The Kitchen Playground

I really need a more comprehensive bread book. In the meantime, I did a quick library dash yesterday and grabbed a few to tide me over until I decide which one I want. One of them I read form cover to cover last night. It’s a great book for anyone who wants to try making [...]

Read Full Post »

Today in Melbourne it was 28 degrees. That’s my perfect. Warm enough for scanty clothing, cool anough to run. It’s the best of all possible worlds. Pure bliss. Between running and gardening and cooking, I lived life to the full today. I’m too weary too talk about it so here’s a pictorial representation of all [...]

Read Full Post »

The pay offs for getting it right are soooo darn good.

ciabatta dough proving for the second time.

ciabatta loaves proving prior to baking

two freshly baked ciabtta loaves

nothing beats fresh bread

except maybe a blue cheese and salad sandwich on freshly baked bread

Ciabatta
from World Breads by Paul Gayler
For the Biga Starter
350g bread flour
10g yeast
200ml warm water
For the Dough
15g [...]

Read Full Post »

However you like to spell it, I love the stuff. You can pretty much shove anything inside a bit of filo and it tastes fantastic and looks good.
What else could you do with 300g mince, one serve leftover kale risotto, 1 small bunch kale, 6 Brussel sprouts, starting to look spotty, 1 small carrot, 1 [...]

Read Full Post »

Plain cracker style biscuits get eaten at a very rapid rate in our house. Making them ourselves is good on so many levels. It’s cheap, they’re free of additives and best of all, it keeps the kids amused for ages. Their jobs are cutting and glazing and they’re getting pretty good at it.
Plain Biscuits
500g plain [...]

Read Full Post »

Sometimes, it’s just nice to whip up a quick loaf…

Read Full Post »

This is a slight variation on the Florentine recipe in World Breads. As usual, it’s a thermomix adaptation. It made lovely rustic, cheesy batons that will be a lovely lunch tomorrow.
Parmesan, Spelt and Wheat Bread
250g wheat grain
250g spelt grain
100g grana padano
7g dried yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
3 tablespoon olive oil
200ml warm water
Put grain and cheese [...]

Read Full Post »

As usual, we’re out of bread. I rather fancy something pita like for lunches tomorrow so I thought I would see what I could devise in the thermomix.

Thermomix Oat & Spelt Pita Bread
4 1/2 cups freshly ground spelt flour (wheat would work but would probably need a fraction more water)
2 cups oats
7g [...]

Read Full Post »

Beer bread is so easy it feels wrong. Although with the rate at which my household eats bread it also feels very right. I fiddled ever so slightly with the basic beer bread recipe on A Year In Bread.

Sunflower and Linseed Stout Bread
1 1/2 cups rye flour
1 1/2 cups wheat flour
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons [...]

Read Full Post »

Well the slightly seedy and slightly sour bread I made yesterday lasted about 12 hours which includes a full night’s sleep. As much as my kids ever sleep anyway. No wonder I get sick of baking when 3 people eat 8 rolls in such a short amount of time. So I am confronted with [...]

Read Full Post »