I’m baking – what are your lockdown hobbies?

Making a wet batter initially is called the “sponge batter” method and is used by professional bakers. And as yeast is in short supply, you certainly do not need as much as a tablespoon of dried yeast for 500g of flour. Here is my recipe which I make most weeks, but you can adjust the proportions according to your needs, flour availability and whether you are using a bread maker, stand mixer with dough hook or you are prepared to kneed by hand to get some exercise. If you are making bread for the first time, use half quantities until you learn the techniques for baking larger batches.

INGREDIENTS – enough for two large loaves or 30 rolls.

450 g (1 lb) + 900 g (2lb) of strong bread flour
1 tablespoon or 2 packets (14g) easy-blend “instant” dried yeast
850 ml (30 fl oz) cold water
5 g (1 teaspoon) + 15g (1 tablespoon) sugar
10g (1 dessertspoon) salt
100ml (4 fl oz) olive oil (or substitute corn, peanut, rapeseed or melted butter)

METHOD

We will be using what is known as the sponge batter method, used by professional bakers. This is a good way for new cooks to learn about the important steps in handling yeast – a living organism. Initially, we create a light flour/yeast mixture with just a bit of sugar (which yeast feeds on) and no added salt (which kills yeast). Particularly when using dried yeast, we need to be careful to wake it gently, keep it warm but not hot, and give is easily digestible food. Once the yeast has recovered from its deep sleep, we can start to add all the ingredients that make a workable and tasty bread dough.

1. Mix 450g of flour with the easy-blend yeast in a large bowl.
2. Warm the water in a microwave on high power for 1-2 minutes until just warm to the touch (no more than 35°C – 95°F).

Note that a common mistake with yeast breadmaking is to overheat the ingredients, which kills the yeast.

3. Dissolve 5g of sugar in the warm water and mix the 450g flour/yeast with the water in a large bowl. This should give you a sloppy, pancake-like batter.
4. Leave this to ferment and bubble up until the bowl is nearly full.

If, for any reason, your mix has shown little activity after 30 minutes, the yeast is stale and you will need to start over with fresh ingredients. This rarely happens, but one of the reasons professional bakers prefer this method over “all-in-one” bread recipes is so they don’t waste their time, all their flour and expensive fats making a “dud” batch of dough.

5. Now thoroughly mix in the additional 15 g of sugar, 10 g of salt and the oil.
6. Separate the batter equally into two large bowls and divide the remaining 900 g of flour between the them.
7. Mix each bowl until all the flour is absorbed and then kneed thoroughly for 5 minutes in a kitchen machine or 10 minutes by hand, until you obtain a smooth elastic dough.
8. A small piece of dough rubbed between the fingers should form a small ball with the texture of an ear lobe, soft and not too sticky. If too wet, mix in a tablespoon or two of flour. If stiff and dry, add a tablespoon or two of water. Note is it is impossible to give exact quantities for flour and water, because each flour grade and brand varies in absorbency.
9. Leave the dough in the bowls to “prove”, covered with a damp tea towel, cling film or plastic bag. It should double in size.

It is not necessary to place the bowls in a warm place unless you are in a hurry. The dough can even be left to rise in a refrigerator overnight.

10. Once the dough has risen, knock all the air out with your fists and kneed lightly to form a smooth ball.
11. Oil the bread tins or trays you will be using to bake the bread. You will have enough dough for two 2 lb sandwich loaf tins, with some over to make a small round loaf, some rolls or add to your next batch of bread (max. 3 days in fridge). You will need 800 g (28 oz) of dough for each sandwich loaf tin and about 75 g (2 1/2 oz) for rolls.

12. Lightly oil your hands and shape each piece of dough into a sausage or round and arrange in the tin.
I prefer to use oil, rather than flour as many recipes suggest, since there is no risk of getting lumps of flour in the mix or spreading it over the kitchen. At this stage, you can also knead in chopped ginger, garlic, olives, berries, nuts, seeds or herbs. Experiment with the leftover dough until you find a taste and the proportions that you like.

13. Cover the tins with damp tea towels, cling film or plastic bags and leave in a warm place to rise. Once the dough has doubled in size, it is ready to bake.

14. Heat the oven to 180°C / 360°F. Remove the covers from the tins, sprinkle the dough lightly with water and place in the oven. Increase the temperature to 210°C / 410°F. The rising temperature and steam produced helps the bread to rise before the crust forms.

15. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the bottom of the bread sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from the oven when done.

16. Let the bread cool for 5 minutes and then turn out onto racks to cool fully, lightly covered with tea towels or kitchen paper.

17. When cold, the bread can be bagged and frozen, although the amount of oil used will keep the bread fresh for several days. It also makes lovely, crunchy toast or croutons.

Crunchy Oatmeal Biscuits

Ingredients

250 g softened butter
250 g caster sugar
1 egg
150 g plain flour
100 g ground almonds
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (or baking powder)
1/2 tsp salt
50 g rolled oats
50 g granola or similar cereal

You can substitute addition flour for ground almonds, or chopped nuts for granola as availability dictates.

1) Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in the egg.

2) Sift flour, bicarbonate, salt over mixture and fold in. Add other ingredients.

3) Roll into a sausage about 3 cm diameter in greaseproof paper or clingfilm. Refrigerate until firm.

4) Preheat over to 190°C / 375°F. Line a baking tray with non-stick paper, of butter and flour.

5) Cut 1 cm slices off roll and place rounds well spaced out on tray. Flatten each round with bottom of a glass to about 5 cm diameter. Sandwich between non-stick paper if mix sticks to glass.

6) Bake for 10-12 minutes and transfer to a rack to cool.

You can freeze dough at step 3) to bake in smaller batches.

This interactive map has just been launched to help you source flour locally in larger commercial packs.

http://www.nabim.org.uk/consumers/where-can-i-buy-flour/

I decided to do some home baking, I could find all the ingredients on my local supermarket shelf except one which was caster sugar using granulated is no substitute because this is coarser and caster is refined. It adds more texture to the cake mix in the mixing bowl, granulated is more gritty and more sweeter. Going to several shops is not an ideal situation as its not advisable just for one bag of caster sugar, in the meantime I will have to use granulated but use less in the mixing bowl until stocks are replenished !