BREADMAKING WORKSHOP AT BURNHAM on SEA 14/11/15

This is where I shall post all about the workshop - my planning, the letter to the students, how the session went and any pics I (or the students) take.

12/11/2015
After the letter went out I had a call from the centre telling me there was another student enquiring about the course. This student ran a pub and made all his own bread - not only that he was a trained chef! He was wondering if I had anything I could add to his repertoire.

After a short conversation on the phone, after I told him we could make several breads that weren't initially on the programme, he said he'd like to come along.

Here's the programme I've designed, just for him. (Now I'm really looking forward to the workshop!)

Dear student

Here’s my suggested alternative programme for you for Saturday – hope it meets with your approval!

1. Italian soda bread (soda bread focaccia)

2. As the rest of the group

3. Apfel kuchen (German apple cake) and Schiacciatta con l’uva (Italian fruit loaf) with a demo of hot cross buns

4. Ciabatta

5. Pane casereccio (stuffed rolled pizza)

As to the extra ingredients:

The focaccia needs olive oil and rosemary - dried is fine

The  apfel kuchen needs an apple – a decent sized eater will suffice – cinnamon and sugar

The  schiacciatta just needs a good handful of seedless grapes

The ciabatta just needs olive oil

The stuffed pizza needs 100g cubed Cheddar, chopped mushrooms and cherry tomatoes

Given your experience, as far as possible, I'll let you get on with it (with the recipes, of course!), while I look after the beginners in the class. IMO, you're going to be a real asset to the group - I'm sure you'll be a great inspiration.

If there’s a variety of bread you’d like to have a go at instead of the ones suggested, don’t hesitate to get back to me.

Regards, Paul

09/11/2015 Here's the letter that goes out to the students:

Breadmaking made easy workshop, Burnham, 14/11/15

Dear Student,

(This should be read in conjunction with the Course Information Sheet - you should already have a copy of this. The list of ingredients and equipment is a little different, so please have a look at that.)

This letter sets out what I intend will happen during the day and includes a list of items which you will need in the session. If you are new to breadmaking, let me reassure you that it is much easier than you may have been led to believe. It is indeed, ‘easy peasy’! Oh, and it’s also a lot of fun, as you’ll find out!

The session will begin in a relaxed fashion – the first thing you need to do is to find somewhere to park all your stuff, get yourself a drink and a chair to sit on round the tables in the middle. There is some necessary paperwork to fill in (bring a pen if possible), but it won’t take long and I’ll guide you through it.

Before we start breadmaking I’d like to spend some time finding a little about each other, and what you expect to get out of the day’s session so that I can better meet all your expectations.

We’ll be eating lunch around 12.30-1.00, and everyone will make their own.

Here’s the programme for the workshop as it stands:

1.     Soda breads – choice of plain or spicy fruit loaf

2.     Fancy dinner rolls or shapes+bread wraps (lunch)

3.     Fruit dough for hot cross buns and Chelsea buns

4.     Focaccia

5.     Cheese and tomato pizza

If there is time we could also make some petit pain au chocolat – depends how everything goes on the day.

I have a blog, which I call “No bread is an island”, in which I write about – among other things – my teaching practice. On there I have started a post, “Breadmaking Workshop at Burnham”, which will contain all (most) of what you need to know about the course:

http://nobreadisanisland.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/breadmaking-workshop-141115.html

There’s not a lot on it, yet, but here’s a post about a breadmaking workshop at High Ham village hall, which will give you an idea about how the workshop will go:

http://nobreadisanisland.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/breadmaking-made-easy-workshop-at-high.html

I have several aims for this course, one of which is that everyone should enjoy her or himself! Another is that everyone will make good bread. I’ll bring along tea and coffee at 20p a mug. You may want to bring your own mug

I'm sorry if this all sounds a bit daunting. Please let me assure you that it will all fall into place quite easily. If you have any suggestions, (or concerns) at all, please don't hesitate to contact me, I'm always very happy to talk to my students about bread.

Finally, can I draw your attention to the word ‘Companion’? The ‘com’ part means together – as in community – and the ‘pan’ part of the word means bread. So ‘Companions’ are people who make bread together! Which is what we shall be doing this Saturday!

Best regards,

Paul Youd (Course Tutor)

Shopping list:

(I’ve simplified this a bit from the list in the course information sheet.)

1 bag (1.5kg) strong white flour

50g fresh yeast if you can find it – I’ll have some with me if not

10g baking powder

Salt

100g granulated sugar

Sesame/poppy seeds

200g dried fruit

Mixed spice

250ml olive oil

100g cheese (for pizza and lunch)

2 tomatoes

2 mushrooms

Tomato topping for the pizza – tomato puree is the easiest to transport. Or make up your own topping

Dried herbs

Small bar of your favourite chocolate 

You will also need to bring:

Apron

Several tea towels, both to cover your dough whilst it's proving and to wrap any warm bread in to take home.

Baking paper or parchment (stops the bread sticking to the oven trays)

Something to carry away the finished products (a large basket or cardboard box lined with tea towels would be ideal)

Mug for hot drinks

You can also bring the following items – but they’re not essential:

Kitchen timer (if you have one)

Set of measuring spoons

Any favourite cooking utensil – sharp knife/scissors are always useful

Easy and cheap - Sausage rolls with wholegrain mustard

(makes 12  parcels)

Ingredients:

400g (or 2 mugs) strong white flour

1/2 tsp salt

250ml (or 2/3rds mug) lukewarm water

1 rounded teaspoon fresh yeast

Splash of olive oil (optional)

Plus:

6 vegan sausages (Linda Mac's or Fry's)
Wholegrain mustard

Method:

1. Place the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Measure the water and stir in the fresh yeast. Pour in the yeast liquid and add the olive oil if using. 

2. Have a little water to hand to add if necessary. Remember, it is better for your dough to be wetter (slack) rather than drier (tight). Holding the bowl with one hand begin to mix by stirring the ingredients together with your fingers. Check how the dough feels as you mix – it should stay soft and squidgy – and add more flour or water as needed. When all the flour has been mixed in, wipe the bowl around with the dough, turn it out onto the worktop and begin to knead. 

3. Knead by flattening the dough out, folding it over and flattening it again. Knead until the dough becomes smooth – and then stop before you get fed up!

4. When you are ready to proceed, take the dough out of the mixing bowl and place it on your worktop. This time, don't 'knock the dough back'! Just divide the dough into 12 pieces. 

5. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and each sausage in two. Flatten a piece of dough down with the heel of your hand into an oval shape. Turn it over to loosen it from the worktop and place a smear of mustard along the middle, then place the halved sausage over the mustard. Form a parcel by bringing the ends of the oval over each end of the sausage. Now bring the top and bottom of the oval over to meet each other. Pinch these two sides together and roll the parcel gently between the palms of your hands. Place on a lined oven tray with the join underneath. 

6. Cover and leave to prove until they have grown appreciably in size. Bake at 220C, 425F or gas mark 7, for about 15 minutes.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SOURDOUGH: STARTER; SPONGE - AND LOAF

Sourdough May 2013

Sourdough Starter:

Mix 100g of warm water and 100g of flour* in a jar with a loose lid. Keep, covered, on your worktop.

*My grandchildren and I have proved to my satisfaction that a starter can be made from pretty much any flour. However, organic wholemeal is my preference - and the inclusion of rye flour is always good.

Feed the Starter (every 24 or 48 hours): 

First feeding - simply add 100g each, flour and water and mix in. 
Second and subsequent feedings - remove half (known as the discard)* and then add another 100g of flour and water. Within three or four days (it can take longer, a week or more, and it can happen more quickly) you should start getting lots of bubbles throughout, and a pleasant sour or beery smell. The starter may start to puff up, too. This is good. Here's the gist: When your starter develops a bubbly froth, it is done. You have succeeded. If this sounds brain-dead simple, that's because it is. 

*What to do with the 'discard'.

Refrigerate the Starter:

Keep the starter in your fridge, with a lid on it. Allow a little breathing space in the lid. 

Once the starter is chilled, it needs to be fed only once a week. 

Hooch.  Aside from weekly feeding, the only other thing you need to worry about is hooch. Hooch is a layer of watery liquid (often dark) that contains alchohol. It smells a bit like beer, because it is a bit like beer - but don't drink it! Hooch builds up in your starter, especially in the fridge. Just stir it back in. It doesn't hurt anything. 

(The following has been contributed by my friend Dennis, who's really taken to the sourdough method. Thanks, Dennis!)

The sponge and loaf:
The following recipe I’ve tweaked from Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Every Day.  We want fresh bread at lunch time, so this is what I do most days.

1.  First thing in the morning refresh starter, leave on side.

2.  After a couple of hours - mix 100gs active starter, 250gs of bread flour (white, brown, whatever) and 275gs water.  Cover, leave on the side.

3. At some time in the evening, add about 1 tbs of oil, olive, rapeseed, whatever, stir in, add 300g bread flour and about 5g of fine salt and mix together.

4.  Turn the dough out onto an oiled surface, knead with oiled hands, form into a ball.  Place in a lightly oiled bowl ensuring dough has oil all over it.  If you cover with a plastic bag it shouldn’t stick, leave on the side overnight..

5.  First thing the following morning, knock back, fold and shape.  Prove in a proving basket or oiled loaf tin, cover, let it rise for 1.5 to 3 hours.  Mine usually takes about 2 hours.

6.  Heat oven to 250C if possible.  Preheat a baking tray if you have one, dust it with flour, place loaf on it - bake for 15 minutes, turn oven down to 200C for about 30 minutes but do check, some ovens run hotter.

Notes.

‘Precision’ is not my middle name.  If, pouring the 100gms starter into the bowl, 120gms goes in, I just carry on, once it was 150.  I adopt the same approach to everything else.

At 4 above, you can tip dough onto oiled surface, tidy it into a mound and place an upturned bowl over it.  Leave for 30 to 60 minutes (depending what I’m watching) then knead as long as you can/want with oiled hands.

Also, at 5 above when I tip out, I do a baker’s fold - Paul will explain - cover with bowl upside down and leave for ten minutes, carry on with shaping etc.

We want bread for sandwiches so most of the time I make a tin loaf.  In that case the dough is shaped in an oiled and floured tin, which goes into the hot oven.  That makes it easy.

To shape in a basket, put the dough in with the fold on top in order to tip out onto a floured hot baking tray and into the oven.

You can change the timings to suit yourself; make the sponge one evening, in the morning turn into dough, cover, leave on the side all day, shape later and bake.

The process for sourdough is starter; sponge; dough; baked bread.  Once I refreshed a starter around 4pm, made sponge around 6pm and into a dough about 9pm and baked the following morning.  The experts wouldn’t approve but it made edible bread.

Unfortunately you can’t rush the final prove.

I use basic sunflower oil for lining bowl, tins and kneading. For the dough mix I tend to use a better olive oil.

A no knead method works - after the dough stage, roughly tidy it up to put in a tin and leave overnight, covered in the fridge.  Following morning, heat oven and when up to temperature put tin in the oven.

Recently I was away for three weeks and my fridge starter refreshed as normal.

Any bread left over is sliced and put in the freezer though sourdough keeps better than yeast breads, I think.

Above all, enjoy yourselves.  Dennis 

Here's one of my forays into sourdough.

PLAIN NAAN BREAD

Ingredients:
200g strong white flour
1/4 tsp salt
50g creamed coconut (grated)
25g black onion seeds
125ml yeast liquid, including 1 tsp fresh yeast
Sesame seeds for sprinkling
Splash of olive oil (optional)

Method:
1. Place the yeast in a measuring jug, add lukewarm water up to 125ml and stir to dissolve.

2. Measure the dry ingredients (including the coconut) and place them in a large mixing bowl with the yeast liquid and oil if using. Have a little water to hand to add if necessary, remember, it is better for your dough to be wetter (slack) rather than drier (tight). Begin to mix by stirring the ingredients together with a table knife. When it gets too stiff for the knife, use one hand to turn the bowl round, whilst the other hand begins to squeeze the mixture together. Make sure the dough stays soft - don’t be afraid to add more water. When all the flour has been mixed in, wipe the bowl around with the dough, turn it out onto the worktop and begin to knead.

3. Knead by stretching the dough out, folding it over, stretching it out and so on and so forth. Do this until it is smooth – but stop before you get fed up!

4. Roll out the dough into a large square. Place it on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment, brush with water and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Leave to double in thickness.

5. Bake at 220C, 425F or gas mark 7 for 10-15 minutes. Check after 7-8 minutes. Turn it over if necessary to ensure the bottom is coloured enough.

Or:
4. Divide into 4 pieces and roll out quite thinly. Place on grill pan and leave to rise appreciably. Brush with oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds before grilling. Keep a close eye on them when grilling because they can swell up and begin to burn if you’re not careful. Turn over after 2 or 3 minutes, brushing them with oil once more.

Notes:
I like the idea of a table naan with everyone tearing off a piece. With individual naans, I don’t bother with a teardrop shape – that comes from sticking the dough to the inside of a tandoori oven, which we don’t have.