So today I am bringing you a recipe that I was lucky enough to get from a friend that stay's in Germany. The amounts are estimates as her mother simply said you must be able to feel when the dough feels right. Being a chef and a passionate baker my self I understand what she means by that. It the same with me when I cook at home, I never use exact amounts of each ingredients. But rather add this or that till I feel that the taste and texture is at the correct level or desire. But too make it a bit easier for all of you, I have decided to make the amounts as accurate as possible so you don't have to guess.   
As for the pumpkin to use when making this fabulous bread is really up too you. I would use a sweeter pumpkin just to ensure that the flavour is properly carried through out the bread. You can also prepare the pumpkin two different ways. The first way is to simply boil it until it is soft and you are able to mash it into a smooth paste. The second way is to roast it in the oven. This method will make the end product a bit sweeter as the natural sugars will be caramelise while in the dry cooking method. (I prefer to roast it, not just because of the extra sweetness but also because the paste will not be as wet) Too spice up this bread, great spices to add is cinnamon, nutmeg or even cardamon. To make it more of a sweeter bread, you can add a it more brown treacle sugar and a hint of vanilla extract. 
So with out a further a due here is the recipe and method to make this tasty bread. Enjoy and don't be shy to share your pictures and results. 

Ingredients 

• 350 g of pumpkin
• 500ml milk
• 30g fresh bakers yeast 
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 200g butter
• 450g-500g white flour (depending on the wetness of your pumpkin puree)
• 1 tsp salt 
  

Method

1. Preheat your oven too 190C/374F after bulk proofing is done. 
2. Peel and deseed your pumpkin. If you choose to boil your pumpkin, use the milk to boil it in and once it is soft either use a hand blender or potato musher to break it down to a smooth texture. If you choose to roast it in the oven, place it in a baking tray and then cover with tin foil and place into the oven at 180C/356F till soft. Then place into the milk and blend until smooth. 
3. Allow the milk and pumpkin mixture to cool down before using.
4. Once the liquid to cooled down, you can start with your bread. 
5. Place all your dry ingredients into a bowl along with the yeast, then add in your milk and pumpkin (should not be cold but room temp) liquid and start to knead till you have formed a dough ball. If it's still sticky, add more flour till you have a smooth ball of dough. 
6. Now this is where the difficult part starts, add your butter now to the mixing bowl and start to work the butter into the dough. (this is quite messy and takes patience and constant kneading, at this point do not add any extra flour) Once all the butter is worked in and the dough is not sticky any more then your dough is ready for the bulk proofing. 
7. Bulk proof for 2 hours and after every hour degas your dough. 
8. Once the bulk proofing is done, shape your dough and place into you greased bread tin and allow to proof for another hour before placing into the pre-heated oven. 
9. Bake for 25-30 or until golden brown, remove and allow to cool down before cutting. 
10. Hope you enjoy it and make sure to share your photo's

So this is another one of my own inventions, and I had to bake about 8 breads before I got all my ingredient percentages right in order to get the desired consistency in my final product. All the Rye breads I've bought all seemed to be the same, they were all very heavy and dense. I personally don't like having rye bread like that, I would have preferred it to be a bit more aerated with a nice crisp crust. So I took it upon myself to make the kind of rye bread I would enjoy having. But lets first talk a bit about the main things that make rye flour different to that of normal white flour. The two main components which jump out to me is the flavour profile as well as the significantly lower gluten content. The flavour of rye flour is much more prominent than that of white flour, thus rye seeds are also used to make whisky, vodka and even beers. The significantly reduced amount of gluten has a huge effect on the elasticity of the dough, it doesn't allow stretching and instead breaks.  You will see when working with rye flour it resembles something more to that of a thick paste than dough. This makes it difficult to work with when your making your bread. Unlike when using white flour where the dough becomes stretched and strengthens when you knead it, rye flour simply does not strengthens at all. This causes a lot of people to add loads of white flour when they make their rye bread, which changes the ratios completely, meaning they won't get what the recipe intended at the end product. Making bread is a science, so when you make this recipe keep in mind not to add loads of white flour, simply combine all your ingredients as directed in the method and work it till everything is well incorporated. 

Another very important aspect to remember when baking bread and intending to increase the volume of bread is that you can't just simply double or triple all the ingredients. Each ingredient is given a percentage of the complete dough, and to ensure you get what the recipe intended you need to adhere to those percentages. If you just double or triple the ingredients, you will not have the correct consistency. This will leave you with a dough that is either over hydrated or under hydrated, and in return you will add more or less flour than what was intended. You will have noticed that in the final product your dough is very dense, is not well aerated or is even under baked because of this. 

I will be posting 2 pictures of examples where I increased the original recipe to 3.6kg. If you do not understand what I have done to get the new amounts simply leave a comment and I will be glad to help you out. I will discuss this topic at length on one of my other posts in the near future. In this recipe I've made use of a Poolish method (which is a loose preferment) to gain two different advantages from it, this being increased flavour and  gluten development. When you make a preferment, you allow for the yeast and the flour to create a more intense flavour profile. I have also used a small amount of whole wheat flour in the recipe, and made use of the little amount of gluten in there to create some sort of a stretch in the final dough, thus by using it in the preferment I'm allow it to form gluten. 
Note: The ingredients used in the Poolish method are not extra but instead are from the overall ingredients. Please don't use separate ingredient for the Poolish method.

Ingredients 
Overall amount 

• 300g Rye (75%)
• 100g W/w Flour (25%)
• 100g Rolled Oats (25%)
• 400g Water (100%)
• 12g Salt (3%)
• 40g Sugar (10%)
• 10g Dry Instant Yeast (2.5%)

Poolish Method (these amount are to be taken from the overall amount)

• 100g Rye (33.33%)
• 100g W/w Flour (100%)
• 100g Rolled Oats (100%)
• 300g Water (75%)
• 4g Yeast (40%)

Poolish Method 

1. Place the yeast into a medium to large container and add the 300g of water (the water should be between 34-42˚C) and allow to bloom for a minute.
   
2. Now add in your oats and two flours, mix well till totally incorporated and then allow to ferment for 12 hour or over night in a dark warm place. 

Method

1. Once your preferment is ready, place your salt and sugar in a mixing bowl first, then your flour and water, and then yeast ( never place the yeast straight onto the salt or sugar). 
2. Mix till most of the flour is incorporated and next add all of your preferment.
3.  If you're using a mixer, turn the speed up to medium and allow to mix for 2 minutes and then scrape down the sides and mix for another 3 minutes. 
4. If you kneading by hand, you will notice it is very sticky and does not come together like normal dough. Don't worry just continue kneading till all the ingredients are well incorporated ( this should take about 8-12 minutes).
5. Now place the dough into a air tight container or simply wrap with plastic and allow to bulk ferment for 1 hour in a dark warm place. 
6. After the hour has passed dust a bit of flour over the top and simply degas it by knocking it down in the bowl. Allow to ferment(proof) for another hour. 
7. In the mean time you can pre-heat your oven to 190˚C
   
8. Now that the bulk proofing is complete, remove your dough and place on a well floured station. Simply fold the dough onto itself once or twice and then form into a rectangle that will fit into you baking tin. 
9. Brush you baking tin with either butter or oil, and then place dough inside and allow to final proof for 45-60 minutes (remember to cover the dough with a lose plastic sheet).
10. Once final proofing is done drop 3 ice cubes in the bottom of your oven and place your bread in the oven. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. It should have a lovely dark golden top when complete. 
11. Remove and allow to cool down for 30 minutes. 

Enjoy with a bit of salted butter.  


Edited by: Monique Boaventura

Here it is, my rusks recipe I promised you earlier today. I'm going to give you two different variations today, one is a very popular flavour amongst South Africans and the other one is more of a personal preference. The first recipe is a Buttermilk Rusk recipe and the second one is a Walnut and Dried Fig recipe. If I were to have the buttermilk rusk I would go with coffee instead of tea and visa versa with the walnut and fig rusk. You can make these rusks look rustic just for you and your family or you could make them nice and edgy for a High Tea party on a Sunday Afternoon.   

Buttermilk Rusks:  (this is for a large batch, they are easily stored in an air tight container or glass jar.) 

Ingredients 

• 1.5 kg Plain White Flour
• 400g Sugar 
• 20g Honey
• 375g Soft Butter 
• 4 Large Eggs 
• 500ml Buttermilk
• 1 tsp Salt 
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract 
• 4 Lavender Sprigs (If you would like, you could use this for a nice High Tea party as well) 

Method

1. Place the flour, sugar and salt into a mixing bowl and then add the butter, start to rub the butter into the dry ingredients till it resembles sand.
2. Mix all your wet ingredients together and give it a good whisk so everything is well mixed together (if you're using lavender, place butter milk and lavender into a pot and place onto medium heat. Once it starts to simmer remove from heat and allow to infuse for 20 minutes. Once 20 minutes have passed strain butter milk and allow to cool before adding to the other ingredients). 
3. Now add your wet ingredients to the butter and flour mix and knead till you have a smooth dough.
4. Take a large shallow oven tray and grease well with butter ( should be about 3 cm deep).
5. Now take enough dough to fill the whole tray about 2 cm high, flatten with your hands so its even through out the whole tray. 
6. Now using a knife, cut rusks of 1 cm by 3 cm (or which ever size you prefer). 
7. Place into preheated oven of 180˚C/356˚F for 45 minutes or till golden brown.
   
8. Once ready and out of the oven, allow to cool,  then cut rusks again and place onto wire cooling racks. Place back into preheated oven of 100˚C/212˚F (or the lowest temp your oven can go) for  6 - 8 hours (over night if lower than 100˚C) 
   
9. The final product should be completely dried out and hard, perfect for soaking up some coffee or tea. 

Walnut and Dried Fig
Ingredients

• 1 kg Plain White Flour
• 375 g Soft Butter
• 250 g Walnuts (roughly chopped) 
• 200 g Dried Figs (roughly chopped) 
• 3 Large Eggs 
• 300 g Sugar 
• 50 g Honey
• 200 ml Buttermilk
• 200 ml Milk
• 1 tsp Salt 
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract 

Method 

1. Place the flour, sugar, walnuts and salt into a mixing bowl and then add the butter, start to rub the butter into the dry ingredients till it resembles sand.
   
2. Mix all your wet ingredients together as well as the figs and give it a good whisk so everything is well mixed together (allow for mix to stand for 5 minutes just so that the figs re hydrate a little bit). 
3. Now add your wet ingredients to the butter and flour mix and knead till you have a smooth dough (while you knead you might find that the walnuts and figs tend to fall out, don't worry about that just stick them right back in). 
4. Take a large shallow oven tray and grease well with butter (should be about 3 cm deep).
5. Take enough dough to fill the whole tray about 2 cm high, flatten with your hands so its even through out the whole tray. 
6. Now using a knife, cut rusks of 1 cm by 3 cm (or which ever size you prefer). 
7. Place into preheated oven of 180˚C/356˚F for 45 minutes, or till golden brown.
   
8. Once ready and out of the oven, allow to cool, then cut rusks again. Place onto wire cooling racks and place back into preheated oven of 100˚C/212˚F (or the lowest temp your oven can go) for  6 - 8 hours (over night if lower than 100˚C) 
   
9. The final product should be completely dried out and hard, perfect for soaking up some coffee or tea. 

Edited by: Monique Boaventura

This is similar to rusks, which is also a favourite accompaniment with a hot beverage like coffee or tea.  They are easy to make and you can make them a healthy snack if you a bit of a health conscious person. It's also easily stored, so making them in bulk and placing in big glass jars work great for adding something to your kitchen. 
There can be enjoyed fresh out of the oven or double bake to dry them out like rusks.

Ingredients 

• 420g flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 60 ml sugar
• 10g instant dry yeast
• 60g butter (soft)
• 1 egg
• 125 ml milk (1/2 cup)
• 80 ml water
• 10 ml aniseed 

Method 

1. This is a flaky pastry so you going to add al the dry ingredients and butter first and rub the butter into the dry ingredients. 
2. Once the mixture resembles that of sand add in your milk water and egg and combine to form a dough
3. Knead the dough till the surface is smooth like the inside of your lower arm. 
4. Allow to proof for 45 minutes (make sure it is covered and in a warm place.
5. After 45 minutes divide the dough into 30-40 g portions and shape into balls. 
6. Place the balls into greased bread tin and brush with egg mixture on top to give a shine finish,  allow to proof for another 45 minutes.
7. Once proofing is done place into 180C/356F preheated oven for 30 minutes till golden brown
8. If you wish to double bake them, break up the mosbollitjies and place onto large baking sheet and place into 100C oven for 4-5 hours or place into warming rack for 8-10 hours. 

Today I decided to bring you two different South African dishes and pairing them together. Vetkoek is a deep fried pastry which is enjoyed with several different types of fillings. Some of these fillings include savoury minced meat with peas, potatoes and carrots. You can also find this loved deep fried pastry at the street venders which pair it with "russian sausages", polony  and if you have a sweet tooth you can also get it with apricot jam and butter. And because this addictive pastry is so versatile I've chosen a slightly sweet but savoury filling to go with it. Bobotie is a base of minced meat, enriched by a sweet savoury curry flavour which is topped with a silky smooth egg and cream mixture. Some of the other key ingredients in this dish is the raisins, sultanas  and almonds. But enough about that, lets get to the important part, the recipe and how to make this wonderful dish. I will first be posting the Vetkoek recipe and then later today I will post the Bobotie recipe, so keep an eye out for that. For those who do not know what Vetkoek means, if roughly translated it means "Fat cake". I saw some one that translated it to meaning "fat cook", which is incorrect. 

 Ingredients 

• 1kg flour
• 670g water
• 50g yeast (fresh) 
• 10g oil
• 10g vinegar 
• 8g salt
• 8g sugar

Method

1. Place all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and bring together till you have a dough ball
2. Now start kneading the dough till you have a full gluton development (this should take 5-6 minutes in mixer at medium speed and about double that if doing by hand) The dough should be stretchy with out tearing. 
3. Now place dough into bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to bulk ferment(proof) for 2 hour, degassing at 1 hour intervals.
4. In the mean time heat up your deep frier or pot with thermometer to 170C/338F ( vegetable oil is perfect to use) 
5. Once hour has passed, portion the dough into 80-100g portions (depending on how big you would like to have your vetkoek) and then shape into balls or rectangle( which ever you prefer) 
6. Once proofing is done place portioned dough into hot oil and allow to fry till each side is a deep golden brown. If your oil is too hot you will not be able to cook the whole vetkoek all the way through. If this does happen simply preheat your oven to 180C and finish them off in the oven. If your oil is too cold your vetkoek will absorb a lot of oil and that won't be pleasant to eat. So make sure your oil is at the right temperature. 

So many people I know go crazy for a good Eggs Benedict. I've chosen to post a recipe today for the eggs Benedict, starting from the base to the topping! There are three different Benedict's, well at least three different traditional variations. Firstly there is the Eggs Benedict, which includes Gypsy Ham  with a two poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. Secondly there is the Eggs Royale, this is a more dressed up Benedict, it has smoked salmon in the place of the Gypsy Ham and also has the poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce. Then last but not least, we have the eggs Florentine, this Benedict is served with a spinach  base.
All of these different Benedict's are all traditionally served on a English muffin which is split in half and then place onto a pan or flat top with butter to crisp up.  But now days we get a lot more variations of this morning delight, some of the others I've heard of is using bacon or parma ham. One thing which I have noticed when I go to restaurants in South Africa is that the Chefs name there Benedict's incorrectly, I don't know if they do this for the people so that they know that its still a Benedict that they ordering or just out of ignorance. 

Ingredients for English Muffin

• 680g plain flour
• 360g water (40C/104F)
• 30g yeast (fresh)
• 50g egg
• 55g sugar
• 10g salt 
• 85g butter (soft)
• polenta and butter for pan frying 

Method

1. Mix 2/3 of the flour and all the other ingredients except for the butter together and allow to rise for 2 hours. (this mixture is known as a Barm: liquid mixture, which the English used.) 
2. Once time has pasted, add in the rest of the flour  and knead till smooth dough is formed.
3. Now you place in the butter and work it into the dough (this is a very messy procedure but do not add any extra flour, just keep working the dough till it is fully incorporated)
4. Now set aside and allow to proof for another hour
5. Once proofing is done, portion your dough into 60-80g portions and then roll into tight little balls. 
6. Now that you have finished rolling out all of the balls, take a ring mould(you can also place the ring mould straight into the pan while hot and skip a step) and sprinkle a little but of polenta on the base and then place the ball into the mould and flatten into the ring mould. (sprinkle some more polenta on top as well, do this with the rest of the balls.) 
7.  Place a pan onto a medium heat with a bit of butter and then place the shaped dough into the pan and cook for about 2-3 minutes( the bottom should be golden brown) on each side. 
8. Then there you have it, now just allow to cool down. 

Ingredients for Hollandaise

• 2 egg yolks 
• 250g butter 
• 5ml reduction ( 175ml white wine vinegar, 6 peppercorns, 1 bay leaf, 20g chopped onions) 
• pitch of cayenne pepper
• pitch of salt
  
• 2 tsp water 

Method 

1. Place butter into a pot and then place onto medium heat and allow to melt and for milk solids to drop down to the bottom. (when your butter stops to make noise and there is little to no foam, your butter is ready) Take off the heat and gently pour the clear liquid into another container, being careful not to get the milk solids from the bottom. 
2. Now place another pot onto the heat with the reduction ingredients and reduce down to 5ml.
3. You are going to need a bain marie as well as a mixing bowl which you can use over heat. ( to make a bain marie place a large pot with water 1/3 full and place onto heat, once starting to boil turn down to lowest heat. Your mixing bowl should be able to fit on top of pot.) 
4. Place egg yolks into mixing bowl with water and whisk well, then add in the reduction and place over bain marie (making sure that the bain marie is just producing stream and not at a rumbling boil, and having all of your ingredients within arms length) now you need to whisk the whole time till your egg yolks reach a pail white foamy texture (also known as a sabayon) 
5. Once your yolks are a sabayon, slowly start to add in your clarified butter at a steady stream whisking continuously (if your mixture becomes runny, take off the heat and place onto counter and continue to whisk till thickens again and then back onto heat) till all the butter has been added in. ( If you are struggling with the whisking, you can use a hand blender or electrical whisk) 
6. You can now add in your cayenne pepper and salt. For a different flavour profile add a bit of lemon to break through the fatty sauce and you can also add some mustard. Also make sure you place the finished sauce away from heat otherwise you have the risk of the sauce splitting. 

Now that you have all your required ingredients ready, you are now able to construct your very own home made Eggs Benedict and enjoy it in the comfort of your own home.   

Yesterday while I was out shopping with my dad and sister, my dad picked up a tray of chelsea buns which where totally over priced and way too small for my liking. So I suggested to him, that if he got the necessary ingredients it would be my pleasure to bake him some wonderful home made large chelsea buns. And as you can see here, he made the right choice and got chelsea buns for less than half the price, larger and most importantly freshly baked. I chose to have two different filling and just used what was available around the house. I hope you will try out this wonderful recipe and give me some feed back on what you would change or what you like or did not like about them. You can use the same dough to make dinner rolls, hotdog buns, and even a loaf of bread. This dough mixture is also known as a enriched dough as it has eggs, butter and sugar, which gives this bread a soft texture and a sweeter taste. 

Ingredients 

• 659g flour
• 303g warm water(should not be above 40C)
• 66g eggs
• 40g sugar
• 33g milk powder 
• 13g salt
• 33g fresh yeast (12.5g instant dry yeast) 
• 53g soft butter

Method

1. Place all ingredients except for the butter into a bowl and combine(knead) till you have a ball of dough.
   
2. Once you have a nice medium gluten dough ball add your soft butter and continue to knead till butter is fully incorporated. (you will be tempted to add more flour, but don't. Simply continue to knead and it will become back to normal dough texture. It is a difficult dough to make by hand, at least once you add the butter so if you do have a mixer you can let the mixer do the work.) 
3. Once your dough is ready, place into a large bowl and cover with plastic rap and allow to bulk ferment for 3 hours and at 1.5 hour intervals de-gass. 
4. After the 3 hours have pasted, roll out your dough about 0.5cm thick into a rectangular shape, and then place your topic of choice on. (you can roll the dough out in two batches as well. And remember to place flour on the surface you going to be using.)
5. You can start by spreading the butter across the surface of the rolled out dough and then sprinkle sugar ontop followed by cinnamon or chocolate chips or peanut butter and banana, the choices are endless. So play around and find your favourite. 
6. Once you have your toppings on, start to roll the dough up into a cylinder and then cut into 2.5-3cm high segments.
7. Place segments into baking tray which has been greased and has silicone or baking paper on the bottom. Remember to leaf space in between each bun for the rising process n the final proofing. 
8. Once all the buns are in the tray, allow to proof for one more hour before baking at 180C/356F for about 12-15 minutes or golden brown. (do not use thermo fan setting, turn the fan off.) 
9. Once your buns come out of the oven, you are going to glaze them, to make them look shine and yummy! So all you need to do is take 150ml of apricot jam and melt it in the microwave or on the stove top. Using a pastry brush, brush the jam onto your chelsea buns and then allow for them too cool down a bit. 
10. For the icing you drizzles over the top, you simply take 3/4 cup of icing sugar and add a little bit of water at a time mixing it till you have a nice thick paste which you then use to drizzle over the top.  (You can also add a little bit of lemon juice just to lighten it up a bit.) 

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do and hope everyone is having a wonderful Festive Season!  

Round two of my baking week, I've decided to replace the soft butter rolls with my very own creation. I call them cream cheese dinner rolls, as the cream cheese is the unique ingredient. 
Its a very simple recipe which don't need a lot of ingredients, but it does take quite a bit of elbow grease to get the dough to the right texture. 
The overall time from start to finish is about 3 hours. 

I then made dinner using the dinner rolls by making a rump and avocado slider! 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 2.5 tsp sugar
• 2.5 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp fresh yeast
• ¼ cup cream cheese (room temp)
• 1.5 cup milk (40C)
  

Method:

• Add all ingredients into a bowl, mixer or bread maker, if you kneading it by hand you are going to see that it is quite a sticky dough so make sure to use your palms. You can add a bit more flour while kneading but as little as possible. As you knead it and gluton is developed it will become less sticky, you will know its ready when you can make a thin enough layer of dough that you can see through. 
• Once the dough is ready, proof the dough for a hour in a warm dark place. 
• Once proofing is done, divide the dough into 60g portions. 
• Take each portion and flatten it into a circle and then fold it into the centre and going all the way around. Then cup your and roll it into a little ball, once nice and firm place onto greased baking sheet. Do this with all the portions and then dust with flour, cover and proof for another 30 minutes in a dark warm place(make sure you leave enough space between each to allow for doubling while proofing.)
•   10 minutes before bread is ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180 C and bake for 20-25 minutes till golden brown. 
• Place on cooling rack and allow to cool and then enjoy! 

The French Baguette was first made in Vienna during the Mid 19th Century. When a law in France was past which stated that bakers can't bake before 4 am in the morning, the French Baguette came to the rescue as it could be made and baked more rapidly than the French Boule. Before the law was past the French enjoyed the Boule for breakfast every day, but with the new law there was not enough time for the boule to be prepared and baked in time for breakfast. 

This past weekend I prepared and baked a traditional French Baguette (to be able to call any bread you make french it should only contain four basic ingredients which include flour, yeast, water and salt.) with had a pre-ferment which I had to prepare the night before. This is to develop a much stronger flavour in the bread (the french are known for there artisan bread baking skills, and using only the four basics they are able to produce several different bread. They achieve this by changing proofing times, kneading methods and quantities.) and it also provides better gluten development. The next day I was ready to make my bread, I did not use any fancy mixers or specialised equipment to make the bread. So there is no excuse for anyone not to try out this great recipe. 

Pre-Ferment Ingredients 

• 1/2 cup cool water
• 1.63g of fresh yeast
• 1 cup bread flour

Dough Ingredients 

• 8.5g of fresh yeast 
  
• 1 cup to 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water (depending on the moist contents of your flour. If your in a dry hot area use the larger amount, but if you in a humid or cold area use the smaller amount) 
  
• Pre-ferment 
  
• 3 1/2 cups Eureka Flour 
• 2 tsp salt 

Tip: If you can't fine fresh yeast on the shelves of your supermarket, go to the baking section and ask to speak with the baker. He'll be able to give you fresh yeast. You can also try your bakery. 

Method:

• For the Pre-ferment, simply mix all the ingredients in a deep dish and allow to rise over night. (To check if your yeast is still active dissolve a small piece in lukewarm water and a bit of sugar and allow to sit for 5 minutes. If nothing happens its not active.
• Now to make the dough you add all of your ingredients but not including your pre-ferment into a bowl (do not place the salt directly onto the yeast as that will kill the yeast) and mix till it comes together and then add in your pre-ferment. 
• Remove from the bowl with a plastic scraper or just use your hand and place it onto a lightly floured counter top. You will now need to knead you dough into shape (using your palms to knead and not your fingers) it will take between 5-7 minutes to knead. The final dough should have a smooth but firm texture once done, similar to that of your inner forearm. ( if you find that the dough is becoming to difficult to knead, just place it under a bowl and allow to relax for 2 minutes and then continue to knead.) 
• Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl and allow to rise for a total of three hours, lightly degassing and folding it over after 1 hour  and again after 2 hours.
• Once the three hours are have passed, divide into three equal portions and flattening into even ovals. Place onto lightly greased sheet pan and cover allowing to rise for 15 minutes.  
• Working with one piece at a time, fold the oval into half  and using the heel of your palm seal the seam by lightly pressing down on the seam. Using your thumb and starting from one side and working to the other fold the dough over your thumb and using your palms heel to seal the seam as you continue to fold over. 
• Once you have a tube shape of dough, with seam sides down use your hands to lightly roll out the dough to about 30cm. 
• Place onto a lightly greases sheet pan, leaving enough space between each once to leave space for the rising process which is one and a half hours. Don't forget to cover. 
• Half a hour before proofing is done, preheat your oven to 230C or 450F (place a sheet pan upside down into your oven or if you want to go to your nearest tile shop and ask for a clay or ceramic tile which has not been treated with anything. Soak the tile in water for 15 minutes and then place into you oven when preheating.) To get a nice crust place a oven proof bowl in the bottom of you oven filled with water.
• Now roll your baguette onto a "peel" or cutting board with the seam side down, using a very sharp knife, cut three vertical cut at about 5 degree angle on the baguette. 
•  Now slice the baguette into your oven 2 at a time or how ever many can fit. To make this process easier, place the baguettes onto silicon paper and just slice the paper onto the sheet pan or tile. 
• Just before you close the oven door, take 3-5 ice cubes and place on the bottom of you oven ( to protect your oven place the ice cubes in a oven proof bowl or pan, best is the pan) 
• Bake the bread for 25-30 minutes, for a dark crust leave in the oven for 5 more minutes turning off the oven and slightly opening the oven door. 
• Remove and cool on a cooling track. 

Enjoy and please post pictures of your Baguettes. 

 

Bread baking is one of those thing I tend to do when I want to just take a time out and relax a bit. Seeing how each bread grows as you go through all the different steps from weighing out all the ingredients to exact measurement, to the bulk proofing and then finally the part where you just take it out the oven and smell the sweet smell of home made quality bread. 


So as you can see, i've started my bread baking (French Baguette) early this week. Still to come is soft butter rolls, ciabatta, focaccia, and possibly chelsea/cinnamon buns. So keep an eye out for those recipes through out this next week and hope everyone had a great weekend. 

I use Eureka Flour, which is  local to South Africa and sources its wheat from Heidelberg as well as Swellensdam. The method of farming the wheat is by crop rotation, which allows for the soil to maintain its natural organic materials thus less fertiliser is required. This also promotes the presents of earth worms and also gives the soil a higher nitrogen level which keeps insects and weeds away. The nitrogen levels and organic materials also allows fro the wheat to posses a higher nutritional value. Commercial methods of wheat grinding requires 14 different steps which result in high temperatures, which damages and destroys. Where as the method that Eureka implements only requires 3 different steps and a very small amount of heat is produced during this process, preserving the vitamins and minerals. Which is stone milled and not bleached in any way! 

They have a wide range of  flour such as Plain Cake Flour to Rye Flour. To have a look at there range simply press the button below.