Sally rallies...

So, Sally rallied and the dough rose well overnight.

I made a loaf and 12 rolls with the batch.

The rolls browned up okay but afew remained pale.

I was very pleased with the loaf.

I'm going to try a batch of soap soon. Not sure when, but soon...so I'm drying some little rose buds to decorate the bars of soap with.

My Soul Sister rose is producing some blooms but the bushes are a bit spindly. I think their next season will be better. Still in love with these flowers!

Rhonda shared a recipe for Salmon rissoles today so I gave them a go tonight...

http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com.au/2017/01/salmon-rissoles.html

I gently sautéed fresh corn, spring onions, capsicum and chives in a bit of butter...

They were very good. We just had a simple salad with them. Definitely printin this recipe off!

Cheers - Joolz xx

We ended up lighting our outdoor fire last night and Gus baked those thigh fillets in the Weber...

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I made a baked rice - add whatever veggies you like - I had carrot, zucchini, capsicum, onion, mushroom and fresh corn -  1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water, big teaspoon each of curry powder and chicken stock powder, salt and pepps - mix it all up.   Put a few dobs of butter on top, cover with foil and bake about 1 hour in 180C oven. Better than Continental!

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Dinner!
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The sourdough rose really well...

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I picked it up to move it over on the bench...

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...and this huge air bubble erupted. It's alive!

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Plop onto the mat...

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No further kneading is required, just gentle shaping then I plopped then into the floured bannetons to rise again...

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i sat then in the (turned off) warm oven...

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Tipped out and still rising...I forgot to take a pic of when I "slashed with panache"!

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Peppermint tea...

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This loaf is nearly burnt on one end but it is still fine.  I do prefer baking in the lidded tins as I think it gives a nicer crust...

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The round loaf...

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I cut the oblong loaf and am very pleased with it.  The taste is delicious, I'm not sure if that is the pure milled flour from Tassie or just the starter doing it's job. Either way, yummy!

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Oh, I'm having a lazy day, couch sitting and drinking tea...

Cheers - Joolz xx

Sluggish sourdough and a birthday...

Remember how I had fed up my starter on Saturday?  I fed it again on Sunday and by the evening it seemed good and bubbly so I made a high hydration loaf, following 

The Life of Clare's recipe

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It was very cold overnight and when I checked the dough on Monday morning, it had risen a bit but not to the top of the bowl like it usually does...

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I gently flipped and folded the dough (I had halved it into 2 bowls) and left if for a while, sitting in a warmed oven which had been turned off...just to get it going.  Then I just left it for the rest of the day while I went to work...

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It had risen when I got home so I made a focaccia with one and a loaf with the other...

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Oh, wow! It turned out great!

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Nice open crumb and it tasted delicious!

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The loaf, maybe could have done with a few minutes less but it was fantastic also!

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Celia from Fig jam and lime cordial said when sourdough is a bit sluggish you just have to wait...which is what I did.  She said this loaf looked 'burnished and grand'!

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The weather has been cold the last few days and we are in for a cold snap tomorrow and Friday...

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We are south of Adelaide and its colder here so I may need to whip up this little number to keep me warm!  Lol!

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Today is my beloved's birthday so I whipped up a chocolate cake to take to work and share with the staff at smoko time...

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This recipe makes the fudgiest chocolate cake without it being a mud cake.  Throw all the ingredients into a food processor, blitz and you are done!

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Dana's chocolate cake (cupcakes) - scroll down a bit for the recipe.

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Perfect bundt cake...

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Frosted to perfection!

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These are a few pics from my archives of the last leaves on my silver birch trees...

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I hope you are keep warm wherever you are in the Southern Hemisphere and cool in the Northern.  I hear California in parts, is reaching 48C which is ridiculously hot!  That is not a problem where I am at the moment, we are going for 13C tomorrow and 11C on Friday.  Providing the wind stays away, it is bearable!

Cheers - Joolz xx

Winners and losers...

On Friday morning I got out my Sally Sourdough Starter and fed her up.  I hope I'm not sounding like a stuck record when I post these sourdough posts, but I want to document each bake so I can compare results.

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This time, I'm following Clare's instructions that she has kindly put up on her lovely blog...

http://thelifeofclare.com.au/sourdough-bread/

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I printed out her tutorials and have made a binder especially for BREAD...

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Her starter also came from Celia's Priscilla starter at https://figjamandlimecordial.com/

 Celia has written about Priscilla's family tree and it must be great for her to see Pricilla's prodgeny.

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I planned on mixing up the dough late on Friday night so it could proof over night.  Sally was good and bubbly after a couple of feeds during the day.

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 This is 300gms of starter

600gms water

1 kg bakers flour

18gms salt

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9am this morning and Sally is up to the top of the bowl...

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My work station is prepped.  I'm going to dust the dough with semolina when shaping it...
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The dough is plopped onto the bench...
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I halved the dough and made an oblong loaf...
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...
...and 10 rolls...more on them later!
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I left the loaf to rise a bit and harden the skin...
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I've got my oven cranking on 240C...
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I slashed...but not with a lot of panache!  Bigger cuts next time, Joolz!
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I sprayed the loaf with a good lot of water, put the lid on my roaster and in she went for 20 minutes...
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She was a beautiful blonde when I took off the lid and turned her around before putting her straight back in (lif off)...
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After another 25 minutes, she came out a beautiful brunette of sorts!  :)
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I let her cool completely before cutting into her...
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Still not a big holey crumb but great anyway. Winner!
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Now, the loser part of the title.  I baked the bread rolls before the loaf and they were a total flop!  They didn't rise much more than in the picture and they resembled doughy hockey puks when they came out of the oven!  Into the bin they went!
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Oh, and I hate semolina!  I have dark blue bench tops and that shit is everywhere I look!!!
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I still have active starter leftover from yesterday so I have fed it up and will make another lot of dough tonight.  I will make it earlier and will try the flipping, folding method with the dough until I put it to bed later tonight...
Stay tuned!
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Cheers - Joolz xx