HEARTY WINTER SOUP AND BROWN BREAD

As the garden offers up her final fruits

The days are that beautiful autumnal crisp and heavy with the scent of damp leaves

Fire is now a ritual every evening as opposed to an occasional occurance

The seasons are vivid in the Irish Countryside

 and so much of the season is about what we eat 

 

and right now hearty soups with warm brown bread feel just about right

The thing about soup is, to me it feels a little contradictorary to offer a recipe 

as really soup, in this house, is usually about what is available or waiting to be used up 

So the following "recipe" is a guide and you should substitute the contents of your own larder

HEARTY WINTER SOUP

2 onions chopped 

A 1" piece of fresh ginger

2 large carrots

2 sticks celery

2 cups red lentils

1 tsp salt

1 stock cube 

METHOD

put onion in pan and sprinkle with salt, sautee until soft, 

add chopped carrots, celery and finely chopped ginger

sautee for 5 mins

add 2 cups of lentils 

add 3 pints of cold water and stock cube

simmer for 45 mins until everything is soft 

Blend until smooth

serve as is or with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkled with chive flowers 

(sweet potato, butternut squash and parsnip would all be welcome additions)

This was one of those occassions where I didn't have everything the recipe called for,

made some substitutes and the results were better than the original

BROWN BREAD

225g coarse wholemeal flour

100g whole spelt flour*

150g plain flour

1 tspn salt

1 tspn bread soda

25g butter

1 tbspn dark brown sugar

300 ml milk

100ml plain yoghurt

1 egg

seeds (optional)

*if you do not have spelt flour simply divide the 100g between the other 2 making it 

275g wholemeal and 200g plain

METHOD

Pre heat oven to 200c

line a loaf pan with a sheet of grease proof paper

Place flours, salt, bread soda into bowl

add cold butter 

rub in 

sprinkle in brown sugar

put the egg, milk and yoghurt in a jug and combine

add the wet to the dry mix and combine 

add a handful of seeds if desired, pumpkin, sunflower, poppy all work well

pour mixture into loaf pan

Bake for 40-45 mins 

allow to cool completely before cutting

 

Tartine @Ballymaloe

A couple of months ago I was pondering my Bread making skills

I am a massive fan of Jim Laheys No Knead Bread

and make it every week 

But I felt like I wanted to push things up a notch 

After a little bit of a web trawl I was amazed and delighted to discover that 

Chad Robertson from Tartine in San Francisco 

was teaching a workshop at Ballymaloe

Chad Robertson in cork!!! teaching a workshop that I can attend!!

I have been a massive fan of Tartine for some years and have dabbled in his country bread

although I must admit I found the prospect of starters and leavens a little intimidating 

I literally felt like a 5 year old waiting for Christmas 

And finally the day came last week 

Firstly this was my first visit to Ballymaloe

and most certainly will not be my last 

The Weather was not on my side but I still managed a stroll around the impressive gardens

Now that is a herb garden !! (below)

 

I ate dinner at Ballymaloe house on the first night 

(the cookery school is about 2 miles away)

Local, fresh, they make their own butter and cheese and of course bread 

and grow their own vegetables

Each day the menu is designed around what is fresh and available 

 Mackerel to start 

and then slices of sirloin with spinach and Ballymaloe potatoes

Heaven...

The following morning after eating a delicious breakfast 

Day 1 began 

Darina introduces Chad

Chad talks us through the process as Richard his right hand man 

gets busy mixing the doughs

I would say the message of the morning was pay attention to your environment

Your starter and leaven are living things 

they react to room temperature drafts etc 

be aware of what is going on with your dough

Chad is an intuitive baker

and talked more about look, feel, smell 

than measurements and scales

I am not going to post the recipe for the bread as if you are familiar with Tartine 

then you have the book

and if you are not and you want to make the best bread of your life then buy it 

The recipe in the book is 38 pages long

and I will not do it the injustice of writing a synopsis

Chad talked about the autolysse (initial resting of the dough) 

and the resting and turning of the dough

and the hydration (water percentage)

This dough is WET!

after resting and turning for about 3 hours 

and leaving for a bench rest 

Richard and Chad got to the shaping 

Chad shaping the dough

Chad makes it look very easy ......

In the afternoon the discussion was about Chad's new book (available end of November)

and how his travels to 

Denmark and Sweden had influenced his baking 

He is looking at darker breads 

and using a lot of sprouted grains

I look forward to getting it 

Richard cuts the Rugbrod for tasting

Me the groupie with Chad and Richard

The real highlight came though on the second day 

when we actually got to go into the kitchen with Chad and Richard and mix a dough 

What an honour

and Richard and Chad were so gracious and patient

as the attendees ranged from the experienced chef 

like Skye Gyngell to the complete novice 

Me and Skye

At 2 o'clock I left Ballymaloe

with 2 doughs in plastic bags nestled around a 2 litre of cold milk 

to try and stall the fermentation process while i drove home 

then when i got home, 4 hours later, I tipped them into bread baskets 

left them for 2 hours and baked 

and without a doubt the BEST bread I have ever made 

a light crust 

a chewy centre

complex flavour

This bread has no equal 

 

So Thank you Richard and Chad 

It was a privilege

x

Bread

Yesterday I made bread,
I am passionate about bread
flour, water, yeast, salt
and the variations are endless

I am a big fan of No Knead bread which I wrote about
HERE
This bread is delicious
crusty, a little bit sour, a grown up complex flavoured chewy bread
Great,
But sometimes you want something else from your bread
and I found traditional (kneaded yeast bread)
had never given me results I was particularly proud of
So, I set about experimenting with some different methods and advice
and yesterdays results are worth talking about
An incredibly light soft bread with a crisp but light crust

This is what I did
(you will need a cast iron lidded pot)

1lb of Bread Flour
1 packet dried yeast
2 teaspoons sea salt

add enough luke warm water to get a VERY sticky dough
This is the difference between a light or a heavy loaf (this and the kneading)
sprinkle a small amount of flour onto your board and turn out your wet dough

now you "knead"
as the dough is so sticky this is a messy job
but it is not diffcult
basically you want to stretch your dough
pull it toward you and slap it back on itself
repeat this motion for about 10 mins until your dough becomes
stretchy and smooth
every couple of minutes you can scrape the dough together using
a dough scraper
available here
when you have a stretchy smooth dough 
form it into a ball tucking it under itself
and turning over

place in an oiled bowl and leave covered to prove somewhere warm for 3 hours

return to your dough which should have doubled in size  and turn it on to a floured board
stretch the bottom of dough out and fold it back in to the centre
pushing it down hard with your fingers
stretch the top of the dough and fold over the seam again pressing
the dough into itself with your fingers

turn your dough 90 degrees clockwise and repeat
now leave to rise again for up to 2 hours
The longer you leave it the more complex the flavour

20 mins before you want to bake it
heat your oven to 250c  with your cast iron pot inside
When you are ready to bake
remove crock pot .....carefully it will be HOT
lift your dough in with the seam on the bottom
slash the top of your dough
place lid on
bake for 30 mins
remove bread from pot and bake a further 10 mins
(times will vary depending on your oven out this is a rough guide)

leave to cool .......
 EAT

If you are a fan of bread I highly recommend the
Tartine Bread Book
Chad the owner of Tartine is truly obsessed with bread
he uses a starter in his bread making
I have dabbled in starters but never truly been bitten by that bug
......... I think it may be time to investigate further

If you have never seen it
this Tartine video is excellent
and in it you can see the dough is wet light and sticky
which is exactly what you are looking for 

TARTINE VIDEO

UPDATE: just found out Chad of Tartine is coming to Ballymaloe in
August for a 1 day demonstration,
I have booked my place
have you?
click here to book

No Knead Bread

I have never posted a recipe for this Bread before because well

I felt the blogosphere was inundated with them 

But

I have been asked for the recipe so many times 

and I always add my additional changes

meaning I then have to write out the instructions

That I am finally succumbing and posting the recipe and method.

If you have never heard of Jim Lahey's No Knead Bread.........

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?
and if you have never made it

then I cannot urge you enough to get out a bag of flour and get baking.

This is so so simple and I tell you it changed my life!!

Strong words, you say

Well after living in New York for 10 years I moved myself and family to a small village

in the middle of Ireland.

Being a lover of food and cooking I romanticised about 

growing vegetables, baking scones, making jams and chutneys

....... and well, really all those dreams came true....

What I had not anticipated was that there were things I would miss

That recipe calling for a pinch of Zatar...... hmmmm

a dash of Sumac........

a fresh baked flaky croissant and of course that Artisan bread that is 

served in every one of my favourite NY eateries

slightly sour with a thick chewy crust........

Well, when I first read about this bread in US Vogue at 11pm at night

 I upped out of my bed ran downstairs in my barefeet and nightie and got cracking

The next day, as I said ...... it changed my life.

Suddenly I felt like we had a little bit of NY here in my kitchen

Friends visited and I baked this bread

and wallowed in their oohs and aahs 

"You really made this?"

This Bread gave me more confidence in the kitchen

It encouraged me to venture into yeast territory

A strange and foreign terrain that I had never before explored with success.

(and just to add I still have a temperamental relationship with)

So, if you have never tried baking bread 

if you are scared of yeast 

if you love bread

if you live in a rural area where it is hard to source a good artisan loaf

....... then this is the bread for you 

NOTES: you will be cooking this bread 18 hours after you start 

so decide when you want to eat it and count backwards

you will need a cast iron crock pot with a lid 

like a le creuset 

you want a 6-8 qt pot

RECIPE

3 cups (430 grms ) flour (you can use bread flour but it is not essential)

1 1/2 cups (345 grams) warm water

1/2 tspn dried yeast 

1 1/4 tspn salt

METHOD*

Add water to flour, yeast and salt

mix together to form a wet dough

cover with cling film 

leave at room temperature for 16-20 hours 

an hour before you are ready to bake turn your oven on full 

which is usually somewhere around 500f or 250c

Place bottom of crock pot in oven to heat up 

after 45 mins to an hour carefully remove your pot 

throw in the dough

sprinkle with a little flour

place lid on 

put in oven and bake covered for 30-40 mins

remove bread from pot and place in oven to bake for a further 10 - 15 mins

you will need to play around with your own oven a bit to figure out what works best 

but this should be a good guideline for most 

remove from oven and allow to cool completely before cutting

Best eaten on day it is baked

except if you are toasting

it will keep as toasting bread for up to a week

*I have adapted the method from the Jim Lahey way as I found it didn't really make a difference if you took the dough out and folded or didn't 

This way is much simpler but if you wish to try the original then you can find it HERE

Food Blogging baking

The loveliest thing about having a few free days 

Is having some time to bake 

The first thing on my list was 

Imen from

I Married an Irish Farmer's

Irish Brown Bread

and I can attest that this is a perfect brown soda bread

moist and crumbly

and full of flavour

I added sunflower seeds to mine

Imen has been nominated for the

Saveur food blog awards

you can vote for her here

It would be a much deserved win in my opinion

Yesterday evening Imen tweeted about 

a baking blog that is also nominated for an award

Call me cupcake

What a beautiful blog!

Maybe you already know about it

and if so .... why didn't you tell me !

The photography is stunning

so late last night I just had to try the recipes

-as great photography is all well and good but if the recipes don't work? 

pufh! well I wouldn't like to send you there and 

not be able to back up my recommendation.

So, in the spirit of blog research and authenticity 

I fired up the stove yesterday evening

As I had an abundance of chocolate left from Easter

I decided to make the 

Perfect chocolate espresso cupcakes

(actually there is no chocolate in the cake, but there is in the frosting)

Oh goodness these were delicious

so moist 

I couldn't believe that I had made them myself

I halved the frosting recipe and still had way too much 

but they were truly delicious cupcakes 

NOTE* in call me cupcake recipes 1dl = 100 ml 

and is a volume measure

in case, like me, you had no idea what is was 

all images Helen James

BREAD

Who can deny there is something about making your own bread

Something primal

a deep sense of... I am in control of my life....

In order to make bread you need
 1 main ingredient

time

yes I know there are quick recipes

and you can knock out a loaf of brown soda bread pretty sharpish

but for a yeasted loaf you need to be in the moment

while the physical acts of kneading, proofing, rising,

may actually take 20 mins of work

the timing and co-ordinating means you must be able to pay attention

The act of making bread was something I really missed while living in NYC

as I never seemed to have the expanse of unfilled hours it takes
to occupy yourself with yeast and dough

So it is with GREAT pleasure that I return to the pasttime

I am a huge fan of the

No knead method of bread making

But the above baguettes were made using the Poolish method

from this Bread book

Bread is food for my soul

photograph by HELEN JAMES

Slow Food, Westmeath

Here in Westmeath we have set up a local convivium of the Slow Food movement, last Saturday was our inaugural event.
A Hunter's Luncheon for 17 people.
We decided we wanted to keep the first event small and intimate so that a) we could handle it and b) we could meet local food producers in a relaxed and informal way.
The Lunch took place here in Coolure House, thanks to John and Una (both commitee members) for providing the picturesque venue.

John did an incredible job of setting the table

 

Each place setting had an individual Menu.

The Menu was designed by us with the intention of using as much local and seasonal produce as possible.

MENU

John Rogans Smoked Trout

Therese Gilsenan's Inny Eel Pate

Baby Leaves

Helen James' Crusty Bread

****

Wild Pheasant Consomme

****

Butter wrapped Greg Potterton Venison

Red Cabbage with Orange and Juniper

Mary Kelly's Moonshine Cheese Gratin of Potatoes

Helen Kelly's Elderberry Jelly

****

Local Cheese Plate

Morag's Oatcakes

****

Kilbeggan Whiskey and local Honey homemade Ice Cream

Helen Kelly's Mincepies

We cooked everything ourselves,

I made Bread

Other members brought their homemede Oatcakes, Mince pies and Elderberry jelly but most of lunch was cooked (by us) in the Kitchen at Coolure

Including the MOST delicious Consomme, now I wouldn't have thought Consomme to be the most exciting thing in the world but in Una's hands this was pure clear golden nectar.

The taste was so delicate and complex. It was made using a method where you add eggwhite to the broth which clarifies it and then the whole concoction is strained through muslin cloths and I can tell you it was purely sublime.

The Venison was cooked for 12 hours...............

 The fire was Lit

 

Candles were Lit

Conversation and good wines flowed.

Wines were carefully selected and provided by Winesdirect, and Paddy the owner gave a very eloquent history to each one as it was served.

The ethos of Slow Food is about Local, Seasonal food and knowing where your food has come from. Personally getting involved for me, is about that, but also about meeting local people who are interested in food, bringing us all together and becoming involved in my community.

We will be hosting more events throughout the year and are planning some exciting adventures on a larger scale.

To find out more about Slow Food you can go to the website or if you are in Ireland the irish website

To find out more about the local producers we used click on the links in the MENU.

All photographs by Helen James