Overnight Yogurt Sunflower Seed Bread Rolls
Tuesday, September 11, 2012This overnight bread, prepared with a mix of wholewheat and bread flours and 100% yogurt, has a crunchy crust and tender crumb with complex flavour and a beloved delicious sour tang due to the long, slow overnight fermentation.
Overnight Yogurt Sunflower Seed Bread Rolls
adapted from Hefe und mehr
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- Before you go to bed, dissolve fresh yeast with the yogurt in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer, then add in remaining ingredients, except sunflower seeds. Stir first on slow speed until the dough comes together, then increase the speed and knead until it’s smooth. Cover with plastic film and proof overnight or up to 12 hours at the room temperature.
- Next morning roll dough on a well-floured work surface to 40 x 40 cm square. Fold each side in to meet in the middle, so you have a 20 x 20 cm square. Cut into 9 pieces. Brush the surface with water and coat with sunflower seeds. Place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and proof for 60 minutes.
- Place a roasting tray at the bottom of the oven and preheat to 250C/500F. Put the bread in the hot oven and pour a cup of boiling water into the roasting tray. Close the oven door and bake for about 20 minutes.
Roasted Hokkaido Coconut Soup
Saturday, September 08, 2012This seasonal pumpkin comfort soup is not only quick and easy to make, but unusual addition of coconut gives a velvety, creamy texture and sweet, tropical flavour to the soup.
Roasted Hokkaido Coconut Soup
adapted from essen und trinken
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- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Place the pumpkin cut side down on a roasting tray, and drizzle with a tablespoon of coconut oil. Place in the center of the oven and roast until the pumpkin is tender, about 45 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once cool enough to handle, use a spoon to scoop the pumpkin flesh from its skin and set pumpkin aside until ready to use. Discard the skin.
- Place a large saucepan over medium heat. Add in remaining coconut oil, when hot, add in diced onion and sauté, stirring occasionally until lightly caramelized, 3-4 minutes. Add the vegetable stock and pumpkin to the pan and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove the soup from the heat and process with an immersion blender until smooth. Season with the salt and pepper. Add the coconut milk to the soup and stir to combine. Place over low heat until soup is heated through. To serve, drizzle with pumpkin seed oil and garnish with coconut shreds or pomegranate pearls.
Tomato Goat Cheese Tartlets
Wednesday, September 05, 2012A French-inspired fresh cherry tomato tartlet recipe, baked in a buttery spelt-cornmeal crust with fresh goat cheese, thyme and served with balsamic syrup. An excellent way of using up an excess of home grown tomatoes.
Pâte Brisée | Filling |
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- Heap the flour and cornmeal on a counter and make a well. Put in the butter, salt, sugar and egg. Using your fingertips, mix until it has a grainy texture. Add in milk and incorporate gently with your fingertips until the dough begins to hold together. Gently knead 4 or 5 times until smooth. Roll it into a ball and flatten slightly into a thick disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour before working with it.
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a 2-mm thickness. Using a 18-cm cutter or plate as a guide, cut out 4 circles. Use them to line 4 individual loose-bottom tart pans, 12-cm in diameter and 3-cm deep. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Prick the tart shell bases. Line the tart shells with baking parchment and fill with a layer with dried beans to weigh the dough down and prevent it from rising unevenly. Bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven setting to 170C/340F. Remove the beans and paper and return the pastry shells to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and leave them on a wire rack and let cool.
- Sprinkle each tart shell with one teaspoon of breadcrumb, then divide the fresh goat cheese onto the tart shells, and season with freshly ground black pepper and fresh thyme leaves. Fill in the tomatoes and drizzle the olive oil over. Bake in the center of the hot oven for 20-25 minutes.
Spelt and Oatmeal Bread Stars
Sunday, September 02, 2012Poolish sponge is a type of French starter made from the same amount, in weight, of flour and water with a very small amount of yeast, and left to ripe for a long time. This allows bread to develop its characteristic flavours and texture.
You can make the poolish anywhere between 8 and 16 hours before you start mixing the final dough. Poolish should be a wet mixture, very much like a thick pancake batter and when the surface is covered in tiny bubbles, it’s ready to use. Bread made with preferment also tends to keep better, compared to bread made from straight dough.
Spelt and Oatmeal Bread Stars
adapted from PloetzblogPoolish Sponge | Dough |
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- Combine all the poolish ingredients in the mixing bowl and leave it, covered, at room temperature for 10-12 hours. If you want to use dry yeast, then 0.4 grams, about 1/8 teaspoon, would be enough.
- Add in the rest of ingredients and stir at slow speed for 6 minutes, then increase the speed and continue to mix for 8 more minutes until it comes together and pulls away from sides of bowl.
- Turn the dough out on a lightly floured work surface. Gently knead the dough a few times and shape into a round. Cover and rest for 40 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 10-12 portions and shape each into a round. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- On a lightly floured work surface, gently flatten a dough ball. Cut 3 times on the center all the way to the bottom in a crisscross style, leaving about 2-cm edges intact. Now turn each triangle outside to create a 6-point star.
- Dip the star into water, then coat with a mix of seeds. Place them in baking trays lined with parchment paper. Cover and proof 90 minutes.
- Place a roasting tray at the bottom of the oven. Preheat the oven to 240C/460F. Place the bread stars on the upper rack of the hot oven. Pour a cup of boiling water into the roasting tray. Bake for 20 minutes until they are nicely golden brown.
Black Bean Salad with Avocado and Grape Tomatoes
Wednesday, August 29, 2012This colourful, healthy and tasty black bean salad makes a great side dish, appetizer, or potluck. It tastes extra fresh and good if you can use freshly cooked black beans, if you don't, just use the canned beans. Make sure to rinse and drain the beans, if you are using canned beans.
Black beans, also known as turtle beans, offer nutritious, low-fat, high-fiber and -protein dietary choices. The combination of fiber and protein in black beans is a key to their outstanding support for blood sugar balance and blood sugar regulation.
Salad | Dressing |
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- Cover the dried black beans with enough water in a large bowl and let them sit overnight or at least eight hours. Drain and rinse. Place the soaked beans in a saucepan with 750 ml of water. Bring it to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and let simmer until they are tender, about 1 hour. Drain and they are ready for use.
- Combine all dressing ingredients in small bowl and whisk to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- In a large bowl, combine beans, grape tomato halves, diced onions, avocado and the dressing. Toss until evenly coated.
Raw Energy Bars
Sunday, August 26, 2012Fruity, nutty, naturally sweet, these raw energy bars made from dried prunes, figs, nuts and cocoa powder are a delicious and healthy snack to keep up your energy between meals, or after a workout.
Raw Energy Bars
adapted from Just As Delish
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- Line a 15x25-cm rectangular pan with a plastic film. Place chopped prunes, nuts, cocoa powder, Ovaltine chocolate malt powder and sea salt in a blender or food processor. Pulse a few times until all the ingredients come together.
- Add in homemade vanilla extract and pulse until it reaches a dry but moist dough consistency. Scrape the mixture into the lined pan, press evenly with a rubber spatula, and chill for about an hour before cutting into bars.
Lentil Salad with Mozzarella
Thursday, August 23, 2012An easy peasy comforting lentil salad tossed with a simple white balsamic vinaigrette served on the thinly sliced Mozzarella. The salad can be served as a side dish or as the main course with some crunchy toasted bread.
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- Combine lentils with 3-4 cups water. Bring to a boil. Simmer 25-30 minutes, until lentils are tender. When lentils are done cooking, drain then place them in a large mixing bowl.
- Peel and dice the shallot. Finely dice the cherry radishes.Drain and cut the Mozzarella into thin slices. Arrange them in two serving plates.
- Mix together the vegetable stock,Balsamic bianco, mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl. Beat in walnut oil.
- Add diced shallot, cherry radishes, and chopped chives to the lentil together with dressing. Season with salt and pepper. Divide the lentils and mound onto the Mozzarella. Garnish with chives.
Spelt Granola Muffins with Plums
Monday, August 20, 2012Healthy homemade millet granola gives a crunchy topping and nutritional boost to these tasty spelt muffins. The plums and yogurt help keep them moist longer and they freeze well. Enjoy these muffins for breakfast or anytime you feel like a snack.
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- Whisk wholegrain spelt flour, refined spelt flour, raw sugar, salt and baking powder together in a mixing bowl.
- In another bowl, mix walnut oil, plain yogurt, and egg until combined. Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until barely combined.
- Fold in 120 grams of granola and diced plums. Divide the batter into a 12-cup muffin pan and top with the rest of granola. Bake for about 20 minutes until the tops are nicely golden brown and crunchy.