Food in Isolation

Lounge
9

If we dispense with bread, I’m less concerned with the availability of foodstuffs than the ability for some of us to obtain if we end up being isolated by virtue of age/predisposing illness.

I have two chest freezeers and tend to forage from the ‘top layers’. I suspect 60-70% of the frozen food beneath may be inedible normally, but in a crisis who knows?

My parents died after several years of ill-health last year. There is a chest freezer at their home full of ‘ready meals’ I used to buy that I’ve neither had the time or inclination to sort out which may be handy.

It’s interesting to see in supermarkets that relative wartime luxuries (staples?) such as sugar/jam are quite abundant, not that I’d want them anyway.

Dried/fresh pasta for the kids is non-existent currently, ok you may get a few tins of Heinz spaghetti/beans/soup or similar.

I’ve primarily bought dried beans/tinned tomatoes/herbs/spices thinking that lots of boring casseroles might be a good option.

What are others buying?

10

Home made Granola as discussed on “what are you cooking tonight and why would anybody be interested?”

1 Like
11

No rice risotto
Grate or food process cauliflower
A little oil, crisp some bacon lardons
Add the cauli, about 100ml water and a veg stock cube, simmer
If you have peas or broad beans, add those
Serve

1 Like
12

All fermentation is natural. After all - where did the yeast you buy come from initially?

For my sins when I was a mere slip of a boy I used to work in a bakery in Devon (UK) during my summer holidays (from age 15-17, when I eventually went off to Edinburgh University), which was where I learnt the principles of breadmaking. The usual method of repetitive sourdough breadmaking was as I describe - i.e. save a bit of the risen dough to add to the next batch. It’s why I never make sourdough myself - I’m fat enough without eating all the extra bread that would cause!

13

Commiserations.

I would be wary of eating very old frozen food. Not that it’s unsafe, rather that it tends to lose its flavour.

14

image
image3264×2448 1.72 MB

@Camphuw has sampled our sourdough bread. I have been making it for 2 years using a starter from friend Ann. I do now add a large teaspoon of rape seed oil as well after Camphuw’s visit. We use a hostess trolley warming compartment to incubate the starter. Ann provided the first batch. The bread is delicious.

Don’t seal the starter jar as it continues to ferment and may explode. We use 100gm coffee jars to store the starter. I use 175gm strong white and 75gm Spelt. I roll the dough into shape on a bed of Rye.

Trying to create a starter from flour and water might be problematic. The starter is special to the flour.

Phil

3 Likes
15

Full endorsement from me …
Must start my sourdough again.
Off to Shipton Mill tomorrow to see what flour they have left!

2 Likes
16

I’m not sure that is the normal method with Sourdough- I’ve been making it for a few years and I’ve spoken to several that have gone on courses and their method seems similar to the one I use.

It employs a ‘starter’ rather than keeping some dough. The starter is sort of self-perpetuating if you feed it regularly (every 1-2 days if not kept in the fridge):
Equal quantities (in my case 150g) of starter, flour and water are mixed together, it’s allowed to ferment for 12-24 hours then 150g of starter is the base for the sourdough mix; the starter certainly isn’t a dough, you can pour it.

Here’s the recipe I use:

To the 150g of starter I add 450g of strong flour, 250g of water and 20g of sugar.

Mix for about 10-15 minutes then add about 12g of salt and mix for 5 minutes or so.

Take it out of the mixing bowl, stretch a bit then form into a ball.

lightly oil the mixing bowl, return the dough into it, cover, then leave to rise until it’s at least doubled (generally overnight).

Take out of mixing bowl, shape into a rectangle, fold a third in, then cover with the other third, turn through 90 degrees shape into a rectangle and fold in again (I do this twice more). Purpose of this is to build layers in the dough.

Then shape into a tight ball (by applying a little pressure on top while pulling it towards one to get it to turn in on itself from underneath, turn through 90 degrees, repeat probably 6-10 times.

Place into a proving basket, cover and depending on how lively the mix was place either in a warm place or the fridge.

Wait until it’s almost doubled in size.

Heat oven to about 230 degrees, with a cast iron casserole in it (maybe with 50% more height than the dough has risen to). Let everything get hot.

Get 8 cubes of ice (actually probably 4, my icemaker makes small cubes)

Put some siliconised baking paper over the dough, turn it out of the basket.
Cut a slightly curved slice using a razor in the top of the dough, running the length about 1-1.5cm deep.

Put the dough in the dutch oven, put ice at either end (under the baking paper). Put the top on fast.

Place in the oven for 25 minutes.

Take the top off after 25 minutes and leave for a further 15 minutes.

Let it cool on a wire cake cooling thing (don’t know what they’re called…)

Anyway… that’s the method I use. White bread easier than brown.

Oh and once I’ve made a dough, I feed the starter again (equal quantities of starter, flour and water). Can be wasteful but the spare starter with a little bicarb can cook into crumpets (but this is always messy so I don’t often do it).

1 Like
17

I use one of these.

Usually bake - 5 seaded, 50% wholemeal, 50% white, salt, sugar, water and olive oil. Bung in the ingredients, set the program. Four hours later remove the loaf.

Another necessity is a good knife. This Tojiro knife is excellent, extremely sharp, as I’ve discovered to my cost a couple of times. :crying_cat_face:

4 Likes
18

I’m describing the way I was taught to do it. I’ve done it your way, and it doesn’t actually taste any different.

Nice to see that I’m not the only bloke here who cooks and bakes. In fact I do all our home baking, and more than half of the other cooking - although I will admit that SWMBO is a better cook than me when it comes to having all the parts of a main meal ready at the same time!

19

Our breadmaker (a present from daughter #1) died a year ago. I never really liked the bread actually baked in it although the taste was OK. The biggest problem being the mixer blade stuck in the bottom of the loaf, which I always finished up extracting with a pair of thin-nose pliers. The other problem was that the crust was never very crusty. I always finished up taking it out of the tin and putting it in a very hot oven for 5 minutes, and eventually finished up just using the breadmaker as a convenient mixer.

Now I use our 40 years old Kenwood mixer (recently serviced), and don’t miss the breadmaker at all.

20

Well I gave our recipe above and I can say real sourdough has lots of taste - that’s why it’s called sourdough! Unlikely I can help with starter, although @Camphuw might be lucky.

@StephenPacker provided his. It just goes to show there is no one method. I have to say though that complete regeneration of the starter every 1-2 weeks guarantees consistency. It doesn’t take much starter to regenerate.

Phil

1 Like
21

The mixing paddle on the panasonic I use is a very tight fit on the motor, in fact it’s very difficult to remove. With regards to the crust, I’ve a feeling using more olive oil makes it more crusty.

Next loaf I bake, I’m going to try your recommendation of using warm water.

2 Likes
22

I’m in the US. All my local Pizza shops are open for take out or delivery, and of course Dunkin Donuts :doughnut:

23

If I may deviate away from bread making classes for a moment :grin:, yesterday around my area and ‘village’ as we locals badge ourselves, there was an unwelcome change to buying habits.

The Sainsbury’s Local was ‘cleaned-out’ of most regular foodstuffs, as were some other local traders - some not happy, as this was to the detriment of their regulars. I suspect those WFH and parties who had tried to access the larger (now often cleaned-out) supermarkets, had switched to local shopping.

I see Sainsbury’s have sent an e-mail to their on-line customers (I assume all?), which suggests they will give priority to >70s for slots and also have dedicated opening times for them, plus enhanced ‘click & collect’. One would expect other major supermarkets to follow suit.

I’m earnestly hoping the recent spate of panic-buying comes to a natural end (although no end in sight per local feedback). The thought of the small locals being cleaned-out on a regular basis through a change in shopping habits isn’t welcome.

2 Likes
24

Great instructions Phil

25

I’ve got an old Panasonic bread maker with a ‘hatch’ to add dried fruit/seeds etc - I think it makes that end of the unit cooler as the bread used to rise higher at the other end.

26

I’ve had emails from Saisnburys and Waitrose so far.

The ‘gym’ keep saying it’s ‘business as usual’.

In theory the panic buying will slow for long-life foods I’d imagine, but it may not. Fresh produce by its nature will be replenished but only perhaps while there are workers to pick and select some of it.

Chicken seemes in very short supply - someone suggested to me lots of it cam from France - I’m not sure about that but who knows?

27

Sadly we are entering the ‘famine’ months where little fresh produce is available. The U.K. relies on imports at this time, and there is anecdotal evidence that suggests migrant pickers are turning up in Spain and France (perhaps also in California?).
May I suggest we consider digging up the lawn? :leafy_green::broccoli::carrot::potato::onion::garlic::tomato:

1 Like
28

In the past I’ve tried dried fruit, honey and grapes as a source of natural yeasts. Sadly, none of them worked for me. I now use organic dark rye flour, which is then developed with stone ground organic white flour. As I have a preference for at least 50% wholemeal breads, I confess that sourdough can be a hit and miss affair. But I persevere.