59 Bread

59 Rye Sourdough Bread

 It was 4:30 am on Sunday, Chef Fran began to open the mother dough container to make a bread like a tourier chef! I'm pretty a morning bird, but it was too early for me, but.. yes for a nice bread.. why not! let's wake up!

Look at the holes!

 Making this rye sourdough bread is one of pleasure to experience. The lovely sour smell from each stage brought us to somewhere countryside scenery..:) This is Chef Fran's recipe which he should be proud of, just follow me carefully.

You will need :

(for 400g loaf x 2, plus you can make pizzas like us :))

mother dough (rye) 400g - (another post about mother dough is coming soon.)
strong bread flour 200g
canadian strong flour 200g
wheatgerm 100g
water 200g-250g
                                                                              salt 12g
                                                                              olive oil 12g

(1)

(2)

   (1,2) Place flours, wheatgerm, half water, mother dough in the bowl. (As for the mother dough, I will explain in next post. Basically, it takes a few days to make a sourdough bread.)
 Then start to mix with a hook at low speed for 3 mins.

(4)

(3)

   (3,4) Increase speed, and start to add water gradually, and then oil. You will see the dough starts to get together, but looks a bit sloppy.

(5)

(6)

   (5,6) Add salt and knead for 6-8 mins more until it becomes shinny and smooth.

(7)

(8)

   (7,8) Place the dough in the oiled container for 1st proving, and cover. (It's too sticky to handle, so you may need some oil in your hands.) Now let's wait the dough to be double in size. It takes approx. a few hours, depending on your room temperature. If you want, keep it in the oven with a hot water bowl.


 (*Tip) Chef Fran uses this container with lines to track the volume easily.

(9)

(10)

   (9,10) Knock back the doubled dough gently, and shape it on the flour. Now 2nd proving in the oven with a hot water bowl for 2 hours until double again.

(11)

(12)

   (11,12) Cut the middle to see the good crack after baking.
 Bake for 10 min at 250'C, then for 30 min at 180'C. Enjoy the smell from the oven, and just-baked bread! Isn't it fantastic? :)

(Pizza)

 With a same dough, he made a pizza  for lunch :)

A Bread Basket

59 Bread Basket by Ms Sue

When I prepare a dinner table, I can't stand to present our bread on any sleek porcelain plates like I do for other pastries, but in a bread basket.

59 Rye Sourdough Bread

 Like you see, Chef Fran makes our own 59 bread :) These days, I take it for granted that I can eat this special bread everyday, I should appreciate for it though.

 Not only 59 bread also all breads deserve to be in a bread basket covered with nice linen.. as it is from the basket, a banneton.

 A banneton is a basket, using for proving the sourdough breads. When I was taking Le Cordon Bleu, we put the bread dough into the this banneton to prove. The scene was very rustic, but realise there are no non-rustic bread in the world. A banneton provides breads with nice patterns and shape and wicks moisture from the crust so as to make the crust harder.

 A bread starts in a rustic basket and finishes in a pretty basket. It's their destiny, so we can't go against it. That's why I'm putting my sliced breads in the 59 bread basket now and onwards. :)

Castella Cake

 ...I'm not glamorous like other cakes..I don't need any decoration to make myself stand out. But sponge-like myself is soft enough to melt in your mouth, and my simple looking is noble enough to be loved by everyone...(..Castella says)

 One day, I had a desperate craving for Castella cake. Unfortunately, finding Castella cake (not Finding Nemo :)) in London is out of question indeed.

 Although it's one of my beloved cake, well.. many people've never heard about it, so let me explain to help your understanding. The name derived from Castile in Portuguese. Long times ago, Portuguese sailors carried it during a long-haul trip since it could be preserved for a long time, even Portugal to Japan, it wasn't exception. Then Japanese began to popularise it, and call Kasutera.

 It doesn't required any special ingredients but only sugar, eggs, milk, butter, flour. You may think it would boring, but making moist, soft texture is not easy unless you keep an eye on every single step. Then you will be surprised at the joy of flavour!




You will need :

(for 500g)

Eggs 277g
Sugar 185g
Plain flour 147g
Melted butter 40g
Milk 21g
Liquor 15g

(2)

   (1) Whisk eggs and sugar over the bain-marie until no sugar granules left.

   (2) Transfer to a machine, whisk from slow to fast and then slow until the ribbon stage. (This is the stage which colour becomes pale, and when you drop the batter, it holds itself for a while rather than disperse straight away so that the air inside will give soft texture to the completed cake.)

   (3) Fold the sieved flour in.
 

(4)

   (4) Warm up milk, butter and liquor together, then Mix in the batter. The point is reducing bubbles a bit in the batter by folding over. Look it becomes more fluid than the ribbon stage!

(5)

   (5) Pour in the lined mould by dropping from top to remove big bubbles. And tab the mould against a table to remove more big bubbles again.

   (6) Bake for 10 min at 190'C, and then lid on top, bake for 90 min more at 150'C.

(7)

   (7) After taking out from the over, remove the lid and cover with a butter baking paper, then upside-down to cool.




   (8) All ready.. Try the next day as breakfast with milk when you get bored of having a croissant for breakfast!!

(a mould for Castella cake)

 
    **  At last, I want to introduce this special mould for a Castella cake as you can find a better result with this. This is made of Hinoki Cypress tree, which enable to keep the moisture gently while baking, and the scent can be spread into the cake nicely. Also, Castella should be as tall as mine! This mould will help to get the height! I bought 2 of them, and happily using it. :)

Raspberry Palmier

Raspberry Palmier

The usage of puff pastry is versatile. one of varieties I much like is this palmier, also called elephant ears, pig's ears or butterfly. I think it's rather pretty to be called something's ears, isn't it? especially my raspberry one.:) In order to make sweet, crispy palmier, bear in mind that you need to use a lot of sugar to get nice cramelisation. Let's have a relaxed teatime with this small Hearts.

You will need :
(for about 20 palmier)

1/8 of puff pastry / granulated sugar / raspberry powder / water (for caramelisation with sugar)

   Preheat the oven at 200 'C

   (1) Mix enough granulated sugar and 2Ts raspberry powder to get nice pink colour.

   (2) Roll out the pastry to 2mm in thickness on the prepared sugar. Make sure to use a
   lot sugar! Then trim off excess to make it rectangle shape.

3 / 4

   (3) Mark halfway by
   folding and unfolding again, and one thirds of both half, too.

   (4) Brush water on the clean side, and start to fold toward centre and
   press down gently. Follow the Photo 3 / 4.

After folding

   (5) Press down gently to flat, and wrap it and chill in the fridge for about an hour until firm.

6. Ready to bake

   (6) Slice it up in 1cm, and place it on the buttered tray. Then
   press down each of palmer. Chill for 30 min.

   (7) Bake at 200'C in the preheated oven for 10 min or until you
   can see the caramelisation well, then take out the tray and turn
   over each of palmier, bake about 5 min more. But watch out
   carefully not to burn it.

   (8) Cool on the rack. Now you can make a cup of tea for your
   sweet break time. :)

Puff Pastry2 (Beurrage)

 When you make a butter block(Beurrage), you can use just dry butter,(dry butter means the butter which is low in water, high in fat like more than 82% fat) but I would go through one more process.
 The most important thing when roll out puff pastry, I said before, 'temperature control' which means the water dough(Detrempe) and butter block inside should be same consistence so that it is able to be rolled consistently. So I will make my butter "more pliable" by adding strong flour so as to give it gluten.

You will need :

400g butter / 40g strong flour (bread flour)

2

1

   (1,2) Mix softened butter and flour well.

3

4

    (3,4) Place on the baking   paper, fold the paper like
    photo 4. It will help the paper not unfold easily.

5

6

         
    (5,6) Folded side down, and roll out with a rolling pin to
    0.5cm in thickness. Chill it in the fridge till it sets.

    Now ready to use!

Puff Pastry1 (Detrempe)

1

 Making puff pastry at home is adventure as the control of temperature is crucial in order to keep the butter inside without escape, meaning it takes time to make. You can buy the commercial one, however, you will find out a lot more flavour, and understand better how it works in the oven.

 You will need :

 For Detrempe (water dough)
 250g plain flour / 250g strong flour / 12g salt / 150g melted butter / 100g water / 25ml white wine vinegar

and Beurrage (butter block)

2

     (1) Mix well sifted flour, salt. Then add cold butter cut in small cubes in. Break down the butter to sand texture with finder tips.
Make a well in the centre, then pour all liquid. Gradually draw the flour into liquid. Incorporate well, but do not knead. No worry it looks saggy and sticky normally. Then knead the dough a bit to make round bowl.

    (2) I did FRENCH WAY, but you can do English, or rough way. Mark the cross on top of the dough, and roll out each sides. The centre should be thicker than wings.

3

4

       (3,4) When it becomes big enough to wrap the beurrage, place the chilled   beurrage in the middle,   overwrap each wings in turn to cover the butter completely.   Make sure cover very well even the each corners.
   Rest in the fridge for 30 min.

   

5

6

    (5.6) Take out the dough, folded side up, press down all over the dough with a rolling pin to widen up the butter and dough equally. Then roll out back and forth gently as keeping the rectangle shape.
   When it becomes double size, brush the excess flour, and fold in third like photo 6.
   Now you've done the first turn. To remember, mark with a rolling pin like photo 7.(one for rolling, one for folding)
   Wrap it, and rest the dough for more than one hour until butter sets.

7

8

   (7,8) Folded side up, and place open side on your left, repeat the rolling process again.
  Same as before, make sure keep the rectangle shape. Like you can see, try to roll out in 1-1.5cm.
  Mark with a rolling pin as the second turn.
  Wrap it, and chill it around 3 hours.

  Repeat another the 3rd turn one more time. So you've done total 3 turns.

9

10

   (9,10) Divide the dough in 4. Can you see the layers? It's more than 700 layers! (will explain the theory on the other post soon.)
  You can freeze each block itself, or I prefer, rolling out to ready-to-use first, and then freeze. If you want to roll out before freezing, roll out to 3mm and trim all edges like photo 10. You will find out it will be much convenient when you need.

Chocolate Bar

Ginger-Hazelnut Chocolate Bar

 It was last year, we found this tablet mould at a catering shop during a stay in Rome. I tend to collect any new tools, moulds and anything for baking even if I don't use as much as I plan when I buy things. This was one of them honestly.

 Frankly, it's not easy to make chocolate at home as you need to get prepared for the mess! But chef Fran suddenly decided to start for his friends coming over and gathered any ingredient left at home ; Crystallised ginger and hazelnut praline.


 Here is how it looks like inside ;

 Like you see, praline mixed with ginger encloses toasted hazelnut, so when you bite, you don't miss anything of them.

 Like a little girl, it's totally inevitable not to grab this chocolate bar in front of me. Holding whole bar just make me happy indeed, reckon because of the relief I still have got!! :)

May, 2012

Tarte Tatin

Tarte Tatin 

 Do you know that apples are one of the first fruit to have been cultivated in the world? (Even the golden apple caused Trojan war!) Given that I can't imagine living without it. Starting the day with a bite of apple is the long-time routine now.

 As long history as it has, its usage is versatile ; Apple pie, salad, cider, juice, dish with sausage (it's Delia's recipe which I love!) and tarte tatin.

 Despite the fact that the history of tarte tatin isn't long, it has been making its big room for popularity all over the world. Thanks the Tatin sisters, who had contributed to its popularity in their restaurant.

 Like you know, it's an upside-down tart with caramelised apples covered with buttery crispy puff pastry. When it's turned over, the caramel from apples soaks the puff pastry. No offence! but I always find it becomes too soggy.. Then chef Fran solved the problem by baking apples and pastry separately. It makes big difference which no juice make the pastry any longer when it's assembled!

 This is an individual portion, which is small, can't share with anyone! We need 'Judgement of Paris' since Eris, goddess of discord dropped the tarte tatin into us - Not 'For the fairest one' but 'For the happiest one'

May 2012