It is with great pleasure that I am writing my first article of the year for Aspect County. It’s been a really busy few weeks here at the cookery school. We have just opened our new dining room, and what a first night we had – a great private party to kick off in style!
Each Chefs Table we do has different dishes so we are always challenging and pushing each other to be creative. We do the same breads each week on our Chefs Tables with myself and my wonderful head chef Iain More. Here are the recipes for our Chorizo and Gruyère bread and Wheaten Bread, my two absolute favourites! Enjoy!
Wheaten Bread
Ingredients:
• 360g whole meal, stoneground, medium or coarse flour
• 120g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 heaped teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 60g sugar
• 60g butter
• 448ml butter milk
• Oven 180°C
Method:
1. Place the whole meal and plain flour, bicarb of soda, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl and mix well.
2. Now melt the butter. Make a well in the centre and pour in the butter milk and butter. Mix together very quickly and gently to form a loose dough (a consistency rather like thick porridge).
3. Lightly grease two loaf tins 480g. Divide the dough evenly, leaving the surface rough, sprinkle with whole meal flour to give a malty surface.
4. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. Insert a skewer into the centre of the bread and if it comes out clean it is cooked.
Chorizo and Gruyère Loaf
Ingredients
• 500g Strong Bread Flour
• 10g Yeast
• 10g Salt
• 300g Water at 25c (no more than 27c)
• 15g Chorizo Oil
• 150g Finely Diced Chorizo Lightly Cooked
• 100g Grated Gruyère Cheese
Method
1. Mix flour and yeast together (like making a crumble)
2. Add salt and continue
3. Add all the water, oil, Cheese, Chorizo and mix with a scraper
4. Remove mixture from the bowl and knead for 10 – 15 minutes
5. When the dough leaves the table clean, and feels elastic, leave to prove in the bowl with a damp cloth over the bowl for 20 minutes
6. Knock mixture back, and shape into desired shape. Place on a lined tray and prove for a final 20 minutes.
7. Place into a pre heated oven at 220c. Throw a cup of cold water into the bottom of the oven.
8. Cook for around 10 – 15 minutes.
John is at Rosemary Shrager’s Cookery School,
Tunbridge Wells. www.rosemaryshrager.com
