Oooh, it's a DSLR!

Much joy in the Kitchen as I unveiled my (prematurely delivered so we can capture the festivities) Christmas present from Adam - a Digital SLR! So far all the NK photos have been taken on tiny, crappy point and shoot. Even if I say so myself, I don't think I've done too badly on it but I've been frustrated by it's performance in low light and the slow shutter release. I've lost count of the number of empty frames I've got where the children have dashed off/swung out of shot long before the camera coughs painfully into action.

I'm very much still learning, mainly surviving on auto modes but I can already see the difference in the quality of light, graining etc I have a vague grasp of things like shutter speeds and fstops as I owned an SLR in my student days (which I'm horrified to discover were 20 years ago!) but photography seemed expensive in those days not only did we have to wait days before we even saw our photos but we had to pay to print every single duff shot too so my interest waned fairly rapidly.

I do feel rather conspicuous with this professional looking contraption swinging around my neck, not only do I fear being uncovered as a raging amateur but I've already encountered low level hostility from strangers. While browsing a toy stall at the Bury St Edmunds Christmas Market the stall holder snappily told me to not photograph her merchandise, which I had no intention of doing, so that proved to be useful in deciding which stall to actually purchase from. I can't help thinking someone engaged in industrial espionage would be a tad more subtle ....

Anyway, on a lighter note, please admire my lovely proving basket from Jane Jennifer. I e-mailed her asking for one of her proving baskets without mentioning this blog or my sourdough bread but she saw the link from my blog to her website and put 2 + 2 together. As a result she made a basket specifically for me and my sourdough requirements. It's made from white willow because it doesn't stain the dough like darker willow would and it's the exact size I wanted. Best of all it's been handmade just a few miles away from where it's being used and loved.

Sourdough Success

Finally! I have a successful sourdough loaf! Admittedly, I don't have holes as large as I'd like but it has a soft, light interior and a dense, chewy, flavoursome crust so I'm not complaining! I swapped to Dan Lepard's recipe which I found much easier, less time consuming and more successful than the River Cottage sponge making version I had been using.

It's a nice place to be - good enough to make an enjoyable loaf to be proud of but more than enough room for improvement to keep the interest alive (and hopefully the starter too!)

I've now reached the point in the Norfolk Kitchen year when the blog quietens down as I don't have a great deal of foraging or allotment activity going on in the winter. I don't even have a Christmas Presents series this year as I've decided to give my long suffering family a break from home made presents (apart from Hot Chocolate on a stick which I will blog about separately)

My current winter creativity outlet appears to be sewing. I'm somewhat hampered by the fact that I'm an utter dunce in this arena, straight lines and hems are about as far as I get. I prefer not to think about buttonholes and zips and the like unless I'm breathing into a paper bag so I'm quite proud of the 2 patchwork throws I made for the living room.

They're basically 9 50cm squares, sewn together in a block and backed with fleece. They're warm and soft, ideal for snuggling under while waiting for the central heating to kick in. I saw some in a local shop, made in exactly the same way for £45 each. Mine are made from scraps I had lying around plus a length of fleece which cost £25 for both so I'm feeling rather smug. Next up, helping Father Christmas with the stockings he asked me to make for the children - where did I put that paper bag ......

Sourdough #2

First of all, let's all gather around and gasp at the lovely airy sourdough I made.

Thank you.

Now let's turn our gaze south and pause to consider the dense brick like appearance of the other side of the loaf Things are getting better though, it tastes lovely, the crust is everything I hoped it would be but I think I've made a few of errors.

First of all my dough wasn't as wet as the recipe described at the kneading flour into the sponge stage. I added extra water but I'm not sure if this will have made a difference. Second, I put the shaped, round dough into the proving basket smooth side up but according to the book it should be smooth side down. Will this have made a difference to the rise? Not really sure. Finally, I accidentally made too much dough by forgetting to half the quantities in the recipe so I think the oven was over crowded and the loaf didn't cook evenly (hence the brick like side vs light and bubbly side)

Thanks to @goodshoeday who has been quietly cheering me on via Twitter and has recommended Dan Lepard's website for sourdough tips. My plan is to read through the webside then set about sourdough #3, which I fully expect to be perfect!

Well done to anyone reading through this, I'm uncomfortably aware that I'm becoming a sourdough bore but I have to make this work, namely because I've ordered some lovely handmade bread proving baskets from Jane Jennifer and the purchase has to be justified!

Sourdough

After watching the River Cottage bread episode I was inspired to try my hand at baking sourdough bread. Why sourdough? Well, it fits into the Norfolk Kitchen philosophy in a couple of ways. I was astonished to learn it's made with wild yeasts living in the air (I can't be the only person in existence who didn't know wild yeasts live in the air can I?) so technically it's foraging, plus it costs a fortune to buy so it's worthwhile learning how to do it. Oh and it's tasty, I particularly like the dense crust of sourdough and the loaves do look impressive.

So my journey began back on 6th November when I began the starter. (I've got the River Cottage Bread book and used that as my guide) I used organic spelt which took a little while to get going but once I got it into a warm enough spot in the kitchen it bubbled like a cauldron, in fact, I had to move it into the chilly bathroom to slow it down a bit.

I finally got around to making the bread yesterday, it needs babysitting so it has to be done on a day when you're happy to stay close to home and it also takes some planning. I made the sponge on Monday night then kneaded the extra flour in on Tuesday, then shaped it again, and again, and again before finally getting it into the oven at Tuesday teatime. (Do I get an award of some sort from Citi Slow?)

And the result? I made a flat thing - as Kipper might say. The bread is tasty but it's not as light and airy as the bread in the book, I'm thinking this is probably because it was made from stoneground wholemeal flour which makes a dense loaf at the best of times, plus I may not have used enough of the starter. I reduced the quantities given in the recipe so was guessing half a ladle of starter by eye. Next time, more starter and half and half white and wholemeal flour I think. If any sourdough aficionados out there have any advice on producing a lighter loaf, please share!

By the way, I've been nominated for a Dorset Cereals little blog award, if you're of a mind to do so, please feel free to vote for me! (widget on the left of the screen) I have one lonely vote at the moment - thank you!