Slow Dough: Real Bread: Bakers' secrets for making amazing long-rise loaves at home - Chris Young (2016)
Leftovers
Food is too precious to waste; a truth that can be forgotten when so much is sold relatively (and even unrealistically) cheaply, but less so when you have paid an honest price or crafted it yourself.
“Wasting Real Bread? Who does that?”, you might ask, but these things happen, even to those of us who try our darnedest to avoid it.
There are several ways of reducing bread waste, including double checking with yourself (and your bread bin) how much you really need to buy or bake; choosing to make genuine sourdough (the process has a natural preservative effect); using a wetter dough, which slows staling; not putting bread in the refrigerator, which speeds staling; and slicing a loaf to freeze so you can keep it for when it’s needed.
If all of these fail, this section contains a handful of ideas for what to do with the crusts, crumbs and chunks of Real Bread that slip through the net and become stale. Please think of them not as recipes but as inspiration and swap ingredients in and out according to what you have to hand.
Bread Soup CHRIS YOUNG
With a little research, you’ll find many bread soup recipes, from Italian pappa al pomodoro and ribollita, to Franconian brotsuppe and Iceland’s unusual brauðsúpa. This is a quick and economical member of the family: using homemade chicken stock gets every last bit of value out of the bird, and respects the fact that it died for your dinner. You can use any meat or vegetable stock; at a pinch, a stock/ bouillon cube will do, though it won’t be as nutritious or as tasty.
SERVES: 2
PREPARATION TIME: 5 minutes
COOKING TIME: 10 minutes
600ml/21fl oz/2½ cups homemade chicken stock (or a mixture of stock and milk)
1 garlic clove, crushed
125g/4½oz/2½ cups chunky breadcrumbs, made from stale white Real Bread
2 eggs (optional)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a drizzle of olive oil, to serve
1. Bring the stock to the boil in a saucepan, add the crushed garlic and simmer for about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the breadcrumbs and season with salt and pepper. If you are using eggs, break them carefully into the soup at this point. Cover the pan and simmer the soup for a further 4 minutes, which also gives enough time for the eggs to poach.
3. Pour or ladle the soup into two bowls (taking care not to break the eggs, if using) and drizzle a little olive oil into each bowl. Serve immediately.
Liz Wilson took Jane Mason’s Virtuous Bread microbakery course in July 2013 and graduated as a Bread Angel. She then spent the following year volunteering in bakeries and cooking schools around London. In April 2014, Liz set up business as Ma Baker, baking loaves for sale and teaching Real Bread skills at her home in Fulham, London. In September that year, Liz won two silver medals at the Tiptree World Bread Awards.
Panzanella LIZ WILSON
This Italian-style salad is a great way of using up any leftover or stale Real Bread, particularly sourdough, which can take up all of the summery flavours and add a chewy texture. As with other recipes in this chapter, there’s no one “authentic” version of panzanella, and these recipes are more concerned with using up leftovers than with being prescriptive about amounts or ingredients. Just make sure the tomatoes you use are really good sun-ripened ones.
SERVES: 2-4
PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutes plus 30 minutes standing
4-6 thick slices of stale sourdough Real Bread
80ml/2½fl oz/⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra if needed
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 cucumber, diced
1 red onion, finely sliced
6 ripe vine tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped, plus extra if needed
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 handful of torn basil leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Tear the bread, crusts on, into pieces the size of unshelled walnuts, then pile them up in a large serving bowl.
2. Add all of the other ingredients and mix together thoroughly - your hands are great tools for this job. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Leave the salad to stand for at least 30 minutes before serving, so the chunks of Real Bread can soak up all of the juices and flavours. If it looks a bit dry, you can add more tomatoes or olive oil.
Sippet: Depending who you believe, the name might come from a Tuscan dialect word for “little swamp” or standard Italian for bread (pane) and little basket (zanella).
Breadcrumb Pakoras with Indian Green Chutney CHRIS YOUNG
This recipe conjures up a happy memory of India, of eating freshly fried pakoras from a cone of newspaper in the holy city of Varanasi. It uses breadcrumbs, rather than the usual batter made with gram (chickpea) flour and for me, it is the perfect snack.
MAKES: 6 pakoras
PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes
COOKING TIME: 5 minutes per batch
FOR THE PAKORAS:
2 large handfuls of freshly made breadcumbs, made from Real Bread
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp plain/all-purpose flour
½ onion, finely diced
1 small handful of coriander/cilantro (leaves and stalks), chopped
some curry leaves (enough for a few per pakora)
1 small green chilli, chopped (optional)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp turmeric
a large pinch of salt
a good grind of black pepper
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
FOR THE GREEN CHUTNEY:
1 large handful of coriander/cilantro
100g/3½oz fresh coconut, grated (or desiccated/dried shredded coconut, soaked in water until tender and drained)
1cm/½in piece of fresh root ginger
1 small green chilli
a few curry leaves
½ tsp mustard seeds
a squeeze of lemon juice
a pinch of salt
sugar, to taste (optional)
1. To make the chutney, blitz together the coriander/cilantro, coconut, ginger and chilli in a food processor to a smoothish paste. Dry-fry the curry leaves and mustard seeds in a frying pan for a couple of minutes to bring out the flavour, and stir these into the chutney, along with the lemon juice, salt and sugar to taste. If the chutney is a little too firm, add a splash of water to make it the desired consistency. Leave to one side while you make the pakoras.
2. Mix all of the pakora ingredients together until combined and you can form the mixture into balls. If the mixture is too dry and you can’t shape it, add water little by little until you can; if it seems too wet, add a little more flour.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a deep, solidly-made pan to 180-190°C/ 350-375°F.
4. Form the mixture into balls about the size of a small chicken’s egg and carefully lower a few of them into the hot oil without overcrowding the pan. Fry for about 5 minutes until golden brown, moving them around to ensure they are cooked evenly. Remove with a slotted heatproof spoon and drain on paper towels while you fry the remaining pakoras. Serve with the green chutney on the side.
Baker’s Tip: This pakora recipe is a guide, rather than a scientific formula to be adhered to exactly - use whatever spices you like, and other ingredients you might have to hand. For example, you could throw in some small cubes of paneer or strips of chicken, or cooked spinach.
Bread Sauce CHRIS YOUNG
Aromatic and with a discernible, yet silky, texture, this is a traditional British sauce delicious enough to be served with any roast poultry. As this is “leftover cookery”, not a science lesson, there’s no need to measure the bread exactly (you can even blitz it in a food processor, if you prefer), or to lose sleep over the exact weight of the onion. If you don’t have any star anise or one of the other spices, leave it out.
SERVES: 6-8
PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutes, plus 2 hours infusing
COOKING TIME: 15 minutes
600ml/21fl oz/2½ cups milk
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves
1 point from a star anise
1 bay leaf
1 blade of mace
6 black peppercorns, cracked in half
120-150g/4-5½oz/2-2½ cups when prepared white Real Bread, crusts removed and torn or cut into small cubes
1½ tbsp butter
2 tbsp double/heavy cream (optional) sea salt
1. Put the milk, onion and spices into a saucepan, bring almost to the boil and then remove from the heat. Cover the pan and leave the spices to infuse for at least 2 hours as it cools. You can do this the day before and keep in the refrigerator overnight, if you prefer.
2. Strain the milk, discarding the spices (but keep, or even freeze, the onion to use in another dish at some point).
3. Pour the infused milk back into the pan over a very low heat, add the bread and simmer until the milk has been absorbed and the bread is breaking down.
4. Just before serving, stir in the butter and cream, if using. Taste and if you think it needs a little salt, add a pinch at a time until it is as you prefer.
Baker’s Tip: If you have any of this leftover dish left over, I reckon it’s good spread on toast … carbs on carbs.
Savoury Bread and Butter Pudding KATE DE SYLLAS
If it encourages you to make it, think of this as a cheat’s soufflé. I first tried it at a workshop Kate helped our charity’s Ethical Eats team to run, and she suggests using fresh seasonal produce for the filling - for example, leeks with wholegrain mustard or slow-roast tomatoes with basil - or making it with leftover cooked meats.
SERVES: 6
PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes plus 20 minutes standing
COOKING TIME: 35 minutes
200ml/7fl oz/¾ cup milk
200ml/7fl oz/¾ cup cream (single/ light or double/heavy will do)
1 or 2 garlic cloves, whole or sliced
75g/2½oz/5 tbsp butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
1 large loaf of any savoury Real Bread, medium sliced
100g/3½oz smoked streaky/side bacon or pancetta, chopped into lardons/small pieces
10-15 asparagus spears, when in season locally
200g/7oz/2½ cups grated Gruyère or other hard cheese
100g/3½oz/1¼ cups grated Parmesan cheese
3 eggs
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Bring the milk, cream and garlic to a simmer in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 20 minutes or until just warm.
2. Meanwhile, grease a large, fairly deep ovenproof dish. Butter the bread slices and arrange half of them in the bottom of the dish. Lay the bacon and asparagus (or your choice of other produce in season) over the bread and scatter with about half of the cheese. Lay the rest of the buttered bread slices on top.
3. Whisk the eggs with the warm milk mixture, a pinch of salt and a few twists of black pepper. Pour this over the bread and scatter the rest of the cheese on top. Leave to stand for about 20 minutes for the bread to soak up some of the milk while you heat the oven to 150°C/130°C fan/300°F/gas 2.
4. Bake the pudding for about 35 minutes, or until the egg mixture is set and the pudding has taken on a golden colour. Serve either still warm or cold.
Kate de Syllas spent two decades cooking, growing, talking and sometimes even working in kitchens, gardens, charities and social enterprises in east London. She is now the owner-chef at Hantverk & Found in Margate, Kent. She cooks sustainable seafood and loves leftovers and Real Bread.
Mushroom, Red Pepper and Paneer Loaf CHRIS YOUNG
You can adapt this recipe to use ingredients you like, or have to hand. No tarragon? Use basil or chives. No paneer? Use halloumi (and reduce the salt). If you’ve got some bacon that needs using up, stir it in, or add a handful of seeds or chopped nuts for more texture.
SERVES: 4-6
PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes
COOKING TIME: 1¼ hours
3 tbsp vegetable oil or butter, plus extra for greasing
2 onions, sliced
2 red peppers, sliced
150g/5½oz/2½ cups coarse breadcrumbs, made from stale Real Bread
200g/7oz paneer cheese
500g/1lb 2oz mushrooms, diced or sliced
3 eggs
150g/5½oz/⅔ cup full-fat cream cheese
3 tbsp tomato purée/paste
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
a sprig or two of fresh tarragon, chopped
1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a frying pan and fry the onions until translucent, stirring occasionally. Add the peppers and fry for a few minutes more until softened.
2. Meanwhile, put the breadcrumbs in a large mixing bowl with the paneer. Add the cooked onions and peppers to the breadcrumbs.
3. Heat the remaining oil and cook the mushrooms over a medium heat with the lid on, stirring occasionally, until they release their juice. Leave them to simmer for a few minutes and then strain off the juice and reserve. Add half of the mushrooms to the breadcrumb mixture, leaving the remainder to cool slightly.
4. Put the eggs, two-thirds of the cream cheese, the tomato purée/ paste, salt and a few generous grinds of pepper with the cooled mushrooms in a food processor and pulse until it forms a coarse paste. Add this and the tarragon to the breadcrumbs and stir until thoroughly mixed.
5. Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas 4. Grease a 1kg/ 2lb loaf tin well, scrape the mixture into it and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 30 minutes, then turn the tin round and bake for another 30-35 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, make a sauce by heating the reserved mushroom juice in a pan, whisking in the remaining cream cheese and adding salt and pepper to taste. Serve the loaf with the mushroom sauce on the side.
Sourdough Pancakes CHRIS YOUNG
Sometimes you’ll find yourself with more sourdough starter than you can use. Rather than just throw it away, ask if anyone you know might like some, with a baking session to get them into making sourdough loaves for themselves. Or think about what else you can make with it - starting with these pancakes.
MAKES: about 8 pancakes
PREPARATION TIME: overnight plus 5 minutes
COOKING TIME: 3-4 minutes per batch
100g/3½oz/scant 1 cup white sourdough starter
30-50g/1-1¾oz/3½-6 tbsp plain/ all-purpose flour
3½ tbsp milk
1 egg
1 tsp caster/superfine sugar
½-¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda/ baking soda
butter, for frying, plus more butter or syrup to serve
1. Whisk the sourdough starter with most of the flour. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight.
2. The next day, whisk in the remaining flour and other pancake ingredients to make a stiff batter.
3. Melt a small amount of butter in a frying pan, over a medium-high heat. Pour in spoonfuls of batter to form circles about 10-15cm/4-6in in diameter. Cook for a few minutes until set on top and lightly browned underneath.
4. Use a spatula or fish slice to turn the pancakes over and cook for a few minutes more until lightly browned on the other side. Remove from the pan and keep warm while you make more pancakes with the remaining batter. Serve with melted butter, your favourite syrup, or other choice of topping.
NB: A bread dough made with chemical leavening would fall outside the Campaign’s definition of Real Bread, but we have no view on using bicarbonate of soda/baking soda for other purposes: say, as a dipping solution for pretzels, or in other foods such as cakes or pancakes.
Baker’s Tip: You can also make French crêpe-style pancakes from leftover starter. Simply whisk together 400g/14oz/1¾ cups sourdough starter of any type, 1 egg and ¾ tsp fine/table salt. Melt a small amount of butter in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Pour in just enough batter to coat the bottom of the pan thinly and swirl it around. Cook for a few minutes until set and lightly browned underneath. Using a spatula or fish slice, flip the pancake over and cook for a few minutes more on the other side. Serve at once with your favourite topping, or reserve under a clean cloth while you make more pancakes from the rest of the batter in the same way.
Masala Chai-Spiced Bread and Butter Pudding CHRIS YOUNG
I started making bread and butter pudding when I was in my teens. Because I couldn’t leave a recipe alone, I would throw in different ingredients each time. This version came after backpacking around India in the late 1990s, drinking endless glasses of masala chai (chai tea latte), their spiced and usually very sweet take on tea.
SERVES: 4-6
PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes plus 30 minutes soaking
COOKING TIME: 45 minutes
300g/10½oz stale Real Bread, sliced into triangles about 1cm/½in thick
50g/1¾oz/3½ tbsp butter, plus extra for greasing and brushing
zest of ½ lemon
50g/1¾oz/⅓ cup seedless raisins or sultanas/golden raisins
FOR THE CUSTARD:
600ml/21fl oz/2½ cups milk (or a mixture of milk and cream)
1 green cardamom pod
1 or 2 cloves
1 slice (about 3mm/⅛in thick) fresh root ginger
2cm/¾in piece of cinnamon quill or cassia bark
1 vanilla pod/bean
freshly ground black pepper
50g/1¾oz/¼ cup caster/superfine sugar
2 eggs
1. Start by making the custard. Pour the milk into a saucepan, add the spices, vanilla and a twist or two of pepper, and heat but do not boil. Remove from the heat, cover and leave to cool and infuse.
2. Grease an ovenproof dish. Butter the bread on one side and arrange half of the slices in a layer in the dish. Scatter the lemon zest and raisins over the bread and layer the rest of the bread on top with the points of the triangles sticking up.
3. Strain the spices out of the infused milk. Split the vanilla pod/bean lengthways and scrape the seeds back into the milk (dry the vanilla pod/bean to use again, or to flavour a jar of sugar).
4. Whisk together the sugar and eggs, then add the milk and whisk again. Pour the custard over the bread and fruit in the dish - it should reach about halfway up the top layer of bread. Press the bread down into the mixture and leave to soak for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas 4.
5. Melt a little butter and use a pastry brush to brush it over any bread that may be peeking out above the custard mixture. Bake the pudding for 30-40 minutes until brown on top and just set in the middle - it should be wobbly, not watery. Serve warm or cold with cream or custard.
Baker’s Tip: This can be made with whatever plain or sweet Real Bread needs using up. All of the measurements are approximate; you can adjust the amounts of bread, butter or sugar according to taste.
Gingery Treacle Tart KATE DE SYLLAS
Used as a lure by The Childcatcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, this classic British pudding is all sorts of wrong. The main ingredient is a by-product of industrial sugar refining. On the misleading marketing front, it doesn’t however contain any treacle: just traditional golden syrup, a British favourite since the 19th century. You could replace half of the syrup with honey, not that it’d make it any healthier.
MAKES: 1 large (28cm/11in) tart
PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes
BAKING TIME: 45 minutes
FOR THE PASTRY:
225g/8oz/1¾ cups plain/all-purpose flour
110g/3¾oz/½ cup butter (salted or unsalted) chilled and cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing
1 egg, beaten
FOR THE FILLING:
450g/1lb/1⅓ cups golden syrup/light corn syrup
85g/3oz/1½ cups freshly made Real Bread crumbs, coarse rather than fine
1 tsp ground ginger, or grated fresh root ginger, or to taste
zest of ½ lemon and about 2 tsp of its juice
zest of ½ orange and about 4 tsp of its juice
cream or custard, to serve
1. Heat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/375°F/gas 5 and grease a loose-bottomed 28cm/11in tart tin.
2. In a large bowl, rub the flour and butter together with your fingertips until it has the texture of breadcrumbs.
3. Mix the egg in with a knife, and then work the pastry until it just comes together - don’t overwork it, or it’ll become tough and plasticky.
4. Flour the work surface and a rolling pin, and roll the pastry out into a circle large enough to fit the bottom and sides of the tart tin. Leave the pastry to rest for 5-10 minutes to reduce the risk of it shrinking back.
5. Line the tart tin with the pastry and prick it all over with a fork. Scatter with ceramic baking beans/pie weights (or dried peas or macaroni) to prevent large blisters bubbling up. Bake for about 12 minutes until cooked but still pale. Remove the baking beans/pie weights and continue to bake for another 2-3 minutes until the base is lightly golden.
6. Meanwhile, mix all of the filling ingredients together. Take the case out of the oven and spoon in the filling, pressing it down slightly to make sure it is evenly distributed and to avoid air bubbles. Level the top with a spatula and bake for a further 30 minutes.
7. Leave to cool on a wire rack until just slightly warm, and serve with cream or custard.
