{"id":121,"date":"2011-03-29T13:44:25","date_gmt":"2011-03-29T13:44:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/suppersfromscratch.wordpress.com\/?p=121"},"modified":"2013-04-21T21:01:14","modified_gmt":"2013-04-21T21:01:14","slug":"croissants-sourdough-and-tortillas-around-the-world-in-baked-goods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.suppersfromscratch.com\/?p=121","title":{"rendered":"Croissants, Sourdough and Tortillas – around the world in baked goods"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you haven\u2019t worked it out already I\u2019m a bit of a baker at heart. \u00a0I\u00a0love bread and cakes, biscuits and tarts, and in the last few weeks I\u00a0have been on a baking spree – which I should probably stop fairly soon\u00a0in aid of trying to eat a bit healthier. Whilst I said before it’s not\u00a0about deprivation, it’s also not about pre-mature cardiac arrest!<\/span><\/p>\n

However I thought I would share a few baking\/flour based cooking\u00a0treats from the last few weeks.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n Oddly enough they all seem to be inspired by different places so from\u00a0my small kitchen in north London I am taking you on a mini\u00a0globetrotting tour in the form of baked goods.<\/span><\/p>\n

So the first is definitely one of the patient foods which takes a good\u00a02-3 days to make! (When I said patient I meant patient :))<\/span><\/p>\n

It is of course the French classic\u2026 Le croissant.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I now have a new respect for the croissant after making my first batch\u00a0\u2013 firstly because of the dedication and time needed to create this\u00a0wonderful breakfast treat, and secondly because of the blankets of\u00a0butter! (When you see the recipe you will understand…)<\/span><\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Makes approximately 20 croissants. The dough can be frozen.<\/span><\/p>\n

17 \u00bd oz (500g) flour\"\"<\/a><\/span>
\n \u00bd oz (14g) active dry yeast<\/span>
\n 3 1\u20448 oz (90g) sugar<\/span>
\n \u00bd oz (14g) salt<\/span>
\n 10 \u00b9\u20448 fl oz (300mL) warm milk<\/span>
\n 12 oz (340g) butter, room temperature<\/span>
\n 1 egg, beaten with 2 Tbsp water<\/span>
\n some extra flour<\/span><\/p>\n

Method<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Mix flour with salt, sugar and yeast make a well and add the milk. Mix until everything is combined and forms a soft dough<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Knead the dough for a few minutes until smooth<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Cover it with the towel and let it rise until it doubles in size. This should take 1\u00bd to 2 hours.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. While dough is rising, leave the butter out to soften slightly and flatten into a rectangle about 20×25 cms then leave to chill in fridge (I wrapped mine in some cling film so I didn\u2019t get covered in butter)<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Once the dough has doubled in size sprinkle it with a little bit of flour. Punch out the air with your knuckles and place it onto a floured work surface.<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Dust the dough with flour and roll it out into a large rectangle that is big enough to wrap around the sheet of chilled butter in thirds (about 25 x 60 cms)<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. Unwrap the chilled butter and place it onto the upper part of dough. Fold the dough around the butter in thirds to enclose it completely.<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. Rotate the rectangle of dough (if necessary) so that you can hold a roller parallel to the open edges. Roll it into another long rectangle, as done earlier. (Don\u2019t worry if you can feel a few lumps of butter mine had some and they came out pretty well so I don\u2019t think it matters!)<\/span><\/li>\n
  9. Fold the dough into thirds. This completes the first turn. Now wrap it in plastic wrap and place it into the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes.<\/span><\/li>\n
  10. Unwrap the dough and place it onto the work surface. Dust it with a sprinkling of flour and roll it into another long rectangle, as done earlier. Fold and wrap, exactly as before. This now completes the second turn. Place it back into the fridge for another 30 minutes.<\/span><\/li>\n
  11. Remove, roll and fold for the third and final turn. Make sure that the dough is well wrapped before placing into the fridge once more to chill overnight. \u00a0( the slow process of layer butter almost feels like crafting a great work of art \u2013 although you still have no idea how it\u2019s going to turn out)<\/span><\/li>\n
  12. Once chilled, cut the unwrapped dough in half on a floured surface. You can freeze one half of the dough for use another time, or repeat the following steps with it to make more croissants.<\/span><\/li>\n
  13. Dust the dough with some flour and roll one half of the dough into a rectangle. Continue to roll until the dough is roughly less than a 1\/5 inch (5 mm) thick.<\/span><\/li>\n
  14. Cut the dough into triangle shapes ( Triangles should be long and thin)<\/span><\/li>\n
  15. Take the bottom of the triangle at its widest part and, using your hands, tightly roll it up into a croissant shape.<\/span><\/li>\n
  16. Place the croissants onto a pre-lined baking tray.<\/span><\/li>\n
  17. Cover them with a tea towel and leave to double in size. Set the oven to 375\u00baF (190\u00baC\/gas mark 5).<\/span><\/li>\n
  18. Once the croissants have risen gently brush them all over with the egg wash.<\/span><\/li>\n
  19. Place them into the centre of the oven. Bake them for about 15 minutes.(you would be amazed at the amount of butter that melts out of them! \u2013As a safety warning be prepared for hot butter!)<\/span><\/li>\n
  20. Wait until they are a deep golden brown then remove them from the oven. Your croissants are now ready to serve!<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So after 2 days of rolling and folding I slipped out of bed at 7.30am\u00a0on a Sunday morning after a 2pm bed time the night before and rolled\u00a0out my final croissants, so they would be ready for my sleeping troup\u00a0when they arose.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Saying that seems rather self congratulatory but despite being tired I\u00a0felt real satisfaction finishing them off and had a lovely realisation\u00a0that I was truly enjoying what I was doing\u2026 cooking was absolute\u00a0bliss, sometimes I wonder if there is a better feeling in the world. A once preoccupied mind can drift into a state of transient\u00a0enlightenment, offering a Zen-like connection to a lovingly crafted\u00a0meal. (Wow \u2026excuse me whilst I drag myself back from the precipice of pretentiousness :))<\/span><\/p>\n

    So from France we travel to the States for some sourdough.<\/span><\/p>\n

    This was all about creating a quick bread loaf for the week. It works\u00a0and is great but I wont lie it’s not the classic white \u2013 it can be\u00a0made in about 35mins and therefore it doesn\u2019t feel quite as nice.\u00a0Nonetheless it’s still great bread and depending on your taste you may\u00a0even prefer it. It seems to work especially well with savoury food –\u00a0the sort of thing you want to have smoked salmon or eat with thickly\u00a0cut saucisson and some cheese\u2026 but that will have to wait (for me at<\/span>
    \n least, you lot can go crazy!).<\/span><\/p>\n

    For now the Simple Sourdough From Scratch<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    Ingredients<\/strong><\/span>
    \n 8oz wholemeal flour    \"\"<\/a><\/span>
    \n 8oz plain flour<\/span>
    \n \u00bd teaspoon salt<\/span>
    \n 1 teaspoon caster sugar<\/span>
    \n 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda<\/span>
    \n 12fl oz butter milk \u2013 or warm milk with tablespoon of lemon ( I<\/span>
    \n personally could not find butter milk- but if you do let me know where)<\/span><\/p>\n

    Method<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Preheat the oven to 220oC. Put a baking tray in to heat up.<\/span><\/li>\n
    2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the flours, sea salt, sugar and\u00a0bicarbonate of soda together with your fingers<\/span><\/li>\n
    3. Pour in the buttermilk ( alternatively heat the milk in a\u00a0saucepan with a tbsp of lemon juice and then pour in). Working quickly\u00a0combine the buttermilk with the dry ingredients and shape into a round\u00a0loaf about 4cms thick<\/span><\/li>\n
    4. Put the loaf on a baking tray and bake for about 25 mins, take\u00a0out and leave to cool for 5mins then tuck in ( I kept on checking on\u00a0my loaf and it definitely rose \u2013 despite me opening the oven door a\u00a0few too many times. It will never rise like a loaf of bread with\u00a0yeast, but it does form a lovely round loaf)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      As I said I don\u2019t think it will ever be my favourite but it was still\u00a0lovely and who can argue with 35mins!<\/span><\/p>\n

      Finally we head south of the border for the best find of the week \u2013\u00a0The Tortilla<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

      I\u2019m so excited about this one \u2013 it can revolutionise lunches and\u00a0dinners for me, offering a fairly quick fix for carb cravings.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Last night I really fancied some fajitas so tortillas became a\u00a0necessary challenge. \u00a0It was a slightly different mix of ingredients\u00a0that creates this wonderfully elastic dough \u2013 a superb base for some\u00a0exciting lunch wraps!<\/span><\/p>\n

      This was a recipe from America so everything is in cups but I used one\u00a0cup and it worked fine.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Ingredients<\/strong><\/span>
      \n 2 cups of plain flour<\/span>
      \n 1 \u00bd tsp baking powder<\/span>
      \n 1 tsp salt<\/span>
      \n 2 tsp vegetable oil<\/span>
      \n \u00be cup lukewarm milk<\/span><\/p>\n

      Method<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Mix together the flour and baking powder in a bowl<\/span><\/li>\n
      2. Mix salt, vegetable oil and milk together and whisk, add this to\u00a0the dry ingredients to form a dough<\/span><\/li>\n
      3. Knead the dough until smooth, then leave to rest for 15mins<\/span><\/li>\n
      4. Separate the dough into about 6 balls, then leave to rest for\u00a0another 15-20mins<\/span><\/li>\n
      5. Press down and roll out till about 2mm thick ( this was an epic\u00a0battle between me, the rolling pin and the elasticity of the dough- it\u00a0takes awhile but you do eventually get there its definitely worth it)\u00a0( at points you do feel like you are getting nowhere but with a little\u00a0perseverance you get great tortillas)<\/span><\/li>\n
      6. Warm up a frying pan then place rolled out dough and heat for 2\u00a0mins on each side<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        As I say this was a real find. They were soft, warm, doughy and very\u00a0comforting, I cant wait to rustle these up and cram them full with all\u00a0sorts of exciting things to spice up the monotony of the working\u00a0lunch! And if I happen to make one or two surplus, the incredible Toy\u00a0Story 3 has taught me a simple flour tortilla can be a source of great\u00a0amusement (poor Mr Potato Head….) \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/p>\n

        So that\u2019s it. Simple really. \u00a03 very different time scales, 3 very\u00a0different types of baked good spanning 3 continents, and 3 new recipes\u00a0to experiment with. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m finding with each stage of\u00a0this adventure – the more you experiment with food and recipes, the \u00a0more limitless possibilities and unique flavours open up.<\/span><\/p>\n

        Until next time mes amis, friends, y amigos – au revoir, goodbye, and\u00a0adios!<\/span><\/p>\n

        \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        If you haven\u2019t worked it out already I\u2019m a bit of a baker at heart. \u00a0I\u00a0love bread and cakes, biscuits and tarts, and in the last few weeks I\u00a0have been on a baking spree – which I should probably stop … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[140,138],"tags":[141,13],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suppersfromscratch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suppersfromscratch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suppersfromscratch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suppersfromscratch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suppersfromscratch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=121"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.suppersfromscratch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1453,"href":"https:\/\/www.suppersfromscratch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121\/revisions\/1453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suppersfromscratch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suppersfromscratch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suppersfromscratch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}