Country Sourdough

 

Ingredients

291g water

9g salt

364g strong white bread flour

45g wholewheat flour

91 levain*

Levain: 100% hydrated

Some rice flour

Steps

Note: the timing of the following steps should be adjusted according to the temperature of your kitchen and the fermentation progress of your dough

Day 1 - 

20:00 Prepare levain

Day 2 - 

8:00 Mix water and salt. 

Add flour and levain. 

Mix all the ingredients first with a spoon and then use your hand. It is a brief mix. 

Place it in a mixing bowl. 

Cover it and let it rest

8:30 Bench mix: Place the dough on the worktop. 

Use your hand to work the dough into a smooth dough. 

Place it back in the mixing bowl. 

Cover it and let it rest

9:00 1st lamination. Place the dough on the worktop. 

Stretch it as much as possible to a rectangular shape. 

Fold the left and right sides toward the centre. Fold the top to the centre and fold it to the bottom. 

With the help of the scraper, return the dough to the mixing bowl. 

Cover it and let it rest

10:00 2nd lamination. Repeat the above step

13:00 Shape the dough. The dough should increase its volume. 

Sprinkle the flour on the top of the dough, and turn it upside down on the worktop. 

Fold the 2 sides of the dough towards the centre

Fold the bottom edge of the dough and close it

Fold the top of the dough downward while maintaining the tension on the surface 

Roll it until the end and press the dough together

Place the dough's seam upward, pinch the seam and close it. Don't forget to close the sides too! 

Flip the dough over in rice flour

Place it in the proofing basket with the seam side facing up

Put it in a plastic bag and leave it proof at the room temperature

15:00 Put the dough in the Fridge for final proofing

Day 3 -

If you use a Dutch oven to bake the bread*:

7:00 Place the Dutch oven in the oven

Preheat the oven to 220°c for an hour

Take the dough out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature

*If you do NOT use a Dutch oven to bake the bread, preheat the oven to 220°c a few mins before 9:00

7:57 Prepare a baking paper and place it on the worktop

Place the dough (with seam facing downward) on the baking paper

Use a bread blade to cut the dough

8:00 Place the dough in the Dutch oven and cover the lid, bake for 20 mins

8:20 Remove the lid of the Dutch oven, bake for another 25 mins

Enjoy!

 

Ginger bug raspberry lemon soda

Ingredients

30g ginger bug starter

400ml water*

juice of 1 lemon

30g cane sugar or white sugar

15 frozen raspberries

*Some recommend filtered water or boiled water. I use tap water. It depends on the chlorine level in your tap water

Steps

1. In an Italian glass water bottle (seal), with the help of a funnel, pour the ginger bug starter, water, and lemon juice

2. Add sugar and stir it well until the sugar is dissolved

3. Add raspberries

4. Close the stopper/lid and let it ferment for 2-3 days until you see bubbles.

Open the stopper/ lid to release air every 24 hours

Enjoy!

Healthy ice cream without cream

Ingredients

360g/ 4 medium frozen bananas

2 tbsp almond milk or cow milk

1 cup/ 140g frozen berries

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp/ 15ml maple syrup or honey

Steps

1. Before making the ice cream: 

Chop bananas into small pieces, put them in a zip-lock bag and place them in the freezer overnight or until they are completely frozen

When the bananas are frozen, we can prepare the ice cream

2. In a blender, put frozen bananas and milk, and blend well

3. Then add frozen berries, vanilla extract and honey, and blend them until you see a smooth and creamy texture

You can either eat them immediately or put them into small boxes

To store the ice cream for later consumption:

1. Put the ice cream into small separate boxes, according to the portion you want to consume the next time

2. When you want to consume it, take out a box and place it either at room temperature for 20 mins or place it in the fridge for a few hours to let it soften slowly

Enjoy!

Sourdough oatmeal snacks

Ingredients

90g instant oatmeal

1/4 tsp salt

80g discarded sourdough starter

35g honey

15g butter

80g nuts

80g dried fruit

2 tbsp chia seeds

30-50g chocolate chips

Steps

1. Mix oatmeal, salt, sourdough honey and butter

2. Add in the rest of the ingredients

3. Preheat the oven to 160°c and bake for 30-40 mins

Enjoy!

Lemon blueberry madeleine

Got some fresh blueberries, thinking we can make some desserts... hmmmm... wonder if there is a good blueberry madeleine recipe and voilà!
This is originally from a French recipe, I am glad that I read French so I can try it out!

The lemon taste is stronger since I added one blueberry per madeleine, but I like that :) Next time I will fold in more blueberries to see the result.

Anyways, my husband's colleagues and my church friends are happy and all are gone after a meeting :)

Ingredients (24-28 madeleine)
30g honey
100g butter

60g sugar
2 eggs

30ml lemon juice
lemon zest
100g flour
1/2tsp baking powder

Instructions
You can prepare it the day before or 4 hours in advance

1. In a small pot, melt butter with honey, set aside and let it cool down

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk egg and sugar until egg becomes a bit light in color
Add in lemon juice, zest, mix well
Add in flour and baking powder
Be careful, do not over mix the mixture

3. Pour the honey butter mixture into the flour mixture, mix well
Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap, place in the fridge and leave it overnight or 4 hours

4. When you are ready to make the madeleine:
Preheat the oven at 230°c
Take out the batter, incorporate blueberries

5. If you use metallic mould, grease and sprinkle flour first

6. Fill the mould 3/4 with the help of a spoon
Place it in the oven

7. Bake for around 4mins, then drop the temperature to 200°c to bake for another 4mins. The middle part starts puffing up!

Before the last 4mins finishes, if the edge starts turning brown, reduce the temperature and let it bake until golden color

8. When time is up, take the mould out
Remove the madeleine from the mould immediately and place them on a cooling rack to cool down

Enjoy!

Traditional Madeleine

This recipe is original a French recipe. 

Madeleine batter needs to be stored in the fridge, to relax the gluten in the batter after beating or folding the batter, gluten can be formed. It also helps the flour completely dissolved into the egg mixture

After trial and error, the technique to create the boat shape relates to the oven temperature.
High temperature cooks quickly the edge of the madeleine, while the middle part is still uncook. Then the middle part starts rising and puffs upward because the edge shape is "fixed".

Ingredients (about 30 madeleines)
120g melted butter

3 eggs
120g sugar
20g honey (running)
a pinch of salt

150g flour
5g baking powder

1tsp vanilla extract or zest of 1/2 lemon

Preparation:
1. Use bain-marie method, by using electric hand mixer, whisk the eggs with sugar, honey and salt; whisk until the volume is doubled

2. Add in flour and baking powder, use a spetula to fold quickly and gently until flour is well blended into the egg mixture

3. Add in melted butter and vanilla extract or zest of lemon. Again fold the mixture quickly and gently

4. Leave the mixture in the fridge at least for 2 hours or overnight ideally i.e. 6-8 hours (maximum 12h)

When it's time to bake...
5. Preheat the oven to 230°c
Use a table spoon, fill the mixture to the madeleine mold, without spreading out the mixture

6. Place the mold into the oven and reduce the temperature to 200°c. (My oven is 225°c)
After around 4 mins, the middle of each madeleine forms a hollow - reduce the temperature to about 180°c (Mine is 200°c) for another 4mins
Then the middle of the madeleine starts rising and creating its distinct feature - like a boat

*Note 1: Especially after baking for more than 1 round - Your baking time might be shortened silghtly, because your oven becomes hot enough.
*Note 2: Within the last 4 mins, if the edge starts turning brown, reduce the temperature (Mine is 180°c)

7. When the middle of the madeleine puffs up and the shape is formed, take them out and immediately remove them from the mold to the cooling rack

Enjoy!

Chestnut cream

Chestnut paste is widely used in French dessert, so the price is cheaper. My husband loves chestnut paste, I think he loves its sweetness...

So I want to make some chestnut dessert for him, found these 2 recipes, it isn't say the end use, but I rather divide them into 2 usages.

The first one is rather for serving as filling with cake, yogurt... Of course you can ice & pipe the cake if your whipping cream contains 40% fat, the texture should be firm.

The second one is rather for icing the cake since it contains butter in it, the texture should be firmer & easier to pipe any shape.
If you use 30% fat cream, you can increase the quantity of butter to make the cream firmer.

Recipe 1
Ingredients
250g chestnut paste (sweet)
200g whipping cream (at least 30% fat)

Instructions
1. Beat chestnut paste until smooth

2. Add in whipping cream, beat the mixture until firm

Ready to use!

Recipe 2 - for icing cake

Ingredients

200g chestnut paste (sweet)

60g butter, room temperature

100g whipping cream (at least 35% fat)

Instructions
1. Beat chestnut paste & butter until smooth

2. Add in whipping cream, beat the mixture until firm


Ready to use!

Enjoy!