A Pretty Talent Blog

Monday, 27 February 2017

Baking Peach Pudding Using A Sourdough Starter

It is summer and the trees are ripe with peaches. Sadly, one of the branches of the tree with cling peaches, gave way under the weight of the fruit. We recovered the fruit was ripe and near ripe to eat or bottle, but I had another idea for at least some of these. As I was already busy baking bread, I decided to make us a 'bread pudding' by mixing up a special dough and then wrapping it around some peaches. A thin custard to pour over the bread after it is baked, and we had a delicious 'fresh' pudding.

These are the peaches we rescued from the tree. They are not fully ripe yet and still a little tart. I used four large peaches in the end.

In a large mixing bowl, measure 4 cups (4 x 250 ml) cake flour, 2 cups (500 ml) sugar and 1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt.

Add 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pimento, 1 1/2 teaspoons (7,5 ml) cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon (2,5 ml) nutmeg. Mix the dry ingredients well.
Option 1: If using Instant Dry Yeast, add a packet to the dry ingredients.

Add 1 cup (250 ml) sourdough starter, 1 cup (250 ml) ideal milk (evaporated milk), 1 egg and 80 ml cooking oil.
Option 2: If using Active Dry Yeast, add a packet to the milk, add a tablespoon sugar and wait for it to froth up.

Bring the dough together.

Knead this rather wet dough for roughly 10 minutes.

Divide into two balls, one slightly larger than the other.

Place the larger ball at the bottom of a prepared bread pan, making sure to fill the whole bottom of the pan. Prepare the pan with nonstick spray and lightly flour the bottom.

Press fresh peach slices into the dough. If you do not like the tart peaches, you can cook them quickly in sweet water, or sprinkle icing sugar over the peaches.

Form a lid for the peaches from the remaining dough ball.

Place the dough lid on the peaches.

Cover with plastic and allow to rise.

Once risen, brush with egg yolk.

Bake in a preheated oven for at least 1 hour at 200 °C.

Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Serve hot with thin custard.

The loaf is very crusty with a caramelized flavour, while the inside is tender, and that is before you get to the slightly tart peaches. A true taste sensation.

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy the books here:
You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.

Jy kan Kom Ons Teken en Verf Tuinstories hier koop.
Jy kan Kom Ons Kleur Tuinstories In hier koop.
Jy kan Tuinstories hier koop.
You can follow Miekie's daily Bible Study blog, Bybel Legkaart, here in English & Afrikaans.
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Sunday, 26 February 2017

Baking A Ginger Beer Bread Using A Sourdough Starter

"Today's loaf is a truly interesting one, and not what you would imagine it to be at first glance. It has absolutely nothing in common with ginger bread cookies, but is an actual loaf of 'everyday' bread. What I have done, is to add actual ginger beer, not ginger ale, to the dough as added raising agent, along with the sourdough starter. You can always swap out the ginger beer for actual beer in this recipe, but that feint whiff of ginger in the background, gives this loaf extra flavour in my opinion."

Mix 3 cups (750 ml) brown bread flour, 2 cups (500 ml) cake flour and 2 teaspoons (10 ml) salt in a large mixing bowl.

Mix the dry ingredients well.
Option 1: If using Instant Dry Yeast, instead of the sourdough starter, add a packet to the dry ingredients.

We use homemade ginger beer with a highly developed yeast content to help the bread to rise, along with the sourdough starter. Add 1 cup (250 ml each) of each to the mixing bowl.
Option 2: If using Active Dry Yeast, instead of the sourdough starter, allow allow a packet to froth up in the ginger beer before adding it to the dry ingredients.
Option 3: You can replace the ginger beer with any other brand of beer.

Add one egg.

Bring the dough together.

Knead the dough for roughly 10 minutes.

Prepare a bread tin with nonstick spray and lightly flour the surface. Place the dough in the tin and score the top of the dough.

Cover with plastic and allow to rise in a warm dry place.

Once risen, brush egg yolk over the top of the loaf.

Bake for 40 minutes in a preheated oven at 200 °C.

Allow to cool on a wire rack.

This bread can be served hot after just a few minutes.

It is a marvelously flavoured loaf with only a feint hint of ginger. It is notable how well the dough has risen, making it very light and airy.

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy the books here:
You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.

Saturday, 25 February 2017

Baking Sour-milk Buns Using a Sourdough Starter

My mom had made us some hamburger patties and chicken fillets and talked about getting some buns in town. I stopped her and told her that I would quickly bake us some fresh buns. I knew the sour-milk buns would go wonderfully with both meats, especially the chicken and started mixing the dough. As I had not shared this recipe with you before, I grabbed the camera to record the steps as I went along.

In a large measuring bowl, measure 2 cups (500 ml) cake flour, 2 cups (500 ml) white bread flour, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) salt and 1 tablespoon (12,5 ml) sugar. Mix the dry ingredients well.
Option 1: If using Instant Dry Yeast, add a packet to the dry ingredients.

Add 1 cup (250 ml) sourdough starter, 75 ml cooking oil, 1 egg and 180 ml lukewarm sour milk. If you do not have sour milk in the house, add a tablespoon (12,5 ml) vinegar to fresh milk and heat it up. The milk will sour and curdle within minutes.
Option 2: If using Active Dry Yeast, add a packet to the milk and sugar and allow roughly 10 minutes to froth up.

Bring the dough together.

Knead the dough on a roughly floured surface for about ten minutes, or until the dough forms an elastic ball.

Roll the dough into a worm.

Divide the dough into 12 slices.

Stretch and pull the sliced dough into rectangles.

Roll the rectangles up.

Place the rolls on prepared baking sheets with enough room to rise up. Prepare the baking sheets with non-stick spray and lightly flour the surface.

Cover with plastic and allow to rise in a warm dry place.

Once risen, sprinkle with flour.

Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 200 °C.

Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Serve slightly cooled from the oven.

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy the books here:
You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.

Friday, 24 February 2017

Baking Calzone Using A Sourdough Starter

Calzone is basically a pizza that has been folded over to take the shape of a traditional pie. In today's blog we mix the dough, using our sourdough starter to add flavour. I give you some ideas for a filling and then I show you how to fold it so that the goodness is trapped inside the calzone. Your family will love this one. What I like about this, is that you can hold the calzone in your hand and eat it on the go. That is, if you can wait for it to cool down first!

Start by adding 3 cups (750 ml) white bread flour, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt and 1 tablespoon (12,5 ml) sugar to a mixing bowl. Mix the dry ingredients well.
Option 1: If using Instant Dry Yeast, add a packet to the dry ingredients.

Add 1 cup (250 ml) sourdough starter, 60 ml olive oil and roughly 100 ml lukewarm water to the dry ingredients. Add the water slowly to prevent getting the dough too wet.
Option 2: If using Active Dry Yeast, add a packet to the lukewarm water and sugar and allow to froth up.