Happy Pancake Day!

Sweet Friday

Christmas Time

Sweet Friday

How about we slow down today and talk bread? 
We will need:
630 g full grain rye flour
440 g full grain wheat flour
20 g dry yeast
40 ml barley malt extract or molasses
660 ml water
30 g salt
20 g cumin or coriander seeds

Prior to all, mix warm water with yeast, a little bit of flour as well as the extract of malt and leave it till the foam appears (half an hour should be sufficient). Once the foam has formed, add remaining flour, salt, cumin or coriander seeds and start forming the dough (keep kneading for at least 10 to 15 minutes). Shape the dough into a ball, place it gently into a bowl, cover it with a towel so that the surface doesn’t get dry and leave it for 2 to 3 hours for the dough to rise.
Once the dough has risen, knead it once again and form it into a round or oblong loaf, roll and shape it within the flour and cut the line in the middle.
Finally, line butter paper into a baking tin and place the bread on top, cover and leave it for an hour to increase or even double in size.
While the bread is rising, preheat the oven to 210 degrees and bake the bread for about 45 minutes.
How to know if the bread is ready? Once you knock the crust of the baked bread, the sound should resemble knocking on an empty barrel. If that’s not what you hear, continue baking for another 10 to 15 minutes.
Once the bread is ready.. don’t forget some late summer herbs, cottage butter, coarse salt and.. bon appétit!

Sweet Friday

Sweet Friday - Pavlova

Ingredients needed:

80 g egg whites
160 g sugar
150 ml of fat cream ( (35proc.) 
3 stalks of rhubarb
2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar
A handful of strawberries
Half vanilla pod
A spoon of amaretto liqueur

Preheat oven to 110 C degrees. Put the egg whites and sugar in a mixer and beat the rigid mass. Line your baking tray with greaseproof paper. Spoon onto the greaseproof paper in mini-pavlovas of your desired shape and bake it for about 1-2 hours. Even though the baking time depends a lot on the size of the mini-pavlovas, it’s important they dry completely before taken out.
Peel the rhubarb stalks.
Cut the rhubarb stalks into large pieces of 3 to 4 cm. Divide Strawberries into several parts. Be bold to experiment with other types of berries or fruits, i.e. caramelized pears or apples as well as nuts.
Place the rhubarb in a saucepan, add sugar with vanilla seeds and cook stirring until the rhubarb is tender and caramelized.
Be cautious not to overheat so that the mass does not translate into a porridge.
When the rhubarb slices are tender, it’s time to add sliced strawberries and pour the amaretto liqueur. Remove the saucepan from the heat and leave it to simmer down. In the meantime, beat the stiff cream.
Layer mini-pavlovas with caramelized rhubarb and strawberry mass.
Be creative, enjoy the process and 
Bon Appétit!