jackal10

Traditional for Easter Breads and Buns. Saffron "Revel Buns" pre-date hot-cross buns, Usual fruit loaf or cinnamon currant bun, but infuse a generous pinch of saffron in the milk or water with which you make the dough

Hmm.. not much goes from solid to liquid as it cools. A few things (hydrocolloids, like cornflour custard being one, pitch being another) are non-newtonian and behave more like liquid the less you stir, but I can't see how to use that. I guess you need a two component system, that liquifies as the reaction proceeds. The old fashioned After-eight type mint centres liquify with time because of enzymatic action, but 50-60C would be too hot for that, and the timescale too short. Nowdays I believe they just freeze the centres before enrobing. Or just have the visual effect and flambe the icecream, pouring burning liquor over hard icecream at service..Cerises Jubilee anyone?

Navy cooks used to make chilli sherry as a condiment and seasoning. Take a bottle of sherry (Fino) and fill it full of chillis. Leave for a month. Great in soup, stews, tomato juice and the like. On aircraft carriers it was called "Afterburner" for some reason...

I now turn all my doughs. Helps lots Bulk fermentation is the first rise, before you divide the dough into individual loaves Proof is the second rise, with the individual loaves rising There are ten steps in a typical sourdough: 1) Sponge. A proportion (maybe 30%) of the flour and water is mixed with the yeast (or starter) and fermented (maybe 6 hours or overnight) to give flavour and generate a large culture population. However the gluten in this flour will be somewhat degraded by the acid conditons, and some of the available sugars used up. For large batches you can build the sponge in two or even three stages, adding twice the amount of flour and water each time 2)Mix: Mix the remaining flour and water, but not the salt with all of the sponge. Need only roughly mix until the dough is homgeneous as it is time, rather than mechanical work, that develops the gluten. 3) Autolyze. Leave in the mixer (or mixing bowl) for half an hour. This allows the enzymes to break down some of the starch into simple sugars. Salt jams this process. Some claim the enzymes are present in the flour, not the yeast, so just mix the flour and the water, adding the sponge at the next step. They claim this gives less time for the acid to degrade the gluten, and they leave the water and flour mixed for a long period, like overnight in the fridge. 4) Second mix: Add the salt, and mix or knead until evenly distributed 5) Bulk fermentation: Leave in a warm (85F) place, TURNING about every hour for four hours, at least for my sourdough. Handle gently - the dough is expanding, and bcomes increasingly fragile, and you want to retain as much of the gas as you can 6) Divide and scale (weigh) into individual loaves, Leave 15 mins or so to recover. 7) Shape, and put into bannetons or linen folds for baguettes. The dough is now quite tender, and needs minimum disturbance. 8) Prove (second rise) in a warm place to prove, and/or retard in a cool place. I don't prove but put mine for between 8 and 24 hours overnight in the fridge. Retardation allows you rather than the dough to choose when you bake, and since it drys the outside somewhat gives a better crust. The cold dough is also stiffer and a lot easier to handle. 9) Bake. Turn out the loaves and slash the tops The loaves will almost double (oven spring) in the hot oven. An initial burst of steam gelatanises the outside and helps bith the rise and the crust 10) Cool Enjoy!

The economics mean it is very hard for a small artisan bakery to survive, unless it is part of something else, such as a restaurant or wine bar. A good model might be St John's Bread and Wine. Still tough however.

wot, no return trip??

I'm not sure what counts as Hot Icecream. Whate distinguishes hot icecream from a mousse? The late Professor Kurti used to demonstrate his version: an icecream block with a hot liquid jam centre. Put in the microwave, the liquid jam adsorbed the microwaves and heated preferentially to the solid ice cream... People have been making freeze-dried ice cream for some time. This stable at room temperatue, and can even be heated.

You only turn the dough during the first, bulk fermentation, rise JL

In "Apprentice" you describe the modified Gosselin method for making baguettes. In "Crust and Crumb" you describe a more conventional method. Which do you prefer now? I'd like to make a baguette with all sourdough. Is this possible, and which method shoud I follow? I've tried both, but despite high hydration, the crumb is still quite tight, rather than the large open structure I'm looking for. I use a silpat baguette form, and I wonder if this is the problem, as I've heard that one of the key elelemnts in crumb texture is high bottom heat form contact with a hot stone. I've no problem with achieving good texture in conventional sourdough boules, baked on the oven floor.

20 mins; A short cyle should do nicely. If the temperature is right, it is hard to overcook

Its not very surprising. You are trying to get the salmon to about 45C/115F. That is the low setting on my dishwasher. Maybe a bit higher to allow for the foil wrapping etc, - normal is around 50C, will pretty much gurantee perfect salmon every time. Plate warming oven would do as well.

Use only a sprinkling of dried breadcrumbs, if you must use dried. Maybe a tablespoon full. I prefer the version without breadcrumbs, but with lemon, and an egg 7 Tbsp golden syrup Grated rind and juice of ½ lemon ½ oz butter, melted 2 Tbsp single cream 2 medium eggs, beaten MIx together, put into 8 inch tart shell, bake 30 mins in a medium oven or until set. Eat warm

I'm confused between what seem to be two different sorts of nougat. The first is quite dense and chewy - often found as chips in chocolate, such as Toblerone, but also as small bars on its own. The second is more light and fluffy, and comes in large slices. An example I have is Italian, and is coffee flavoured. Both have can have nuts, glace cherries etc Are they both nougat, or is one some other name like nougatine? Are they from different traditions, such as Montpelier and Italy, or just different makers? Which is "original"? How doie the recipes differ - is one just whipped more, or have more egg white?

Cocky Leeky (Chicken and Leek Soup) (Scottish) More of a one dish meal. Leek and chicken are a natural pairing Make chicken soup with extra leeks (and some barley if liked); remove the chicken when cooked. Strain, add new leeks (sliced into 1 inch pieces) and the meat from the chicken , cook for 30 mins until the leek is soft. Only heathens and ssassenachs add prunes. Leek tarts or quiche: Like onion tart but with leeks. Bacon optional Stuffed leeks. Slice into 3 inch pieces, and use the outer leaves of the round blanched as canneloni casings Deep fried leeks: Cut into long thin strips and deep fry until crispy use for garnish. Overrated. Cheesy Leeks: Cook leeks, drain well, cheese sauce, gratinee Leek and potato pie: What it says, with a pastry crust. Meat gravy improves, Can add cheese. Leeks in red wine. Elizabeth David recipe. Cook thinnish leeks in olive oil and red wine, just cover with wine and simmer until the red wine evaporates, and the leeks caramelise some. Vichysoisse - hot or cold if the weather is still hot

The coffee machine in the office or one of my companies is beginning to leak, and repair costs indicate its time to replace it. It serves around 20 people, but being in high-tech compter industry good coffee is vital. The current machine is a Jura X90 bean to cup machine, and its done well. Suggestions please on its replacement. Should we continue with a) a bean to cup machine, or b) Seperate grinder and expresso (potentially messy: these are programmers, not barristas); or c) Conventional pour-on and paper filter (many options here) d) Instant sachets, like Flavia (ugh!) e) Other.. Your opinions please on make and model, or just sound off about office coffee... Of course this is not as famous as that other Cambridge coffee machine, The Trojan Room coffee machine, the world's first web-cam. The coffee machine was sold on ebay, and bought by Spiegel Online, reconditioned, and is once more online.. I was a student and then faculty member at the time in the Computer Lab, and knew the original. It made awful stewed coffee...

White Christmas Cake 8oz butter 8oz sugar 4 large eggs 12 oz plain flour (pastry) Pinch of salt 1 Tsp baking powder 6 oz stem ginger, drained and chopped 6 oz glace pineapple 4 oz candied peel 4 oz walnuts or almonds, chopped rind and juice of a lemon Cream the butter and the sugar. Beat in the eggs, Sieve the flour, salt, and baking powder and fold in. Add fruit, nuts, lemon. Mix gently. Stir and wish. Pour into an 8 inch lined round cake tin bake in slow oven (325F/160C) 2 1/2-3 hours, covering with greaseproof paper for the last hour.

From the diagrams and photos in my copy of "The Meat Buyers Guide for Caterers" ISBN 7198 2517 2 , the closest cut is called "Pony"and described as "A short fore quarter from which the Brisket, Shin and Clod have been removed" I also stand corrected. The ribs described above should be "Fore Rib Oven Prepared". Wing rib i further back, and hence the rib bones are bigger

As a student, a long time ago and in another place, we made the nicest fruitcake in the world: An ordianry pound cake, but with 2 oz of hash and the best part of a bottle of brandy...to be sliced thinly and eaten in small amounts.. Christmas cake must be dark and rich; thick marzipan and thin royal icing as a snow scene with tacky tradtional decorations...

That is exactly what I meant. Actually I cheat sometimes. Tesco (and I guess the other supermarkets) does well trimmed rib beef. I purchase a chunk, roast it whole, but rare, then cut off the ribs and serve the rest to my guests. The fact that the ribs have been part-roasted first makes no difference to the long-slow cooked dish, and if anything improves them...they are for my private pleasure on another day

You a want the ribs from a wing rib joint. Buy a wing rib beef on the bone; cut off the ribs. Enjoy the rest of the joint rolled and roasted., and there you have the ribs.

Adapted from HMSO Bulletin 21 4lb green tomatoes 1 lb apples 1/2lb raisins 1 lb brown sugar 1 1/2lb chopped onions Chillis to taste (go easy for me) 1/2 oz ginger root 1/2 oz salt Pickling spice (Bay leaf, mustard seed, black peppercorns) 1 pt vinegar (I use malt) Tie the spices and the chilli in a piece of muslin and tie the end of the string to the handle of a lerge pan, so it doesn't get lost. Put enerything else in the pan and simmer over a gentle heat until nothing is really discernable as seperate chunks, except the raisins, and the texture is to your liking. This can take a long time - 6 to 8 hours, and fills the house with wonderful smells. Remove the string, and bottle hot. Improves if kept for a few months if you don't eat it first. The long slow cooking and maturing is the secret.

Ackee seems to me to be a bit like scrambled eggs - same colour and texture. I expect one could substitute scrambled eggs Salt cod with Aoli is good A google search has 5000 entries for "salt cod"

I'm for Brandade with truffles, myself. I'm told that in Nimes, the maker of the major brand of brandade adds truffles at Xmas time... You omitted Salt Cod with Ackee. Easy with tinned ackee.

When are you starting mail order and a web site for your devoted readers? Seriously, its a way of considerably expanding your retail trade...

Red: Latour White: Le Monrachet More affordable: Old Rhone or maybe a Ridge Zin Rolly Gassman Alsace True desrt island wine has to be Madeira. That wine will stand anything the elements can throw at it.