Sourdough

Ingredients:

• 200gm starter
• 700gm warm water
• 1kg flour
• 20gm salt
• 40gm warm water

Recipe

1. Mix dough: In a bowl (preferably glass if you have one) mix 200gm starter with 700gm warm water. Then mix in 1kg flour, and mix until till no dry bits are showing.

2. Autolyse: cover with a towel and leave sitting at rm temp(aim for 22 degrees if possible- i do this by turning on the heat, or turning on the oven to the lowest temp then turning it off and putting in the bowel with the door ajar) for 30mins.

3. Add salt: Mix in 20gm salt and 40gm warm water. Then wet your hands and mix them in, as if you were a child playing with slime! Let rest for 20mins

4. First fold: Now to start the folds! Slightly wet hands so the dough doesn’t stick to you. Fold in half towards yourself then turn the bowl 90 degrees clockwise. Repeat the fold towards yourself and turn 90 degrees clockwise. Repeat two more times until you have done a total of four folds. Then cover and allow to rest for 30mins.

5. Second fold: Repeat four folds and allow to rest for 30mins

6. Third fold: Repeat four folds then allow to rest for 30mins

7. Forth fold: turn out mixture onto clean bench top (ideally u want a glass, marble, or something smooth, bench top, where your dough wont stick and that you can use to create tension in the dough) do four more folds, and with the last fold try to drag it up and over and tuck it in underneath to create a nice smooth top. Now shape the dough into a tout ball by using a bench scraper and you hand to push the dough around side to side and up and down and slightly tucking in as you do it to build that tension in the dough. What you are aiming for is for it to look like a water droplet on a rose petal on a monday morning! You just want to build that tension. Then allow to rest for 30mins covered with either a moist towel or an over turned bowl.

8. Final shaping: repeat step above and get as taut a ball as possible. Then flip upside down and place in a well floured banneton (or a bowl with a well floured tea towel). Lightly flour.

9. Final fermentation: leave to rise for 4-6 hours, or overnight in the fridge (6-24 hours)

10. Preheat oven to 250degrees celsius, with dutch oven inside. Make sure it is hot and ready before you put in your sourdough (I normally preheat for one hour!) to avoid getting burnt (and trust me i have some bad ones from sourdough!) I invert my banneton on baking paper. I then use the paper to lower my dough gently into the dutch oven. Slash artistically, and place in the oven with the lid on for 55minutes. Remove lid and allow to brown as much as you like, normally around 5-10mins.

11. Allow to cool for 30mins, tap to hear that delightful sound of hollowness and success!!! And mmmenjoy!

Vegetarian Dumplings

Ingredients

For the dumpling wrapper

◦ 2 1/4 cup plain flour (320gm)

◦ 3/4 cup hot water (175gm)

For the filling

◦ Half a Spring onion spring

◦ 6 white mushrooms

◦ Enoki mushrooms

◦ 2 large carrots

◦ 1/2 napa cabbage

◦ 2 tablespoons pureed garlic

◦ 2 tablespoons pureed ginger

◦ 3 tablespoons soy sauce

◦ 3 tablespoons black vinegar

◦ 3 tablespoons dry sherry

◦ 3 tablespoons sesame oil

◦ White pepper

Method

To make the wrappers

1. Mix the hot water and flour together

2. Knead for 10minutes (either by hand or as I prefer, with a kitchen aid using the dough hook!)

3. Rest for 15-30mins, until it springs back when you press into it (while it is resting make your filling)

To make the filling

1. Finely cut the mushrooms, cabbage, spring onions, and grate the carrot.

2. Splash some oil in a pan, and lightly fry garlic and ginger. Add all the cut vegetables and mushrooms Fry until cooked.

3. Season with soy sauce, white pepper, dry sherry, black vinegar, sesame oil. Adjust to taste.

To make the dumplings

1. Timing is everything for this step as the dumpling wrappers like to stick. I like to use the cheat method -A pasta maker, to roll out the dough to the perfect thinness, however you can also hand roll it out.

2. Using the pasta maker run through a quarter of the dough until it is thin enough to see through. Then using a cookie cutter, cut out large diameter circles.

3. Fill each circle with filling and seal together creatively (i recommend using youtube tutorial for this step as it can be tricky to get the folds right)

4. Repeat step 2 and 3, with the remaining dough until it is all used up.

5. Place some left over cabbage leaves on a steamer basket, and put the dumplings on top. Steam for 10-15 mins and mmmenjoy.

6. If you’re like me and also like to save some for a later date, freeze the dumplings before steaming. And just remove from the freezer, and steam from frozen next time you crave some dumplings.