DUMPLINGS - MADE WITH JUST FLOUR AND WATER

There are several dishes that can be made with just self-raising flour and water - and here are the ones I've posted so far.

Finally, I've got around to adding dumplings to this list - and, once again, they are simple to make, cheap - and surprisingly good!

Today, I had a rich vegetable sauce simmering on the stove, and I thought it's time I made the effort!

So I took a heaped dessertspoonful of self-raising flour, added a pinch of salt, 2 or 3 dessertspoons of water, and mixed it into a dough. This I kneaded for a couple of seconds, formed it into a ball and dropped it into the hot, bubbling sauce.

It had been in the sauce a minute or two before I took the pic, and it had already grown a little

Six or seven minutes later, I looked at it again.

Doubled in size

After about 10 more minutes I turned it over in the sauce - and left it for a further 20 minutes. Then I took it out and, with difficulty because it was very soft, sliced it in half...

It was light and fluffy - everything you'd want from a dumpling!

I should have made more - in the end, to bulk out the dumpling I tore pieces off a quarter of a soda bread I'd made earlier, and simmered them in the sauce.

Next time I do that, I'll make sure I add sufficient water, because the soda bread soaked up all the liquid - and my lovely sauce was nearly burnt!

I don't think these dumplings require measurements - but for those of you who don't agree with me, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 mug or 200g self raising flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/3^rd mug or 125ml water

Method:

1. You'll need a stew of some kind to cook these in! :)

2. Place the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl, add the water and begin mixing with a table knife or similar.

3. Mix together into a soft dough, stirring and cutting through the dough as it forms, adding more flour or water as needed. 

4. Keep the dough as soft as possible - even a little sticky, since they're going into a liquid, after all.

5. Divide the dough into 8 or 10 or 12 pieces - depending on how big you want them - and form into balls a bit smaller than the size of a golf ball - then place these gently into your stew.

6. Make sure there is enough liquid in your stew to carry the dumplings. Turn them over after about 6-7 minutes. They'll be ready about 20 minutes after going into the stew.

Notes:

Ring the changes with these - make them with half and half white and wholemeal flour. If you don't have self-raising wholemeal flour, add a teaspoon of baking powder at the rate of 1 teaspoon to 100g of flour.

Add herbs and spices to the flour to pep them up a bit.

I posted this recipe on Mumsnet, and AmberLeaf responded:

"You should try Jamaican dumplings, plain flour and water, sometimes cornmeal [fine] 50/50 with the plain flour."

BREAD IN 8 MINUTES - USING A GEORGE FOREMAN GRILL

Wednesday 10th Feb 2016

Wholemeal flatbread

I'd run out of wholemeal - but, rather than make a loaf as I usually do I thought I'd make a batch of rolls. I wanted some to give to a friend of mine who was always searching out vegan things for me to eat. At the same time, I thought I'd use the sandwich grill idea to make some yeast-risen bread for my lunch.

So I made the dough, kneaded it, and weighed off 200g. This I rolled out to the size of the grill and placed it on there with the heat on - just for a minute to help with the rising. I didn't put the lid down at this stage. I left it for about 30 minutes before putting the grill on to warm up. After a couple of minutes I put the bread in for 4 minutes - and the above pic is the result, half of which I had for lunch. Very acceptable.

The rest of the dough I made into a dozen rolls, placed them on a baking sheet and covered them with an upturned roasting tin. These were to be baked using the undercover, or 'cloche' method.

18th January 2016

Fruit soda bread

I'd been meaning to try this out for a while - so when my wife wanted something to eat with her afternoon coffee, I swung into action:

Switch on the grill.

Measure ingredients:
50g s/r flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 tsp mixed spice
50g sultanas
30+g water

Mix into a dough, turn out on worktop, knead for about 5 seconds, flatten out into a disc about 15cm across, place in grill.

This took about 3-4 minutes. Put timer on for 3 minutes.

After 3 minutes turn over for one further minute.

Serve!

This method would also work for other flatbreads. I could imagine knocking out 4 naan breads in about 20 minutes, for instance.

Cost:
Flour - 1.5p
Sugar - 1p?
Spice - 1p?
Sultanas - 8p

Total - say 12p

OVEN TOPPED BREAD (In 13 minutes!)

When you can't afford to put the oven on, or you only have a hob and a frying pan, all these breads can be made on the top of the oven.

Ready in 13 minutes!

Soda bread

Peshwari naan

Spicy fruit naan (a variation on the above)

Pierogis

Parathas

Pancakes

Crepe suzette

Pikelets

Dumplings

Tempura

Panzerotto

Soda bread calzone

Socca omelette

What can I make with just flour and water

SPELT SODA BREADS - PLAIN AND FOCACCIA

(Here's a yeast-risen spelt loaf)

These are two soda breads made with wheat - and a fair amount of olive oil

Ingredients:

400g spelt flour

1/2 tsp salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

250ml water
Good glug olive oil (optional)

Method:

1.     Since the baking powder – which contains the raising agents – begins working as soon as it comes into contact with the water, it is essential to have everything ready before mixing the dough. So, heat the oven to 220C, 425F, gas mark 7 and either grease your baking sheet or line it with baking parchment.

2.     Place the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl, add the baking powder and stir the dry ingredients to mix them evenly. When the oven is hot, add the liquid and begin mixing with a palette knife or similar.

3.     Mix together into a soft dough, adding more flour or water as needed. Turn it out onto a floured worktop, firmly mould it into a round flat loaf, about 3cm thick and place it on your prepared baking sheet. (With practice you can get the mixing and shaping done in less than two minutes.) To allow the heat of the oven to reach the centre of the dough more easily, cut a deep cross into the top of the loaf with a sharp knife.

4.     Bake in the centre of the oven for 25-30 minutes,

5.     The loaf is ready when it has a good colour underneath and a skewer comes out clean. You may need to put it back in, upside down, for a few more minutes. Place to cool on a wire rack and – for a softer crust – wrap the bread in a tea cloth.

Variation:

Fruit soda bread:

At step two, instead of the salt, add 2 dessertspoons of sugar, a mug (200g) of dried fruit and 2 teaspoons of mixed spice.

Soda bread focaccia with oatmeal and rosemary

Here's Penny, on one of my workshops, just adding olive oil to her rosemary focaccia (yeast-risen)

Ingredients:

300g spelt flour

100g fine or medium oatmeal

1/2 tsp salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

250ml water

3 tablespoons olive oil

Plus:

Olive oil to drizzle

Sprigs of fresh rosemary - or 2 teaspoons of dried

Method:

1.     Pre-heat oven to 220C, 425F, gas mark 7 and prepare your baking sheet – either grease it or line it with bakingparchment. (The baking sheet should have a lip so that the olive oil won't spill everywhere!)

2.     Place the flour, oatmeal and salt into a large mixing bowl, add the baking powderand stir the dry ingredients to mix them evenly. When the oven is hot, add the water and oil, and begin mixing with a palette knife or similar.

3.     Mix together into a soft dough, adding more flour or water as needed. Turn it out onto a floured worktop, mould it into a cob shape, roll it out into a large circle, about 2cm thick and place it on your prepared baking sheet. (With practice you can get the mixing and shaping done in less than two minutes.) 

4.    Press your fingertips into the dough, making large indentations. Press sprigs of rosemary into the holes and drizzle oil all over the dough. Or: Drizzle the oil and sprinkle the dried rosemary all over

Follow steps 4-5 in the above recipe.

ONLINE BREADMAKING COURSE - SODA BREAD

(I was motivated to write this on-line breadmaking course after I had to postpone a planned 2-day workshop(s) in  Castle Cary, in Sept/Oct 2014. The course has been re-scheduled for the last two Sundays in November 2014.

To fill the gap, and to partly make it up to the students I felt I had let down somewhat, I thought I would give the students the opportunity to begin breadmaking before the course.)

The first bread I planned to make in the first session was a plain soda bread loaf.

An all wholemeal loaf, cost; roughly 35p, ready in around 30 minutes. Method and pics below. 

These are two loaves made by the children in my Family Learning session at Halcon Primary School, Taunton back in May this year.

The first was made by Charlotte - and this one by Laura. The initials ensure that everyone can identify their own bread!

PIZZA WITH A LID? FILLED ROLL? PANZAROTTO? HUMMUS SANDWICH? YOU DECIDE! (Vegan)

Lunch today - in the absence of any bread - was:

Filled with hummus, tomatoes and mushrooms - with nutritional yeast

Ingredients:
50g wholemeal flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 stock cube

Mixed together briefly

Plus:
33g water
10g sunflower oil from a jar of roasted peppers

And:
Hummus, fried tomatoes and mushrooms, nutritional yeast

Before starting, place a lightly oiled frying pan over a medium heat.

Mix the flour, seasoning, water and oil into a soft dough and divide in two. Using plenty of flour, roll out both pieces out into circles about 15cm across and place one in the frying pan.

Spread this with hummus and add slices of fried mushroom and tomato, then sprinkle with nutritional yeast. 

Cover with the second circle of dough and set a timer for 4 minutes.

When the first side is cooked, carefully turn over the bread and cook the other side for a further 5 minutes.

Not so carefully turned over!

This took me about 20 minutes to make and was simply delicious. When I'd finished it, I could have eaten another one!

I'll certainly be making it again.