Culture

BitBarista

I came across this is excellent and fascinating Raspberry Pi project – an automated, self sustaining coffee machine, that also measures social responsibility. Created at the University of Edinburgh, a Delonghi coffee machine was dismantled and connected to a Raspberry Pi.  It was then programmed to accept Bitcoins from punters via

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Spelt Sourdough

Following on from the success of my previous Avoncroft Museum flour bread, I decided to buy some freshly milled spelt flour from there.  The spelt from there is of single variety called Arcor.  I have’t been able to find out much about the grain, but it’s produced another

adobespark

Adobe Spark Test

Just a test with Adobe Spark for some Cardboard Zebra promotion

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Sprouted Grain Sourdough

I bought some sprouted grain flour a while ago from Holland & Barrett and decided I better use it before it goes beyond it’s use by date.  I saw a recipe in the Tartine book and then found online a recipe on the Bread Magazine I subscribe to. Sprouted

africa

Epic. Seasonal. Crafted

It’s been a while since I’ve had anything from Grumpy Mule, not for any reason other than I don’t see it that often and when I do it’s usually already ground.  However, this all changed at the London Coffee Festival where I met a guy who

Beans

Jairo Astudillo Narvaez

Here’s a coffee I tried from Square Mile Coffee Roasters, which I didn’t write up when I was sampling it https://goo.gl/photos/GgjfqG5vEPvmEUQp8

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Sourdough English Muffins

When maintaining a sourdough starter, there is always excess starter that is usually disposed of after each feeding.  I’ve never been to waste something I really wanted to make use of this live culture rather than through it away each weekend.  So, looking into it, I discovered that crumpets

adobe spark

Avoncroft Flour

I decided to use Adobe Spark to create a post about using the Avoncroft Flour.

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Sesame Sourdough Bread

This is the second set of loaves I have made with the excellent Avoncroft Museum flour.  There’s something about this fine milled ingredient that’s great at absorbing water and gives the dough some real strength.  It bakes with a lovely colour and gives a chewy crumb that’s

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Muesli Sourdough Loaf

Following the success of my earlier porridge bread, I had some flower petal muesli that I thought would add another dimension to a sourdough.  Furthermore, my wife had got me for some wholemeal flour that had been milled locally at Avoncroft Museum, which was really exciting.  It was very fine

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Baking Bread with Lava

Siggi Rafn Hilmarsson is an Icelandic baker with an interesting technique. He buries his dough 16 inches underground where it actually bakes from the natural heat generated by Iceland’s volcanic hot springs. Source : Great Big Story

bristol

Small Street Espresso

I’m currently travelling to Bristol every weekend and, obviously, I have started to look out for interesting speciality coffee houses. The first one I’ve looked out for is the Small Street Espresso. It’s a small cafe in the old town part of Bristol city centre. Inside is

africa

Suke Quto

Suke Quto is a washed coffee from Ethiopia from Origin. Notes of brilliant orange and honey, vibrant Bergamot tea, juicy red grapes and a slight ginger lift. This must be one of the freshest coffees I had!  As I write this, it was roasted a mere five days ago.  Coffee

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Seeded Spelt & Rye Loaf

In addition to the Christmas Bread I posted last, I made a spelt loaf – I was pretty busy! Ingredients 400g Spelt flour 100g Rye flour 75g Mixed seeds 1tsp Honey 12g Salt 7g Yeast 350g Water   Method Everything was mixed together and kneaded by hand. It then was left to

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Christmas Bread

My family tends to meet after Christmas to get together, it’s easier in a way when the pressure from the actual event has died off.  This year, I fancied making everyone a loaf presented in a basket and that loaf should be related to Christmas in some way.  After

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Give It A Weigh!

said the Hot Chilli Peppers! Found on Twitter @QTBaking

chocolate

Chocolate And Mint Shortcake

I’ve never made shortbread before and I had never realised how easy it was.  These shortbreads have three layers – the shortbread itself, some fondant icing and a chocolate top. Each layer has to rest before the next, but they did bond well.  This recipe lends itself to all kinds

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Le Fantôme

I came across this ad the other day.  Now, I’m no car fan in fact I don’t even drive, but this is a great ad from Ford.  It’s directed by Jake Scott and stars Mads Mikkelsen as an assassin.  The car is there, but it’s not

BLOG

50 Years Ago, TV Changed Forever

On the 29th October 1966, TV drama changed, forever.  At 18:13, the popular TV series, Doctor Who took the bold move of introducing regeneration and wide mouthed audiences across the country watched their beloved Doctor played by William Hartnell metamorphose into Patrick Troughton, the second Doctor.  It came about

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Pulled Pork Breads

This is a collection of breads that have pulled pork embedded within the dough along with apple sauce and sage stuffing.  It was a challenge set to me from a colleague at work – ‘Make a bread, Si, with pulled pork in that doesn’t spill out everywhere.’  So I thought

brownie

Coconut And Raspberry Brownie

Here’s a truly superb recipe for brownies and if cooked carefully, can yield the kind of cake that’s crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside – which as we all know is the best kind Ingredients 185g Dark chocolate (85%) 185g Unsalted butter 3 Eggs 275g Golden

buckwheat

Puffed Buckwheat Bites

These little cakes are a little bit like rice krispy cakes or maybe more like sugar puff cakes but without the sugar.  They are made with puffed buckwheat, which I found in Holland & Barrett and I have been adding it to my cereal, but saw a recipe using rice

cashew

Cashew Yogurt

I’ve made this a few times from a  recipe I found on Green Kitchen.  It’s a quick to make alternative to dairy yogurt and is great with cereal such as granola and bircher or to go alongside a hot apple pie or similar. Ingredients Psyllium Paste ½tsp Psyllium

beetroot

Beetroot And Turmeric Bread

I fancied trying something a little different today and wanted to bake overnight around work, so I thought I’d make use of some beetroot powder I’d recently bought from Grape Tree. This also seemed like an excellent opportunity to try out some new smoked oil from the Cotswolds

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Sourdough Starter Update

I noticed that my starter had become increasingly smelling of acetone and after several feedings, it wouldn’t go away, so I’ve gone dramatic and and recreated it using a teaspoon of the original and a teaspoon of Trewithen Dairy yogurt, a bit of Cornish magic!  The acetone smell