Fire on the Mountain

This is what the view from the front door has looked like for the past couple of days. Then, of course, I remembered Fire on the Mountain was a tune that the great Earl Scruggs used to play and he died yesterday aged 88.

Focaccia

I’m not a fan of fads such as “artisan bread in-a-minute-and-a-half”. It suggests to me that people don’t really want to engage with bread making or get a feel for working with dough. But what do you do on Saturday night when you’re down to crusts for Sunday breakfast? Strong Bread Flour 342g 100% Water […]

Floats

This battered old cookbook is a good friend used so much the pages are coming loose. I just ordered a backup copy from Amazon for 1p. Lucky friends got a bang-up birthday meal from it this weekend. I did Accra de Morue for starters and Sue did a heavenly Boeuf Creole for the main course […]

Celtic Fudge (2)

After the dress rehearsal, the opening night: The seaweed I used was a mixture of Dillisk brought back from Dublin and kelp from the Chinese supermarket in Upper Bangor. Now I’m retired I don’t start til 6.00 a.m. Yeah, I’m trying out a new camera (it’s just the photographer taking the same old shots) 5 […]

Celtic Fudge

Gert phones to say that he is unexpectedly doing an Irish week at Oren, his restaurant in Caernarfon. Can I come up with with five Irish-related loaves for Wednesday. He’s thinking Guinness but I did Nil’s fantastic Guinness Volkornbrot for him last week. I’m thinking buttermilk plus, I’ve been meaning to do a bread with […]

Biker Ben’s Cheesebread

Newly-sort-of-retired I am finally trying out a few different recipes. Like seven months later I’m making Nina’s Seed Biscuits and Ben’s Cheese Bread from last year’s Bethesdabakin5: Big baguette for me; little baguette for Phoebe dog. Recipes here If it tastes as good as it smells coming out of the oven – big treats ahead.

Pizza (3) = Focaccia

Made my pizza dough – the same Cheese Board conversion – on Wednesday, put it in the fridge to bake some time Thursday or Friday. Thursday got taken out to lunch by Sue. Friday was given fresh, free-range duck eggs – made huevos rancheros instead. Saturday morning while herself is in the bath, turned on […]

Big Time Starter Expansion

Jo Bottrill appended this question to my birthday thread but it is well worthy of its own post. “Hi Mick, I have been using your sourdough refresh method and scaled up and down versions of your recipes for my loaves – it’s all working a treat! I retard everything overnight in my cold conservatory. (dread […]

Happy Birthday to moi, Happy Birthday to moi …

Official 65th Birthday photo by Sue Wilson. Original Casey Jones hat by Jeremy Shapiro. 65 embroidered badge ripped from birthday card from my sister Anne & partner Andrew “Mick” bread by Marcus Row (what a Star!).

Mothers Pride

I think you should all check out this article I reckon Anthony Gormley should be made one of Real Bread Campaign’s Bread Ambassadors forthwith.