Brighton bread 500g

So With 750g flour, I end up wit 2 small loaves or one huge one.

Gonna try 500g flour/320g water/4tsp sugar

3tsp yeast/1tsp sugar

This makes the sugar content higher, but i find it toasts better...

Mix up the sugar/flour

Whisk the sugar/yeast

Have a beer.

Fold it all in with a spatula and have more beer

Make it climb the hook twice, add 2 fat pinches of salt

Make it climb again.

Put the bread in a too-large bread tin, rise it, realise, get frustrated and squish into a smaller tin

Brighton bread 6.. Or 8 i dunno

4tsp yeast/1tsp sugar, whisked into 500ml warm water, left for 10 mins

750g Waitrose canadian very strong flour/5tsp sugar

Spatula folds the water in, leave for 10 mins.

Make the dough climb the hook then scrape it off. Doo this 3 times, then add salt and do it again.

Mebbe it only needs to do it twice.

This lot has to prove in the fridge cos I gotta go out.

Hopefully 2 hours..

This is too big...

Looks cool tho.

Punched down, shaped, half of it is frozen the other in the bread pan, for second rise.

Forgot to oil the plastic covering and the top of the bread is torn, no matter, in the oven at 200.

20 mins.

The bread is very very dense, and did not fully rise.

Its good, but not amazing. I blame the overproofing.

Brighton bread 4

Yeh, didnt post #3..

Again,

750g flour, 4tsp muscavedo

4tsp yeast, 1 tsp caster and pinch of flour

Yeast mix whisked and left for 10 min

Poured in with 25ml oil and kneaded fir 8 mins

Looked dry, added shotglass of water and 2 fat pinches of salt, kneaded for another 4 mins

Pulled out, oiled bucket, left to rise on bench. Ambient temp 20.2, 60% humidity, 1 hour

Forgot to cover it!

Punched down, covered and left to rise again 1 hour

Punched rested shaped 30 mins

Baked for 20

Brighton bread 2

USo, 

750g flour, 4tsp sugar.

450ml water, 1tsp sugar, 4tsp yeast

This time, instead of slooowly pouring it in, i just got on with it.

Oven is closer to 30-35 (its a random guess anyway)

10 mins kneading, nearly forgot the salt again. Two fat pinches, another couple of minutes kneading.

Last time, I had forgotten to take the dough out and oil the bowl before rising.

It looks really good. Lovely warm soft dough.

Time to punch down.

Squeezed all the air out with my fingers while throwing flour around and flipping the dough over.

Shaped the bread, oiled the pans AND the glad wrap.

Back in the proving oven for 25.

Took out with 11 mins to go because they were pretty big.

Sitting out with glad wrap off.

Oven at 240 again, bread does not sound hollow, but the colour is as dark as i want it.

Appears to have shrunk instead of grown.

Waiting now for the taste test.

Soo much better.

1st Brighton Bread

Its about 18* in the house, grey day.

750g allinson very strong white & 4 tsp billingtons light muscovado

(Handful removed)

4tsp allinson dried active in 500ml warm water & 1 tsp billingtons light muscovado

Oven on approx 25* with water in bottom

Yeast mix has about 1cm froth, lets go.

Mix looked ok with about 50ml to go, put it in anyway.

Looks too wet..

10-15 mins later, looks ok

Added three fat pinches of maldon flakes and another 5 mins of kneading.

Covered in glad wrap, average height @ dark stain on pin.

Set timer for 40 mins

punched down and split into two.

Put back in 25* oven for 20 mins

Bloody glad wrap wrecked my bread!

Put into 240* oven, but the rack was on the bottom.

Mucked about getting the bread onto the midfle shelf, checked temp, wax down to 190*.

Looks a bit dark. Flour is spread on top for the camera (white point)

Tastes ok, has a crumpet texture.

Maybe too wet. Could spend less time in the oven.

Christmas Cake

PROBABLY THE BEST CHRISTMAS CAKE YOU'LL EVER MAKE*

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 stick butter
1 cup water
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
Lemon juice
4 large eggs
nuts
1 bottle tequila
2 cups dried fruit

Sample the tequila to check quality. Take a large bowl, check the tequila again to be sure it is of highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. Repeat.

turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Ad one teaspoon of sugar.

Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the tequila is still ok. try another cup.. Just in case. Turn off he mixerer thingy. Break 2 eggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.

Pick the frigging fruit up off the floor. Mix on the turner. if the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the tequila to check for tonsistiticity.

Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something. Check the tequila. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. add one table. Add a spoon of sugar or some fink. Whatever you can find.

Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degree and try not to fall over. dont forget to beat off teh turner. finally throw the bowl through the window. Finish the tequila and wipe counter with the cat.

*stolen from failblog

Vietnamese Coffee

VIETNAMESE COFFEE

Vietnam is the 2nd largest producer of coffee in the world. This may be news to you because you rarely hear about coffee from Vietnam. This is because they drink it all themselves. Every man woman and child has a quota they must meet for the glorific expansion of the peoples republic of Vietnam.

When you see a horde of them coming down the street at you on scooters, engines screaming like locusts, you can be your bottom dollar they are mad to the eyeballs on caffeine.
Dont make any sudden movements and dont show any fear. This panics and angers them. Make large deliberate movements and pretend you haven't seen them at all.

The Vietnamese roast their coffee beans in clarified butter. This would be disastrous for espresso etc. but awesome for their method of preparation. For this same reason, normal coffee is unsuited to the task of producing vietnamese coffee, so dont even try.

You need a Phin filter.

Pour hot water into a small bowl, put your coffee glass/cup into the hot water and spoon in a big lop of condensed milk.

Put the wide base (span-er) of the phin filter on top of the cup, then nestle the barrel (brewing chamber) of the phin filter in the recess of the base.

Spoon in two heaped teaspoons of vietnamese coffee. This should be 6 grams but there is no way to tell.
Tap the filter to level out the top of the cofee, then drop the insert on top. Pour a little hot water (not boiling, approx 85ºC) on top of the insert, maybe fill to 1/4. then let the water soak into the coffee for 20 seconds.

Twist the insert gently 1/4 turn and then fill to the top and put the cap on. It should brew for about 5 minutes.

It should look exactly the same as the picture below (mid brew).
The bowl of water is to try to keep the coffee cup warm
You can se a thin layer of condensed milk at the boton of the glass
It must be a spongebob glass or the coffee will taste like pants
the phin filter sits on top, dripping coffee into the cup

Stir it all up and eat.