sicilian street food.

My husband and I spent a few weeks in Sicily this year. A perfect summer holiday. We made it all about the wonderful and tasty food that you can get pretty much everywhere on the island.
Our plan was to try every typical dish at least once - Cannoli, pasta di mandorla, gelato in brioche, granita, fish and seafood, pizza, pasta ... and of course Arancini. We didn't stop after trying them once though. In fact, they became our goto lunch. Sooo delicious.

In case you don't know what they are: Arancini are deep fried risotto balls stuffed with ragout and cheese coated in bread crumbs. Nowadays many different varieties are offered on the streets of Sicily, including sweet Arancini filled with pistachio cream or nougat.

Back home in New Zealand I attempted to make a healthier oven baked version. The deep fried crust is of course very crispy which is hard to achieve in the oven but this recipe produces a nice crispy crust that is pretty close to the real deal.

The one's in the picture are made with breadcrumbs from dark bread rolls. I achieved the best taste when I used bread crumbs from sourdough bread.

Crispy oven-baked Arancini

makes 6 small or 4 large Arancini

for the saffron risotto
225 g risotto rice (such as Arborio)
1/2 yellow onion
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp butter
600-700 ml beef or vegetable broth
1/4 tsp saffron threads
25 g grated parmesan cheese
125 ml dry white wine
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tbsp butter (optional)

for the ragout

150g minced beef
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 yellow onion
200g chopped tomatoes from a can
1/2 cup frozen peas
a splash of balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp dried oregano or a spring fresh rosemary
sugar, salt and pepper to taste

for the coating

4-5 slices of toasted and sourdough toast made into breadcrumbs OR 3/4 cup of bread crumbs
1 small egg
1 tbsp flour
cold water

a few slices of Cacciocavallo or Mozzarella cheese cut into cubes

Prepare the risotto: Finely chop the onion. Put the saffron threads in a tablespoon of very hot water and leave to soak.
Heat a wide pan over low heat, add olive oil, butter and add the onion. Fry until soft and translucent, stirring constantly. Turn up the heat to medium. Add the rice and fry for about a minute until fragrant. Deglaze with the white wine. Boil stirring frequently until the wine has dissolved. Add a ladle of broth, season well and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low and boil really slowly stirring occasionally.
Continue to add the broth, one ladle every time the risotto looks dry and stir well. It takes about 15-20 minutes to cook. Continue to try the rice as you go as it should be al dente and not too soft.
Once the rice is almost cooked, stir in the the saffron and water and mix well. Continue to boil until the rice is cooked al dente. The risotto should be fairly dry and "sticky" so that it can easily be rolled into a ball and hold its shape.
Finally, take the risotto off the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese and butter. I usually leave out the butter to save calories. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste. Leave the risotto to cool completely before using it.

Prepare the ragout: Finely chop the onion. In a frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and fry until they just start to brown. Turn up the heat to high and add the mince. Break up any big chunks. Leave the meat to brown without stirring too much. Season with salt and pepper and add the chopped tomatoes. Turn the heat down to medium and cook for 15 minutes.
Add the herbs and vinegar and stir well. Add the peas and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Make sure that the ragout is quite dry.
Taste and season with salt, pepper and finish off with a little bit of sugar to bring out the tomato flavour. Leave to cool.

Make the Arancini: Preheat the oven to 180°C fan (200°C top/bottom heat).
Mix the egg with the flour until it forms a smooth paste. It needs to be runny enough to coat the Arancini with. Add a splash of hot water to loosen it if necessary.
Divide the risotto into 6 even portions.
Either on a plate or in the palm of your hand, flatten out a portion of the risotto. Put about 1-2 tablespoons of the ragout and a few cubes of cheese in the middle. Shape the risotto into a tight ball around the filling so that there is no filling leaking out. Repeat until you've used up the risotto. Don't worry if you have leftover ragout, it makes for a fantastic pasta sauce.
Coat the rice balls first with the egg and flour mixture and then with the bread crumbs. Roll them in your hands to make the crumbs really stick to the Arancini.
Spray with olive oil. I don't have a spray bottle so I usually pour a little bit of olive oil in my hands and roll the Arancini again with my oiled hands.
Place them on an oiled baking tray. Space them out so that they can brown evenly. Bake until golden brown and the crust is crispy, about 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy, for example with a glass of good Italian wine!

Variations

If you don't like saffron risotto, you can use risotto bianco. I encourage you to play around with the filling, for example vegetable ragout or fennel and salmon.
For a sweet variation, use rice pudding and nougat and pistachio or hazelnut filling. Coat with breadcrumbs mixed with ground nuts.

Crispy oven-baked Arancini

This is a healthier version of the classic Sicilian street food. My husband and I spent a few weeks in Sicily this year. A perfect summer ...

A colourful rice salad packed with vitamins and asian flavours. A delicious and healthy lunch that can easily be prepared the day before.

The sushi place around the corner from our house sells sushi rice in the evenings. I usually buy it to make a poke bowl but it is always too much. This easy to prepare salad is my way of using up leftover sushi rice. Of course you can prepare your own sushi rice.

The salad takes about 10 minutes to throw together and can easily be prepared in the evening to take to work for lunch the next day. In fact, the flavour will be even better after it has spent some time in the fridge. If available, top it with this slices of sashimi quality tuna marinated in soy sauce and sesame seed oil.

Asian inspired salad with red sushi rice

serves 2-3

1/4 red cabbage, chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 large spring onion
1/4 cucumber
1/4 large avocado or 1/2 small avocado
1/2 cup steamed edamame
1/2 cup sweet corn kernels
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
100-150g red sushi rice

for the dressing
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
minced red chilli to taste
salt to taste

In a large bow, combine all the ingredients and mix well. In a small cup, whisk together the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the salad. Mix well. Cover the bowl and let sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to develop the flavours. Top with more sesame seeds and spring onion before serving.

Asian inspired salad with red sushi rice

A colourful rice salad packed with vitamins and asian flavours. A delicious and healthy lunch that can easily be prepared the day before. ...

Baking sourdough bread is great, but it takes a lot of patience. With this schedule, I can bake lovely sourdough bread during the week.

I love to spend my Saturday or Sunday experimenting with different techniques and recipes. However, during the week I missed my homemade bread. I've become a bit of a 'bread snob' since starting to bake my own sourdough bread so I never buy bread anymore. Nothing else to do but to come up with a bread baking schedule that works with a 9 to 5 job.

Since coming across this great video on 'How to make a basic open crumb sourdough bread' by @fullproofbaking I am in love with high hydration doughs. I would really like to be able to achieve such an open crumb. Unfortunately during the week I don't have the time. So I adapted the timings and schedule a little bit to work for my restricted timeframe and this is what I would like to share with you today. The result is good enough for me and always super tasty.

A few things up front: I have a home proofing box (by Brød & Taylor, great addition to my kitchen) to be able to have consistent warm temperature environment for proofing. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to make bread with this schedule in the colder months, when the house is quite cold.

I found it works really well for smaller loaves e.g. 300-400g of flour. I made a 600g flour loaf the other day and I found that it wasn't fully proofed in the morning. It still turned out ok (see picture), but not perfect. Also, I discovered that shower caps (!) are the best for covering the bowl with the dough. Who would have thought?!

The bread in the picture is a 25% whole wheat loaf, 85% hydration, with soaked chia seeds. The seeds are folded in during lamination.

My weekday sourdough bread baking schedule

Day 1

Early morning: build levain, leave it on the countertop during the day

After work:

1. autolyse, wait 45 minutes
2. add levain and incorporate, wait 30 minutes
3. add salt and incorporate, wait 30 minutes
4. fold on the countertop, wait 30 minutes
5. lamination, wait 45 minutes
6. perform 2 or 3 coil folds, spaced out by 30-45 minutes, depending on the time
7. shape and transfer to proofing basket, wait 15 minutes
8. proof in fridge for 9 hours or as long as possible

Day 2

1. Preheat the oven and dutch oven, one hour before baking
2. Bake straight from the fridge. I usually leave the bread on a wire rack and cover it with a light kitchen towel. It cools during the day and I can have a lovely sandwich for dinner.

Here is the full description

The process is basically a shortened version of the one used by Kristen from @fullproof baking (watch the video here):

Day 1:

Some time between 7 and 8am:
Prepare levain: I usually make a levain as described in Ken Forkish's book 'Flour Water Salt Yeast' and leave it on the counter during the day. Depending on when I have to leave the house and come home, I leave it between 8 and 10 hours.

When coming home from work:
around 5pm, Autolyse: Mix flour and water until no more dry pockets are left. I leave the flour to autolyse for as much time as I can. Typically somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes.

30 minutes later, add levain: Pour the levain on top of the dough. With a wet hand, spread the levain evenly over the dough and work it in by pinching and squeezing the dough until it's well incorporated. Leave covered for 30 minutes.

30 minutes later, add salt: Sprinkle the salt evenly on top of the dough. Incorporate it well by pinching the dough. Cover again (with a shower cap ;)) and leave for another 30 minutes.

30 minutes later, fold on the counter: Sprinkle or lightly spray your countertop with water. Pour the dough out of the bowl on the countertop. Pat it into a rectangle. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the middle, repeat with the left third. Then fold the top third of the new longish shape down over the middle, repeat with the lower third. You should end up with a nice parcel. Put the dough back in the bowl and leave for 30 minutes.

30 minutes later, lamination and adding of any fillings: Sprinkle or lightly spray your countertop with water. Pour the dough out of the bowl on the countertop. Stretch out the dough quite thin into a large rectangle. Always stretch from the center out to the sides. Make sure you don't rip it. It should be nice and stretchy by now. This technique is used to increase the overall dough strength. Perform the same kind of third folds like in the last step. (See this video by Brotokoll, which shows the technique well.) Move the dough to a larger rectangle dish and cover again. Leave for 45 minutes.

45 minutes later, around 8pm to 8:30pm, first coil fold: Uncover your dough. With wet hands reach under the center of the dough and slowly but steadily pull the dough upwards until one side folds itself underneath the dough. Turn the dish by 180° and perform the same fold on the other side. Turn the dish by 90° and perform another coil fold, repeat on the opposite side. Cover and leave again for 30-45 minutes, depending on how late it is. Repeat this step another one or two times

Depending on the time, I perform 2 or 3 folds spaced out by 30 minutes or 45 minutes. I usually turn up the home proofing box temperature to 27°C if I have less time. Again, be pragmatic here.

Around 10:30pm, shaping: Gently pour the dough out it onto a lightly floured countertop. With floured hands shape the dough into a medium tight ball (see here on how shape the dough). Put the shaped dough into the proofing baket, seam side up. Cover and leave on the countertop for 15 minutes.

Around 10:45pm, transfer to the fridge.

Day 2

I use a cast iron dutch oven for bread baking. Preheat the oven and dutch oven to 250°C about an hour before baking (around 6:30am).

Around 7:30am, Baking: Take proofing basket out of the fridge and bake straight from the fridge. For a 300g flour loaf I usually bake it at 250°C for 25 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid and bake for another 10 minutes. I like my bread to have a strong deep brown colour and strong crust.
I usually leave the bread on a wire rack and cover it with a light kitchen towel. It cools during the day and I can have a lovely sandwich for dinner.

My weekday sourdough bread baking schedule

Baking sourdough bread is great, but it takes a lot of patience. With this schedule, I can bake lovely sourdough bread during the week. I...

I really like the flavour combination of nuts, dried fig and fennel seeds. The last loaf I made was 100% whole spelt flour and it was accordingly dense-ish. This time, I added some bread flour and used the technique described in Ken Forkish's book 'Flour Water Salt Yeast' to create a lighter crumb. The bread turned out fantastically. It didn't even last 24h!

I didn't have any walnuts at home, so I replaced them with hazelnuts. To give the bread even more flavour, I toasted the hazelnuts as well as the fennel seeds. Toasting the nuts makes it easy to get rid of the skin as well which gives them a somewhat sweeter flavour in the end. Just pour the toasted nuts on a kitchen towel and gently rub them until almost all of the skin has come off. Let them cool before folding them into the dough during the first fold.

As for the dried figs, I cut them up in reasonably big junks and let them soak in hot water for 15 minutes before adding them to the dough, together with the nuts and seeds. Doing this ensures that they don't pull out any water from the dough to rehydrate.

I followed the schedule suggested by Ken Forkish in his book: Mix levain at 8am, start autolyse at 3:30pm, mix final dough around 4pm and bake the next morning at 8am straight from the fridge. As the lucky owner of a home proofing box, I can keep the dough at a constant temperature. If you don't own one, you might have to adjust times e.g. longer times in colder environments, shorter in warmer temperatures.

In the past I had problems with the loaf not holding it's shape when I moved it from the proofing basket onto a surface and then to the dutch oven for baking. I have since started to pour the shaped loaf directly from the proofing basket into the dutch oven. This technique works well for me, but feel free to transfer it to a floured countertop first, score it the way you want and move it from the countertop to the dutch oven.

Whole spelt fig, hazelnut and fennel seed sourdough loaf

makes one small loaf

for the levain
10g active sourdough starter, 100% hydration
10g whole grain flour (I used wholewheat)
45g bread flour
45g warm water, 29-32°C

for the final dough
108g of the levain

200g whole spelt flour
40g strong white flour (sometimes called bread flour or high grade flour)
198g warm water, ca. 32-35°C
7g sea salt
1g active dry yeast (a generous dash)

filling
7g fennel seeds
30g hazelnuts
50g dried figs

Day 1

Prepare levain (around 8am): Mix flour, starter and water in a large jar or bowl until no dry spots remain. Cover and leave to mature at room temperature. Depending on the temperature in your house, this will take around 6-8 hours. To test if your levain is ready, drop a pea sized piece in a glass of water. It's ready if the piece floats.

Prepare the filling: While the levain is maturing, prepare the ingredients for the filling. Roughly chop the dried figs and soak in boiling water for about 15 minutes. Then drain the liquid and set aside to cool. Lightly toast the hazelnuts in a pan over low heat until the brown skin starts falling off. Pour onto a kitchen towel and gently rub the nuts to remove any leftover skin. Leave to cool before chopping them up, just a little bit. You want chunky pieces of hazelnut in your bread. Clean the pan and toast the fennel seeds for a few minutes until fragrant. Pour into a small bowl and let cool.

Autolyse (around 3:30pm for me): When the levain is ready, mix the flour and water for the final dough by hand or with a spatula until no dry spots remain. Cover and let sit for 20 to 30 minutes.

Mix the final dough: Sprinkle the salt and dry yeast evenly on top of the dough. Incorporate by pinching the dough. Transfer 108g of the levain to the dough bowl. With a wet hand distribute the levain evenly over the top of the dough. Drizzle the honey evenly over the levain and incorporate levain and honey again by pinching and folding the dough. When everything has come together cover the bowl again and leave at room temperature.

Bulk fermentation and folds: During bulk fermentation, I folded the dough three times. I performed the first fold after 10 minutes and incorporated the filling with the first fold. Sprinkle about a third of the filling ingredients over the dough. With a wet hand, reach under the dough and pull it out to the point of resistance and fold it over itself. Turn the bowl by 90°, sprinkle another third of the filling on top and perform another fold. Turn then bowl again and repeat the fold twice more. The filling should ideally not be sticking out too much. Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
Perform another set of four folds after 30 minutes. Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Repeat folding one more time after the rest. (check out this explanatory video about folding here)
After the last fold, cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature until it has more than doubled in size, about 5 hours after mixing the final dough.

Shaping: When the dough has risen enough, gently pour it out it onto a lightly floured countertop. Because of the high whole grain percentage, it is a rather sticky dough. Generously flour a proofing basket. With floured hands shape the dough into a medium tight ball (see here on how shape the dough). Put the shaped dough into the proofing baket, seam side up (you have to turn it upside down). Put the basket in an unperforated plastic bag and put it in the fridge overnight (about 12 hours).

Day 2

I use a cast iron dutch oven for bread baking. Preheat the oven and dutch oven to 250°C about an hour before baking (around 7am).

Baking (around 8am): Take proofing basket out of the fridge. Take the dutch oven out of the oven, open the lid and carefully ease the dough straight into the dutch oven. If you have a lame or sharp knife, score the dough. Be really careful not to burn yourself on the super hot dutch oven!
Close the lid and put the pot back in the oven. After 27 minutes, remove the lid and bake for another 10 minutes until the top is a deep brown and has a lovely strong crust.

Remove the dutch oven from the oven and take out the bread. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting. Enjoy with your favourite topping.

Whole spelt fig, hazelnut and fennel seed sourdough loaf, take 2

I really like the flavour combination of nuts, dried fig and fennel seeds. The last loaf I made was 100% whole spelt flour and it was acco...

Indulge in those sweet and savoury middle eastern flavours with this vegetarian kibbeh recipe.

I love middle eastern food and flavours. I regularly make hummus, flatbreads or kofta. Couscous is a staple in our household. Kibbeh is a wonderful middle eastern bulgur dish. It is traditionally made with meat. After some research I found a couple of vegetarian kibbeh recipes and adapted them to create my pumpkin kibbeh. Now, I'm no expert in traditional middle eastern food and traditionalists among you might say this is not how it's supposed to be. And you are probably right. So let's call this 'kibbeh inspired'.

About the spice mix: I raided my spice cupboard and went crazy. If you don't have all of those readily at hand, cumin and cinnamon or coriander will do. I like the addition of smoked paprika as it gives the dish a hint of smokiness. The best way to find out what you like best, is to try out different variants of the spice mix. It's very important to taste the mix as you go and to adjust seasoning and spices until you achieve the perfect balance of flavours.

If you cannot find pumpkin, I reckon you can also be make this kibbeh with sweet potato. I chose to steam the pumpkin to keep all flavours in but you can also boil it or bake it until very soft and tender.

Baked pumpkin kibbeh

makes one small pie (20cm diameter)

500g pumpkin (peeled)
1/2 cup bulgur wheat
1 small red onion
1 small garlic clove
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander seeds
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1 large pinch of sumac (optional)
1 pinch of red chilli flakes (optional)
1 pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 200°C (top/bottom heat).

Peel and cut the pumpkin in small chunks. Cover generously with salt and let sit for 15 minutes. Put it in the steamer and steam (or boil) until very soft and tender.
Meanwhile soak the bulgur in lukewarm water for 20 minutes. Drain and let sit for 10 minutes to let all the excess water drain away. Slice half of the onion very thinly, coarsely grate the other half. Mince the garlic clove. Brush a 20cm pie dish generously with olive oil and arrange the sliced onion in a single layer at the bottom of the dish.
Once the pumpkin is done, mash it into a puree. In a large bowl, combine with the drained bulgur, garlic and grated onion. Start adding seasoning (start with 1/2 tsp salt) and spices and mix well. Taste and adjust spices and seasoning until you are satisfied with the taste.
Sift 2 tablespoons all purpose flour over the top to avoid flour pockets and mix really well. Taste one last time to be sure the spice mix is alright :)

Spoon the pumpkin mix onto the onions in the pie dish and spread out evenly. Brush the top generously with olive oil and cut in diamond shapes (or whatever shapes you like).
Bake for about 50 minutes until golden. The onions in the bottom should be caramelised and taste wonderfully sweet.

Sprinkle with Za'atar and serve with minted yoghurt. It also makes for a delicious side accompanying lamb koftas.

Baked pumpkin kibbeh

Indulge in those sweet and savoury middle eastern flavours with this vegetarian kibbeh recipe. I love middle eastern food and flavours. I...

The best whole spelt pizza dough - a bold claim, I know. My (Italian) husband and I make pizza every Sunday night, so I've tried a bunch of recipes. And this one is the best, seriously. Granted, it takes a bit of time, but I promise the taste is worth it.

Have you ever watched the Netflix series 'Chef's table'? It's a series that portraits another exceptional chef all over the world in every episode. One episode is about Nancy Silverton and her pizza dough recipe which is allegedly way too complicated and elaborate for a pizza dough. Being obsessed with bread and pizza myself I obviously had to try it out. And yes, the pizza dough tastes pretty amazing.

However, being me, I wanted to make it a tiny bit healthier and experimented with various degrees and varieties of wholemeal flour. Last Sunday I finally went 80% spelt whole meal and the result was spectacular. In fact, so good that I want to share it with you. It takes about 5 hours in total until baking, but most of it is waiting until the dough has risen sufficiently. Keep in mind that if your kitchen is very cold the dough might take longer to rise. The ideal temperature, as stated in the original recipe, is between 20-22°C.

Because spelt flour contains a different, weaker kind of gluten than wheat flour, I use some bread flour in the recipe which is very high in gluten to give the dough some stability. Luckily, I am the proud owner of a Kitchenaid so I don't have to knead by hand. It's perfectly fine if you knead the dough by hand. It will take some elbow grease and perhaps longer than indicated in the recipe. You can use the windowpane test to make sure that the gluten has developed enough.

At the start when kneading the dough it will almost resemble batter. The high percentage of wholemeal flour makes this dough quite sticky. That's how it is supposed to be. Resist the urge to add more flour. After kneading it, it should be only slightly sticky. If it is still unmanageable, add up to 1 tbsp of bread flour. Depending on the flour you use, the quantity will vary.

The best whole spelt pizza dough

makes 2 medium pizzas - takes about 5 hours

215 ml warm water (something like 30°C)
1/3 tsp active dry yeast*
195g whole spelt flour
50g white bread flour (high grade flour)
1/3 tbsp whole rye flour
1/2 tsp wheat bran
1/3 tsp runny honey
1/3 tsp salt
olive oil
semolina (or polenta) to keep the pizza from sticking to the pizza stone

1. Mix yeast and water: Mix 150 ml of the water with the yeast and let stand for a few minutes until the mixture is bubbly.

2. Add some of the flours and wheat bran: In a large bowl, mix 50g bread flour with 75g of whole spelt flour with the rye flour and wheat bran. Add the yeast mixture and stir until well combined. It will be quite a wet mixture. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature (ideally 20-22°C) for about 1.5 hours. (You can use cling film, but I prefer to use a plate.)

3. Add remaining flour, water and honey and knead: Add the remaining 120g whole spelt flour, 65 ml warm water and honey to the dough. Knead in a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook on low speed for about 2 minutes.

4. Add salt and knead: After 2 minutes of kneading, with the machine still running, add the salt. Turn up the kneading speed to medium and knead for further 8 minutes. The dough should become smooth and elastic and only slightly sticky. It should begin to pull away from the sides of the bowl at this stage. If it is overly sticky, add up to a tbsp of bread flour and knead for another minute. Grease another large bowl with olive oil and transfer the dough to the greased bowl. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for about 45 minutes.

5. Fold the dough: Grease your hands with olive oil so the dough doesn’t stick. Uncover the bowl and carefully pull the sides away from the bowl. Grab the underside of the dough and fold it over itself towards the centre. Turn the bowl 90° and fold the next side. Repeat until all four sides are folded over. Then turn the dough over in the bowl so that the the folded sides are facing down. Cover the bowl once again and let it rise for another 45 minutes.

6. Divide and proof: Carefully pour the dough out of the bowl onto a well floured surface. Divide it in two equal pieces with a sharp knife or metal scraper. Shape the pieces into tight balls by tucking under the edges and rolling it in a circular motion on the countertop or in your hands. Like so. Cover the dough balls with a kitchen towel and let them proof for about an hour.

If you plan on baking your pizza in the oven, I recommend to start preheating the oven (and the pizza stone if using) for about an hour to 250°C. The pizza stone also works exceptionally well on the BBQ.

Baking time!: Dust your work surface with flour. Take one dough ball and carefully press it down and out with your palm and your fingers until you have reached the desired thickness for your pizza base. Use flour liberally to keep it from sticking on your hands or the work surface.

If using a baking tray transfer the dough to a baking tray lined with baking paper and sprinkled with semolina. If using a pizza stone - which I highly recommend - sprinkle your pizza peel with flour and semolina and transfer the shaped pizza base onto it

Lightly brush the edges with olive oil and top it with whatever tickles your fancy... no pineapples please! Bake at 250°C for about 8-11 minutes until the cheese has melted and the edges are starting to brown. Buon appetito!

Notes

* Some time soon I will create a sourdough version of this recipe. That's the plan anyway.

The best whole spelt pizza dough

The best whole spelt pizza dough - a bold claim, I know. My (Italian) husband and I make pizza every Sunday night, so I've tried a bunc...