0 Surprise turnip soup

A couple of weeks ago I instagrammed a piccie of a surprise turnip I had found growing in the garden, amongst our pak choi plants and I asked for suggestions for utilising our surprise addition to the larder. With ideas ranging from turnip cake (!), turnip gratin (much better) I decided to take up the suggestion of Irwin Kraus from Massachusetts of a turnip soup.

Based on a recipe from About.com this soup provided a quick and easy supper dish which used up our surprise turnip. The recipe is easy and quick to come together just watch the amount of pepper you add as the turnip has a little heat already.

What you need

• 1 surprise turnip (or 4 small white turnips) - peeled and chopped into cubes
• 1 large white potato - peeled and chopped into cubes
• Butter or vegetable oil - about a tbsp
• 1 large onion - peeled and chopped
• 1 clove of garlic - peeled and crushed
• About 1/2 cup of white wine
• Vegetable stock - about 500ml may be more
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Chopped chives for decoration

What you do

• Heat the oil / butter in a large sauce pan and add the onion, garlic and turnips, cook gently for 2 -3 minutes until the onion starts to soften a little and go see through.
• Add the wine to the pan and simmer for a few minutes until a little reduced
• Next add the potato and vegetable stock to the pan
• Bring to the boil and simmer until the vegetables are softened
• Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, add more stock or water if required.
• Puree with a stick blender to the desired consistency.
• Taste and  season with salt and pepper
• Bring back to a simmer and serve sprinkled with chopped chives

The bread pictured is gluten free and is from a fantastic bakery in Scotland - Wheat Free Bakery Direct, there bakes are amazing.

I'm linking up this to this months Credit Crunch Munch hosted this month by Maison cupcake, created by Fuss Free Flavours and Fab Food 4All.

                                           

Also to No Waste Food Challenge hosted this month by Anne's Kitchen and created by Tangoraindrop.

                                                         
And also to Simple and In Season this month hosted by My custard Pie and created by Ren Behan.

                                                          

Detail: Surprise turnip soup

0 The Ginger Baker

Its with great pleasure that I am writing this article telling you about a new cafe / bakery / tearoom that has recently opened in the Ribble Valley village of Longridge. What makes "The Ginger Baker" so special is that its a mainly "gluten free" venue, Sharon the Ginger Baker who has been baking Gluten Free for several years has had dreams of opening her own venue for years, so she jumped at the chance when this cute venue became available in heart of Longridge.

The Ginger Baker stocks a wide range of gluten free treats, snacks and breads along side great coffees and drinks at great prices. The breads range has been sourced from Wheat Free Bakery Scotland which is all gluten free and it tastes, looks and smells amazing. The cakes and pastries are a either carefully sourced from Gluten free bakeries or baked on the premises by Sharon and her team.

                           

Situated in the heart of the village there is ample local parking for your visit and you can book afternoon teas and special events with the tea room.

                       

Its well worth a trip especially if you need a Gluten Free diet  and the welcome is warm and genuine, you can find the venue on Berry Lane, Longridge. You can also find the Ginger Baker on Facebook and twitter too.

Detail: The Ginger Baker

0 Lekue - lets make bread, gluten free bread !

Gluten fee bread that looks and tastes (well similar) to real bread is the holy grail, yesterday on baking a Dan Lepard recipe I came close, very close to nirvana. This recipe has the praise of various bloggers across the world and is also featured on the BBC Food website,  so given that I had a lekue bread maker to give a whirl I thought I would give it a try and wow, I wasn't disappointed. The resultant bread had a crunchy crust and a texture heading toward a real crumb structure, it even rose a little and had a tiny bit of oven spring.

The recipe features two ingredients that make all the difference to gluten free bread baking, pysllium husk and golden linseed (aka flaxseed) both of which have gummy properties (there is no other way of putting it) which help give the bread stretch and which help make the crumb softer. The linseeds also help give the bread a "wheaty" like flavour.

I think the bread would be ideal toasted along side pate or toasted and topped with cheese and beans, its more like an artisan crusty cob loaf than sandwich bread.

What you need

• 30g golden linseeds
• 475ml warm water
• 2 1/2 tsp fast action yeast
• 100ml natural yogurt - I used greek yogurt
• 450g cornflour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 50g psyllium husk powder
• 50ml olive oil
• Extra olive oil and cornflour to finish

What you do 

• In a bowl mix the yeast and water, so the yeast starts to become active, stir in the yogurt and the baked linseeds. Mix this all together.
• In the lekue baking bowl I had weigh out the cornflour, psyllium husk, salt and sugar.
• Add the yeast mix and olive oil into the dry ingredients and mix well, do this quickly as it rapidly starts to seize.

• Once the mix is firm enough knead it for about 10 seconds ( I did this in the bowl), cover and leave for about 30 minutes, I did this by folding up the bowl.
• After the 3 minutes has passed shape the dough ready for baking, either on a tray lined with baking paper or in my case in the bowl,. Brush the top of the dough with a little extra oil and cover and leave to rise for 30 minutes (and amazingly it did a little) covered or in the lekue bowl.

• Pre heat your oven to 220c fan / 240c normal , uncover the dough and slash the top and sprinkle with a little cornflour. Bake for approx 40 minutes or so until a good colour is achieved.

• Leave to cool on a wire rack until fully cold before cutting

The dough is versatile enough to be suggested for buns or a foccacia sheet also.

The recipe is adapted slightly from Dan Lepard's recipe on BBC Food and I used the Lekue Bread maker which had been provided to me by Lekue for review purposes.

Detail: Lekue - lets make bread, gluten free bread !

0 The best fruited buns, ever !

These buns are amazing, soft, aromatic and stuffed full of fruit and spices, the perfect combination of flavours and great toasted or served simply buttered. Ok, so perfect buns aren't an instant thing but I promise you these buns are worth the additional effort and like any bread recipe its all about planning what you will do in the time your dough is working.

The other good thing is that you are in control of what you want in your buns, so in this mix we have a little crystallized ginger and chopped figs alongside the more traditional, raisins, sultanas and citron peel (hand chopped, ready chopped peel is vile), and you wouldn't want to spoil these amazing buns. To create the soft texture you need to use some fat in your dough, lard and dripping work well but you can also use white chocolate or even milk chocolate at a push, it makes the dough have a soft crumb, just the texture you want for your buns.

The buns would be great for festive celebrations and would easily adapted for Easter too, but frankly you'll love them so much you will eat them all year round !

What you need

• 600g strong white bread flour
• 150ml skimmed milk
• 14g dried yeast (2 pkts)
• Approx 120ml warm water but this will depend on your flour and the temperature in your kitchen
• 1 tbsp golden syrup (you could maple syrup or honey instead)
• 25g caster sugar
• 50g white fat (dripping, lard, chocolate)
• 300g dried fruit mixed (whatever you like)
• 1 1/2 tsp mixed spices (ginger, nutmeg, cardamon, cinnamon, feel free to mix and match)
• 1 tsp finely ground salt
• 3 eggs - free range please
• Another egg for glazing purposes

What you do 

• Dissolve the yeast in the warm water, I always add a little flour as I find this get the yeast activated more quickly and leave in a warm place until frothy and the yeast is clearly active.
• Warm the milk and the syrup, caster sugar, white fat until melted and then add the spices, salt and the dried fruits. Allow to cool.
• Add the beaten eggs to the cooled milk mixture.
• In a large bowl combine the flour, yeast mixture and egg and milk mixture, stir until you have an loose dough. Leave this to rest for about 10 minutes covered, then knead again, do this again a couple of times but leaving it rest longer in between.
• You should eventually have a soft well combined active dough, divide this your require number of buns, I went for 10 but these were monster sized.
• Form balls and press flat, leave these to rest again on oiled trays until doubled in size, covered in plastic so the dough doesn't form a skin ( as this is an enriched dough it may take several hours)
• Bake at 200c in a pre heated oven, brush the tops with a beaten egg if you want a shiny top.
• They will be ready after about 15 minutes or so when well risen and golden on top, don't overcook them as they will go dry.
• Cool on a wire rack and devour slathered with butter, toasted or just as they are.

I am entering this post in the Tea time Treats challenge hosted by Karen over at Lavender and Lovage and Kate who blogs over at What Kate baked. The theme is "Dried Fruit" and I think this bun more than qualifies.

                                                

Detail: The best fruited buns, ever !

0 Tomato focaccia

We love focaccia of all types and being lucky enough to have picked a large bowl of cherry tomatoes from the garden, we decided to use some of our bounty in a lovely fresh focaccia. Focaccia is a great bread to make and share with friends, especially if you have some great oil and vinegar to serve with it. Serve on a platter fresh from the oven Italian stylee, another bonus of this recipe is that you can use handfuls of fresh herbs just picked from the garden, I love this time of year when the garden is bountiful !

What you need

• 20g dried yeast
• 2 tsp sugar dissolved in warm water - 300ml
• 450g strong white bread flour (organic if you can get hold of it)
• Fresh thyme - picked and roughly chopped - 1tbsp
• Fresh rosemary - picked and roughly chopped - 1tbsp
• 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 4 good tbsp extra virgin olive oil - the best you can afford it does make a difference
• cherry tomatoes - halved if large
• Extra virgin olive oil - for sprinkling
• Sea salt - proper crystal flakes for a great finish

What you do

• Mix the yeast into the sugared warm water, leave to one side until the yeast is frothy, you are now ready to bake
• Place the flour, herbs and salt into a large bowl, ensure the salt is well distributed throughout 
• Make a well in the centre and mix in half of the yeast mixture, mix with your fingers , keep adding liquid and mixing, now add the olive oil, still mixing and semi kneading until you have a soft slightly sticky dough.(Depending on your flour and the weather will depend on whether you need all the liquid)
• Lightly flour the work surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes until you have a soft elastic dough.
• Put the dough in lightly oiled bowl and cover to rise until doubled in size, in a warm kitchen this will take approximately an hour.
• Meanwhile oil your baking tray or roasting dish with a little olive oil, remove dough from bowl and place in roasting dish, squishing with your fingers to one level and to the edges and corners of the pan.
• Cover the pan with a large plastic bag or clingfilm which you have lightly oiled to prevent the dough from sticking to it when rising.
• Let this prove for about 30 minutes
• Pre heat the oven to 190c 
• When ready to bake, press the your fingers all over the dough to make little dinks in the dough for the tomato pieces, once you have used all the tomatoes, sprinkle with a little more olive oil and some sea salt flakes.
• Bake for approx 30 minutes or so until golden and well risen
• Delicious hot or cold, once baked and cooled it also freezes well, double wrapped in foil

The fabulous photography is once again by the talented Mr Lancashire Food 

Detail: Tomato focaccia

0 Cinnamon and raisin bagels

I love bagels, particularly cinnamon and raisin one's, toasted for breakfast buttered they just can't be beaten. Mr Lancashire Food as you all know is rapidly becoming the expert bread baker in our household, however for the time being he is sticking to savoury bakes. I had a craving for a sweet bake so I thought I would give bagels a try after seeing a few other bloggers having a go at them recently but I wanted a sweet bagel, the kind that works with cool cream cheese or slathered (that word again !) in butter, so much so it runs down your fingers when your eating it.

I think the boiling the dough thing puts a lot of people off making bagels so I was pleased to spot that one of my favourite American food bloggers Averie Cooks had been experimenting with bagels without the boiling stage. So the game is on, using her recipe our first bagel making adventure began, I was very impressed as to how easy they were to make and even Mr LF liked them and he is not normally a fan of sweet bread recipes. The bagels freeze well but the recipe makes about 8 bagels so depending on your household size you may not need to store them at all.

What you need

• 1 cup of warm water 
• 1 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp dried yeast
• 2 1/2 cups strong white bread flour plus a little more for dusting surfaces
• Sea salt - pinch of
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup raisins
• Polenta for dusting the trays

What you need to do

• Firstly activate your yeast, by mixing the warm water, sugar and dried yeast in a bowl or jug and stir together well, leave to side for about 10 minutes until the mixture is bubbling well.
• Now in your stand mixer, place the flour and salt (if using) and start to meix gently with the dough hook attached, adding the yeast mixture, until well incorporated, the volume of yeast mixture you need to use with vary with your flour, temperature and humidity.
• Now knead in the mixer for about 5 -7 minutes until you have a smooth elastic dough
• Add the cinnamon and raisins and continue to knead to incorporate the raisins and cinnamon, don't be alarmed by the quantity of cinnamon it will knead in.
• Place the dough in a bowl covered by clingfilm and allow to rise until doubled in size.
• Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface pushing back any raisins that fall out
• Divide the dough in to 8  equal sized pieces and shape into a ball, using your fingers make a hole in the middle to form a bagel.
• Leave to rise for 30 minutes or so covered with oiled clingfilm until risen
• Pre heat your oven to 200c / 400F
• In a large bowl filled with hot water, place the bagels for about a minute, turn them over after about 30 seconds.
• Place on a baking sheet sprinkled with the polenta to stop your bagels from sticking and burning on the bottom.
• Bake for 18 -20 minutes until well risen and golden, they will smell amazing
• Allow to cool on the baking tray and serve immediately buttered or alternatively split and toast.

Detail: Cinnamon and raisin bagels

0 No knead bread

I was reading an article last week in the Saturday Times about essential kit in a foodies kitchen, needless to say our kitchen contains quite a few of the items quoted, it also mentioned about having a recipe for "no knead bread" which reminded me this was something I have been  planning to give a try for along time, the original no knead recipe was first published in 2006, I think in the New York Times. The internet is littered with recipes all much the same so I am going with the classic. So here we are a week later and our first foray into no knead baking is cooling in the kitchen.

The idea is that rather than knead the dough to activate the gluten, time does the hard work for you something that is lacking from many modern bakes, you are aiming for an artisan holey style loaf not a fine crumb structure, the resultant bake is rustic and humble. I like it and its ideal to serve as bruschetta, with oils and vinegars and along side salads.

The mix should also be able to cope with substituting different flours, so next time I might have an experiment. I'll let you know how I get on.

Ingredients

• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 tsp of dried yeast ( quantities vary and this will depend on whether you are using dried or instant acting yeast)
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• You are also going to need a large cooking pot with a lid, I used my cast iron Le Crueset, but you can use Pyrex, etc.

Method

• Mix all the above in a bowl with a wooden spoon, try not to be precious as soon as its mixed leave it alone. Cover with film ( I use a shower cap) and leave for 12 - 18 hours or so in the kitchen.
• Return to your dough and see that it has risen and nice a bubbly.
• Turn onto a heavily floured surface or tea towel and using well floured hands or a scraper form into a rough ball, don't worry the dough will be very sticky and loose.
• I then placed mine in a baking parchment lined proving basket ( or use a bowl) for about 30 minutes
• Meanwhile preheat your oven to 230C / 450f , once up to temperature then place your baking pot with lid to preheat for about 30 minutes
• Now place your dough with baking parchment in the pot and replace lid, put in oven and bake for 30 minutes with the lid on, remove lid and then bake for a further 15 - 30 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove bread from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Next time I might allow the dough to have a longer second rise ( up to 2 hours) as per the classic method and also may be reduce the quantity of yeast initially added.

Detail: No knead bread

0 Ale and spelt bread for #Boothscheers

Mr Lancashire Food is developing quite a talent for bread baking and one of his tastiest bakes so far has been a Ale and spelt bread he baked specially for #Boothscheers Beer and Cider festival, this bread is great served with soup, cheese and particularly smoked fish such as hot smoked salmon or gravalax as the beery hoppy nutty notes particularly complement the oilliness of the fish. Its a relatively straight forward recipe in bread terms and also features my favourite bread grain spelt too.

Ingredients

• 175g spelt flour
• 275g strong white bread flour
• 7g of dried yeast
• 7g of salt fine grain
• 100ml of ale ( We used Stringers Delta V) but any ale would do
• 100ml of water
• 100ml of skimmed milk ( or you could use watered down yogurt) or just more water
• Good squirt of honey - (about 1/2 tbsp) you could use brown sugar
• knob of butter

You'll also need a round proving basket, floured well.

Method

• Place the butter, milk, beer, honey and water in a pan and warm until the butter has melted, leave to cool until just warm to the touch
• Place all the other ingredients in the bowl of your mixer and attach the dough hook , give it a quick run to distribute the yeast and salt .
• Now add the cooled liquid mixture to the bowl with the mixer running on slow until you have added all the liquid, don't worry if it looks like it won't come together as it will.
• Now leave your mixer doing the work on a slow setting for approximately 6 minutes or so until you have a soft elastic dough.
• Scrape out your bowl onto a floured surface and shape into a round , now place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a shower cap and leave until doubled in size
• Turn out onto a floured surface and knock back the dough with your fingers, now reshape in a ball and place in your well floured proving bowl, cover and let prove until doubled in size again.

• Preheat the oven to 200c
• Gently turn out onto a silicone baking mat or silicone paper , bake for approx 30 minutes until well risen, golden and so that it sounds hollow when tapped.
• Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Detail: Ale and spelt bread for #Boothscheers

0 Mushroom, onion and thyme focaccia

Another baking adventure from Mr Lancashire Food, this time a twist on the Italian delight - focaccia. We love mushrooms in our household and decided that we would experiment by adding cooked mushrooms and onions to a traditional focaccia mix.

The resultant focaccia was absolutely delicious, it was fortuitous that we made two slabs of this crusty delight, as the first one disappeared within minutes. We used large open capped mushrooms but you could use button or if feeling especially decadent wild mushrooms instead, if you are using dried mushrooms you will need to reconstitute them first before cooking.

As with all bread baking the secret is time, allowing your dough to rise fully and prove, this time creates the  flavour in the dough.

Ingredients

• 500g strong white bread flour
• 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 7g dried yeast
• 70ml olive oil
• Warm water to mix - hard to be precise as this all depends on your flour
• Roughly 100g of mushrooms ( whatever type) - chopped finely
• 1 large white onion - chopped into fine half rings
• Thyme ( fresh or dried)
• Salt and olive oil for sprinkling 
• Little oil or butter to cook your mushrooms and onions in

Baking tray or shallow baking pan 

Method

• Firstly cook the onions and mushrooms in a little oil or butter until softened but with hardly any colour, allow to cool, stir in your thyme.
• Now mix the flour, sea salt, yeast and liquids to a  make a soft sticky dough, add the water last and mix by hand so you can judge the consistency of the dough
• Once combined knead well on lightly floured surface, until the dough is pliable and stretchy
• Place in a bowl and allow to rest  in a warm place for at least an hour or so until your dough has doubled in size
• Add the Mushroom, onion and thyme mixture to the dough pressing in with your hands
• Now place your dough on your baking sheet / pan and shape by pressing out with your fingers to cover the tin to the edges, allow to prove for approx 30 minutes covered with a tea towel
• Now using your fingers prick all over the surface of your focaccia to make dimples, sprinkle with olive oil and sea salt crystals, leave to prove again for another hour or so
• Bake in a preheated oven at 200c for approximately 25 -35 minutes until golden brown

Delicious served with Italian salami, cold meats, olives or oil and vinegar.

I am entering this post in "Herbs on Saturday" blog  challenge for January 2013 challenge from Lavender and Lovage and this  month hosted by Bangers and Mash.

                                                           

Detail: Mushroom, onion and thyme focaccia

0 Christmas Sticky Buns

Now first things first, I can't claim credit for this bake, in the last few months Mr Lancashire Food has been developing his bread baking skills and these yummy festive buns are his first forage into the world of enriched  dough. Based on a chelsea bun recipe with the fruity hit being provided in this case by mincemeat and extra stickiness by spiced sugar butter ( granulated sugar mixed with ground cinnamon and ground allspice). They are delicious.

Ingredients

• 300g strong white bread flour 
• 50g light soft brown sugar 
• 1 egg - free range please
• 40g melted salted butter (cooled)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 7g dried yeast 
• Mincemeat - approx 1 large jar 
• Butter (soft) mixed with spiced sugar
• Warm water (blood heat) - approx 100-150ml ( all depends on the flour)

Method

• First mix the flour, sugar, salt, melted butter, and egg in a large bowl, with your hands until it is well mixed.
• Now mix the dried yeast and approx 100ml of the warm water into your mixture
• Mix this with your hands until you have a soft sticky dough ( add more water if needed), now knead for about 10 minutes on a floured surface until your dough is soft and elastic.
• Now leave in a covered bowl to prove and double in size, this may take several hours depending on the temperature of your room
• One doubled in size , gently stretch out into an approximate square approx 12" by 12"
• Spread your dough with the mincemeat , make sure you go all the way to the edges
• Roll up your dough in to a large sausage shape, cut into slices approx 1 1/2" thick
• Place in a baking tray, choose a container which will fit the slices snuggly. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for another 30 mins
• Pre heat your oven to 170c 
• When you are ready to bake your buns dot the top of each buns with the spicy  sugar butter 
• Bake until well risen and browned , checking your buns are baked through
• Leave to cool initially in the tin
• Then cool on a wire tray

Delicious and very very moreish, if you want snow on your buns sprinkle with icing sugar or alternatively drizzle with water icing. You could also play around with the spices you use in the spicy butter too.

Detail: Christmas Sticky Buns