Tuscan Bread
The first time you try Tuscan bread, it feels like someone must be playing a joke. This bland-tasting, pale-crusted bread surely can’t be right. But Tuscan bread it is! In fact, the bread is (quite deliberately) missing one key ingredient.
Tuscan bread is intentionally made without or with very little salt. Tuscan bread not only lacks depth of flavour without salt, the crust also doesn’t brown and the structure is much more delicate.
Salt-less Tuscan bread is really not intended for eating on its own. It’s usually served along with the main meal and is meant for sopping up thick, rich sauces. The bread doesn’t compete with the flavours in the dish, and both are enhanced.
1st Fermentation
35 g yeast
1 Tbsp flour
125 ml lukewarm water
1250 g flour
500 ml lukewarm water
pinch of salt
Method
1
1st fermentation – Dissolve the yeast in 125 ml lukewarm water. Add 1 tablespoon flour and leave to rise.
2
Place the flour in the bowl of a mixer, add the fermented mixture and the remaining 500 ml water. Add a little more water if necessary to get a soft but not sticky dough.
3
Mix all together and knead for 5 -10 minutes to a small ball.
4
Shape into an oblong and wrap in a cloth dusted with flour, leave to rise for 1 hour.
5
Carefully remove the bread from the cloth and place in a baking tray dusted with flour.
6
Bake in an oven, preheated at 180°C for about 50 minutes.
Pear bread
600 g - 1kg strong white bread flour
1 x 7 g sachet of dried yeast
300 g strong white bread flour
350 g strong white bread flour , plus extra for dusting
oil , for greasing
- For the starter, combine 200g of the flour with 200ml of lukewarm water in a non-metallic container – a glass jar is perfect. Leave it somewhere warm uncovered overnight.
- The following day, feed it by discarding half and adding a further 100g of flour and 100ml of lukewarm water.
- Repeat this feeding process each day until you see bubbles throughout the mixture (this is where a glass jar comes in handy). It will take a few days, possibly more, for the mixture to pick up the natural airborne yeasts and really start living. Don’t lose hope, it will happen!
- Removing 100g of the starter to make your loaf, chill the rest, covered but with a hole for it to breathe. You’ll need to feed this once a week – bring it up to room temperature first, allow it to bubble up, then recede (somewhere warm) for 30 minutes to 1 hour, then return it to the fridge within an hour or so. A liquid layer may develop on top, called hooch; stir it in if you like, or pour it off.
- To make the sponge, bring the 100g of starter up to room temperature.
- Combine the 300g flour and ½ teaspoon of sea salt in a bowl, then add 300ml of warm water and the starter.
- Cover with a towel and leave it to rise somewhere warm for 3 to 4 hours, or until doubled in size.
- In the meantime, top up the starter with 50g of flour and 50ml of lukewarm water (the weight you removed), allow it to bubble up and down as in step 3, then return it to the fridge.
- Either use your sponge straight away or chill it, covered, overnight.
- Now to make the sourdough bread. Bring the sponge up to room temperature (if needs be), combine it with the flour and 2 teaspoons of salt, then turn it out onto a floured surface.
- Knead for 10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 2 to 3 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Tip the dough onto a floured surface, knock out the air, then shape it into a round loaf, placing the pear inside on an oiled baking sheet.
- Wrap the thyme around as crown, over and prove for about 1 hour in a warm place, or until it doesn’t spring back when prodded.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C.
- When the dough is ready, place a tray of water in the base of the oven (this will help it develop a good crust) and score the top of the loaf with a sharp knife.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until golden and sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.
Delicious served with blue cheese.
Madeleines
Matcha (green tea) Madeleines
Makes about 12
Ingredients
100g caster sugar
100g flour
1 egg
Lemon zest and juice of ½ lemon
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon matcha powder
100g butter and some extra for greasing the tin
Method
1 Preheat oven to 200 C˚. Melt the butter in a small pan and grease the baking tin. Sprinkle lightly with some flour, shaking off the excess. Mix the dry ingredients together.
2 Whisk the eggs and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Fold the dry ingredients carefully carefully through the beaten eggs followed by the melted butter. Let stand for 15 minutes.
3 Fill each mold in the Madeleine baking tin ¾ full with the batter. Bake in the oven for 8-9 minutes or until cooked through. Leave them to cool for 1 minute in the tin and then gently remove. Put them on a rack to cool and sprinkle with icing sugar.
Crepes Suzette
Today, February the 17th is International pancake day. While we love the traditional pancakes with a little cinnamon-sugar and lemon and American pancakes, we felt that we wanted to make it a little more indulgent. So here is an absolute classis which everyone should have in their repertoire.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
100g flour
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
about 300 ml milk
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon oil
butter for frying
Suzette Sauce
75 g butter
150g sugar
2 lemons
2 oranges
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier or orange liqueur, or to taste
Method
Mix the egg and egg yolk with the flour, oil and a pinch of salt and add part of the milk. Whisk until you have a thick mixture and add as much of the remaining milk as needed. (This can also be done in the food processor.) The batter should be the consistency of cream.
Allow the batter to rest for ± 30 minutes. Cook the crepes in a crepe pan or frying pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Grate the zest of the 1 lemon and 1 orange and squeeze the juice from all. Place the sugar in a pan and caramelise over a medium heat until an amber colour. Carefully add the citrus juices and cook over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Mix in the butter, grated zests and Grand Marnier or orange liqueur. If you dare, flambé the liqueur before adding, but please be very careful!
To serve, fold the crepes into quarters and reheat briefly in the sauce. Serve with scoops of vanilla ice cream.
We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours
Valentine's Shortbread Hearts
We've already given you a recipe for shortbread, but here's a twist turn turn them into Valentine's heart cookies.
Ingredients
250 g flour
75 g castor sugar
150 g unsalted butter
pinch of salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 170° C.
Place the flour, sugar, butter and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs and starts binding together.
Remove the dough from the food processor and knead lightly until the mixture comes together. Roll the pastry out thinly cut into hearts with a pastry cutter. Place onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and prick with a fork to prevent them rising too much.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes until pale golden. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with castor sugar. Allow to cool completely. Decorate with pink icing) or any color of your choice. You can either make your own or use store bought.
Shortbread keeps well for a couple weeks if stored in an airtight container. But if you're as greedy as we are, it will probably only last a couple of days!
If you don't have a food processor, shortbread and also be made by hand.
We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours
United Pancakes
United Pancakes brings the classic and much loved Dutch pancake into the 21st century. They've been open for 3 months and are redefining the way we eat pancakes. They are making pancakes accessible to everyone.
United Pancakes was born out of the fact that there were no artisan pancake restaurants. They noticed a gap in the market and so this brand was born.
All their products are organic and everything is homemade. Flour comes from their own mill and is available to purchase in the their little shop together with homemade apple and pear syrups, old fashioned Dutch candy and their own branded aprons, t-shirts a baby ware.
The restaurant has a great intimate atmosphere with rough bare brick walls and lots of old wood. It's also an ideal place for kids and the staff are friendly and very attentive.
A new addition are pancakes to go, which is great if you need your pancake fix but don't have the time. It's cooked fresh to order then filled with the topping/flavouring of your choice to enjoyed on the go. We took ours to go as we didn't have much time and it was without doubt one of the most delicious pancakes we've had in a while. We will be back!
For more information, please visit United Pancakes.
Cape Seed Bread
This is a typical South African bread recipe. It's healthy and delicious.
Makes 1 loaf
Ingredients
1 cup bran
4 cups wholewheat flour
15ml sunflower oil
15 ml honey or brown sugar
15ml salt
100ml each sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and poppy seeds
3 cups lukewarm water
30g fresh yeast
Method
Mix the bran, flour, honey or sugar, salt and seeds together in a bowl.
Dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar in 250ml lukewarm water, add to the fresh yeast and leave in a warn place until frothy. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour in the yeast mixture.
Now, using a wooden spoon, add as much of the remaining water as the flour will absorb. (The consistency should be that of a fruit cake).
Spoon into a well-greased 750g loaf pan. Cover and set aside to prove for about one hour until the mixture has risen to fill the pan.
Bake at 200º C for approximately 60 minutes until the bread is cooked through.
We, the Amsterdam Flavours chefs, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. If you have any questions on how to prepare it or just want to send us your feedback, you can reach us here Contact Amsterdam Flavours