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…
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Sourdough 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.
Read MoreEasy orchids
Lots of orchids grow easily in Sydney, given the right spot. The native orchids are a good starting point. The big Dendrobium speciosum rock orchid is spectacular, and although ideal in a tree, will grow well on a board in a lightly shaded or East-facing spot. Little Dendrobium kingianum is sweet and super tough, will grow almost anywhere and even in soil. Dendrobium nobile grows easily in bark, and the Cooktown orchid, Dendrobium phalaenopsis grows and flowers with protection from winter cold. Cymbidiums grow easily and flower reliably when given…
Read MoreZygopetalum
This Zygopetalum is tough and reliable. It makes a dramatic indoor plant while it flowers in May and June, and also has a strong sweet scent, something like hyacinths. It’s a big plant so it gets a pot on the floor while it’s inside. This is a very hardy orchid, and it grows happily on the South balcony with morning sun in summer, no cold protection in winter (and full shadow) and rainwater or a weekly watering when it’s dry.
Read MorePurple Dancing Ladies
This orchid flowers twice a year if we are lucky; a small flowering in Autumn and the main show in Spring. It’s tough and stays out on the South facing balcony unless it’s flowering, then it lasts for a long time indoors and has a beautiful vanilla scent. It is one of the Oncidium type, apparently a complex and uncertain genus. It likes bright light, with direct sun only early mornings if at all, and is happy with watering by rain, or a weekly watering if it’s dry. It is…
Read MoreRooftop gardening herbs
Herbs are good plants for roof top gardening, as they are so tough and stay ready for picking when needed. On my rooftop terrace in inner city Sydney I grew them in big pots and troughs across the open North side, I had oregano, salad burnet, and parsley, lemon grass, thyme and chives, rosemary, and sage. In smaller pots against the East facing wall I grew mint, basil and coriander. The first eight are set and forget plants; the oregano seeds and spreads from year to year, and the salad burnet needs a…
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