[pagbati]

wow they look fantastic. yes oven would be great. It’s something I’ve mentioned to my other half as she only cooker via a 2 gas hob style cooker. would you go gas or electric? I think gas tends to keep cakes and such more moist.

In Europe, we prefer gas and a La Germania gas oven came with our property. This brand seems to be very popular over here; most likely because they are cheaper than other well known brands. The La Germania oven we had was a total safety hazard and would not be allowed in Europe; when the flame went out, which it did inadvertently if you closed the oven door too quickly, there was no safety switch; the gas kept pouring out. If you tried to light it again before the escaped gas fully cleared, you got a flash back.

Imagine what could happen if you didn’t realise the flame had gone out, the gas was still flowing for a while and you lit a flame for some other purpose? Further, the insulation was dreadful and it couldn’t retain a high temperature. So, even though we saw newer La Germania models on the market when we were looking for a new oven, we avoided this brand like the plague. They are still selling the old model, which says a lot about this company’s attitude to safety.

Gas or electric? We were concerned about brown outs so we initially favoured gas. However, after substantial research, it became clear that the range of quality gas ovens available was limited and they didn’t reach the temperatures required for bread baking and pizzas etc. Hence we ended up with an electric oven from one of the well known European brands. No regrets to date. Brown outs in our area are not very regular and we have a back up generator. Like all appliances, ovens are expensive here and the models available are not the latest. So, it’s definitely worth sourcing one in UK and having it sent over by Balakbayan Box.

As for gas ovens keeping cakes etc more moist, I personally haven’t noticed any difference. What I did notice with the gas oven is that when I put boiling water on the bottom shelf to create steam when baking bread, the steam would often put out the gas flame! I’ve encountered no such problem with the electric oven.

 

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Mark, I was going to respond to Steve’s query re yeast on the SRRV Application Process thread #19, (below refers) but I fear we are veering too far off topic. How about we start a new thread on ‘Homemade Bread & Baking’ with the emphasis being on ‘homemade’ rather than shop or restaurant bought. Maybe we can inspire more home baking, especially on the healthy side. Any info on ovens etc., could also fit under this heading. If you’re in agreement, then perhaps you could transfer post #26 that I made recently under the thread ‘Filipino-style Spaghetti with Hotdogs’, which doesn’t really belong there either.

@pagbati Sorry to go off topic guys but cooking is important. ..... As a Breaker you pagbati are an artiste and if I can do half as well as you I will be happy,,,, lol wondering if our yeast sitting in the fridge for 18 months will still be active, suck it and see I suppose. Thanks for sharing your culinary skills. .... Cheers, Steve.

Steve, I keep my commercial yeast in the freezer, where 18 months wouldn’t be a problem. The fridge is another matter. Because we tend to put a lot of love and ion into producing bread, it would not only be disappointing but a shame to have your loaf not rise just because the yeast was well past its expiry date. Further, if your loaf didn’t turn out right, you’d be wondering what the cause was: was it really the yeast, maybe I just didn’t use enough? or did you use too much liquid? or too much salt? or did you over proof prior to baking? or maybe the oven wasn’t hot enough., etc., etc. As yeast is not that expensive, my advice would be to eliminate the yeast question by ditching your old packet and keep the new one in the freezer.

On sourdough starter - what is known as a natural yeast, i.e. not commercial - some bakeries in Europe have 100 year old starters. Old starters tend to have a greater depth of flavour. My sourdough starter is only a humble 8 years old and I keep it in the fridge, feeding it as and when necessary and at least every 3 weeks. If you were local I’d happily give you a free starter batch to get you going; it’s good to share 🍞. I haven’t yet managed to convert the locals so I've always got plenty to spare. I'm looking forward to hearing how you get on when you install your new oven, hopefully with a photo or two.

 

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My ex wife was a bit of an organic freak, 25 odd years ago we purchased a grinding mill and I set up a W/M motor on it as originally it was a hand crank job. Ex wife then sourced organic wheat, rye, barley etc. and started to make all sorts of breads, early failures but in the end she/we made good bread, we used a Breaker to cook as we have here and there is a lot of trial and error with them until you find the right mix and settings. The Tecnogas oven we just purchased is not fan forced does anyone thing that will be a problem? ... Maybe one day pagbati I will ask you to share some of your recipe's and knowledge with the .
Cheers, Steve.

Your ex wife sounds like a lady after my own heart!. Whilst I’m not an organic freak, we have our own small worktop mill for milling grains into flour (see attached). A modern German electric model, there’s no hand cranking involved, although the company still sells those type for people who so desire them.

We import wheat, spelt, einkorn, rye and other ancient berries from UK, which incidentally, happen to be organic. The mill is probably one of my favourite kitchen gadgets and helps to ensure we are getting all the best nutrients from the grain. We also use it for grinding pulses, chickpeas for falafel, corn for making corn bread, wholegrain red and black rice and whole jumbo oats to mention a few.

Fan or not. Having a fan oven is definitely not essential for any form of baking. As you probably know, In addition to circulating the air, it has the effect of increasing the normal oven temperature by 20C. So, if a bread recipe called for 220C, you would set your oven to 200C Fan.

I’m more than happy to share recipes and knowledge. FYI, I’m a big fan of your fellow countryman Dan Lepard’s ‘No Knead’ method for making bread, which always works for me. When you’re ready, just ask.

 

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Experimenting with Cornbread, last loaf was around 2015, when I used 50% wholemeal, 25% cornmeal and 25% bread flour.

This time I tried 100% cornmeal. I purchased what is probably best described as coarsely-grind cornmeal. I pan roasted the cornmeal first to bring out the flavours. Then I put 75% of it through the mill to achieve a finer grind and the remaining 25% on medium-grind for some texture.

The end result is obviously more dense with 100% cornmeal but packed full of flavour.

 

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Made our mince pie filling the other day with a generous portion of whiskey; should develop well in time for Christmas.

Lemon curd has got to be a winner any time of the year. Great with bread/ toast/ scones etc., (that last one is biscuits for our USA friends) and also works very well in a cheesecake/ fruit torte.

 

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@pagbati

You sir are too clever for my dumb culinary skills and I am envious. Well done. Cheers, Steve.

Thanks Steve, I appreciate the comment, but there are no great culinary skills required to make both of these items. Like so many of the recipes I make, all that’s required is a love of home baking and the enjoyment of good food.

 

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Other half isn’t so fond of Christmas Cake, she prefers the lighter, more mellow, but packed full of flavour Dundee Cake. We compromised, so I ended up soaking the fruit for this cake in whiskey/ brandy for 24 hrs. In the lead up to Christmas, I’ll continue to feed it with a tablespoon or two of whiskey every 3 weeks. Whilst Dundee cakes are traditionally circular, I prefer to use one of my pullman loaf pans as it holds a larger cake and the shape means that it cooks throughout more evenly; no problems with the outside being overdone and the centre not fully baked. By the look of those almonds on top though, I may have been indulging in a dram or two during the process.

 

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Very often, a simple lemon drizzle cake is all that’s needed.

 

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At other times, something a little special is called for; such as this Irish Cream/ Baileys cheesecake.

 

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Sometimes when you’re experimenting with bread, things don’t turn out quite as planned. Too much hydration on this occasion so the loaf didn’t rise as much as expected. Still, this flaxseed, wholemeal, sourdough bread was tasty and went well with our fresh sweetcorn, tuna and pickle salad.

 

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Plenty of room in the oven for another loaf so best to use it. A slice of seeded, wholemeal sourdough with vintage New Zealand cheddar and a dollop of home made mango and apply chutney. What’s not to love!

 

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Thanks Steve, I think I mentioned to Mark before starting this thread that my aim was to try and encourage fellow expats to do more home baking. Of course, not everybody wants to spend time in the kitchen so these posts won’t apply to all. But for those that do, by seeing some of these breads etc., I’m hoping to inspire them to try their hand.

I appreciate that you’re snowed under at present with all the construction going on at your place; but maybe when it’s all done, you’ll come back and say, ‘Hey, I’m ready now, how about ing on that recipe for such and such? That would be something.

 

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This is one of those foods that our American friends often have trouble getting their head around. Known by a variety of names i.e., Black Pudding/ Blood Sausage / Blutwurst; very common in Europe and certainly in UK. It’s a standard part of a breakfast fry up in Ireland and Scotland. Don’t knock it till you’re tried it guys!

 

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This skinless, flat sausage is known as Lorne sausage in Scotland. Consisting of 50/50 pork/ beef and a range of spices. You can of course, add whatever spices you prefer. This would be part of a Scottish cooked breakfast or as often as not, served with a soft bap (roll), same as you would a burger.

 

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A classic German recipe, stollen is often made well in advance of Christmas to give it time to develop. We prefer stollen that has a layer of marzipan running through the centre.

 

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Christbrot on the other hand is a lesser known German recipe and a simpler version of stollen that doesn’t need time to mature. It has a lighter texture and is best eaten freshly baked. Even better toasted.

 

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Well pagbati, you inspired me to try, never made bread before, tried a simple white bread recipe of t'internet, tasted delicious, will try wholemeal next!

Pugwash 01, welcome to the wonderful world of bread making and well done for having a go. That’s a very impressive first loaf with a decent looking crumb. Do bear in mind that whilst baking with wholemeal adds more nutrition and flavour, wholemeal flour tends to be more thirsty and wholemeal loaves tend not to rise as much as those made with 100% white bread flour. You may want to add wholemeal in small increments, say no more than 10% at a time and see how it goes. Keeping good notes of everything you do during your bread making process, including timings, will also help you identify any problems that may arise.

 

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We've been making bread since the Covid time and enjoy it. We've been using the locally available all purpose flour and find the bread dense but quite good. Any suggestions for making a lighter loaf of bread?

I agree with Sigisigi. Strong flour, or Bread flour is called No 1 or 1st Class flour over here. If you can’t get it from your local supermarket, there is usually a ‘trading shop’ in most decent sized towns that sell all sorts of baking ingredients to the bakery business’. You can of course, buy it online from Lazada etc. By the way, if I have to keep flour for over a month, I tend to freeze it and have never encountered a problem doing this. I only mention it as it’s always cheaper to buy larger amounts online due to shipping costs.

 

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Keema Samosas - Traditionally made with lamb or goat, you can also use ground beef, which I’ve done here. They make a nice change from the standard vegetable samosa. We prefer a very thin, light, hot water crust pastry made from AP flour, butter or margarine, salt and very hot water. Although rolling out and filling the pastry can be a bit time consuming, it’s a very easy pastry to work with and well worth the effort.