Two new Flavours.

I picked up a bag of Wholemeal flour by mistake in my haste to do the shopping, I only normally use Organic which I buy in bulk but I needed two bags of ordinary Strong White for a job. 

So I decided to make a couple of experimental loaves, if the flavour combinations work I can do them again with Organic sourdough.

The additions were Apricot, Prune and Almond,

and Roasted Potato and Beetroot.

I made a standard Olive Oil dough at 70% and added the extras in the final knead. 50g each of chopped Apricots, chopped Prunes and Flaked Almonds here,

and 250g of chopped and roasted potato and beetroot here.

There may be too much Potato and Beetroot mix but we'll see how it proves.
After kneading they went into the oven to prove for an hour.

They both rose really well,

I shaped them into tins,

and they rose again while the oven heated up to 230°C

Thirty minutes later they were ready,

so a quick slash with my blade and in they went. I baked with steam from a pan of boiling water in the oven, after 25 minutes I took it out as the crust had formed. 

Another 20 minutes and they were done. The internal temperature was above 95°C meaning that the gluten had set.

Now I just have to be patient and let them cool a bit before slicing.

The fillings seem to be well spread, this is the potato, 

and this is the Apricot, you can see the edge of an almond or two.

They taste pretty good as well, perfect for sandwiches or toast.

A slight delay

Apologies to everyone, I have been a bit distracted over the last couple of weeks. There have been visits to family and a book launch to contend with so I'm afraid that posting has taken a bit of a back seat.

I also had my talk at Oats, a great evening in which I managed to make a loaf and 8 rolls in 90 minutes. (I cheated a bit with a pre-ferment for the loaf though)

Everyone who came along had a taste and there was nothing left so it must have been OK.
Here's a few action shots,

I've still been baking the usual stuff, just not writing about it or even trying new ideas. I hope to get back to normal (whatever that is) very soon. Meanwhile thanks for your patience, please don't forget me and I'll see you shortly.

Here are some pictures to show you what I've been up to.

Vegan Teacakes

Yeasted Spelt

Spelt SOurdough with Agave, it caramelises on the crust for a great flavour.

White SOurdough with an 'ear'

Spelt Burger Rolls

White Sourdough Roll with Pine Nuts

Easy

A nice, easy post to write this time, I had a week off so there was no baking.

Well that's not quite true, I did a few loaves for Oats before I went away, of course they didn't last all week and I'm sorry about that. I my defense it was the first break since February and we both needed it.

These were some of the few that I did make. Spelt Sourdough.

However I'm back now and normal service will resume on Monday. Wednesday will see me at Oats giving a talk on "Quick and Easy Bread." There will be some samples and recipes for you to take as well.

I've been asked to make a sourdough Gingerbread and I'm currently experimenting, more information on that when I'm happy with the results.

I'm ready for my close-up

My talk at Oats is 10 days away and I've been practising the practical side of it.

I can't use notes for the patter this time as my hands will be covered in dough so I will have to wing it, hopefully there will be interaction with the people to move things along.

This week I've made Onion Seed Panini for Millie,

Crumpets,

Rye and Spelt Sourdough,

a special order of White (refined) Spelt Sourdough,

I made 2 loaves, this is the crumb from the other, it rose over the tin!

Some of my usual White and Wholemeal Sourdoughs,

and some PIzza bases.

This weekend I'm concentrating on promoting my book, which is published on November 2nd, I actually took delivery of the first print run  on Thursday so I'm understandably excited.

Shameless plug time:-   You can buy the e-book or paperback  here or if you want the paperback at a discount and you have PayPal you can get it straight from my website here.

As you can see, it's a Sci-fi adventure, not to give too much away, my publisher describes it as,

" MURDER. CORRUPTION. KIDNAP. A WEB OF LIES THAT SPREADS ACROSS A GALAXY" 

which makes it sound pretty good.

I gave an advance copy to a friend to read through and they said, 

“Don’t start Ribbonworld if you’ve got lots to do. Once you read that first page everything else will be forgotten... as page-turners go, this thrilling sci-fi murder-mystery can’t be page-turned quick enough!”

Advert over, bread blogging will resume next time.

I made the time.

Summer is over and the pace of life here in Devon has slowed a little. This is reflected in the orders that I get, I'm only making bread for the locals till April. So less Scones, Rolls and Teacakes

However this doesn't mean that I'm not busy, I still did 36 loaves this week, including some for me and a couple of new flavours.

The first was Walnut and Green Pesto Sourdough. I used Chopped Walnuts and Vegan Green Pesto and a mix of White and Wholemeal flours on a White levain.

The first attempt I left out for an overnight prove and it rather explode out of the tin,

After baking and cutting of the overhang,

 the flavour was amazing and I took the best loaf down to Oats as a sample. They put it on with soup, we tried ours with Goats Cheese and Pear Chutney. Ours was great and Oats promptly ordered two loaves for Friday so there's must have gone down well.

The next attempt was a White Sourdough flavoured with Chilli from my windowsill, I grew and dried these in 2013. They were chopped and added to the dough, seeds and all. There's always a doubt about amounts, have I put too much? I used 6 Chillies for 1.7kg of dough and it was about right. A warm tingle on the back of the throat, not a tear inducing blast to the sinus, if you know what I mean. 

This one worked on so many levels, it tasted great toasted  with cheese,

and was also good toasted with marmalade.

Pro-Performance in Preston, one of my retailers have been asking for a high Protein Sourdough Pizza base and I did have a go at one for them. (see my last post) 33% Protein was the best I could manage, which I hoped was enough to generate orders.
I had an order for eight this week, hopefully this is the start of a new line for Well Bread!

My talk is approaching, more details soon but I thought I would try to make some biscuits for refreshment time. I had a go at Vegan Sourdough Digestives,

    

which were a success. October 28th is the big day, I'll be making some easy loaves and rolls at Oats in Brixham more information should be on their website soon.

Pizza base

Alex at Pro-Performance in Preston has asked me to come up with a high protein Pizza base for his clients. (Health and Fitness)

 Using Pea Protein and Sourdough Starter, I've created a 10 inch Pizza base that's 33% protein and he's trialing them for sale. The scissors you can see in the picture were NOT used to cut them, I have a 10 inch cutter for that.

They're part baked on my terracotta pizza stones and all you need to do is top them and cook for 15 minutes.
That was my big project this week, I tried to get more protein in but they don't hold together.

I also made a White Spelt Sourdough sandwich loaf, instead of the more usual mixed White and Wholemeal. It's a bit lighter but just as tasty.

For once I remembered to make an extra one for me, otherwise I never get to try the stuff I do, I have to go on the sales. And I can't put pictures up either.

Apart from that it was the same products as last week, I'm hoping to try a Chilli and Cheese Sourdough or maybe a mixed seed IF I get the time this week..