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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!)
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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.
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Pan Bread
This is the food we eat when we come in hungry and there is nothing left for lunch. It takes about 3 minutes from opening the door to eating.
Ingredients
- 200g. wholemeal wheat flour
- 1/8 tsp. salt (adjust to taste)
- 350ml. milk or water
Makes six if the diameter is about 20 cm.
Tamarisk sour-dough bread
Sour-dough breads have long been common outside Britain, particularly Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Germany. The process is akin to that of making yoghurt from milk in that the flour is partially “digested” by the sour-dough culture and this is claimed by some to make it easier for us to digest and better for you. Some people who have problems eating conventional yeast breads find this acceptable. We love the distinctive flavour although for some it is an acquired taste. You can use wheat or rye flour, but it does particularly bring out the best qualities of rye, especially if you add a little caraway seed.
Ingredients
- 500g wholemeal rye or wheat flour
- 1/2 tsp salt (adjust to your preference)
- up to 300 ml warm water (about 45°C )
- 1 tablespoon sour-dough culture
- 1 or 2 teaspoon caraway (or any other seed of your choice)
Josephine’s regular – the Grant loaf
This is the easiest and quickest bread ever. It was publicised widely during the war by Doris Grant to encourage working women to eat well on rationing. The loaf is dark, moist and delicious.