E5 BAKEHOUSE // BREAD MAKING COURSE

On one of the hottest days of the year, I was taken along to a one day bread making course in London Fields, situated in three disused railway arches under the overground railway. The course was at the E5 BAKEHOUSE who have been going since 2011. The course had been given to me as a birthday gift back in April.

Will (the guy above taking the bagels out of the oven) was our tutor for the day and took us through the whole process of working with sourdough. From making a leaven, starter, kneading dough, to some fantastic tips of how to bake a good loaf at home without a proper 'bread' oven.  

There were ten of us on the course, some local and some who'd travelled from further field. After a cup of coffee and some delicious fruit buns, we were set up with our aprons and team mates ready for the four breads we were to make.

Hackney Wild (just prepped the dough, so could be baked at home)
Sourdough Bagels
Rye
Ciabatta

There are two kitchens at the back of E5 Bakehouse, so that whilst the courses take place the actual bakery can continue with creating the never ending supply of delicious loaves. 
Half way through the day we were given a quick tour of the main working kitchen. WOW the speed in which these guys work is impressive! See the quick little video below that I managed to capture on my phone (hope the video works ok). We were all in awe of the speed and preciseness of the bakers. 

We were then taken to the third and most recent arch, that holds the grain store. This is newest addition to the bakery and is currently a working progress. The plan is to mill 'heritage' gains and create their own batches of flours. 
It was fascinating to hear how the old 'heritage' grains have nearly but all disappeared due to preference of fast growing but less nutritious wheats. Their aim is to source the small growers of these more nutritious wheat growers which are notoriously harder to grow. 

After our insightful tour we went back to our kitchen where a delicious lunch of salads, soups and breads had been set out for us.

At the end of the day Ben and I walked out with 7 loaves, 2 prepped doughs and 8 bagels!  good thing we took a couple of massive sacks with us to carry it all home in.
Fortunately we'd previously contacted a few local friends to pop over that evening to try out our creations!

You probably noted that we also took home two balls of proving dough, to bake at home. You'd think that these wouldn't have come out as well as the loaves cooked in the professional bread ovens.. well you guessed wrong! Will, gave us one of the best tips ever for creating a superb loaf (if not better than in a professional bakers oven) and that is to bake the loaf in a large Le Creuset casserole dish. The trick is to heat the empty casserole dish and lid in the oven, until the oven is up too temp (Depending on the loaf and oven, we did it at 220c) Once up to temp carefully take the dish out of the oven and place the proving dough into the dish replacing the lid.
By baking the bread inside the dish, means the outside crust won't dry out and will keep in the moisture and allow the loaf to rise more than if it was baked directly in the oven.

I can't recommend the course enough and look forward to creating a new leaven for my very on sourdough soon! All in all a superb birthday present which I shall enjoy again and again.

E5 Bakehouse

395, Mentmore Terrace, London E8 3PH, United Kingdom

Breakfast, brunch or lunch.

7am until around 7pm every day of the week.

Serving lunch between 12 and 3pm.

www.e5bakehouse.com

AUBERGINE PESTO & FETA ROLLS

This recipe is taken out of one of my many 'healthy' cookbooks - Honestly Healthy. It is a fantastic recipe and a perfect starter that is really tasty, full of flavour yet doesn't fill you up, allowing you to enjoy the main course. One of my favourite starters!

RECIPE
*Adapted recipe from 'The Honestly Healthy Cookbook' by Nathasha Corret & Vicki Edgson

2 Aubergines

Olive oil

60g Pine nuts

10g Flat leaf parsley *feel free to add a bit of basil or mint if you have it

1 Large garlic clove

50g feta
A handful of rocket leaves
Wedge of lime
Freshly ground pepper
Sea salt

METHOD

1. First make the pesto by blending the pine nuts, garlic, parsley and 2 tbsp olive oil (*you may find you need to pour in a bit more to get it moving in the food processor) in a food processor, until it looks like a rough paste, add more oil if needed. Add some seasoning.
2. Slice the aubergines lengthways into slices of about 5mm thickness. Try not to make them too thin though otherwise the rolls will just fall apart. 
3. Drizzle with oil and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180'c for 15minutes or until soft and tender. This will ensure that they melt in your mouth!
4. Heat a heavy rigged griddle pan and score the aubergine slices on both sides.
5. Spread the pesto down the centre of the aubergine slices, top with crumbled feta and roll carefully before securing with cocktail sticks. 
6. Serve the rolls on a bed of rocket leaves and drizzle with a bit oil and a squeeze of lime juice.

MINT PEA HOUMOUS // SAFFRON CHICKEN SALAD

I grew up understanding the importance of a Sunday Lunch. It wasn't the fact you were having a roast dinner, but the fact it was the one day in the week where the family would all sit together to eat. It is so easy to get wrapped up in day to day life, hectic schedules and social media that the 'here and now' seems insignificant. However the 'here and now' is all we have. Sit, take your time and eat rather rushing to consume food before hitting the next task. But the most important part is that you end up talking to one another.

Last week I made a simple Sunday lunch for Ben and his parents. The sun has been out in full force recently and rather than cooking a hot heavy rich roast dinner I thought a light summer zesty menu would fit the bill a lot better.

MINT PEA HOUMOUS
This was a last minute addition to the menu. I only decided to do this an hour before the Pickett's arrived. It's definitely an adapted recipe as I had to work with what was in the fridge and there was no fresh broad beans! Fortunately we already had a lovely fresh loaf of sourdough.

RECIPE 

*Adapted recipe from "Incredible smashed peas & broad beans on toast " Jamie oliver

450g Frozen peas, defrosted and drained.

1/2 Red onion, finely chopped

1 Garlic clove, peeled and crushed.

1 small bunch of fresh mint leaves

Juice of 1 lime

115g yogurt

50g Finely grated parmesan plus extra for serving

2 tbsp Extra virgin Oil *Highly recommend reasonably priced Sainsbury's Kalamata Extra Virgin Oil PDO £5.50

Freshly ground pepper and salt.

4 Slices of Sourdough bread, toasted & halved.

METHOD

1. Put the peas, onion, garlic, mint, lime juice, grated parmesan, yogurt olive oil and seasoning into a blender and whizz up. *I got a little carried away with the blender and think in retrospect that it would've been better to have it slightly courser with perhaps a few peas smashed by hand and then mixed through.
2. Chill the houmous in the fridge for a bit before serving.
3. Toast the sourdough and put a dollop of the houmous on the toast. With a peeler, peel a slither of parmesan place on top and fishing with a drizzle of olive oil, lime juice, fresh pepper and a mint leaf.

 

SAFFRON CHICKEN SALAD

I have recently got myself Ottolenghi's PLENTY recipe book. Now that I'm slowly gathering a library full of cookbooks I am made a decision to try to use recipes from the books I already have,  however I did get this recipe from his other cookbook 'jerusalem' which I haven't yet added to the collection. This was delicious recipe and I would do it again in a heartbeat! 

RECIPE

*Adapted recipe from "Saffron chicken and herb salad " Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi

1 Orange

50g Honey

1 tsp saffron threads

1 tbsp White wine vinegar

300ml Water

700g Chicken breast

4 tbsp Olive oil

2 Small fennel bulbs, thinly sliced *Try using a mandolin as long you don't cut your finger off!?

15g Fresh coriander leaves

15g Basil leaves

15g Mint leaves

100g Rocket

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 Red chilled, thinly sliced

1 Garlic clove, crushed

Salt and pepper.

METHOD

1. Heat the oven to 180°C. Trim and discard 1cm off the top and tail of the orange and cut it into 12 wedges, keeping the skin on but picking out any pips. Place the wedges in a small saucepan along with the honey, saffron, vinegar and just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for about an hour. At the end, you should be left with soft orange pieces and about three tablespoons of thick syrup; add water during the cooking, if needed. Use a food processor to blitz the orange (skin and all) and syrup into a smooth, runny paste; again, add water if needed.
2. Rub the chicken breasts with half the olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper, and place on a very hot ridged griddle pan. Sear for about two minutes on each side, to get clear char marks all over. Transfer to a roasting tray and roast for 15-20 minutes, until just cooked.
3. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, but still warm, break it up with your hands into quite large pieces. Put these in a large bowl, pour over half the orange paste and stir. *The remaining orange syrup will keep in the fridge for a few days, and makes a good addition to a herb salsa to serve with oily fish.
4. Add the remaining ingredients to the salad, including the rest of the oil, and toss gently. Taste, add salt and pepper and, if needed, some more olive oil and lemon juice.

Edamame Avocado Dip with Spicy Wasabe

Dip 2 - Delicious, healthy and bright green!

Well it always good to add some extra colour to the table ;). This dip is amazing and what with the added kick from the wasabe it gives it that extra punch. Some may say it's the extra 'fifth' taste. Have you heard about this? I can't remember if wasabe is part of the group that has the Umami the fifth taste after bitter, salty, sour and sweet. Seriously this isn't one of my random stories, they're now selling tubes of this magic stuff in the supermarket. They say that it makes anything you putt it in taste better and tastier and generally amazing! However I have heard that there is one draw back...it's supposedly bright red, thus will make any food you put it in varying shades of pink/red.
Here have a read if you don't believe me: Telegraph has an article on it.

Anyway, that was a bit of a tangent back to the dip....

Ingredients
1 cup fresh or frozen shelled edamame beans
2 avocados, peeled and pitted
1 teaspoon wasabe
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger (I cheated & used puree ginger)
1 clove minced fresh garlic (I cheated & used puree garlic)
1/4 cup water
juice of 2 fresh limes (about 3 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
cracked black pepper
2 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

1. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Do a seasoning check, and add more salt, pepper, lime juice, or wasabe as needed (I like to kick it up to a tablespoon to really bring on the heat).

I have to say this is a really REALLY tasty dip. It's not guacamole, it's similar but not guacamole. Should really think of a shorter name for it.... How about WAE dip?? It's not very catchy though is it...
any ideas let me know!

Pureed ginger and garlic in the fridge is a GENIUS move! ;)

Also I have a new obsession with Warburtons Square(ish) wraps they're so versatile and work great with my dips. You chop them up into triangle and heat them up under the grill with a bit of oil and chopped herbs or spread some of tasty green dip on top with some tomato salsa and roll it up. Yum!

 Right think that's enough babbling for this post.... 

Hope you enjoy your dip as much as I did!

Creamy Hummus

Summertime means sunny, hot days consisting of light eating and by no means eating roast dinners!! Unless a point is to be made. Anyway, I believe hummus is a great thing to have at the ready. Both meat and vegetarian friendly, it's healthy-ish and even more so when eaten with crudities or baked sweet potato wedges!

I have to admit the first time I tried hummus, the first mouthful I wasn't that impressed... I actually thought it was the blandest, 'health-food' thing I'd ever tried, and that I wouldn't be eating again... Well I got that wrong! I did try and make it a few years back, with disastrous consequences - honestly it was disgusting. But not one to be defeated I thought I'd give it another go. Have to say the results were good, however please note - this recipe makes a LOT! I now have three pots of the above, two of which are now in the freezer to be used once i get through the first pot!

This recipe gives you the creamiest, silky smooth hummus ever! A couple of pointers though, firstly, when adding the tahini, add a little at a time and keep tasting the hummus as you do it. It might be a case that you don't want to add the whole amount (I found it somehow took away some of the flavor of the chick peas and ended up adding a little more salt & onion marmalade).

Oh and secondly, I've recently broke my food processor !?! Trust me - don't try wizz up lots of ice cubes , just use a rolling pin and a bag. Anyway I ended up investing in one of those hand wizzer jobs from the supermarket. I made a point of buying the cheapest - about £7, and it's BRILLIANT. Less washing up, quick and easy and didn't break the bank. Ha, I'm such a geek to get so excited about a bloody £7 blender... hmm but hey if it wasn't for the £7 wizzer people wouldn't be eating hummus! ha ha !!

Finally you'll see it's measured using 'cups', it's an American measuring method. I've ended up following so many recipes I got myself a set of cups. If you're looking for a set try Here .

INGREDIENTS


    •    2 cups dried chickpeas
    •    2 tbsp baking soda for soaking + ½ tsp for cooking
    •    ½ cup tahini
    •    juice from 1 squeezed lemon
    •    2 garlic cloves
    •    ½ tsp salt
    •    1 teaspoon cumin
    •    ½ – 1 cup water, depending on desired texture
    •    2 tablespoons sticky onion marmalade

INSTRUCTIONS

• Soak chickpeas in clean water with 2 tablespoons of baking soda overnight.
• Drain, rinse and soak again in tap water for a few more hours. The grains should absorb most of the water and almost double their volume.
• Rinse the chickpeas well and put them in a large pot. Cover with water, add ½ tsp baking soda and NO salt. Cook until the grains are very tender, around 45 minutes to an hour. Regularly skim the surface during cooking process to remove foam and loose peels floating - this process can be quite therapeutic. Just make sure you get the majority of skins out as this will ensure for a smooth texture.
• When cooked, drain the chickpeas and transfer to food processor or use a hand-wizzer. Process into a thick puree. Allow to cool for a little while before you continue.
• Add the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt and cumin, then start the food processor. Add water, a little bit at a time, until you get the desired texture. Make it a little bit thinner than the actual desired texture, as it tends to firm up after a little while (especially if you don’t eat it right away and refrigerate it).

FIELD MUSHROOM AND FARMHOUSE PATE

After doing so many posts on the sweet variety I decided I should add a savory one to the batch. Not only did I make Pate but also had another go at baking some bread, which I have to say I was bloody pleased with! I managed to turn out a lovely crusty Raisin and Hazelnut Loaf to go with the Pate. I made it before for a previous post, but this time I made one large loaf rather than two smaller ones. The recipe was from that DOUGH book by Richard Bertinet, I plan to make another loaf next weekend too! Seem to have got my bread baking addiction back :)

Farmhouse & Field Mushroom Pate Recipe

25g Butter
80g Bacon Lardons (I used smoked, but it via my mum's recipe it says unsmoked)
250g Chicken livers (you can find them in the freezer isle) cut off the stringy bits.
1 Bay leaf
2 Sprigs of thyme
1 shallot - Finely chopped
1 Garlic Clove
1 tbsp Brandy
1 tbsp Creme Fraiche
freshly grated nutmeg
Dollop butter
2 large field mushrooms (around 100g)
seasoning.

 

Pop the butter and oil in a hot frying pan and add the lardons. Fry until crispy and golden, then add the bay leaf and thyme and livers** Important: Do not over cook the livers! You only want to cook them for around 3 minutes, so that they're cooked but still slightly pink in the middle. This will make sure the pate has a lovely smooth texture. Once ready pop the contents onto a plate, put the herbs and bay leaf back into the pan.

Put the shallots and garlic into the pan with the herbs and cook until soft and slightly golden. Add the brandy, and cook until the alcohol has evaporated.

Put all the cooked goodies into a food processor, add the creme fraiche and wizz up! It's up to you how chunky or smooth you like your pate....

Now don't forget the mushrooms!! Get your two lovely dark field mushrooms and chop up finely (again depending how chunky you like it) Put the last dollop of butter in the frying pan, add the mushrooms and cook off add ing a little bit of pepper at the end. Add the mushrooms to the food processor and give it one last wizzzz to mix it all up.

Then pour into a small pot, bowl, terrine and leave to cool before popping into the fridge to completely set.

Voila! 

Your own delicious quick and easy pate. Enjoy!

Let me know how you get on. Once you realise how easy it is to make you'll never buy shop bought stuff again.

Ps: I shall post again soon with another loaf and the recipe for the hazelnut and raisin loaf :)

Curried Sweet Potato & lentil Soup

This week I've been struggling eating anything other than soup, due to my wisdom teeth. Which has been a bit of a nightmare, however due to my new 'wisdom' I came across this soup recipe!! It delicious and perfect for the wet wintery days.

Curried Sweet Potato & lentil Soup

• 2 tsp medium curry powder
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions , grated
• 1 eating apple , peeled, cored and grated
• 3 garlic cloves , crushed
• 20g pack coriander , stalks chopped
• thumb-size piece fresh root ginger , grated
• 750g sweet potatoes
• 1l vegetable stock
• 100g red lentils
• 150ml milk

1. Put the curry powder into a large saucepan, then toast over a medium heat for 2 mins. Add the olive oil, stirring as the spice sizzles in the pan. Tip in the onions, apple, garlic, coriander stalks and ginger, season, then gently cook for 5 mins, stirring every so often.
2. Meanwhile, peel, then grate the sweet potatoes. Tip into the pan with the stock, lentils, milk and seasoning, then simmer, covered, for 20 mins. Blend until smooth using a stick blender. Check the seasoning and serve, topped with roughly-chopped coriander leaves.

Enjoy!

Pin Wheels

Made some 'savory' snacks by request by several people & decided to make some tasty salami & olive pin wheels. Really quick to make and even easier to eat!

Salami & Olive Pin Wheels:
4 slices of salami
1/2 cup pitted black olives
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1 tbsp chopped Rosemary (or thyme)
2 tbsp Olive oil
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 pack pre-rolled puff pastry (found in butter section)

Pre-heat oven to 220oc


Whizz all ingredients (except pastry) in food processor & spread on your rolled out puff pastry.


Cut pastry into two pieces and roll each section up. Then cut into 1cm thick wheels. Place in oven for around 15mins.

Eat while warm & enjoy!