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Sourdough bagels
Some praise yesterday for my sourdough bagels made me realise that I had never shared the recipe here. Very remiss of me, so here goes. Lunchtime bagels with smoked salmon, onions, capers and cream...
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Turmeric bread;an experiment
Somewhere, vaguely, I had become aware of a quiet rumbling about turmeric in bread. I don’t think I read any specific recipes, but they were definitely on my radar. Then I found myself with some...
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Flaxseed currant “ciabatta”
My recipe folder is extremely messy. Scraps of paper of all different sizes, some scribbled, some printed, some ripped from newspapers. Truth is, I don’t go to it that often, but when I do it takes...
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100% rye sourdough with sunflower seed soaker
Many of the online food events that have sprung up during the pandemic take place at times that are not ideal for me. An honourable exception is the classes from the Colorado Grain Chain, which...
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Neapolitan taralli
A couple of summers ago, we arrived on Ischia in that dead time, too late for lunch, too early for an aperitivo, and famished. The tavola calda just down the road didn’t have much left, but we took...
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David Kaminer’s 100% rye sourdough with a sunflower seed soaker
Today, 7 February 2021, sees the start of the Roman festival of Fornacalia, namesake of this website. Curio maximus Farrell Monaco (or should that be Curia maxima?) decreed it so, as is her right. She...
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Resurrecting the Heidelberg Rye recipe
A little while ago I started to be more methodical about restoring some of the posts on my main website that had become disconnected as a result of various changes in the site’s back room. A few of...
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A real Roman bread for Fornacalia
Panis quadratus, an offering to Fornax. My visit to Ostia Antica last year, guided by the wonderfully knowledgeable Farrell Monaco, was destined to end in more than a podcast. There was no way I was...
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A new way to shape a loaf
A couple of weeks ago, I read a fascinating post on The Fresh Loaf, in which Kendalman described his interesting approach to stretch and fold and offered an alternative explanation of what is going on,...
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Making Maurizio’s Simple Sourdough
A friend kindly gave me a copy of The Perfect Loaf, by Maurizio Leo, and very fortunately there was just about enough room in my suitcase to bring it home with me. The explanatory section at the start...
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Baking Hot
Around this time, as is customary, my little microbial helpers need a dash of tender loving care. The yoghurt has already had two quick passages and is much the better for it. The kefir is about to...
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Light rye with caraway seeds
Two light rye loaves, which could probably have used a little longer proof. Having recently managed to move this site to a new host, the least I could do is bring it back to a kind of life. I’ve been...
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Seedy Wholegrain
This is a firm favourite and quite impossible to find anywhere in the city. I’ve been making it forever, based on the original in Hamelman’s Bread adapted for a natural leaven and seven rather than...
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Kalonji as an excuse
Oh dear. Here we are again on the brink of Fornacalia and, to my shame and despite this website’s name, I have not prepared anything special. I was going to do my 100% rye sourdough, with a nod to some...
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Wholemeal with fennel seeds
Last week’s bake was my standard wholemeal loaf, which is actually 50% wholemeal and 50% strong white flour. I’ve been using the same basic recipe for ages, and recently started adding a good chunk of...
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Adjusted for summer
It has been beastly hot this week, and while not as hot as it will become, it was enough to make me think seriously about my normal baking routine. I wanted to slow things down so that I could still...
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