Overnight sourdough waffles

I love these waffles.  

Blend together: 

100 g sourdough starter 
460 g buttermilk/kefir/yogurt/milk 
100 g melted butter 
250 g spelt flour 

let sit overnight or until lunchtime. 

stir in 1/2 tsp bicarb 

separate two eggs. beat yolks together and add to batter.  beat whites until firm and fold in. 

cook on waffle iron or griddle. 

Starter maintenance simplified

This starter maintenance guide  https://www.theperfectloaf.com/weekend-baking-schedule/ is revolutionary.  But hard to follow/find/keep track of. 

A simplified version follows:

Thursday afternoon:   take starter out of fridge to warm up.  

Thursday night: refresh: 30g starter; 100 g rye flour (or half rye; half plain) ; 100 g water

Friday morning: refresh 15 g starter; 100 g flour; 100g water

Friday evening: refresh 15 g starter; 100 g flour; 100g water 

Saturday morning: refresh 15 g starter; 100 g flour; 100g water 

Saturday night: put starter back in fridge - 10 g starter; 100 g flour; 80 g water 

Rich dough for brioche, buns etc

Over the years we've followed Dan Lepard and Andrew Whiteley religiously for sourdough, but my favourite results come from this blog: https://www.theperfectloaf.com   In particular, his guide for starter has transformed how I make sourdough. and his recipes - especially pizza and brioche dough are spectacular. But I find his recipes incredibly hard to follow - literally, the way they are written requires scrolling back and forth.  So, am going to write this recipe (and maybe others) out in a more usable form.

The original is here. Check it out for lush reading and pictures.

https://www.theperfectloaf.com/sourdough-cinnamon-rolls/

200 g starter
133 g milk
4 large eggs
48 g sugar

Blend in bowl of stand mixer with dough hook fitted.  Blend in:
477 g bread flour

Let rest for 10 minutes.

Add in small pieces:
191 g unsalted butter

Let rise in buttered bowl for about 2 hours.  Fold knead stretch 2-3 times during the rise.

Chill in bowl for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Roll out into rectangle onto floured silicone sheet.   Cover with toppings (cinnamon sugar, cardamom, chopped nuts).  Roll and slice or form into other shapes.

Let rise for 1-2 hours.

Bake: 40-50 mins 180C

optional: top with cream cheese glaze

Cranberry Sorbet

This makes a flavourful, slightly sweet sorbet.     We had it after a rich New Year meal.  But I forgot to take any pictures! 

4 cups (more or less) cranberries or 3 cups partridgeberries
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 cups cranberry juice

Put the first three ingredients in a medium size pot on medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook until berries are soft and some have popped/split. Puree or mash.  Put through a sieve.  Not too fine a one - it should keep back seeds and skins, but leave you with about 4 cups juice. 

Add:

2 tablespoons light corn syrup 
finely grated zest of one large orange or 2 limes 

Chill overnight. 

Process in ice cream machine as normal.  

Will be slightly soft; may need to go straight into the freezer.  

Junior Duke Leek and Potato Soup

Ingredients

3 fat leeks
1 small onion
4 large potatoes
1 tablespoon butter + 1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock.
generous grinding of fresh pepper
cream and/or full fat milk

Equipment needed:  vegetable peeler, knife, cooking pot, blender.

First wash the leeks -- make sure to get rid of all the dirt.

Then trim off the outside leaves, roots, and dark green leaves.

Slice the remaining leeks.

Peel and slice the onion.

Put leeks and onion into pot with butter and oil.  Put the heat on low.

Wash and peel the potatoes.

Chop the potatoes.

Add to pot.

Add stock.

Grind pepper in.

Cook until potatoes are soft.

Puree with a blender.

Add cream or milk to taste and enjoy!

Bread and Butter Pickles

One of my favourite pickles, and one of the first we made when we started pickle making.

500 grams pickling cucumbers, sliced into rings 

2 medium sized onions, sliced into rings

1/4 cup /50 grams salt

Put cucumbers, onions and salt into a bowl.  mix well.  Leave for 2-3 hours, with a weight on top.  Rinse and drain well.

Boil together:

2 cups / 500ml vinegar

1 2/3 cup/ 350grams  granulated sugar 

2 tablespoons white or yellow mustard seeds

2 tsp celery seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric 

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

Add drained cucumbers and onions.  Bring back to the boil. 

Spoon into warm sterilised jars.  Seal and store for 2-3 weeks before eating. 

Crunchy Granola

In the 70s, one of many reasons my family was considered weird was that we ate homemade 'Crunchy Granola'. I gather it's trendy again. Which is good, because I've discovered it tastes good too. 

Mix together in a large bowl:

2 cups rolled oats 

1 cup spelt flakes

1 cup barley flakes 

1/2-1 cup coconut flakes

1/4 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds

1/8 cup sesame seeds 

chopped or flaked nuts to taste/budget 

Mix in a measuring cup:  

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup honey 

Add honey and oil to large bowl and mix well.

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and spread out the mix out well. 

Bake at 170C for 20 minutes or until golden brown; stir once during cooking. 

Cool. Add raisins or other dried fruit (optional).  Enjoy.