Dietitians week

Sour Dough Bread

Sourdough bread

We often buy sourdough bread –but often it is in short supply and I have not found any lately in the shops. We  have only been shopping once a week so not a great expert on availability of it.

  I have made it in the past so thought I would try again.

In our local shops there is plenty of sliced bread, but bread flour and yeast are in short supply. Fortunately, I have got bread flour in the cupboard along with a whole variety of flours –or rather odds and ends of them leftover from various projects.

I have not found yeast anywhere so decided to go back to making sourdough bread.  So, this is my story 

Sour Dough bread

I used to do a radio program with Vanessa the “sourdough guru” who runs schools on making it.

I do not pretend to be an expert, but it has worked and is quite easy

To make the bread you do need a starter and there are lots of recipes for making one or you can buy one. I just make mine from basically flour and water. Some make them with yogurt and other ingredients. Other people even name them as they are a living thing which takes on a life of its own as you must feed them. So, all quite fun.

They also make good presents –just tell the recipient to feed them

Firstly, you need a starter which is basically made from flour and water. So, I used initially a tablespoonful of ordinary plain flour and 100ml warm water as I had the flour at the bottom of a bag. About 200ml warm water from the tap was added. It was all started in a plastic bowl with a lid loosely put on top. I only used a small amount of flour as if it all went wrong I ha only wasted a small amount of flour!

My husband named it Fido!

It sat there for about 3 days,  doing not much so I just fed it daily with some flour and water. Then day 4 I found some old rye flour, so I fed it about a tablespoon of this. Fido loved it and started to show its appreciation by starting to bubble nicely. It loved a sunny spot plus a spoonful of sugar that I gave it on day 6.

All the while it was getting bigger and filling more of my bowl so on day 7, I used it to bake by adding 4000g bread flour and a teaspoon of salt. It is important to keep a bit of the starter back to start the feeding process again.

I have to say I tended to look after it and just add amounts I thought about right as it seems all about seeing it bubble and then smell slightly sour. The final flour was the amount to take it from a sticky mess to a dough. Which I kneaded on a floured board if it stays too sticky, I added a bit more flour. It should be sticky rather than a dry dough. This needs to be bread flour as it gives the structure to the loaf.

I put it in a bowl lined with a damp tea towel and covered it with a damp tea towel and left it for about 4 hours. It nicely doubled in size and the dough peel off the tea towel. I put it on a greased baking tray left it to rise a couple of hours put a deep cross in it and baked it for about 40 minutes at 200⁰ C

I really liked this recipe –but when I followed it the quantities made too much bread for us. Hence my more meager adaptation as I only need a loaf at a time.

I like this recipe https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/sourdough-starter-recipe

They do take about a week to develop  but occasionally are ready in 5 days. Great  fun to make and children love the new “pet” and the bread is fabulous

The BBC one is also good

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/how_to_make_sourdough_08213

Coronavirus and diet

There is no diet that prevents Coronavirus warns The British Dietetic Association! Covid 19 is the condition caused by the Coronavirus. But you can aim to maximise things like health and enjoyment with what you eat.

If you are following a special diet or on medications do check with your dietitian or health professional if you have any queries.

If you have the symptoms of Coronavirus you are likely to not feel like eating as you may have a sore throat or cough and generally feel unwell not to mention fatigued, here are some ideas

Fluid 

Take enough fluid, a minimum of 2 litres per day for most adults (unless you have been told to restrict fluid for a medical reason).

 Lack of fluid can make you feel irritable and fatigued which is not what you want to feel at present. Water is ideal for hydration but most other beverages also contribute except for strong coffees and alcoholic drinks. Often it is better to sip fluids through the day and often a sports bottle is ideal for this. You can also get motivational bottles with marks on them.

If it is difficult to keep making drinks make a flask up and keep that near you. Drinks can be hot or cold whichever you prefer. Sometimes trying different flavours tempts drinking so some ideas-

·       Fruit juices, squash or fruit teas all made up with warm water can be soothing

·       Warm milky drinks like Cappuccinos you make up with hot water, hot chocolate, malted milks and milkshakes may appeal and are easy to drink. You can also obviously let any of these cool and add ice for variation

·       Ordinary milk can be enriched by adding 4 tablespoons of milk powder to 600ml of milk. You can buy milk powder at supermarkets. This milk can be used in making all drinks like tea or coffee as well as on cereals

·       It is useful to have one of the vitamin-enriched milkshake powders in the cupboard to make up a milkshake once or twice a day

·       Savoury hot drinks like ones made up with meat or yeast extract can add variety

·       Many people find energy drinks helpful and while many contain a lot of sugar making them unsuitable for those with diabetes there are sugar-free varieties

Simple meals

·       Soups ( you can add milk powder to these) can be helpful to eat and are easy to make and items like lentils add extra protein

·       Eggs scrambled, omelettes, in pancakes, eggy bread as well as boiled are easy to eat

·       Casseroles and stews can be made in slow cookers or pans and it is useful to make extra portions to freeze

·       Fish dishes are often easy to eat especially in  white sauce

·       Cauliflower or macaroni cheese

Puddings and sweet snacks

·       Whippy puddings made up with fortified milk

·       Jelly of all types which you can set fruit in or make up with milk and serve with evaporated milk, ice cream, fruit, cream or yoghurt

·       Sponges and custards

·       Stewed fruit and custard

If you are not going out into the sunshine it is worth looking at taking a vitamin D supplement. It is also worth considering a multivitamin and mineral preparation

EGG ALTERNATIVES

Although I keep hens they are very poor layers and te cockerels do eat the eggs if they get a chance.

Buying eggs has been difficult at times recently so I thought it useful to include this table I found on Twitter.

If she had no eggs my mother used vinegar and baking soda in things like fruit cakes  replacing one egg with a tablespoon of vinegar and  a teaspoon of baking powder

I met a  baker who only used baking powder in her vegan  cupcakes and they tasted fine but did have lots of flavourings like lemon and chocolate in them

Ripe bananas  worked well for me in sponge puddings

You can use the thick liquid from a can of chickpeas in making cakes etc

There are also various packs of egg replacer you can buy and I always have a packet for making cakes for any vegan guests

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SVOURY MUFFINS

Muffins with leeks and cheese

Category: Snack/side dish, Starter/snack | Serves: 2

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

2 leeks, washed and thinly sliced

2 English muffins (white or wholemeal)

40g (1 1/2-2oz) half-fat mature Cheddar-style cheese, finely grated

1 decent-sized spring onion, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard, or to taste

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Heat olive oil in a frying pan; add leeks and cook over a medium-high heat for 7-10 minutes or until softened and slightly browned, stirring frequently. Spoon leek mixture into a bowl; set aside.
2. Preheat grill to medium-high. Split muffins in half; lightly toast them under a grill, cut sides down. Turn muffin halves over. Add cheese, spring onion, mustard, parsley and black pepper to leeks; mix well. Spoon some leek mixture over each muffin half, dividing it evenly. Return to grill for a few minutes until lightly browned; serve immediately.

Muffins with leeks and cheese

Category: Snack/side dish, Starter/snack | Serves: 2

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

2 leeks, washed and thinly sliced

2 English muffins (white or wholemeal)

40g (1 1/2-2oz) half-fat mature Cheddar-style cheese, finely grated

1 decent-sized spring onion, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard, or to taste

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Heat olive oil in a frying pan; add leeks and cook over a medium-high heat for 7-10 minutes or until softened and slightly browned, stirring frequently. Spoon leek mixture into a bowl; set aside.
2. Preheat grill to medium-high. Split muffins in half; lightly toast them under the grill, cut sides down. Turn muffin halves over. Add cheese, spring onion, mustard, parsley and black pepper to leeks; mix well. Spoon some leek mixture over each muffin half, dividing it evenly. Return to grill for a few minutes until lightly browned; serve immediately.

Lovely recipe from Heart Matters anD worth signing up for more

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxwHMjmHHhpwmCkPWDZsNjgXcdvh

Lovely recipe from Heart Matters and worth signing up for more

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxwHMjmHHhpwmCkPWDZsNjgXcdvh

self isolation

Just saw a news report about people going crazy from the stresses and strains of self- isolation.

It was strange, actually, because I had just been talking about this with the microwave and toaster and all of us agreed that things are far from good.

I didn't mention anything to the washing machine as she always has to put a different spin on everything, and certainly not to the fridge as he is acting cold and distant.

In the end the iron calmed me down. She said everything will be fine, which surprised me because she’s usually the first one to apply unnecessary pressure and get steamed up over nothing.

I think I might have to consult the drinks cabinet.