Natural white leaven refers to sourdough starter made entirely from white flour, either bread or all-purpose flour. The bread made with preferments (either prepared with commercial yeast or wild yeasts and bacteria) yields a more complex flavour and taste. Enjoy this rustic apple oat bread with a bowl of steaming hot soup or a salad for a simple yet satisfying lunch.

1. Put the rolled oats into a small bowl and pour over the boiling water. Leave aside for 5 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. Add the grated apple to the water, leaven, and yeast. Stir the mixture well until the yeast is dissolved, then stir the soaked oats into this. In another bowl weigh the flour with the salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour and stir the mixture with your hands until it is evenly combined and you have a soft, sticky dough. Scrape any dough from Your fingers into the bowl, cover and leave for 10 minutes.
2. Rub 1 teaspoon olive oil on the work-surface and knead the dough on the oiled surface for 10 seconds, ending with the dough in a smooth, round ball. Clean and dry the howl, then rub lightly with a teaspoon of olive oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover, and leave for a further 10 minutes. Remove the dough and knead once more on the oiled surface, returning the shape of the dough to a smooth, round ball. Put it back in the bowl, cover and leave for 1 hour at room temperature.
3. Lightly flour the work-surface and shape the dough into a baton or a round. Rub a tea-towel with a handful of flour (or use a linen-lined proving basket) and place the dough inside seam-side-up. Wrap the dough snugly in the cloth, and leave to rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until almost doubled in height.
4. Preheat the oven to 210C/410F. Upturn the loaf on to a flour dusted tray, then brush the surface of the loaf with the egg wash and dust with rolled oats. Bake the loaf in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes, then lower the heat to 190C/375F and bake for a further 15-20 minutes, until the loaf is a good brown, feels light in weight, and sounds hollow when tapped on the base. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

http://schneiderchen.de | © 2013 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

Autumn means PUMPKINS, one of the very low calorie vegetables. They are a particularly good source of dietary fibre, as well as a range of vitamins and minerals.
Quinoa (a mix of white and red), cooked in vegetable stock, scented with cinnamon, tossed with pumpkin seeds and cranberries, is stuffed into Hokkaido pumpkin halves, then baked until tender for a delicious, gluten-free, vegetarian meal. You can easily replace the Hokkaido with another squash like acorn or kabocha.

1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. When it is hot, add the diced onion and ground cumin and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft and golden brown, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the quinoa to the saucepan and stir to coat the grains. Add the stock and raise the heat to high. When the liquid comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low, add the cranberries, and cover the pan. Cook at a slow simmer until the liquid has been absorbed, 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cut the Hokkaido pumpkin in half. Scoop out and discard the seeds and fibers. Place the pumpkin halves on a rimmed baking sheet and set it aside.
4. When the quinoa is cooked, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the pumpkin seeds, cinnamon and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 190C/375F.
6. Divide the quinoa filling among the pumpkin halves. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and roast until the quinoa is hot and the flesh of the pumpkins is tender when pierced with a skewer or fork, 50 minutes. Serve immediately.

http://schneiderchen.de | © 2013 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

http://schneiderchen.de | © 2013 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

http://schneiderchen.de | © 2019 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

http://schneiderchen.de | © 2019 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

Full of quality and tasty ingredients, these sesame logs with walnuts, oats and fresh ginger are easy to make and are perfect as a on the go energy snack, a sweet lunchbox filler, or as an afternoon pick-me-up without the refined sugar. Instead of logs, you can shape these into balls or bars if you prefer. Can't find Medjool dates? No problem. Just use regular deglet noor dates, which are equally delicious and sweet with a firmer texture. Medjool dates, by contrast, have a rich, almost caramel-like taste and a soft, chewy texture.

1. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the walnuts to the hot, dry pan in a single layer. Cook, stirring frequently until the walnuts start to brown and they smell toasted, about 5 minutes. Transfer the walnuts to a plate or baking tray to cool completely.
2. Process walnuts and oats in a food processor until finely chopped. Add in dates, ginger and salt. process until mixture forms a paste.
3. Shape level tablespoons of mixture into 5cm long logs and place them on a baking-paper-lined tray. Chill for 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, stir sesame seeds in a frying pan over medium heat for 2 minutes or until lightly toasted. Cool. Roll logs in sesame seeds and chill for 1- 2 hours or until firm.

http://schneiderchen.de | © 2019 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

http://schneiderchen.de | © 2019 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

Challah, usually braided and typically eaten on Jewish holidays. The dough is enriched with eggs and oil, while using sugar or honey for some sweetness. The fun and exciting part comes from the braiding the dough. A simple 3-stranded braid would be gorgeous enough as the centerpiece for your dinner table. But a 4, or 6 stranded challah would really impress your guests. You can also coil the long braided loaf into a circle.

1. Start with the starter. Stem grapes into a medium mixing bowl. Crush with hands and cover with a plastic wrap. Use a fork or wooden toothpick to gently poke some holes along the top and set aside for 3-4 days at room temperature. After 3-4 days there should be bubbles in the grape juice/must, indicating fermentation has begun.
2. Measure 240 grams of strained grape juice and pour in a 1-quart glass jar. Stir in 120 grams of rye flour to make a thick, porridge like mixture. Set aside for 24 hours at room temperature.
3. Measure 1 cup starter, discard any extra. Add in 110 grams of filtered water and 110 grams of rye flour. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours.
   
4. Repeat the following day. Some activity should be noticeable: the mixture should be starting to bubble. Repeat twice more. You will need to discard some of the mixture each day.
   
5. The starter is full of bubbles and ready for use to make bread. If you won't be using the starter for several days, put the jar, with the lid covered loosely, into the refrigerator until you're ready to use it. If you are going to use the starter in the next day or two, just leave it out and feed it every 12 hours or so.
6. Prepare the dough by mixing the starter, eggs, egg yolk, honey, oil, water, and the salt. Stir. Add flour 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough, adding more flour sparingly, until the dough is smooth, satiny, has lost most of it's stickiness, and is fairly firm. Cover and allow it to rise until tripled in volume.
   
7. Punch down the dough, knead briefly and cut into 4 equal pieces. Divide one piece into 3 equal portions. Form each of them into strands of about 30-cm in length, tapered so the center of each piece is thicker than the ends. You should now have three thick and three thin strands.
8. Braid the three thick strands into a loaf and set aside. Braid the three smaller strands into a smaller loaf. Lightly indent the top center of the larger loaf down its length. Wet it slightly with water. Put the smaller loaf on top of the indention. Beat egg white with a tablespoon of water. Brush this egg wash all over the loaf and allow them to rise until doubled.
9. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Brush the loaf with the egg wash again and sprinkle the top with oatmeal bran. Place it into the oven, bake about 35 minutes.

http://schneiderchen.de | © 2019 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

http://schneiderchen.de | © 2019 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

Bring a standard everyday salad to life with this beautifully balanced tart that combines sweet, juicy figs with salty proscuitto on top of flaky golden puff pastry. With figs in season, there's no better time to try this simple recipe. Drizzle with a fig or raspberry balsamic syrup for an explosion of flavours. Use other greens, like baby arugula or watercress instead of lamb's lettuce if you like. It is perfect for a light lunch or as an appetizer of a dinner party.

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Take your sheet of puff pastry and unroll. Using a sharp knife carefully score a border about 2cm thick around the edges of the pastry making sure you don’t cut all the way through. This will act as a frame and help to hold the filling in while baking.
2. Using a fork carefully prick the centre part of the pastry to encourage it not to rise too much. Bake for 20-25 mins or until golden brown and puffed.
3. Place the pastry on a large serving platter. Top with the lamb's lettuce, Belgian endive, fig wedges, and torn prosciutto. Drizzle with balsamic glaze and garnish with fresh dill.

http://schneiderchen.de | © 2019 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

http://schneiderchen.de | © 2019 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

Xiaolongbao, literally "Little Basket Buns",are traditionally filled with broth and pork, but beef, seafood, and vegetables are very often used as fillings. The broth inside is made by using some meat jelly inside the dumpling before steaming. Gelatin melts when steamed. Xiaolongbao always have soup, otherwise they are just Jiaozi / dumplings.

1. Use a heavy knife to smashed the ginger root. Place them in a bowl. Add in spring onion and water. Squeeze the mixture to release the juice from the ginger and onion. Strain. Season the ground pork with salt, sugar, Maggi sauce and pepper. Mix well. Gradually add in the prepared ginger-onion liquid and mix until all the liquid is absorbed and the mixture forms a firm and cohesive mass. Drizzle in the sesame oil and combine well. Dice the jelly and blend together with meat mixture. Cover with a plastic wrap and store in the fridge while prepare the wrappers.
   
   
2. Whisk the flour and salt together in a mixing bowl. Add in water and start mixing by hand. Once the dough has come together, turn onto a floured work surface and knead dough until it becomes a smooth, elastic ball. Cover the dough with a plastic wrap and allow it to rest for at least half an hour.
   
   
3. Half the dough lengthwise. On a floured surface roll each dough with palms back and forth to form a long rope of dough of even thickness. Portion the roll into 10-gram pieces and flatten each piece with the bottom of your palm. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out forming a disk of 7cm with the edges thinner than the center. Hold a wrapper in your left hand and raise fingers up to form a recess. Place 2 teaspoons of filling in the middle of the wrapper. Carefully fold the edges of the wrapper together in a pleated fashion with the right hand. Pinch edges together to close the wrapper.
   
   
4. Soak cheese cloth in hot water, wring out water and lay in a steamer. Besides cheesecloth, cabbages, carrot slices, and parchment paper are a good source of lining the steamers too. Put in the dumplings and set the steamer over a pan filled with boiling water. Close the lid and steam for 8 minutes over strong heat. Serve with a sauce dish of thinly shredded ginger and black rice vinegar.