The bakers' thread

[wormo]

Are you following a recipe or winging it?

Spelt has only a moderate amount of gluten and rye has hardly any, so both will benefit from the addition of white flour to give it a better rise.

Cheers for that, I will up the white flour content.

Ta

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Cheers for that, I will up the white flour content.

Ta

Here's a recipe that uses a high ratio of white to rye. The quantities are for a big loaf so you could cut it down proportionately to an easier size.

https://www.shipton-mill.com/baking/recipes/basic-rye-bread.htm

You can vary the ratio to suit your taste, more white flour means more rise and a lighter crumb. Happy experimenting!

 

[MichaelW2]

Open pack of Aldi shortcrust pre-rolled lastry. Cut into rounds, fill with spoonful of Aldi mincepie filling, bake until baked. Gateway baking.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

When I use spelt or rye flour, no matter what, I find that the loaves tend to be heavy. Is this normal? Do you add white flour?

If you buy Dove's brown spelt there's a recipe in the back for a Roman loaf which is basically 500g flour, yeast, salt and a tablespoon of honey dissolved in 400ml of warm water. Mix dry stuff, add water and then a tablespoon of olive oil while still craggy. Minimum needing, chuck it in a tin for 25 minutes then in a 180 fan oven for 40 minutes. The loaf is sweetish and not overly dense, it does rise and is therefore a bit lighter but not like normal bread. I don't mix in regular bread flour, what's the point as you might as well just make a normal loaf. It's very good.

 

[wormo]

Thanks for the responses. When I get a spare minute I will have a go.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I use this natural yoghurt, rather than buttermilk, recipe for sodabread, I use Matthews Cotswold Crunch instead of brown flour, lovely nutty malty taste, also that temp is a bit too hot, I generally find that 25 minutes at 200 is fine (in our oven). Forget the linseed nonsense too. You can have a loaf ready in a little over half an hour.

 

[classic33]

Golden Syrup Flapjacks

Ingredients
250g Porridge Oats
125g Butter
125g Brown Sugar
2-3 tbsps Golden Syrup (depends how gooey you want it)

Method

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until fully mixed, but be careful not to overmix making sure the oats keep their texture.
2. Lightly grease a baking tin with butter and spoon in all the mixture.
3. Using the back of a spoon press into the corners so the mixture is flat and score the mixture into 12 squares.
4. Place in the oven and bake on 180 until golden brown (about 20 minutes).

 

[r04DiE]

We've got a few on here who enjoy baking and there are posts scattered all over so I thought it might be useful for us to gather together in one place, whether it's about bread, cakes, buns or pastries.

Please post your recipes, successes, disasters, questions, advice & tips.

Mmmm, bread. Thanks for starting this thread

 

[summerdays]

Speaking of soda bread, does anyone have a good recipe for soda or wheaten farls? As a child my granny and my mum would have made them very regularly but both used the "by eye" type of recipe and I've never quite managed to recreate the original deliciousness.

 

[Reynard]

When I use spelt or rye flour, no matter what, I find that the loaves tend to be heavy. Is this normal? Do you add white flour?

Yeah, especially spelt. It is a notoriously fickle flour to work with. Rye not so much. Though it depends whether you are using wholegrain or light rye / spelt.

Generally, I tend to stick to 30% wholegrain when making bread - I've found it gives me the best balance for a good loaf that's not too heavy.

 

[Reynard]

And now for a seasonal recipe - especially for those of you who like a wee bit of Lebkuchen. Runs rings around the shop bought varieties. From my 1930s Bavarian cook book and a must here for Xmas.

Honigleckerlei mit Punschglasur

100g honey
35g butter or margarine (softened)
125g brown sugar
1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon mixed spice (or lebkuchengewurtz if you can get it)
good grating of nutmeg
zest of half a lemon
75g ground almonds
100g chopped mixed peel (blitzed to a paste)
250g flour (sifted)
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
couple of tablespoons of milk

plus:

4 heaped tablespoons of icing sugar
lemon juice
rum or whisky
water

Gently warm the honey in a saucepan together with the spices until it is runny. Cream the butter and the sugar. Add in the honey, the lemon zest, ground almonds and the mixed peel. Last of all, add the flour a little at the time. The dough will be quite dry and breadcrumby at this stage. Knead well, adding just enough milk to bring it into a ball. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge overnight.

To make the biscuits, divide the dough into four portions. Roll each portion into a sausage between one and a half to two centimetres thick. Slice diagonally into individual portions about 3 cm long. Place on a greased baking sheet (or a use baking parchment on the sheet, makes life easier later). Continue until all the dough has been used up. You will get around 36 biscuits from this quantity. Bake in a preheated oven 180C / Gas 4 for 12 - 15 mins. Best to err on the side of caution here as you want them to be a very pale golden colour. Any darker than that and they'll be bitter.

For the punschglasur, take four heaped tablespoons of icing sugar and sift into a mug. Add two teaspoons of water, a teaspoon of whisky or rum and a teaspoon of lemon juice. You should have something that is the consistency of runny honey – you can always add more sugar or liquid accordingly. When the biscuits are done, take them out of the oven – if you have used baking parchment, you can just pull the paper off the tray with the biscuits still on them. If not, transfer to a wire rack with some kitchen roll underneath. While the biscuits are still warm, brush over the glaze (you will have enough for two coats) and leave to dry.

When cold, store in an airtight tin. These are best made several weeks in advance, but in reality, they never seem to last that long as they're pretty good from the get go.

 

[classic33]

Speaking of soda bread, does anyone have a good recipe for soda or wheaten farls? As a child my granny and my mum would have made them very regularly but both used the "by eye" type of recipe and I've never quite managed to recreate the original deliciousness.

https://delishably.com/baked-goods/Irish-Soda-Farls

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/23495/wheaten-farls.aspx

 

[jayonabike]

The wife iced her Christmas cake this morning. She made it back at the end of October, has been feeding it with Remy Martin and she marzipaned it on Monday.
Looking forward to a slice or 3

 

[Old jon]

I cannot claim any originality as far as recipes go, except for the occasional substitution of an ingredient or two.
The pics below are of what Linda Collister calls Cheese Baps, no spring onions were in the shop this morning, so shallots went in instead.

Before

And after

And the next two are a more or less standard sourdough raised dough, most of the liquid was beer.
Before, again. The sourdough was maybe not as well fed as it should have been

And after,

I can guess what they will taste like, but will of course be eating some soon!

 

[Tin Pot]

Pao de Quejo

125ml semi milk
75ml veg oil
Tspn Salt

Heat in a pan then add,

250g tapioca flour

Take off the heat and mix in;

1 egg
Then
90g grated Parmesan

Roll into ten balls, bake for 45 mins at 180°C Fan.

Inexplicably I did not take a photo. Delicious.