Lucas' Blog

5 minute a day artisan bread

// July 15th, 2009 // No Comments » // House, Recipes

Courtesy of this awesome article on making really easy bread, I’ve started making some at home… from scratch.

From: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx

This bread really is very easy to make. So simple that my second batch is in the fridge at home and I’ll bake a loaf tonight for use tomorrow.

Ingredients

• 1.5 tbsp salt
• 1.5 tbsp yeast
• 3 cups lukewarm water
• 6.5 cups bakers flour (10% protein)

Method

• Add salt and yeast to warm water in a large container with a coverable (not airtight) lid. I used a 5l casserole dish and it rose to fill that really well. A large saucepan or boiler might be good too, but it’s got to fit in the fridge.
• Gradually add the flour to the water mix and mix into a sloppy dough. You’re not looking for firm doughballs etc, just bring it all together. Don’t play with it too much.
• Cover and leave it for at least 2 hours, but as long as 5 if necessary.
• Put it in the fridge for at least 3 hours but for as long as 2 weeks.

When you’re ready to bake some bread:

• Cut some dough out of your container. The original recipe asks for 4 loaves out of this recipe, but they’re small loaves – use your own proportions after a little play.
• Dust your hands and the dough with some flour.
• Gently form it into a ball by folding the edges around onto the bottom. They’ll seal together during rising and baking. Put this on a floured/polenta’d pizza peel or cookie pan etc. You’ll want to be sliding the dough off this onto your baking stone.
• Let it sit and rise for 40-50 minutes.
• 20 minutes before it’s ready to go in the oven, turn it on to 230 degrees centigrade and get it warming. You’ll need to have your baking stone on the middle shelf and a dish to put  hot water in under that.
• Boil the kettle – you’ll need to add water to that dish in the oven and it’ll have to be hot or the dish will crack (like mine did last night).
• Slice some cuts in the top of the bread. This is to allow the bread to expand while cooking and makes it look good too.
• Slide the bread into the oven and onto your baking stone.
• Add about a cup of hot water to the dish under your baking stone. It’ll start steaming etc, close the oven door!
• Let it cook for about 30-35 minutes. It’ll go gloriously brown and smell awesome.
• Take it out and let it cool down on a rack before cutting.

I found that baking it at night and letting it cool on the rack under a tea towel and slicing it in the morning worked really well.

This bread is so tasty and easy to make that I’m sure you’ll be jumping on the bandwagon too. It’s so awesome.

You don’t need to wash the dish you’re storing the dough in either. When making the next batch, just make sure you incorporate the old remnants of dough into the new one and it will start developing awesome sourdough flavours.

Follow Up – 6th August 2009

This has been such a winner. Both my kids love it, my wife likes it but claims it makes her itchy??? I’ve got a heap of people from work loving my home-made bread each day and a few of them even venturing out and making it themselves. It’s awesome.

I also made some of the dough into english muffins (as per some of the comments in the original post) and they were great. Not quite 100% traditional, but nothing hand-made ever looks 100% like the mass-produced crap from a supermarket – and if you’re aiming to have it look like a supermarket job, then why bother?

Chicken, lime and chilli penne

// June 26th, 2009 // No Comments » // Recipes

Courtesy of Dan Rose’s friend Lisa Clark, below is the recipe for chicken, lime and chilli penne

SERVES 4

Ingredients

• 350g dried mini penne rigate pasta
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 small red chillies, deseeded, finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 3 cups cooked shredded chicken (see tip)
• 1 teaspoon finely-grated lime rind
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves

Method

• Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling water, following packet directions, until tender. Drain.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add chilli, garlic and green onions. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Reduce heat to low. Add chicken, lime rind, juice and pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes or until heated through. Remove from heat. Add coriander. Toss to combine. Serve.

Notes & tips

• You will need 1 small barbecued chicken for this recipe.

Le Cellier Cheese Soup

// June 25th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Recipes

Courtesy of Dan Rose, below are the instructions for making a celery & cheese soup.

SERVES 10 -12

Ingredients

• 230g bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 celery ribs, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 710 ml milk
• 1 medium red onion, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 30g butter
• 710 ml water
• 0.75 ml Tabasco sauce (a generous splash)
• 1 cup flour
• 120 ml beer
• 340-350g good quality cheese, freshly grated
• salt and pepper

Directions

• In a soup pot, start to brown the bacon over medium heat. When the bacon is starting to get crisp, add the onions, celery and butter. Cook until the onion is translucent.
• Add the flour and incorporate with the butter. Cook for 4 minutes, constantly stirring. Add the water and whisk. Make sure there are no lumps.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes. Add the milk and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Do not boil after you add the milk.
• After the last 15 minutes, turn off the heat and stir in the cheese and then the beer, stirring gently until the cheese is melted. Take off the heat, add Tabasco sauce and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with chives or finely chopped green onions, if desired.

If the soup is too thick, you can thin it out with some milk.

Thai Chicken

// June 22nd, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Recipes

Courtesy of Lynette Braddock, below are the instructions for making Thai Chicken.

Ingredients

• 500 grams chicken
• 1 cup lite coconut cream
• 2 tabs peanut butter
• 2 tabs sweet chilli sauce
• 1tbs tea curry powder
• 1 chicken stock cube dissolved in 1 cup water
• Capsicum
• Onion
• Carrot
• Mushroom
• Zucchini
• Snow Peas
• *basically any vegies you have*

Method

• Cook chicken and then add vegies and cook through till just tender (sort of stir fried)
• Add coconut cream, peanut butter, curry  powder, sweet chilli and chicken stock – bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Serve with rice

Adjust the measurements of the curry powder and sweet chilli sauce to your likings.

Vegetable Lasagne

// June 22nd, 2009 // No Comments » // Recipes

Courtesy of Sue Stevens, below are the instructions for making Vegetable Lasagne

• Baste a selection of vegetables, such as  capsicum, zucchini, onion, garlic, pumpkin, etc with lemon juice and pepper.  Grill.
• Whilst they is grilling, prepare the pesto sauce:  4T flour in 4T butter.  Stir fry and add enough milk to make a thick white sauce.  You can season to suit your taste.
• Lightly oil a baking dish.
• Spread prepared pesto over base of baking dish, follow with layers of grilled vegetables, lasagne sheets, pesto, grated parmesan cheese, vegetables, lasagne, pesto, lasagne sheets, pesto and finishing with a good layer of grated cheeses, combination of mozza and parmesan, etc.  Bake for about 45 minutes in a moderate oven.
• Let sit for about 15 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!!!!!!

Attention Food Lovers

// June 22nd, 2009 // No Comments » // Recipes

The other day, I got an email from a friend about a food lovers pyramid scheme. Basically send one person one of your favourite, quick recipes and send the request onto a heap of friends to spread the word.

I figured it’s worth a shot so sent on my recipe for Tuna Mornay and forwarded the recipe onto 20 people. So far I’ve got a few recipes in and figured I’d post them here so people can look at them.

Here’s the email:

Subject: Food Lovers

Body

Hello food lovers!

You have been invited to be a part of a recipe exchange. I hope you’re able to participate.

Please send a recipe to the person whose name is listed in the number 1 position below (even if you don’t know them) and it should preferably be something quick, easy and without rare ingredients.

The best one is the one you know in your head and can type right now! Don’t agonize over which recipe. Think of the recipe that you make when you’re short on time and don’t want to go to the shop that’s the one to share!

After you’ve sent your recipe to the person in Position #1 below and only to the person in Position #1 below then copy this letter into a new e-mail, move my name to the number 1 position and put your name in the number 2 position. Only mine and your name should show when you send your e-mail. Send to 20 friends.

If you cannot do this within 5 days, let me know so it will be fair to those participating. You should receive 36 recipes. It’s fun to see where they come from!! Seldom does anyone drop out because we can all use new, easy recipes.

The turnaround is fast because only 2 names are on the list. And you only have to participate one time!

Cheers and thanks,

Pauline

Check out the recipes I get with the tag ‘Food lovers’