I sometimes like to sieve out the roughest bran from our flour, which means that I can produce a lighter loaf or cake from the wholemeal flour. But it’s always bothered me: what I can then do with the bran. Soaking it to put back in the bread dough confused me, using it to flour bread tins worked but didn’t necessarily use it all up, and feeding it to the hens felt like a waste! But thanks to Danette from Kingsland Farm, I discovered that it was possible to make your own Bran Flakes, and this has changed my world.
Continue reading “Bran flakes”Category: Recipes
Hot Cross Buns
Rebecca’s hot crossed buns were an exciting treat the first time she brought them to elevenses. Since then she has made some every Easter, and each year they are still as exciting! She uses Delia Smith’s recipe as a base, with a few tweaks here and there. The main one is using our wholemeal flour instead of strong white, which produces a less fluffy bun but packed with flavour.
Continue reading “Hot Cross Buns”Chapatis
Writing this recipe feels more daring than writing the others I think this is because we are giving it a recognised name rather than a descriptive one, implying that these chapatis are the same as the traditional Indian ones. While the chapatis we make are excellent, they can never be quite as good as those you eat on the streets of small towns in India. Traditional chapati flour is ground finer than ours, and we haven’t yet perfected the Indian chapati makers’ technique of rolling and turning the chapatis in the same movement and of thinning them by throwing them from hand to hand with panache.
Continue reading “Chapatis”Talbinah
Talbinah (also spelt talbeena, talbina, talbeenah and probably some other variation that I’ve forgotten) is the Muslim word for barley porridge. It is a delicious alternative to oatmeal porridge, and as we currently grow barley but not oats, I’ve been experimenting with it this winter.
Continue reading “Talbinah”Barley Scones
Nora first experimented with using our barley flour to make scones, and passed this recipe on to us after it proved to be a success.
Continue reading “Barley Scones”Snickerdoodles (Cinnamon cookies)
Apparently snickerdoodles aren’t German, no matter how much I think the word sounds it. Whatever they are, they are also quick, soft, and delicious. I found this recipe whilst staying with my brother and sister-in-law when their twins were only two months old, and we all quickly decided that these were perfect snacks for the late nights that were going on. I usually make two or three times the dough in one go, and only bake some at a time. The rest I put into one or two bags and leave in the freezer for when I want something sugary.
Continue reading “Snickerdoodles (Cinnamon cookies)”Rosie’s Sourdough from start to end
Rosie has worked out a great and consistent recipe for using our flour to create delicious loaves of bread. Here is her method for looking after the sourdough starter, a very simple rye sourdough, and a go-to for the wheat sourdough.
Continue reading “Rosie’s Sourdough from start to end”A Borodinsky of sorts
A gentleman came to our shop one day, and gifted us with a loaf of bread he’d made from our rye flour. Borodinsky, he called it. It was shared out at Elevenses the next day, and we were all enraptured. Sweet and slightly sticky, this bread is a delicious assault on the senses, and Rosie became determined to re-create it. A traditional Russian bread, the particular characteristics are coriander seed and malted rye flour. This is Rosie’s variant, using the ingredients easily available, and a spoonful extra molasses makes up for not having any malted rye flour.
Continue reading “A Borodinsky of sorts”Ben’s birthday pancakes
Wholemeal pancakes are the next step up in pancake making. A richer flavour, as well as a richer product, these are our go-to birthday breakfast treat (although we also indulge whenever we’ve got an excess of eggs and milk!)
Continue reading “Ben’s birthday pancakes”Spiced Barley Biscuits
I experimented with making welsh cakes from our barley flour, but instead rolled them out thinner and baked them in the oven. Crunchy, spicy, and easy to make, I don’t know if I’m going to buy many biscuits from now on.
Continue reading “Spiced Barley Biscuits”