Dutch Oven Bread

I was recently overseas and before I left I chucked out my sour dough balm which was seriously tragic as I found out later that I could have frozen it while I was away. Since coming back I have not had the patience to get another one started so I have been experimenting with quickie breads. This has been far and away the best. It has a crunchy and golden crust and a soft airy center, it gets a lovely chewiness to it and toasts up really well. In other words, it is perfect. Just to top it off it is super easy, no kneading, just mix and rest, shape and bake. DONE! This is so easy and so good I have not bought a loaf of bread since I started making it.

Dutch Oven Bread

3 cups flour (use a strong baker's if you can, it really does make a difference)

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp instant yeast

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

Mix all the ingredients together with a fork until the flour is fully combined with the water. Cover and rest for about 6 hours or until the mixture has doubled in size and has a bubbly top.

 

Your top of your dough should look like this, you should be able to clearly 

see the air bubbles that have risen to the top.

Flour your bench and tip your dough out, your dough will be quite sticky but that is ok, keep your hands floured as you shape it into a oval loaf shape by tucking the sides underneath and spinning the dough around, tuck and spin, tuck and spin until the top is taunt. Place your dough on a piece of baking paper and cover with a tea towel.

Preheat your oven to 250C with your cast iron Dutch Oven inside.

After about 30 minutes your oven should be preheated and your dough will have rested sufficiently. Slash the top of your loaf a couple of times with a bread knife. Carefully take the Dutch Oven out of the oven, and place the dough in, picking it up by the baking paper. Place your lid back on the Dutch Oven and put it back in the oven.

Bake for 35 minutes, remove the lid and bake for a further 12 minutes.

Enjoy!

Orange Leaf

As soon as I heard about this place I knew it was a must the next time MMM deserved a little treat. The concept is brilliant. Self serve is so good for kids, it's hands on and makes them feel very independent. I have extremely fond memories of Sizzler and Pizza Hut Restaurants as a child. This experience took me right back to their soft serve stations. Soooo good! 

Very reasonably priced, we got our cup for just over $3

The way it works is you help yourself to a gigantic cup then add as much or as little of the 14 flavours of frozen yoghurt that they currently have available (2 sugar free flavours coming soon) to your cup. It's now time to head over to the toppings! Yay! So much fresh fruit, nuts, candy and chocolate to choose from. You can go super healthy or really naughty. I let MMM choose whatever she wanted and she got a nice balance, by that I mean she wanted some of everything. I gave her 1 of everything she pointed at and she loved it. Up to the point where she got a little over excited and grabbed the spoon in the M&M's and flicked them everywhere. Oops! Now the interesting thing; you pay by weight! Such a great idea. They just pop your cup on the scales. So easy. It was as much fun putting it all together as it was eating it (almost).

We got strawberry flavoured yoghurt and it was really delicious. I can't wait to go back and try some others and I'll definitely be getting my own cup next time. (I'm thinking maybe coconut or I might go all out and get Fairy Floss flavour!)

Cold Cold Cold!

Open 7 days from 11am-Late

Sourdough Stage 3 - Bread

The day has come! After a good 2 weeks of feeding and caring for your starter and barm you are now ready to bake a loaf of sourdough. Just 36 more hours until you can eat some!!! (Side note: I was literally more excited about this day than the day I gave birth. I kid you not)

For Starter:

2/3 cup barm

1 cup unbleached flour

1/4 cup water

Allow the barm to sit for 1 hour to come to room temperature before using. Mix in the flour and water until thoroughly combined, place in a container and cover with cling wrap. Allow to sit for about 4 hours or until it has doubled in size. Refrigerate over night.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I have been experimenting recently and discovered that you can completely miss the above step and simply add 11/2 cups of Barm straight to the dough ingredients below and you get the exact same result!

For Dough:

4 1/2 cups unbleached flour (I use 3 cups of wholemeal and 1 1/2 of plain)

2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups water

Mix the dough ingredients with the starter. Knead until it forms a smooth and slightly stretchy dough. Form a ball and place in an lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave for 4 hours. 

Split your dough in 2 pieces, form into two loaf shaped logs, place onto baking paper, cover with the tea towel and leave to rise for 4 hours.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Instead of having to attend to the dough after 4 hours you can also just bung the whole lot into a large loaf pan after the first knead and leave for 8-12 hours then bake.

30 minutes before you need to cook your loaves preheat your oven to 260 C.

Slit the top of your loaves and place in your oven, add 1 cup of water to the bottom of the oven to create steam (this creates the really crunchy crust). Close the door immediately and turn oven down to 240 C. Bake for 30 minutes.

Cut into your hot sourdough immediately after removing from the oven. Slather it in the best quality butter you can find and stuff your face! You deserve it!

Sourdough Stage 2 - Barm

Your barm or starter culture is your base for every loaf of sourdough, you will need to feed it and care for it like a little baby. Keep it alive and reap wonderful loaves of tasty, tasty bread for years to come.

3 1/2 cups unbleached flour (I used wholemeal)

2 cups water

1 cup seed culture (see previous post for recipe)

Mix all your ingredients until thoroughly combined, the result should be quite a wet, sticky sponge.

Place in a clean container and cover with cling wrap, allow to stand for 4-6 hours until your barm has risen 1 1/2 times its size. Allow barm to full develop in refrigerating overnight.

Your barm is now ready to use and will remain alive for 3-5 days with out you having to do anything to it. When you take from your barm to make your loaves you will need to replace the same amount with flour and enough water to keep your barm fairly wet and sticky. Each time you add fresh flour and water you will need to leave your barm for 4-6 hours to develop enough micro-organisms to achieve a proper rise in your loaves. Keep doing this, making sure not to let more than 5 days go without feeding it and your barm will last forever!

Sourdough Stage 1 - Seed Culture

This is stage 1, it's the longest and most complicated of the three stages. I'm not going to lie, sourdough takes commitment but boy, is it worth it. (If you love bread that is, if you don't love bread, I mean really LOVE it, then I recommend you stop reading right now. Climb a tree, make a mix tape, go for a hike, do something you love. Life's too short to spend 2 weeks making making a lump of fermented dough that you have indifferent feelings towards.)

Stage 1:

Mix together 1/2 cup wholemeal flour and 1/4 cup water, place dough in a glass jug and cover with a tea towel. Leave for 24 hours.

Stage 2:

Add 1/2 cup unbleached flour and 1/4 cup water to your mix (I used a fork to mix my dough as this seemed to give the best result, properly incorporating the dough without overworking). Press into your glass jug, cover with cling warp and leave for 24 hours.

Stage 3:

Check for signs that the dough is becoming bubbly and expanding. If there is no action remix your dough and let stand for 12 hours, keep doing this until you notice it is getting bubbly. This could take up to 5 days.

Once you notice the signs of fermentation add 1/2 cup unbleached flour and 2tbsp water to your dough, mix thoroughly place in a container with a good seal and leave for 12 hours.

Stage 4:

You are now looking for your dough to double in size in a 12 hour period. If it hasn't done this, mix your dough and leave for another 12 hours. Once your dough has risen sufficiently your are now ready to add your last lot of ingredients to complete your seed culture. Add 1 cup of unbleached bread flour and 1/3-1/2 cup of water and mix well. Seal or cover your dough with cling wrap and leave for 24 hours. Your dough should at least double or possibly triple in size in this time. If this is the case you are now ready to turn you culture into a permanent barm.

Poached Salmon with Pommes Dauphine and Black Truffle Hollandaise

Who thinks to themselves 'how can I make Hollandaise sauce more decadent'? I do people, I do, and that's why you read my blog. 

Pommes Dauphine

750g good mashing potato, I like Nicola or Dutch creams.

50g butter

60ml water

½ cup flour

½ teaspoon sea salt

2 eggs

Oil for frying

1. Preheat oven to 180°C fan forced.

2. Place potatoes on a baking tray covered with a layer of rock salt and bake for 1-1 ½ hours or until very tender. Push through a fine sieve and allow to cool.

3. Place butter and water in a saucepan, bring to the boil and remove from heat. Add the flour and salt into the water and whisk until mixture is smooth.

4. Return to the heat and cook until the mixture forms a ball and flour is cooked out.

5. In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs, gradually add contents of saucepan, beating well between each addition.

6. Heat the oil in a pot, you know it's ready when it hits 180 or when a piece of bread becomes golden when dropped in the oil.

7. Beat potato into flour mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste. (if you're feeling really decadent you can use my all time favourite ingredient for mashed potates, Truffle Salt) Spoon mixture into a large piping bag fitted with a 1cm diameter round nozzle and pipe 1-2cm lengths of mixture into the hot oil, snipping off with kitchen shears as you go. Cook until golden and crisp and drain on paper towel. Season with salt flakes.

Black Truffle Hollandaise

3 egg yolks

6 tbsp softened butter

Freshly grated black truffle to taste

Salt to taste

1. Place egg yolks in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (don't let the bowl touch the water). Whisk until light, then slowly add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Whisk continually until mixture thickens, keep a close eye on temperature by constantly taking it off the heat and touching the bottom of the bowl to test the heat in it.

2. Season with a touch of salt and freshly grated black truffle (basically put in as much truffle as you can stand to use in one dish, as you grate it in you should get that amazing aroma hit you). Stir in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and spoon over your salmon straight away.

Poach or pan fry your salmon fillet, serve with the Pommes Dauphine and generously spoon over the black truffle Hollandaise. Immediately schedule a run into your calander tomorrow because baby, you are gonna need it.

Sourdough Bread - Intro

It's happening people. I have committed myself to making sourdough. I've started my seed culture which will take about a week, I'll then make my Barm and then finally I will be able to bake a gorgeous loaf of all natural, yeast free bread. Amazing. I'll be taking you through the process as I go with three stages:

1. Seed culture
2. Barm
3. Sourdough Bread

Get excited.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Feta Burgers

The addition of feta to these burgers gives a lovely salty creamy result. Delish!

Feta Burgers

Serves 4

500g quality mince (not lean, you want fat in your burger)

2 eggs

Handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped

100g feta, crumbled

Salt

Black pepper

To serve

Burger buns

Cheese

Lettuce

Tomato relish

Egg

Bacon

Mayo

Whatever takes your fancy!

Simply mix all your burger ingredients together until combined. Form into 4 even sized patties (I find it handy to weigh them).

 

Grill the burgers in a little olive oil, if your mince is very good quality and super fresh I definitely recommend cooking to medium rare. Your patty should still have a little give when you press gently with a finger tip it should not feel like a leather boot! So good! I also like to add my sliced cheese to the top of the burger after flipping so it goes deliciously melty. Yum!

Build your burger, put on all your favourites. For me a burger should be protein overload; cheese, bacon, egg, the more protein the better! I also have to have a lovely sweet/tangy relish to cut through the fat. I recently came up with a cheats tomato relish that you can do in 15 minutes, I'll be posting the recipe very soon.

Gnocchi with wild Pine Mushrooms

I'm all about simple meals at the moment and you can't get more simple than potatoes and mushrooms. Simple ingredients, prepared well are what good home cooking is all about and this dish is what I consider to be a perfect home cooked meal. 

 

I'm a complete snob when it comes to gnocchi. Store bought will not cross my lips. It's so simple to make and homemade is so superior that you're crazy not to take the extra time. Making gnocchi is very much about feel so I have not provided exact measurements. You will have very different results depending on the type of potato you use so please experiment. 

Pine mushrooms are fabulously subtle flavoured, burnt orange tinged mushrooms. They have a lovely almost crisp texture and are one of my favourites. They are very fussy about where they grow and cannot be farmed but only grow in the wild under pine trees. A good season will run from March to June but with the wrong conditions a season can be as short as a few weeks. So when you see these beauties make sure to grab them as they don't last long. This dish highlights the superb flavour and texture of the pine mushroom.

Gnocchi

Serves 4

 

4 largish potatoes (use a good creamy mashing potato, I used Dutch Creams)

1 egg

Enough plain flour to make a soft dough

Salt

Nutmeg

Bake your potatoes at 180 on a bed of rock salt to absorb extra moisture for about an hour until potatoes are very soft. Cool slightly and pass them through a sieve or ricer.

Stir in the egg and salt and nutmeg to season. Add flour gradually until your mixture is just workable without sticking to your hands. Don't knead! Your aim is to use as little flour as possible as it will make your dough tough.

Flour your bench and hands and roll a portion of your dough into a sausage. Cut your sausage into little pillows and drop immediately into a large pot of just simmering salted water, it should not be boiling. As soon as your gnocchi rises to the surface it is ready, this will only take a minute or two. Take it out and pop it in a colander. If you leave it in for any longer it will toughen. Continue in this way until all your dough has been cooked. Toss your cooked gnocchi in enough olive oil to coat, salt and nutmeg.

You can freeze the gnocchi for up to 6 months or refrigerate for up to 3 days but they are definitely better fresh. To serve, all you need to do is briefly add you gnocchi to your pan of desired sauce to heat through.

For my pine mushrooms I simply sliced them thinly, sautéed them in olive oil with very thinly sliced garlic then topped with some finely grated Grana Padano you could definitely add some parsley or thyme if you wanted. You want to pine mushrooms to be fully cooked through but to still have a slightly crisp texture. This should take no more than 5 minutes over medium to high heat. Always cook you mushrooms over a highish heat as they are full of water and you want them to fry rather than stew.

You want to slice your garlic 'Goodfellas' style, so thin that is practically dissolves in the oil.

Black Truffle

I have done something completely extravagant. I have purchased a black truffle from my local fungi specialist, Damian Pike.  She came out of the ground in WA on Thursday, so fresh! It's something I have wanted to do for a while and after being very good with my grocery budget in the last few weeks I have splurged and spoiled myself (this is how I live, 2 minute noodles for 3 weeks so I can buy black truffle on the fourth week. Is this normal?). I have quite a few projects in mind for this little baby and it has inspired me to start blogging again. You'll be hearing more from me on the subject of truffles very soon.

Here's my little baby, have you ever seen anything so beautiful in your life? She is currently nestled in among some eggs infusing her amazing flavour in through their porous shells. The smell! Oh the smell.

Cheapskate Eateries #4; Ponyfish Island

Welcome friends to my new favourite bar. We headed here last Wednesday night looking for a quick and easy dinner. This place has been on my wishlist for a while and I was eager to check it out. Turns out that we hit the jackpot and Wednesday night is BBQ night with sausage sanga's full of rocket, tomato, cheese, lovely caramelised onion and tomato relish going for $8. They also have haloumi sandwiches available for the vegos out there.

The guy on the BBQ really took pride in his work which was awesome. He took great care in putting it all together and he put the cheese on the sausage while it was still on the BBQ so that it went all melty which is the best.

We were there on a fairly fresh evening. They had the heaters going so we were comfortable but what made my night was the mulled wine. I adore mulled wine. And this little concoction was delicious. One of the best I've had for sure.

  

This little gem, hidden beneath the pedestrian bridge that crosses the Yarra, has got to have one of the best locations in the city. Smack bang in the middle of the Yarra, the views are incredible. You're right on top of the water with skyscrapers either side. At night it really is breathtaking. During a breezy summers day this place would be simply heavenly.

Great relaxed atmosphere. Old timber wine boxes planted out with succulents are dotted around, cute Chinese lanterns hang over the bar and stools and tables are made from old kegs which is a quirky little touch.

  

If you want a relaxed meal in an incredible location this is the place. Head down on a warm evening or a sunny day, take a deep breath and welcome bliss into your life. 

The Claws Come Out.

Hello readers. Those who read my blog regularly may have noticed that I only write positive reviews. Is it simply that I am easy to please? By no means. Ask Husband and he will tell you just how picky I am. Having worked in the hospitality industry for over 8 years means that I see the smallest faults in food and service. 

However, as a positive person in general I don't really like to write negative reviews but I do pay attention to bad reviews and mentally put the restaurant in question on my "do not bother" list. It may sound harsh but have you got any idea how many restaurants and cafes are in Melbourne? In the CBD alone there are over 1,000 according to Urbanspoon. With this kind of choice why would you bother with a place that you heard, even in fleeting conversation, was not great. I love trying new restaurants, but not having eaten at a place before means that to eliminate the dodgy places I do tend to rely on other people's opinions.

I assume that a lot of you are in the same boat so I've decided to make a list of places that I have tried in my gastronomic travels but have not enjoyed, so that you too can make the most out of your eating experiences. Here we go; the claws come out.

Picnic, South Yarra

Meal: Breakfast.

Food was really average for the price, unsurprising considering its location on Toorak Road. Staff where bored and uninterested. Atmosphere was not bad, minimalist and clean.

St Kilda Grocery Bar, St Kilda

Meal: Breakfast.

The atmosphere and service were what killed it for this place. The cafe was really untidy which I hate, there was clutter everywhere. The staff were much more interested in talking to themselves than providing good service. The food was good but not good enough to make up for the service and atmosphere. 

Bouchon Cafe, Armadale

Meal: Breakfast.

Nice atmosphere, clean and modern. The service was good, friendly and casual. The food was really ordinary, presentation was terrible, really dated and the coffee was shockingly bad which was completely on the head of the barista as they use St Ali's which although is not the best in Melbourne is certainly very good. This place sits on a strip with some excellent places to eat and they need to up their game to compete.

Okay that’s enough of slamming people’s businesses and lives for the moment. I will update this in the future simply because life is too short for bad food.

Guinness Chocolate Cake

The moment I saw this cake with its intensely dark moist centre and head of fluffy cream cheese icing I knew that I must consume it. The combination of chocolate and stout is not exactly classic but it darn well should be. The addition of sour cream gives this cake an incredible moistness and the cream cheese icing works beautifully with the richness of the cake, giving it a slight tang. Make it to impress your beer loving buddies.

Guinness Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

250g unsalted butter

250ml  Guinness

30g cocoa

275g flour

2 tsp baking soda

400 g   sugar

2 eggs

150 ml sour cream

1 vanilla bean

300 g cream cheese

150 g icing sugar

150 ml cream

Preheat oven to 180C/350F.

Add the butter, cocoa and Guinness to a saucepan. Warm over a medium heat and stir until the butter is melted. Set aside to cool a little.

Add the flour, baking soda and sugar to a large mixing bowl and give it a good mix. Make a well in the centre and gradually add the Guinness mixture stirring as you go to avoid lumps, add the seeds from the vanilla bean, eggs and sour cream and beat everything together until well combined.

Pour into a greased and lined cake pan and bake for 1 hour. When skewer testing the cake remember that it should be moist but fully cooked in the centre.

Leave to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before removing from the cake tin and placing on a wire wrack to cool completely.

For the icing; whip together the cream cheese, cream and icing sugar using egg beaters until light and fluffy with no lumps of cream cheese remaining.

Pile the icing on to the top of the cooled cake

Consume with gusto.

Naked Espresso Bar

Is Monday getting you down? Is it a little too manic? Do you wish it was Sunday? The Bangles would have felt a little differently about Mondays if they worked near Naked Espresso Bar. Here Mondays are a time of novelty, frivolity and excellent coffee, because here at Naked Espresso Bar Mondays are No Pants Mondays. Yes that is right, literally, no pants. The staff wear no pants, the customers wear no pants (to get free coffee of course) and you, YOU will wear no pants. Because let's be honest, it's just a little easier to get out of bed on Monday if you know that you will get to see your barista in his Scooby Doo boxers. Now some places rely on this sort of novelty to get customers in the door, not so at Naked Espresso, they need no novelty, they just like it. When you have a place with friendly and downright hospitable service, brilliant coffee (Seriously, this is the stuff coffee dreams are made of), and imaginatively created sandwiches you don't need novelty... but it's nice none the less.

The coffee is supplied by Toby's Estate, Naked have their house blend as well as single origin on rotation. They also have pour over as well as syphon. Now I've tried syphon at a few other places and it never really grabbed me but the syphon here was incredibly clean tasting and it really was very tea like as. It was lovely. Well worth going in for, especially if you've never tried syphon before. This is the place to have it.

The kitchen here is miniscule but that does not seem to hamper them in the least. Although the choice is not huge you will want one of everything so the small menu is not an issue. Husband and I got a sandwich and a bagel to share but next time I go, I absolutely have to have the black forest waffles with cherries and elderflower & chocolate syrup.

The food is good, really good, imaginative but not overdone. They use quality bread and pastries (from Noisette) and they fill it with yummy stuff that sounds a little unusual but it works. It does reflect the heritage of the owners (a unique mix of Southern U.S and German) but with a modern Australian twist. They also have macarons from LuxBite available if you need something a little sweet after your meal.

The atmosphere here is bright and clean, they have a beautiful big picture window (perfect for people watching) a cheery yellow wall and an incredible shiny, space age coffee machine. The service has that casual friendliness that makes you feel like you're sitting in your best friend's kitchen. Have you ever been to a cafe when one of the locals comes in and they are chatting to the barista, the barista knows their order and their name and you feel just a little left out? Naked is the place for you. This will become your local, they will know your name, they will know your order and you will feel at home in the world. The staff are Tom, Shanny and Paul. Introduce yourself, tell them your order, let them welcome you into their little pants-less world.

Fab Breaky Spots #3; Cafe Vue @ 401

What really sold me on this place was when I read that they had a Duck Egg, Bacon and Hollandaise Jaffle on the menu. That was it, immediately added to my wishlish. I have been wanting to go for a while so my expectations were high. (For some reason, the longer it takes me to get to a place the better I expect it to be. This is probably quite unfair on a lot of the places but they will just have to deal.) The food at Cafe Vue did not disappoint! Husband wanted the jaffle too but I refuse to order the same thing if I can possible help it so he agreed to get the Baked Eggs with Spanish Sausage and we went halvies. The food came out quickly and we dug in. I was a little disappointed to see that the Jaffle was not a true jaffle at all but a toasted sandwich. I know this seems silly but I love jaffles and I really wanted a shmancy cafe to validate my love of the pressed and sealed toastie. Oh well. once I tasted it, my disappointment soon dissipated, the bread was crunchy on the outside and incredibly fluffy on the inside (which would have been pressed into denseness if it had been pressed) the bacon was a tad hammy and the egg was as rich as you expect a duck egg to be, the hollandaise was perfectly creamy and slightly acidic. 

The Baked Eggs arrived in a cazuela; two runny eggs, two little Spanish sausages and a piece of lovely chewy ciabatta style bread all swimming around in a surprisingly sweet capsicum and tomato sauce. It was moreish and wintery and delicious. 

What I really love about the breakfast at Cafe Vue is that it is simple things; porridge, bacon and egg toastie, scrambled eggs, but it's done really well. That's what I want. Classics done well. It's becoming harder and harder to find but Cafe Vue hit the nail on the head. That is why I'll be back and that is why I'll recommend it.

 

I managed to finish off the meal with a orange cupcake (yes, I snuck in some breakfast-desert) I was a little dense for my liking, I prefer my cupcakes to be really fluffy, and it would have been much improved by being served at room temperature rather than cold but the orange icing was lovely, very orangey. 

They serve 5 senses single origin coffee which is always good and they also have a beautiful unprocessed brown sugar on the table. Definitely good coffee.

Now lets talk about the atmosphere, The furnishings are clean and interesting to look at, the room is bright and airy, there is an unusual sculptural chef's table arrangement at the back, but the thing I could not get over was the play list. Surrounded by a modern minimalist look and blasting over the sound system was nothing but 80's pop rock. Now I love The Bangles as much as the next person. (If you don't love The Bangle please that leave and never return) but I really do not want to listen to Bon Jovi and good ol' Cyndi Lauper while I am consuming my Sunday breakfast. It really didn't do it for me. 

The service was excellent, professional and friendly, they were a little short on floor staff though so it did take a little while to get seated and have menu's brought out but halfway through our meal they had another waitress rock up for her shift and things were much more attentive from then on. 

If you feel like somewhere a little special for your Sunday breakfast, let me recommend Cafe Vue @ 401 (I'm sure the other Cafe Vue's [four of them in all] are also excellent but I'm just going to recommend the one I've been to). The prices are reasonable, the food is lovely and the staff friendly. Pop in and grab yourself a 'jaffle'.