From the Sublime to the Sophisticated

One of the few things that I have lamented all these years of not having a Christmas Dinner, has been the absence of my Boxing Day treat – possibly one of my favourite meals of the year when I was younger. Now that I live in Scotland, Boxing Day is notable for its absence but …

Baguettes: Stage 2

(Baguettes: Stage 1) Well, that went far better than expected. I followed Richard’s shaping method and have to confess that making long thin bits of dough was never easier. It is something I have struggled with all my life – I was fond of making plaited breads in my youth but my “sausages” were always …

Baguettes: Stage 1

There is a fire in the hearth and Mr L  is in the front room, playing on his keyboard, so I am keeping him company and baking in the kitchen. I have fresh yeast in need of using, and my new copy of Dough and so… I am having a go at Baguettes. I have …

Rising dough, Ebbing Tide

On Monday, while the sour dough was rising, we did this: We took the dogs over to Backaskaill, where we found the beach was covered in Kelp, uprooted from the offshore kelp forests by the recent storms. Usually Backaskaill is a wide expanse of clear sand. There was plenty of detritus for the dogs to …

Sour Dough Spelt

I wibbled about baking the sourdough yesterday – by the time that it was almost ready to bake there was no way to fit in a meal that would enable us to try it fresh, so I popped the proving baskets into a very cold room and got them out first thing this morning. The …

Cracking on

Festive greetings, to those of you who might expect them. The planned early start for today did not quite happen but I am pleased to say that the sour dough loaves are in the oven. The milk for today’s Bread Sauce is infusing nicely too, and potatoes are poised for par-boiling. Perhaps I am not …