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Watermelon Salad with Cumin Maple Syrup Vinaigrette

Wednesday, June 22, 2022

For the perfect combination of sweet and salty, you can't go past this watermelon, blueberries and feta salad with cumin maple syrup vinaigrette. Serve this vibrant salad that's bursting with flavour, colour and nutrients, as a side to your favorite protein dish (we enjoyed it with a bone-in, skin-on pork shoulder roast flavoured with fennel) for the ultimate summer feast. It's refreshing, deliciously healthy and a perfect dish for entertaining. The sweetness of watermelon and Gorgonzola would make a great combination too if you prefer a stronger flavour of cheese or ricotta if you want a milder variety.

Dressing	Salad
1 Lemon, juiced 4 tbsp Olive oil 1 tsp Maple syrup 1/2 tsp Freshly milled cumin Salt and black pepper to taste	1 Mini watermelon, cut into triangles 100 g Feta, crumbled Mint, chopped 100 g Blueberries 1 tsp Black sesame seeds

Whisk freshly squeezed lemon juice, olive oil and maple syrup in a small serving bowl. Season with cumin, salt and pepper.
Wash and dry the watermelon. Cut the clean watermelon into triangles, about 2cm thick. Arrange watermelon on a large serving platter with blueberries and chopped mint. Drizzle some prepared dressing over. Crumble feta over the salad and sprinkle the black sesame seed over.
Serve as an easy appetizer, a light snack or as a side to your favourite source of protein, such as meatballs, chicken wings, steak, salmon, or pork roast.

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100% Wholemeal Rye Sourdough Bread

Monday, June 20, 2022

There's nothing like a good slice of whole rye bread! Spread with butter or topped with cheese, and sausage. It's perfect for breakfast, in between meals or for supper as home-baked always tastes best!Nothing else goes into the dough here but wholemeal rye, water, salt and optional malt extract. A little time, a little practice and you have a hearty and nutritious bread on the table. The bread releases an irresistible aroma as soon as it is baked. You can tell if the rye bread is baked through by tapping on the underside of the loaf. If it sounds hollow, the bread is ready. It is best to let the loaf cool down completely before cutting it.
Wholemeal rye flour is rich in dietary fibre as well as minerals due to the high proportion of husks. Fibre promotes good and healthy digestion, while the minerals perform various tasks; phosphorus, for example, is important for strong bones and zinc ensures good defences. The B vitamins are also essential for the brain and nervous system.

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Wild Yeast Pretzel Challah

Friday, June 17, 2022

A braided pretzel bread made with a wild yeast preferment -- a slow but fun and natural way to rise the bread. A slow fermentaion with natural yeast and beneficial bactaria from the air creates a different bread, that's more flavourful, healthy, and easier to digest. The bread will also have a crisper crust, a chewier crumb and very likely to stale more slowly.
The preparation of the wild yeast is rather easy, but it takes time and patience. For this pretzel challah, I crushed 120 grams of unwashed organic grapes and mixed with 500 ml of filtered tap water. Set aside for 5 days until bubbly and active. You can use dates, figs, raisins or berries to make your own wild yeast water. Store the rest in the refrigerator and simply refresh it with fresh filtered water and fruit when you need it. (you can find more details in this post)
Dunking the pretzel challah in a baking soda bath or food grade lye bath prior to baking is what enables them to develop their distinctive deep brown colour and crispy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside texture. Natriumhydroxid (NaOH), also known as lye or caustic soda, can be dangerous if misused. So do wear eye protection and rubber gloves if you want to make lye solution for the pretzels. One much easier and safer solution is to use baked baking soda. Simply place baking soda on aluminum lined baking tray and bake for an hour at 120C/245F. When baking soda/sodium hydrogen carbonate/NaHCO3 is heated, it becomes the more concentrated sodium carbonate/soda/Na2CO3, which ensures a darker lye colour when dissolved in water, and better taste than baking soda could.

Wild Yeast Preferment	Dough
120 g Organic bread flour 120 g Active wild yeast water	Wild yeast preferment 420 g Organic bread flour 180 g Lukewarm water 1 tbsp Olive oil 1 tbsp Coconut sugar 6 g Sea salt 90 g Baked baking soda 2L Hot boiling water Coarse salt for topping 1 tsp Sesame seeds, optional

How To Braid a 5-Strand Challah w/ Michael Kalanty

In a large bowl, stir together the flour and yeast water until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature overnight. It should be bubbly and double in size when ready to use for main dough.
Combine the wild preferment, bread flour, water, olive oil, coconut sugar and salt in the bowl of your mixer. Knead for 12-15 minutes, until dough becomes soft and smooth. The dough will be a bit sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to rise in a warm place for approx. 2 hours until almost doubled in size.
Divide the dough into 5 equal portions, each about 175 grams. Roll each into a log, approx. 40 cm long, making sure they are all the same size and length. Braid in a 5-strand loaf. Transfer to a lined baking sheet.
Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm spot for 2-3 hours. You’ll know the dough is ready to bake when you press your finger into the dough and the indentation stays, rather than bouncing back. Uncover and refrigerate for 1 more hour.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 120C/245F and bake the baking soda for one hour. Allow to cool. Increase the oven temperature to 200C/400F.
In a large tray, mix the baked baking soda and 2 liter boiling water, until baking soda is dissolved. Gently dunk the challah in the baking soda bath and let soak for 20-30 seconds. Carefully remove the bread onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle the top with coarse salt and sesame seeds if using. You can brush the top with an egg wash for a more shiny finish if desired. Bake for 40 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.

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Vinschger Paarl from South Tyrol

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Vinschgerl Paarl (aka Vinschgauer Paarl or monastery bread), first invented in the Benedictine abbey of Marienberg in the 13th century, is a typical Tyrolean flatbread that is about palm-sized, 2-3cm thick and baked in pairs with fresh spices such as fennel, coriander and caraway. They are hearty and have a very distinctive flavour due to the use a high proportion of rye flour, sourdough and bread spices like blue fenugreek, cumin, fennel and coriander. The flour for the Vinschger is 70% rye flour: dark or light or wholemeal. The sourdough makes them easy to digest and they stay fresh for a long time. If you are a fan of well spiced wholesome bread, this recipe is just right for you!
These rye flatbreads taste particularly good with strong mountain cheeses made from raw milk, like Allgäu mountain cheese, and hearty sausage / ham and South Tyrolean red wine. The Paarl bread is often served at weddings: its shape is supposed to symbolise the union of the bride and groom.

Vinschger Paarl from South Tyrol

adapted from Marcel Paa

Preferment	Final Dough
15 g Rye sourdough starter 100 g Lukewarm water 100 g Organic wholemeal rye flour	3/4 tsp Koriander seeds 1 tsp Caraway seeds 1 tsp Fennel seeds 1 tsp Blue fenugreek All of the preferment 200 g Lukewarm water 140 g Organic wholemeal rye flour 100 g Organic plain flour #550 6 g Salt 3 g Fresh yeast

Add the sourdough to the water in a bowl and mix together. Then add the mixture to the rye flour and mix everything together without lumps. Cover the mixture with a tea towel and leave to ferment at room temperature for about 6 hours.
Place all spices in the mortar and use the pestle to smash them up until they're finely ground.
Put all the ingredients of the main dough together with the spices into your food processor and mix well for about 5-8 minutes.
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to proof for 90-120 minutes at room temperature.
After the proofing time, turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface and dust the dough with rye flour. Divide the dough into 4 even portions and shape each into a smooth round ball. Place two dough balls directly next to each other on a lightly greased or parchment lined baking tray with the seam side down. Dust the dough balls with rye flour and cover with a towel. Set aside at room-temperature for about an hour until cracks form on the surface.
Meanwhile preheat the oven to 250C/480F with a bread baking stone and an ovenproof dish in the bottom half of the oven.
Transfer the dough onto the baking stone. Pour a cup of water into the baking tray at the bottom half of the oven. Close the door immediately and bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 200C/400F and bake 20-30 minutes more until it's richly brown and crisp. Place the loaves to cool well on a wire rack.