Great orchids for Sydney, you can buy Phalaenopsis as a flowering display that will last for over a month, then keep them with an expectation that they will flower again. They are easy to keep as long as the basic conditions are right, and that means light and water. Phals are low light plants, naturally growing deep under the rainforest canopy. Their thick leaves easily overheat in sunlight, even morning sun in Summer. A south facing window or a spot inside a brightly lit room are good locations. If you…
Read MoreMonth: June 2012
Sourdough recipe: machine kneading
This sourdough recipe gives me a good sourdough loaf with machine kneading. It evolved from reading Emily Beuhler’s excellent book, Bread Science. Make sure your mixer can handle the heavy work though, before you try. Method 3 cups (750 mL) bakers flour 3 tablespoons starter 350 mL filtered water 1 tsp salt 1 cup (250 mL) secondary flour (ie wholemeal or rye) Mix the bakers flour, starter and water and leave to stand for at least 30 min. Tip the dough into a kitchen mixer with the dough hook attached, and begin mixing…
Read MoreSourdough starter
I got mine from a friend who got his from Tasmania. Before that I tried making my own starter, but the flavour wasn’t great. Emily Buehler’s method involves leaving organic rye flour paste to ferment, and hoping that after a few weeks it settles to a good equilibrium. This is not guaranteed. I’ve seen a TV cook prepare a sourdough starter in a few hours, but that is far from my experience of what’s involved. However you get your starter, you will need to keep it going. A typical regime…
Read MoreSourdough vs yeast bread
Sourdough and yeast leavening are suited to different styles of bread. It’s not just about the flavour but also about the techniques that suit loaf types. After using sourdough culture, yeast bread is alarmingly fast, and is probably best for working up techniques as you are not dealing with uncertainty over whether your dough has risen enough, on top of getting shaping etc right. Flavour first. I think the flavour of sourdough suits rye and wholemeal, and for spreads it’s suited more to honey and ‘brown’ jams. It has a…
Read MoreSourdough.
Sourdough is a great way to make bread at home. Its special qualities are a flavour profile unique to the culture used, slowness of rising, which allows you to prepare it during the course of a day or even overnight, and its longer keeping time compared with yeast bread. I have been making sourdough for a few years now, from one culture. My reference is a great book by Emily Buehler called Bread Science, which you can get online here. The distinguishing feature of sourdough is that it is leavened…
Read MoreDrosera capensis sundew
This sundew looked so pretty in the sun this morning. It’s Drosera capensis, from South Africa. My plants are about 3rd generation, from a plant that stowed in growing with a pitcher plant. They have stems of little pink flowers, which open one per day, then hundreds of dust-like seeds that germinate freely in the right spot. Keeping these is all about the potting medium. They will not tolerate fertilizer, so specialty mixes are necessary. Sphagnum, peat, sand and perlite are all good, singly or in combination. These ones are growing…
Read MoreCamellia
This Camellia japonica gives us beautiful winter colour out on the living room balcony. Its partner has a white flower with pink streaks, and flowers a little later.
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