BAKING MAD

BAKING MAD On your marks, get set, bake! Top tips and advice to help you perfect your bakes

It’s that time of the year when the Great British Bake Off is back on our screens, and baking fever grips the nation. Over the last 18 months or so, thanks to lockdowns, many people have baked more than ever before — it’s no coincidence that “banana bread” was one of the most searched for recipes last year. But to win that coveted apron takes some special skill, and even the most talented bakers can, from time to time, find themselves stymied by some seemingly basic recipes (remember brownie-gate last season?). To help you master some of the techniques frequently put to the test on our favourite baking show, Casey Stoddard, Commercial Director at Burns the Bread bakers in Glastonbury has shared his top tips.

How do you know if you have kneaded bread for long enough?

Kneading bread can be quite a physical task and there are three signs that will tell you when you’re ready to stop. 1 If the dough tears then you need to knead for a bit longer, if it stretches and forms a thin almost see-through layer you’re good. 2 If you press your finger into the dough and it leaves an indent then you need a little longer. The dough should spring back when you’re ready. 3 Your dough should also have a nice smooth texture. If it’s still a bit wet and sticky your dough isn’t ready quite yet.

How do you roll a roulade without it cracking?

Roulades can be extremely basic but look ever so delicious! It’s easiest to roll a roulade when it’s still hot, first, place it on a fresh sheet of baking parchment and start to roll it fairly tightly. The baking parchment will stop the sponge from sticking to itself. Once cooled unroll slowly, this makes it much easier to roll again once you’ve topped with your favourite filling.

How do you prevent a “soggy bottom” when making a pie?

Blind baking is always a pretty good way of ensuring your pie doesn’t have a soggy bottom, but I find baking at a relatively high heat of 220 degrees and then turning the oven down to 180 around halfway through has generally worked for me.

What’s the secret to a perfectly gooey brownie?

Whenever I bake brownies, I always like to underbake them and, brownies can go from perfect to overdone in just a couple of minutes. Peanut Butter Brownies are my favourite!

Does it matter if you bake your cake in the top, middle or bottom of the oven?

Each oven is unique, in the bakery all our deck ovens have a stone base so it’s very different from your oven at home, but as a rule I like to put my cakes in the middle of the oven at home. You want to get a nice even amount of heat around the whole cake.

BATTENBERG CAKE

The splendid Tala Battenberg Tin cleverly helps you create one of our all-time favourite cakes, as its nifty dividers make four even strips of cake to assemble into a chequerboard pattern.

SERVES 10-12

FOR THE SPONGES 125g butter, at room temperature, plus a little extra for greasing 125g caster sugar 2 medium eggs, beaten ¼ tsp almond extract 50g ground almonds 100g self-raising flour Pinch of salt 2 tsp milk 3-4 drops red food colouring TO DECORATE 100g apricot jam Icing sugar, for dusting 400g white or yellow marzipan Caster sugar, for sprinkling

1 Grease the Tala Battenberg Tin with butter, then line each section with strips of baking parchment, firmly creased so they fit neatly. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. 2 Beat the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl using a handheld electric mixer or wooden spoon, until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, beating well between each addition. Stir in the almond extract and ground almonds. Sift in the flour and salt, folding in gently with a large metal spoon. Stir in the milk.

3 Divide the mixture equally into two separate bowls by weighing them accurately. Stir the red food colouring into one portion, mixing thoroughly to give an even pink colour.

4 Share the pink mixture equally between two sections of the prepared tin, levelling the surface smoothly and making sure that it goes into the corners. Share the plain mixture between the remaining two sections in the same way.

5 Bake for 23-25 minutes, until risen and firm. Cool on a wire rack until barely warm, then carefully remove the sponges by easing out the dividers. Peel away the lining parchment carefully and leave until completely cold.

6 Trim the sponges with a sharp serrated knife (a bread knife is ideal) so that they are all the same size. Warm the apricot jam with 1 tbsp water, then pass it through a sieve to make sure that it’s smooth. Assemble the cakes into a chequerboard pattern, brushing the surfaces that meet with apricot jam.

7 Sprinkle a spotlessly clean work surface with icing sugar. Knead the marzipan for a few moments until pliable, then roll out into a neat rectangle measuring 20 x 30cm, trimming the edges with a sharp knife to be as accurate as possible.

8 Brush the surface of the marzipan with apricot jam (re-warmed if necessary). Set the cake on top, lining up the long side of the cake with one shorter edge of marzipan. Roll the cake and marzipan up carefully, pressing gently as you go, to cover with marzipan, sealing the joins together and leaving the chequerboard ends free.

9 Smooth the marzipan with your hands to neaten it up, trim if needed, then pinch the top along each side to crimp it. Sprinkle with a little caster sugar, then serve. Recipe by Lakeland (lakeland.co.uk)

SEA SALT AND PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIES

MAKES 12

200g good quality plain cooking chocolate 250g butter 4 eggs 300g golden caster sugar 125g plain flour (or gluten free plain flour for a gluten free version) 100g toasted peanuts, chopped 2 tbsp Freda’s Cornish Sea Salt Peanut Butter

1 Preheat the oven to 190˚C/Gas Mark 5.

2 Line a 10 x 7 inch (25 x 17cm) tray with parchment.

3 Melt the chocolate and the spread in a medium sized bowl in the microwave.

4 Beat in the eggs.

5 Add sugar, flour and peanuts and stir until just combined.

6 Pour into the prepared tin.

7 Add the peanut butter on top in small blobs and swirl into the mixture.

8 Bake for 25 minutes until just set to touch.

9 Allow to cool in the tin before cutting into squares.

Recipe by Freda’s (fredas.co.uk)

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RASPBERRY, ROSE WATER AND WHITE CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS

Eclairs are pretty easy to make from scratch. You can go classic chocolate and cream or mix up the flavours. Sharp raspberry and fragrant rose water cut perfectly through whipped cream and white chocolate.

SERVES 12

FOR THE CHOUX PASTRY 65g unsalted butter 100g strong bread flour 3 large Clarence Court Burford Brown eggs, cracked into a jug Pinch of salt FOR THE FILLING 350ml double cream Rose water Vanilla paste 250g fresh raspberries 1 tbsp icing sugar FOR THE TOPPING 200g good quality white chocolate Sugared rose petals (optional) 2 tsp freeze dried raspberries, crushed 1 Preheat the oven to 200˚C/Gas Mark 6. Line 2 baking sheets with greaseproof paper and mark out 6 evenly spaced 12cm lines on each one. These will act as a guide later for piping the eclairs. Have a large piping bag ready fitted with a large round nozzle. 2 Place the butter and 150ml water in a large saucepan and put on a medium heat until the butter has melted, allow the water to come to the boil and as soon as it does, switch off the heat and then quickly tip all of the flour into the pan at once. As quickly as possible, mix everything together with a wooden spoon. As you mix, you’ll see the lumpy dough transform into a smooth dough that comes away from the sides of the pan. Mix most of the egg into the pan a little at a time, mixing well and looking for the desired “dropping” consistency. 3 Transfer the mixture to the piping bag and pipe the mixture confidently along the drawn lines. Once the mixture is piped, place the trays in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. After that time, reduce the heat to 180˚C and bake for a further 10-15 minutes or until golden and well risen. Turn off the oven and leave the eclairs to harden a little for 5 minutes.

4 Make a slit in each end of the éclair to allow the steam to escape and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. 5 Meanwhile, pick 12 perfect raspberries and put to one side. Place the rest of the raspberries in a mixing bowl with the icing sugar and add a few drops of rose water. Mash through a small sieve and place to one side. 6 Put the double cream into a large mixing bowl with 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste and whisk to soft peaks. Ripple through half the sieved raspberry and place the rest to one side. 7 To prepare the cream for piping, place a few tablespoons in a piping bag with a wide nozzle and spoon in 1 teaspoon of raspberry coulis, add more cream and a little more coulis followed by the rest of the cream. Keep the rest of the coulis for drizzling. 8 Either pipe the cream into the cooled eclairs or cut them in half and pipe the cream down the centre to make a sandwich. Repeat with all the eclairs and place them back on the cooling rack. 9 Meanwhile, break up the white chocolate and place in a heat proof bowl over a small pan of simmering water on the hob. Stir until melted. 10 Take the bowl off the heat and carefully dip each éclair into the chocolate at a 45 degree angle to coat the top. Place a raspberry on top of each eclair and sprinkle over the dehydrated raspberry and rose petal (if using). 11 Place the eclairs back on the cooling rack and allow to set in the fridge or in a cool place for around 30 minutes. Serve with a drizzle of remaining coulis. Recipe by Clarence Court Eggs (clarencecourt.co.uk)

Tip

Eat on the same day, these don’t really keep very well but would survive one night in a covered container in the fridge. You can make the pastry cases in advance and freeze, defrost fully before filling with cream and topping.

CHEESE AND WALNUT TEAR ‘N’ SHARE SCONES WITH WALNUT BUTTER

SERVES 10

225g self-raising flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp English mustard powder 100g butter, diced 100g Cheddar cheese, grated 75g walnut pieces, chopped + 25g for the butter 3 tbsp chopped chives 150ml milk

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/ Gas Mark 6. Grease a large baking sheet.

2 Mix the flour, baking powder and mustard in a large bowl and rub in 50g butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in 75g Cheddar, all but 2 tbsp of the walnuts and 2 tbsp chives. Using a round bladed knife, mix in the milk to give a soft dough, taking care not to over knead it.

3 Transfer to a floured surface and roll out until 2cm thick. Using a 6cm round cutter, cut out 10 rounds and arrange them in a circle shape on the baking tray so that they all just touch each other. Brush with milk. Mix the remaining Cheddar with the reserved 2 tbsp walnuts and sprinkle on top of the scones. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.

4 Meanwhile, soften the remaining 50g butter and mix in the last 1 tbsp chives and the final 25g finely chopped walnuts.

Cook's Tip

Try making larger individual scones, great as a snack or in lunch boxes.

5 Serve the scones warm with the walnut butter. Recipe by California Walnuts (californiawalnuts.co.uk)

Spice upyouFind out more about the regional cuisines of India r li e

It’s easy to talk about “Indian food” in a blasé manner, considering ourselves experts because we know the menu at our local takeaway like the back of our hand. But really, that is doing it a great disservice. After all, India is vast; really vast. A subcontinent made up of 28 states and seven union territories it’s home to a wide diversity of people and cultures, with influences drawn from all over the globe, including the Moguls, Portuguese, Persians and British. So, then, it’s perhaps not surprising that every state has its own cookery style and tastes based on seasonal produce, local traditions and cultural influences. As a general rule, in the colder, northern states, warming, aromatically spiced dishes are eaten, whereas in the more intense heat of the southern states, the food tends to be lighter, with more use of coconut. Here, we take a closer look at some of the main characteristics of the cuisines of different regions.

NORTHERN INDIA

(Kashmir, Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan)

The food of northern India is heavily influenced by its history, topography and climate, with strong Central Asian influences in both its food and culture. The climate results in an abundance of specific ingredients, such as wheat, rice, maize, dairy, mustard seed, dried fruits, pistachios, almonds, saffron, turmeric and cumin. There’s a big influence from the Mughal empire too, which ruled during the 16th and 17th centuries — paneer, ghee and yoghurt all frequently featured in the dishes served in the opulent courts. Dishes in the north — and Punjab especially — often revolve around the tandoor oven, which is used to cook meats and breads.

Popular dishes

Amritsari macchi: River fish coated in a chickpea batter then deep-fried and served with various chutneys. Roghan Gosht: (aka Roahn Josh): Slow-cooked lamb stew using fennel, ginger and rattan jyot (made from tree bark). Jalebi with Rabdi: Swirls of deep-fried batter, topped with a creamy condensed-milk sauce, spices, sugar and nuts. Malai kofta: Fried pastries filled with spiced potatoes, onions, peas and lentils.