Wild Yeast Sourdough Bread Step-By-Step

Finding Feasts - Wild Yeast Sourdough Bread Rolls_3 (1)
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Wild Yeast Sourdough Bread Step-By-Step is my very simple instructional guide on how to have sourdough bread available in your own home for whenever the mood takes you… or when the mood takes you a day prior to having the mood… Good things take time.

Although a wild yeast starter is as basic as flour and water then letting nature take over, I did choose to have my hand held by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s recipe guidance as every time I make a dish of his it’s always exactly as he says it is. I made the starter over two months ago and it’s still a loving ‘pet’ who doesn’t expect too much from me other than a feed and maybe a warm hug.

Just the fact you can create amazing loaves of freshly baked bread at absolutely minimal cost to yourself is well worth you trying your hand at a wild yeast starter. The kids would love to have something to look after!

Finding Feasts - Wild Yeast Sourdough Bread Rolls_1

 

Maintenance of your new starter is probably where most people seem to have difficulty so here is my routine… and it seems to like the lifestyle.

As I usually make bread on the weekend I put my starter to sleep during the week, or more appropriately into a slight lull. So on the Sunday I give it a feed without too much water making the consistency more like a paste than a batter. Cover it and pop it into the fridge, that’s it! This will give it enough food to last for a week in the fridge as it won’t need too much being in the cold.

On the Friday I take it out of the fridge and give it a good stir leaving it to get back to room temperature. Tip out some of the starter* then give it it’s usual feed with flour and enough water to get it back to the batter consistency and use over the weekend.

Note*  I dislike tipping my starter down the drain, it really seems like such a waste, so if you have people around you that would like to try their hand at sourdough bread making, give them your excess. Just pour it into a jar, and send it on it’s way… spread the love.

Repeat the process.

This works particularly well if you go away on holidays too. Just make sure it’s thick enough with flour to feed it for the week or two while it’s in the fridge and it will happily wait for your return.

If you keep in your mind that it’s now a member of the family, just like a new pet, you can have a long and successful life together.

Finding Feasts - Wild Yeast Sourdough Bread_9

 

Happy crunching and crumb licking!

Blondie 🙂

Smokey Paprika Hasselback Potatoes in a hurry

Smokey Paprika Hasselback Potatoes in a hurry

Smokey Paprika Hasselback Potatoes in a hurry… One of my favourite things to do when I have spare time is to wander around charity stores. It’s always amazing what you can find in there, and it was during one of these spontaneous trips that I came across a gorgeous terracotta, pot bellied canister with a lid. On inspection I saw that it still had a note in it telling me that it was a Diable Potato Cooker. Well, enough said, it was going to come home with me.

Smokey Paprika Hasselback Potatoes in a hurry - Diable Potato Baker

If you do ever come across one of these I highly recommend adding it to your kitchen as it’s no fat, no liquid cooking and can be used in the oven, on the hob (with a diffuser) or in the microwave… and being cooked in terracotta imparts a subtle and unique flavour to the veggies. I cook most of my vegetables in it now and the fact I can have awesome whole potatoes ready within minutes is just such a bonus!

Smokey Paprika Hasselback Potatoes in a hurry - Diable Potato Baker

Anyway, enough about my cute potato cooker, this is about making hasselback potatoes quickly. Using the diable means your cooking time is considerably shorter but if you don’t have one you can wrap each potato in paper towel and place them in the microwave. Start with the same times as with the diable and just check with a skewer to see if the potatoes are ready – It’s very easy to overcook the potatoes so cook them in 1-2 minute increments after the initial cook time of 4 minutes

Happy cooking!  Blondie

Salted Caramel Sauce

Salted Caramel Sauce
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Salted Caramel Sauce… You can’t beat a gorgeous caramel sauce to add a little indulgence to a dessert dish, throw in some Murray River Salt flakes (my preferred choice) and it’s transformed from normal to sublime!

This is another fabulous gift idea for Christmas, just make it a day or two prior to the day you will be handing it out.

Blondie 🙂

 

Marinated BBQ Rack of Mutton w/ Parmesan Crust

Marinated BBQ Rack of Mutton w/ Parmesan Crust
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We love things aged; red wine, beef, cheese … men. They develop a character and flavour and bring an appreciation to something that may otherwise be taken without thought. So why not sheep?

So what is mutton or hogget? Unfortunately they are both very unappealing names given to sheep older than a year old. Hogget is a sheep with one or two incisor teeth putting it at 12 – 20 months old and mutton is roughly over 20 months old. Both outstanding pieces of meat and considering the trend at the moment of slow cooking the cheaper cuts of meat I’m surprised it’s not more popular… It goes to show how word of mouth can slay a product, and that’s a shame as i’m a total fan of both.

I love the idea that the sheep has lived a longer life, grazing the paddocks and generally socialising with their kind. The meat has had time to develop a richer taste – still lamb in flavour, just much fuller, not gamey like most people seem to think. Ask any farmer.

You will need to search for mutton or hogget to find a supplier but if you do get a chance to try it I know you will be converted. I’m lucky to have access through my sister who lives in the Blue Mountains and has groups of friends who all chip in to by the whole animal and then divvy it up between them … and me, if I’m lucky.

For this recipe, Marinated BBQ Rack of Mutton w/ Parmesan Crust, I decided to barbecue the rack, using my favourite marinade and just taking it slow with the cooking. It was outstanding! Oh and the gravy… droolingly good.

Happy searching, Blondie

Chai Spiced Cherry Compote in Port Syrup

Chai Spiced Cherry Compote in Port Syrup
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Chai Spiced Cherry Compote in Port Syrup… Tis’ the season to be cherry!

Thanks to Bella’s parents, who went cherry picking near Orange over the weekend, we have mounds of these glorious red baubles. This means you will be seeing quite a few cherry recipes this year.

Using my Chai Whole Spice Mix (see below) I have made a delicious Chai Spiced Cherry Compote in Port Syrup that can be used in numerous ways. Have it drizzled over ice-cream, you can puree it and make it as a filling to use in your biscuits (use it instead of the prune jam in the Finnish Tarts – Joulutorttu) or put a couple of cherries with some syrup in the bottom of your champagne glass… it’s limitless!

Chai Spiced Cherry Compote in Port Syrup

Cheers… Blondie

Wild Rabbit and Mushroom Pie

Wild Rabbit Mushroom Pie
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Yes, another pie… but how good are they?! If every dish could be put into pie form then I would be a very happy person.

My first proper memory of rabbit was back in Finland where, when staying with family at their summer house, we had freshly caught rabbit for dinner. What made it memorable for me was that my piece still had the bullet in it. Kind of a thrill when you’re a kid

This Wild Rabbit and Mushroom Pie is an easy, slow cooked dish and made even easier by keeping the rabbit whole, which I prefer when doing rabbit as a shredded meat as you have less chance of getting splintered bone into the meat – Rabbit is notorious for it’s bones splintering into the tiniest of shards if not cut properly and cleanly. Just be mindful of the leg bones, best to wash the legs and make sure there are no loose splinters around there.

If you’ve never tried rabbit before I highly recommend you giving it a go. It’s a great tasting, very lean meat that works well braised… and makes a nice change from chicken.

Blondie