redwhiteblue&green

The quest for perfect…FLAPJACKS

I’ve just realised that these are not actually flapjacks, but ‘bars’. Raspberry and pine nut bars. Bars. I’ve been confused or misled. I’m going with misled. Shame on you, nefarious, unnamed misleader, SHAME ON YOU.

Anyway. 

I thought I’d found the perfect flapjacks in these beauts: 

From here: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2381/raspberry-and-pine-nut-bars

Unfortunately, there’s an issue (even aside from the ‘bar’ issue which I covered extensively previously) insomuch as they require FRUIT. Will this tragedy never end?!

So what I’m going with is that these ARE flapjacks (FIGHT THE POWER!) BUT only if you have some fruit to put in the middle. I used rhubarb from the allotment, which worked our rhu-perbly. I prefer this type of treat less sweet so this was perfect. It would work fine with frozen fruit from Ye Morrisons/the bASDArds/Snailsbury’s/AN Other supermarket.

I should point out that AN Other is not a chain of supermarkets.

Here’s the finished article (NB: Not an actual article):

 The recipe does actually make 12 good sized FLAPJACKS (in your face, BBC Good Food). 

So in summary, the quest for the perfect flapjack if you have fruit is over already. I shall endeavour to now find the best flapjack without fresh/frozen fruit. This will be more in line with a traditional flapjack. It’s going to be oats of fun. Loads of fun.

The quest for perfect…MUFFINS

I’ve tried a lot of muffin recipes, and have had the best luck with this one from the Hairy Bikers: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/lemon_and_blueberry_11428. Those lovable chaps. Look at them with their beards and their leather outfits. 

They have a nice fluffiness to them and aren’t too sweet (the muffins, not the northern cooks), which is up my street. And that street is Tasty Avenue. Breakfast Boulevard. Or Muffin Mews, if you will. 

Being a bit of a disaster on a shopping trip, I had no SR flour (I used plain with baking powder instead), blueberries (I called upon a mix of raspberries and currants from the allotment), or lemon (I utilised a tasty orange for the zest). 

They turned out a treat nonetheless

The recipe says it makes 12, I got 10. If you want bigger fluffier efforts, (like the ones at the rear) I’d suggest taking it down to 8. 

They are moist and well-risen, the berries give it a tartness (blueberries would give you a slightly sweeter muffin), the orange actually works really well and gives a warm bouncy fruity taste and the lemon curd is a treat, though I’d suggest putting an actual teaspoonful on each one, not a half teaspoon as I did. There’s a joke in there about curding your enthusiasm but I can’t work out what it is. 

BIG TIP: When combining the wet with the dry, do no more than 6 big stirs with a metal spoon. It’ll look really not properly combined but it’s worth it to keep them risen. Less stirring the better.

I’d definitely do these again with berries other than the blue variety.

Anyhoo here’s the ‘after’ pic. Ate a baby one as I was about to have dinner so have placed a large one behind it to demonstrate the size. I now realise that with nothing to measure the size by properly, this was largely a pointless exercise. But I did it for you. Everything I do is for you.

In the quest for perfect muffins, next time I shall endeavour to:

1. Make 8, not 10
2. Put a good teaspoon of lemon curd IN the top of the mix, not on it, to produce that smidge more sweetness it needs AND have more lemony goodness
3. Only stir 5 times rather than 6

The quest for perfect muffins, flapjacks and roast chicken

It has been a jolly busy day, blog, a jolly busy day in the kitchen. Perhaps it was getting to know you again that raised my enthusiasm, perhaps is was coincidence. Whatever the reason, I embarked on a few quests. 

The first is to work out a perfect MUFFIN recipe. I’ve tried muffin recipes many times but they are rarely good and usually a little small. I accept I’ll never get them to Starbucks-sized levels of size and fluffiness, but nontheless there’s a lot of room for improvement.

The second is to find a properly good FLAPJACK recipe. A favourite in our house, I’d like to get a solid base to which I can add anything (like a standard cookie dough) and which isn’t too chewy/crumbly/sweet/hard/crunchy.

The third is a good roast chicken. 

I’ll level with you: the first two I’ve got a recipe (well, one each) and I’m all about perfecting them or moving on. Ok so let me get my shizz together and I’ll get some photos etc up.

14th July 2012: Pizza

PIZZA! I can start with pizza!

Saturday night is pizza night. Possibly the best night of the week. Definitely the best night of the weekend. So it is there I shall start. 

I’ve been making homemade pizza for a few years now and am happy with my ability, but getting things written down can help improve so let’s give it a try. 

How to do it: 250g strong bread flour mixed with 3/4 tsp salt then combined with 150ml warm water, 2 tblsp olive oil, 1tsp sugar and 2 tsp instant yeast. Kneaded for about 10 mins until springy, made into a ball then placed in an oiled glass bowl and covered in clingfilm. Leave it 1 hr to prove, then ‘knock back’ briefly and roll out into pizza trays. SMACK THE OVEN ON HIIIIIGH (for our crap electric effort this is around 220). Use semolina flour on your baking sheet/pizza stone to stop it sticking, blast whatever topping you desire on top (not too wet!) and stick it in the middle of the over for around 10 mins. Make sure the underside is not too pale or soft.

As I type the dough has finished proving and I’m off to roll them into the trays and fix myself a rum and cola while I do it. 

Told you Saturday night was the best!

EDIT: First one is out the oven and oh my days it’s tremendous. EVEN IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF. Which I just did. 

Tumblr, hello, remember me?

My my it’s been a while dear Tumblr blog I’m sorry I’ve been away so long.

What do you mean you didn’t notice?

Well I thought about you a lot; fleeting thoughts, but regular ones nonetheless. Nevermind all that not-posting-for-a-year nonsense. It’s in the past. I’m back and I’m changing direction.

No, hear me out….my quest to improve as a baker and home cook can be really helped by treating it as a bit of a project and blogging as I go. So that’s the direction we’re going in.

I don’t care if you’re not convinced: I’m doing it anyway. So nyah.