Bread Dough Risen Enough? Exploring three ways to test dough, whether it’s sourdough or yeasted. 1. Doubling. 2. Marking. 3. The Knuckle Test. Which is easiest? Most trustworthy? After plenty of fun trying them out, I reckon I prefer the Knuckle Test, (number 3 below). Is Bread Dough Risen Enough . . ➤ ➤ continues ➤ ➤
Cook beans and you are immediately part of an international community. Prepare meals that are easy, tasty, healthy and economical. Enjoy the splendid variety of colours, textures, and taste. Beans International. An essential part of the Mediterranean cuisine, beans are a gastronomic treasure across the globe. Alubias – the white . . ➤ ➤ continues ➤ ➤
Caster sugar is a finer-ground form of the everyday granulated sugar. It is also one of those products that I never seem to have when I need it. No problem! Solution is a pestle and mortar, the required amount of sugar in the regular form, and a few minutes of . . ➤ ➤ continues ➤ ➤
Marmite cooking is Mediterranean. Marmite in French, Marmita in Spanish, a marmite is a cooking dish of earthenware or cast iron, historically used in Europe for the long, slow cooking of soups and stews on the stove-top or over an open fire. Their construction is specific and functional. The smooth . . ➤ ➤ continues ➤ ➤
Sourdough Starter – Time and Measures A basic principle in working with a sourdough starter – no wait, make that ‘living with a sourdough starter’, – is not to be in a hurry. This relaxed attitude carries through to maintaining the starter, and to the proving of the doughs once . . ➤ ➤ continues ➤ ➤
Herewith the techniques I use for shaping a loaf: a Rustic Oval, a Rustic Boule and a Batard. Shaping a Loaf – Free Form Most of my loaves are made free-form, baked on a sheet or in a Dutch oven. I shouldn’t imagine there’d be any problem using a loaf . . ➤ ➤ continues ➤ ➤
Bread sites in general merrily advise you to cut slits into the top of a loaf before baking. These loaf cuts are said to allow for expansion as the loaf rises, and of course they can be used as a visual bonus. I battled for ages to get the cuts . . ➤ ➤ continues ➤ ➤