FAINA - FARINATA

There are a whole range of recipes which use a chick-pea batter - here's my recipe for socca, which is a thin pancake, done in a frying pan.

Faina, or farinata, if I've done my research properly, is a lot thicker, and baked in the oven.

The basic recipe is very simple:
100g chick-pea (gram) flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
300ml water
1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)

However, I love to tinker with recipes, and I wanted something spicy.

So I added a teaspoon of my homemade curry powder, a teaspoon of bouillon powder instead of salt, a teaspoon of Italian seasoning and a splash of mushroom sauce.

I whisked this to get rid of the lumps, and poured it into a 20cm cake tin ( actually, my silicon cake form).

This was baked in the oven for about 20 minutes at 220C.

It came out as a solid slab - and (apart from nibbling it constantly, for it was very tasty), I wasn't sure what to do with it. Eventually, I cut off  about a third which I sliced horizontally and fried lightly for a couple of minutes each side. I had this for dinner with a spicy tomato sauce with cannelloni beans (sort of baked beans) and some curried potato wedges.

I thought it was absolutely gorgeous, and it's one I shall do again. Whilst eating this, I realised that, cut into chunks and fried, it could well be used in a chilli non carne. In the event I made the chunks and added some to a veg curry I was making. This again was a lovely way to use up the faina - and I've still got some chunks left in the oven (which I'm nibbling on every time I go to the fridge!)

I could certainly see me using this in the same way I use seitan - and it's yet another alternative to soya chunks.

BREADMAKING AT TAUNTON ASSOCIATION FOR THE HOMELESS (TAH)

Wednesday 15th November 2017
Peter came today, for the first time, and made these cheese and sausage wraps. Both the cheese and the sausage were vegan - I've decided I don't want any meat or dairy in my cooking. 

They were judged 'very tasty'. Peter also made some fruit pikelets, which he generously shared with some of the other hostel residents.

Violife pizza cheese 

Wednesday 8th November 2017
Andy came for the first time today - and made bread rolls. A baker himself he needed no guidance from me. However, they didn't turn out as well as they could have done, since we used self-raising flour, which was all we had at the time. I promised we'd have strong bread flour for the next time Andy came.

Add caption

Wednesday 25th Oct 2017
Oh dear, I'm such a lazy sod - combine that with my gadfly-like impulses and nothing appears to happen. I haven't stopped teaching at the TAH, I've just been too idle to post about it. Which is a shame because we've made some great stuff. 

I'm going to get in now with a New Year's Resolution (is this the earliest?) to update this blog every Wednesday - when I've something to report.

In the meantime, I'll see if I can't find some pics of the breads my students have made - which deserve to be celebrated!

VEGAN INFO - AS IT COMES MY WAY

Almost every other day, new health research becomes available, more animal cruelty is exposed, or there's more evidence of the spread of veganism. So when I come across it, I'll post it here.

There's also global warming/climate change - the biggest challenge to our survival. Here are some facts about the effects of livestock raising from the film Cowspiracy.

The evidence is overwhelming - a vegan diet is better for our health, for animal welfare, and, most importantly for the planet. If you call yourself an environmentalist, going vegan is the most effective action you can take.

I have several friends who either have cancer or have family members with the disease, so I've gathered together some of the research on what can be done to fight this.

A whole food, plant-based diet and cancer.

Intermittent fasting and cancer.

Rollplay at Derwent Lower School

(Similar session with my daughter's year group at St Marks primary, Basingstoke)

This week I'm making bread with each of my 3 grandchildren's (9, 7 and 5) classes, starting with:

Monday 20th June. (Further down you'll find my report and pics from the other two sessions.)
First session today, with year 3 - otherwise known as 'Foxes'. 18 children including my granddaughter Olivia, who assisted me admirably.

We arranged the tables in a semi-circle, 2 to a table, one bowl to each pair.

We were making bread rolls, basically (any shape), to this recipe:
1 mug flour, quarter of a teaspoon of salt, 1/3rd mug of lukewarm water and one teaspoon of yeast .
After showing the youngsters how I mix and knead a dough, I demonstrated a few shapes of animals, and also some fancy dinner rolls - with the following results:

HUMANE KILLING? IT DOESN'T EXIST!

There are three reasons one should adopt a vegan, whole food, plant-based (WFPB) - lifestyle:
For the sake of your health - vegans live longer and healthier than other populations;
For the sake of our planet - raising livestock produces more greenhouse gases than all transportation combined; and,
For the sake of the animals.

The most immediate of these is, of course, Animal Welfare. Every day millions of innocent beings - earthlings, just like us - are being mutilated, tortured and murdered, for no good reason.

Have a look what happens (albeit heavily censored) in a slaughterhouse. Don't watch this if your intention is to eat meat regardless of the suffering caused!

Here's the view of a farmer's daughter:
"Dairy is an Everyday Dystopian Horror"

To my undying shame, for 64 years I was a full participant in this. I was an avid meat-eater - every meal had to have some meat with it. Any veggies were just an adjunct.

In 2001, at the height of the CJD (Mad Cow) scare, I decided to give up meat and become a vegetarian. Over the next 2 years, as I became aware of the horrors and animal abuse in the dairy industry, I gradually gave up all dairy. About that time there was a graphic film on the BBC showing how male chicks are simply discarded shortly after birth - by gassing, or simply being tossed into a grinder. So I gave up eating eggs.

WHY EGGS should be off the menu

10 medical reasons not to consume eggs. (Joel Kahn, MD)

Eggs vs Cigarettes in Atherosclerosis (Michael Greger, MD)

"...the head of USDA’s Poultry Research and Promotion program... “you can’t couch eggs [or] egg products as being ‘healthy’ or ‘nutritious.'”

(Who says eggs aren't healthy or safe? - Michael Greger, MD)

Smashing the myth that eggs are a health food (Jesse J. Jacoby, Plant Based News)

What's Wrong With Eggs? The Truth About The Egg Industry - (Erin Janus)

Free range is a con. There is no such thing as an ethical egg. (Chas Newkey-Burden - The Guardian)

So, to sum up: Eggs are unhealthy; egg production is inherently cruel; and is the cause of enormous pollution.

Egg replacement.

There are several alternatives for eggs - a quick online search brings up the main ones. But eggs are often unnecessary in recipes - for instance I never use eggs in my cake or bread recipes. And very good pancakes can be made without eggs or milk.

INTERMITTENT FASTING AND CANCER

One of the reasons I began intermittent fasting (IF) in February 2012 was evidence that fasting had some effect on cancer cells. It was the reference to prostate cancer cells being susceptible to fasting that provoked my initial interest!

The evidence suggested that, whilst fasting, the body’s cells go into repair mode – but invasive cells (cancers, tumours) are neglected and become easier to treat.

Since then evidence continues to accumulate that this is so – but in my experience, the research is disparate and scattered.

I wanted to bring any research that I have come across into one place; to which I can refer any friends and relatives who may know someone with cancer – unfortunately all too common an occurrence latterly, it seems to me.

VEGAN FOOD - BOTH PROCESSED AND HOMEMADE

I've been asked by several people - one of whom is intending to become vegan - just what is in my diet.

I eat a lot of whole food meals  - veg stews and the like - but I also have a fair number of processed vegan foods in my cupboards/fridge and freezer. So as well as listing everything I eat, I thought I'd take some pictures:

Cupboard...

...freezer...

...and fridge

[More to come]

SIMPLE SODA BREAD - IN THE FRYING PAN (VEGAN)

Plain soda bread

Ingredients:

1 mug or 200g self raising flour (Or: wholemeal flour and 2tsps baking powder)

1/4 tsp salt

1/3^rd mug or 125ml water

Method:

1. Put the frying pan on a low heat. Using a non-stick pan, you don't need any oil - but if you feel it may stick in your pan, add the bare minimum.

2. Place the flour (with baking powder if using) and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the water and begin mixing with a table knife or similar.

3.  This is known as a quick bread, so, working quickly, mix together into a soft dough, stirring and cutting through the dough as it forms, adding more flour or water as needed. Turn it out onto a floured worktop, firmly mould it into a round flat loaf, about 1cm thick and place it into the frying pan.  (With practice you can get the mixing and shaping done in less than two minutes.) Increase the heat to medium.

4. Put a kitchen timer on for 5 minutes, then check the colour underneath the bread - you're looking for a good, even colour. Turn the bread over and cook the other side. Once again, don't forget the timer.

5. When you're happy with it, put it to cool on a wire rack and – for a softer crust – wrap the bread in a tea cloth.

Fruit soda bread:

At step two, instead of the salt, add 1 dessertspoon of sugar, half a mug (100g) of dried fruit and a teaspoon of mixed spice. Then proceed as above.

Curried soda bread: 

At step two, along with the salt, add a teaspoon of curry powder.

Notes:

Here's how I made this frying pan bread in only 13 minutes!

And, my new record, bread made in a sandwich toaster in only 8 minutes!

Here's the recipe for this bread baked in an oven.

PANE CASERECCIO - Rolled stuffed pizza

(Some pics in this portfolio - about 12 photo's down.)

I vary the filling every time I make this - today I spread the dough with Pateole, a mushroom pate, covered that with pesto and added chunks of Fry's polony and Linda McCartney sausages plus slices of fried field mushroom. I sprinkled the whole lot with some nutritional yeast.


The dough was made with bouillon powder, half a teaspoon of curry powder, a teaspoon of dried herbs and half a jar of sun-dried tomatoes, chopped small. All this was added along with the flour. Plus I added 25g oil (from the s-d-tomatoes) after the liquid went in.

Ingredients (Makes two):    

400g (or 2 mugs) strong white flour                                                         

1/2 tsp salt                                                                  

1 rounded dessertspoon fresh yeast

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

Two dessertspoons olive oil (optional)

                                                                       

Filling:

2 medium tomatoes or 8 mushrooms or a combination of these, cut into chunks

1 or 2 chopped vegan sausage
Chunks of vegan cheese - Violife pizza cheese works well
2/3 dessertspoons nutritional yeast, sprinkled over the filling
Black pepper

Method:

1. Measure the water and stir in the fresh yeast. Place the flour and salt into a mixing bowl, pour in the yeast liquid, then 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). Begin to mix by stirring  the ingredients together with a knife, cutting through the dough as it forms. When it gets too stiff for the knife, use your hand to squeeze the mixture together. As it forms into a solid mass, keep turning it over and pressing it down to pick up the flour at the bottom of the bowl – but make sure it stays soft. Don’t be afraid to add more water to keep it soft! 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. If the dough is too sticky, instead of putting extra flour on your worktop, place some in the bowl, put the dough back in and turn it round to coat it all over. That way you keep the flour under control and you won’t be tempted to add too much. Knead until the dough becomes smooth – and then stop before you get fed up!

4. Divide the dough into two pieces and form them into cob shapes. Then, using flour to stop the dough sticking, roll them both out into a rectangle, roughly 30cm by 20cm. Work with each one, alternately. Spread the mushrooms/tomatoes and sausage across the dough, leaving a border at the top and bottom, then sprinkle the nutritional yeast over the filling. Finish with black pepper.

5. Roll up the dough towards you, as if making a Swiss roll, bring it to rest on the seam and squeeze the dough gently around the filling. Push any filling that’s fallen out back inside, then tuck the ends over to stop the cheese leaking out.

6. Place on a prepared baking sheet and leave to prove until they’ve risen appreciably.

7. Bake at 200C, 400F or gas mark 6 for between 20-25 minutes. If they are beginning to colour too fast, cover with baking parchment or foil and move to the coolest part of the oven. To check they are done, look for some colour underneath.

Variations:

Curried onions and vegan cheese. Fry some onions with curry powder. Spread across the base then add the cheese on top.

Roasted peppers, mushrooms, courgettes, onions and vegan cheese.

(Note: This is a version of a recipe I first saw Antonio Carluccio demonstrate on TV more than a dozen years ago. )

SPREADING THE VEGAN MESSAGE

Saturday 22nd July
There is so much information out there about the benefits of a WFPB diet, it's hard to keep up. A lot of it comes from my Twitter feed, some from the websites I've subscribed to, and a lot of it I come across by searching for it.

Often I hear of someone with a health problem and I wonder if a plant based diet would help - so I search online, e.g.. vegan diet and diabetes (say) - and I find there are a plethora of articles on the subject.

[More]




19th June 2017

Over the walking weekend, I expressed the view that if I had come across some info I thought would be useful to others, I should share it - to which there was general agreement. You don’t have to click on the links I send, after all.

So, here’s a TED talk with a refreshing take on a plant based diet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAkEYcmCCCk

Another TED talk by Dr John McDougall, a physician who sees his patients get better - with just a lifestyle change:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5wfMNNr3ak

In response to last week’s email I’ve had a couple of requests for links to advice on specific  conditions - namely diabetes and prostate cancer.

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-not-to-die-from-diabetes/

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-not-to-die-from-cancer/

Check out the links below the videos - and have a look at the comments sections, there is an amazing community of helpful individuals on there answering each and every question.

Along with Drs McDougall and Greger extolling the benefits of a plant based diet - here’s Dr Neal Barnard:

http://thekindlife.com/blog/2013/06/dr-neal-barnard-pcrm-preventing-cancer-with-a-vegan-plant-based-diet/

And another great, science based website:

https://www.drcarney.com/blog/entry/protect-your-prostate-from-cancer

The general consensus seems to be that a high IGF-1 level contributes significantly to the growth of cancer and a WFPB diet helps to keep this low.  But don’t forget, Intermittent  Fasting is  also effective in this regard. 

Cheers, Paul

This is a follow-up to the email I sent out prior to the last weekend - which was hugely enjoyable, as it always is. I come away from these get-togethers hugely uplifted, and I can’t wait until the next one.

Thanks to those of you who came to my presentation. (Hope nobody missed my breadmaking too much! 😄) For all those who missed it, the feedback I got was very positive and people found the information it contained very relevant.

I hope by now you’ve managed to see the video I linked to - I sent it out very close to the weekend, so there wouldn’t have been time for you to watch it all, I’m guessing.

There were 3 parts to my presentation: 

The message contained in both the ‘How not to die’ video and the book with the same title. (BTW, Keith Walker was so impressed by the video that he printed off 2 copies of 14 pages of the transcript! And I was so impressed by the book that I have bought 3 copies - 1 for myself and one each for my kids). The message can be summed up in a very few sentences - human beings make our own cholesterol, so the cholesterol contained in meat and animal products finds its way into our arteries and blood vessels, attacking the lining and allowing plaque to build up. The plaque eventually closes off the arteries and heart disease results. However, the good news is that damage to the arterial system can be reversed:

http://dresselstyn.com/JFP_06307_Article1.pdf

This is what Dr Greger calls the best kept secret in medicine - as soon as you stop damaging the body, it starts to repair itself!So if you switch over to a plant-based diet, the body starts to clear away the plaque from inside the blood vessels. Immediately!

Part 2:

Given the age of our demographic, I thought it important to concentrate as well on Alzheimer’s - probably the disease we most fear. One of Dr Greger’s videos on his Nutrition Facts website concerns reversing mild cognitive decline by 30 minutes of brisk exercise a day:

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/reversing-cognitive-decline/

That’s one side of the fight against dementia - the other is a plant-based diet. This is because the blood vessels in the brain are affected just as the coronary arteries are - so the blood supply to the brain is diminished. Exercise sends the blood pumping through the brain, clearing the arteries to the brain allows the blood to flow freely. 

Part 3:

Intermittent Fasting (IF). One of the reasons a whole food plant based (WFPB) diet is so healthy is that it lowers IGF-1, which causes cancer. IF also lowers IGF-1, so the two work hand in hand. IF also put the body under mild stress, so the cells rejuvenate themselves. I lost 24lbs over 8 months when I began IFing, and I’ve maintained a steady 9st 3 for the past over 4 years. Now I simply fast for 24 hours once a week.

Here’s my story:

http://nobreadisanisland.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/eat-less-live-longer.html

So there you have it, folks. But, I urge you, don’t just take my word for it, do your own research. I think both a WFPB diet and IF are firmly grounded in science, but if you can come up with contrary evidence, I’d love to see it.

2nd June 2017
I'm a member of an informal discussion group, meeting monthly. Whoever hosts decides the topic to be discussed.

Yesterday we met at mine - and I chose veganism, with an emphasis on health, but necessarily touching on animal welfare and global warming.

Over the last few weeks, I've been sending them links and references on the subject, including the film Cowspiracy.

I began the session intending to show them the first 10 minutes of Michael Greger's 'How not to die' video. I thought I'd better cut it short when Michael Greger had finished with the subject of halting and reversing CAD, but the group wanted to carry on watching. We watched a further 10 minutes, on the subject of cancer, then we had a discussion on what we'd seen and heard. They were very receptive, much to my surprise. I was helped by one of the group who had been reading my copy of 'How not to die', and several times read pertinent passages from it. He made a particular point of telling the group that the science was sound - there were 135 pages of references at the end of the book.

After an hour or so, I gave them coffee, plus a selection of about a dozen vegan goodies which I'd prepared - Fry's polony; 2 types of hard cheese (including Vegusto); cream cheese; homemade pizza and breadsticks; my Thai chilli non carne; nutritional yeast; seitan; Mrs Crimble's stem ginger cake; Booja Booja chocolate ice cream; and some dark chocolate. My message was that you don't have to be deprived on a vegan diet.

Then we had a further half an hour of discussion - I was asked to relate my own story, so I told them how and why I became vegan, including the positive effects this had on my own health - and we wrapped it up.

Outcomes:
One of the group took us all by surprise by saying that he intended to give a vegan diet a go for a fortnight! He very much related to my story of how my sinuses had dried up after giving up dairy - he not only had a constant nasal drip, but he had asthma as well. So we'll see how well he does.
The friend who'd borrowed my copy of the book, and another friend were concerned that their main stumbling block would be how their wives would react. I said that if they bought some vegan goodies, the mere fact that they were in the house would make it easier to begin the process of transitioning. Something I'm working on myself.
Another member of the group emailed me to say, "Brilliant morning. Lots to consider now for a life change." After the discussion, he'd confided in me that he hadn't been looking forward to the morning, expecting simply a boring chat about veganism!

So, 4 out of 5 ain't bad! It's certainly the best reaction to my spreading the  word that I've had in 14 years!

SUMMER FRUIT PIZZA (vegan)

I've made this a couple of times, and it's absolutely gorgeous! I'll get the recipe and pics up on here ASAP.

Just wanted to put up a link for my students.

2 smaller ones made with 1 mug flour

Basically, the base is a simple pizza dough, using sugar rather than salt. It's then rolled out flat, with a thin layer of marzipan and a topping of frozen summer fruits. A sprinkling of sugar and cinnamon finishes it off.

BREADMAKING MADE EASY - AT BURNHAM SS&L CENTRE

Tuesday 4th July 2017
5th week - jam doughnuts and tarts/pizza and calzone today (It was supposed to be mushroom en croute - but I forgot the mushrooms! We made a calzone with mushroom pate and pesto instead.)

Marion's 'Fun with Jam' shaped and put to prove

Vivien's. Doughnuts, jam tart and sweet Bialys

John's

Nic's

Lynne's

Jackie's

John's pizza with nutritional yeast and vegan mozzarella

(More to come - I took 31 pics today, thanks to John giving me a nudge now and then. )



Tuesday 27th June 2017
I've been running this course for several weeks now, with every intention of posting about it - and now I've managed to get round to it.

6 students have been attending for the past four weeks - with 2 to go - and, so far, these complete beginners have made 13 different varieties of bread:

A College loaf - tear and share. Not sure who's this is.

John's College loaf 

For the college loaves, half of the students made a wholemeal dough, while the other half made a dough from white flour - then they swapped half each.

I think these are Viv's pain au chocoat - I know she made 8! :)

Jackie and Nic's college loaves, naan breads, pittas and pain au chocolat

More incognito bread! - Naan, pittas and pain au chocolat

I always ask students to identify their bread with an initial - but it's often an afterthought and sometimes overlooked, both of which are my fault. The initial does two things, it enables students to be reunited with their own bread, and it allows me to identify who has made which batch.

Lynne's naans and pittas

Marion's pittas, naan and pain au chocolat

Jackie and Nic's  chocolate and banana bread and garlic 'batons' - slightly nibbled!

As you've noticed, some of the breads are darker than others - partly this is to do with the ovens, but occasionally, the bread gets forgotten about, and becomes a bit singed!

The students also made a batch of 'high-hydration' dough to take home with them - this is a method of getting more water into a bread dough. You make the dough stickier than usual, then give it several 10-20 second kneadings over an hour or two. Each time you re-visit the dough it's slightly less sticky than before.

During the shaping demos, Vivien showed us how to do a 5-strand plait:

I took a video of Viv doing this - if I can upload it, I will.

Since yesterday's session I've received a couple of emails:

Jackie wrote:

Hi Paul 

When we got home the bread was pushing its way out of the container !! and wow when we cooked it was lovely so pleased , Nic took his loaf to Cornwall this evening to share with his Mum n Dad.

I loved the result and so easy thanks so much 

And Lynne wrote:

Dear Paul,

It made delicious toast for my husband and I this morning and I feel very pleased with my efforts. The garlic batons were to die for. Probably my favourite so far. I had eaten 1 before I drove home yesterday and managed to share the other with my hubby over a pasta supper dish. 

Absolutely splendid, is my verdict!

Since this course is all about gaining the skills to make bread at home, it's good to see the results from the student's own kitchens!

BREADMAKING MADE EASY Wellington 25/5/17

Mon 6th June 2017
Last session today - here's the group with some of their bread. Over the past 6 weeks together they made around 18 varieties of bread.

Naans, pitta, marzipan and apple tartlets (with dates as an alternative) and a college, tear and share loaf to finish with.

Here's a pic that Dave sent me after missing the last session. He made a small chocolate and banana loaf and turned the other half of the dough into Chelsea buns.

Tuesday 23rd May 2017
Stuffed mushrooms, chocolate and banana bread and loaves. We didn't bake the loaves in the session, instead the students took the dough home and baked it there. Here's a pic that Wendy sent me of her loaf:

Cottage loaf with cuts

And Elaine sent me this:

A tinned loaf

Tuesday 16th May 2017
Fun with jam, sizzlers and Peshwari naan

PAIN AU CHOCOLAT - ON-LINE

Saturday 15th January 2011
This coming Saturday morning I want to conduct an experiment. I want to see if we can get a group of people all making bread at the same time. Beginners and families especially welcome.

I thought 'petit pain au chocolat' because, a) they’re fun to make, and, b) because they’re one of the easiest, most satisfying things you can make. (And because they come with a free French lesson!)

Starting at 10am, I’ll be measuring and mixing the dough, shaping the rolls and putting them to prove. I’ll log each step on here, and put pics on my blog.

This recipe will make 8-10 chocolate rolls.

Here’s the recipe I’ll be following:

200g strong white flour (although you can use plain flour if that’s all you’ve got)

1 dessertspoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon yeast (either fresh or dried active yeast)

125ml lukewarm water

8-16 pieces of eating chocolate – any sort you like - depending on how much chocolate you intend to use in each roll

1 teaspoon sugar for a glaze

I’ll endeavour to include every piece of information about the ingredients and the process I can think of, including variations, calorie content, etc, and answer any questions you may have.

When you’ve been making bread for a while, some of the process becomes automatic, so I really have to think about every step of the way from a beginner’s perspective. Don’t hesitate to ask about anything I haven’t fully explained.

Flour:

For this sort of bread I generally use all white flour. However, you can use 50:50 wholemeal and white (you can use all wholemeal, but this makes for a heavy bread not really suited (IMO) for a pain au chocolat.) Own-brand is fine - the last time I checked Lidl's was cheapest at 75p and Sainsbury's at 95p.

Sugar:

Granulated is absolutely fine. There’s no advantage to be gained by using caster sugar. You could use other types, but I doubt you’d tell the difference.

Yeast:

I generally use fresh - currently 20p for 50g at Sainsbury's (or available from small bakeries - where they make bread on the premises), but I always have a tin of dried active yeast in the fridge (keeps better in there) in case I run out. Available from small bakeries or the bakery counter in large supermarkets, often. Dried active yeast is made by Allinson's and comes in a yellow tin by the flour shelves in supermarkets - currently 64p. It literally keeps for years - in the fridge once opened.

As a general rule, use half as much dried yeast as you would fresh. However, for small amounts such as we’re using, a teaspoon of either will suffice.

Dried active yeast (almost a teaspoon)

Fresh yeast (purchased on 9/12/10 - kept in the fridge in a plastic bag)

Yeast (like bacteria!) needs warmth, moisture, food – and time. Given these four things, it will thrive.

Water:

Needs to be approximately blood heat (hand hot, or lukewarm). One third boiling water to two-thirds cold water will give you the right temperature for yeast every time. But always dip your fingers in the water to check.

Chocolate:

Good quality eating chocolate is better for this bread – although you can use cooking chocolate if you have some you want to use up.

Shopping list:

1 bag strong bread flour (white) 

Yeast - fresh if you can find it, but pop a tin of dried active yeast in your basket, anyway. Then you always have it in.

Chocolate. Your favourite sort. 
Granulated sugar.

Equipment:

Scales, measuring jug, baking tray, baking parchment (a roll of this lasts for years, since each piece is reusable until it falls apart), cooling rack, pastry brush.

I think that's it for now. I'm sure someone will remind me if I've forgotten anything.

If anyone would like to forgo all this and just make them now - the full recipe is to be found here.

See you Saturday!

It’s up to you how much chocolate you use – a small piece or two pieces joined together. The pieces at the top are from a 100g 70% chocolate bar with only 10 pieces, one of them divided in two.

For a video of the method and techniques we're using - up to dividing the dough, have a look at this 'Sizzler' recipe on YouTube. (However, don't forget, in this recipe we're using sugar and not salt.)

Once the dough is made, it is divided into 8 pieces:

Divided into two...

...and eventually into 8. The larger piece is a quarter of the dough (or 2 eighths) to show you how big the rolls will grow when they've doubled in size. As you can see, I've put various amounts of chocolate on top of the lumps of dough.

Top left I've got 1 whole piece of a large square of chocolate, divided in two and placed one on top of the other.  The one at the bottom is half of one of those pieces as is the one to its right. the rest are either 1 or 2 pieces of an ordinary bar of dark chocolate.

Here I am squidging and pinching the dough together round the chocolate.

Carefully seal any gap, pinching the dough together quite tightly.

Turn the dough over and, using your cupped hand, gently roll it round to smooth it into a pleasing shape. 

When turned over with the seam underneath, the weight of the dough helps keep the seam intact

As you can see, I'm not all that bothered about them all being the same size. The three with the little knobs on are filled with dairy-free chocolate (mine, in other words!). I've put them on used baking parchment to rise (prove), to show that this paper will go in an out of the oven many times before it falls apart. Leave them on your worktop, covered with a tea towel to keep out any draughts. Check them every 15-20 minutes to see if they've risen.

Now they have begun to show a definite rise - the gap between the rolls is a lot less and the dough has smoothed out - it's time to put the oven on. Don't worry about a time limit - this is the time for patience; the bread will rise on your worktop.

Fresh from the oven - and chocolate has escaped from just the one!

Brushed with sugar glaze - this just finishes them off.

Place them on a cooling rack. These rolls are at their best as soon as  they're cool enough to eat. Cut in half they cool quicker. Use either a pair of scissors or a good bread knife  - but don't press down too hard on new bread; let the knife do the work!

Now is the time to sit back, enjoy your pain au chocolat and plan what bread you're going to make next!

Saturday morning - I posted these messages on both the BBC Food board, and the Wildfood board:

At 1004 I posted this:

Okey, dokey, here we go!

Weighed 200g flour and added a dessertspoon of sugar.

Measured 125ml (or grams) of lukewarm water

Stirred in a teaspoon of dried active yeast.

But if you've got fresh yeast, use that instead.

Added to mixing bowl.

Begun to mix together.


At 1020 I posted this:


As I was mixing I had to take a phone call. Picked the phone up with my hand in a plastic bag.

Back to work...

Mix was a bit dry, so I added a bit more water - you're looking for a soft, squishy dough.

Always good to have a little water to hand when mixing.

Kneaded the dough - just flattening and folding - for about 20 kneading actions, by which time the dough had become smooth and all the little bits had disappeared (that's all you're looking for).

Now about to divide the dough into 8, and break the chocolate up into squares.


And at 1037 I posted this on both threads:


All done, now. 

The rolls are proving on the worktop, covered with a tea towel

It was a bit fiddly, since I made the dough a little too sticky.

I found myself using a table knife to lift up each piece of dough off the worktop.

And I forgot to distinguish the two rolls I'd filled with chilli chocolate! 

Anybody out there?

Any questions, any time.


So far I've had one response - from Suffolk, who's taking notes ATM.

At 11.19 I posted:

Bread showing definite signs of rising - just put the oven on at 220C

At 11.36 I posted:

The oven's now up to temperature, but, looking at the rolls I decided they hadn't risen enough.

Once the oven is on I feel an obligation to get them in there as soon as I can.

So, to give them a lift, I decided to give them a blast of heat.

I put them in the oven for 1 minute only, then took them out again.

I'll check them again in 5 minutes, by which time they may well be ready to bake.

At 11.46 I posted:

That's done the trick - in the oven and the timer set for 8 minutes.

They'll need turning round at that time, and need probably another 4 minutes baking.


At 11.52 I posted:


Now's the time to put the kettle on for a cup of tea or coffee with your fresh pain au chocolat - and to make the sugar glaze.

Warm the jug, place one teaspoon of sugar and 2 teaspoons of boiling water in there - whisk for a minute or two, then you're ready.

Leave the rolls on the baking parchment while you glaze them - it's easier to wipe the paper than it is to wipe the cooling rack later on!


At 12.30 (by which time they'd been out about 20 minutes) I posted:


Well, they're out, glazed - and one of them has mysteriously disappeared!

I'll put a pic up of the remaining 7 shortly.

They're not as brown as I'd like - and that's because, using the small top oven, the shelf was down the bottom.

When I checked after 8 minutes, the tops were still very pale. I put the shelf as high as it would go and turned off the bottom element.

After another 5 minutes, the rolls were done, but still not very brown on top, as you'll see.

(I should have said I distinguished what I thought was the chilli chocolate ones with a snip from a pair of scissors.)

Just heard from my wife that I failed miserably in identifying the chilli ones - she's just had one and she hates chilli!

Not as good looking as the last lot - but not bad for all that!

At around 12.15, Sara posted this message on the BBC food board:
Hi Paul. Just taken mine out of the oven and glazed them - they look delish! About to tuck in - Sara and Phil



And a little while later, she posted again:
They were really yummy - we demolished the whole lot!


Which was rather nice!


On the Sunday I heard from LeCreusetFiend:
Just to say I made these this afternoon, and very well they went down too with a nice cup of tea!

Tatihou offered this on Saturday:
I started later than I planned but they are now lurking under a tea-towel, proofing peacefully. The kitchen's a bit cold this afternoon so might take a bit longer than yours.


And came back on Monday to say:
Those I made on Saturday rose well, looked lovely when they were glazed... and didn't last long.


However, one poster didn't fare so well:
To my shame and embarrassment they were an absolute disaster - took hours to rise even a teensy bit and ended up rock hard little stones that smelt like a brewery. I am going to blame the yeast, which was the right sort but had been in the back of a cupboard for several months, and get a new tin and try again next Sunday morning...........