Sourdough & a Brasserie Bread class

Wholemeal sourdough (made by me!)

Recently I attended a 'Start your Starter' class at Brasserie Bread, an Artisan Bakery in a suburb far far away from mine.

You know its going to be good when you are greeted with this, fresh croissants warm out of the oven, absolutely delicious.

You realise quite quickly how passionate they are about bread, as we are introduced to artisan baking by Matt.

Here is everything you need to make a loaf of sourdough - starter, water, flour and salt.

A sticky mess to begin with.

Slowly as you work through the kneading process you really begin to feel the dough develop (though mine not as quickly as Matt's in the background!).

Happy resting away in one of the many steps.

Meanwhile we were able to use dough preprepared to learn to shape and bake beautiful bread.

Not surprisingly after all that work we were famished, but not for long as we were presented with samples from every bread they bake to eat with local produce.

And of course we made our own starter, using honey, flour and water.

I took it home and left it until it bubbled before starting a feeding process every eight hours.

After one week I baked my first loaf and I was amazed, beautiful.

Every loaf so far has been delicious in flavour and texture.

Want to bake your own? 

You can learn all about the starter and recipes at Brasserie Bread. 

Mexican Pulled Pork

Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to be seated near Detective Chow from Food Scene Investigation at a bloggers dinner. An amazing opportunity arose where he could share some free range pig raised with love on the south coast. It feels so good to eat meat from an animal you know has lived in a natural environment, the way that it should be.

I was delighted with this beautiful piece of pork for braising, and what better dish to create then a slow cooked melt in your mouth one.

 I used Sammy and Bella's recipe for Mexican Pulled Pork.

The meat is seasoned and seared.

The onions, garlic, cumin and oregano (can you already smell the aroma of mexico?!) are cooked until translucent.

How beautiful are these spices, paprika and chipotle.

Into the pot they go along with tomatoes,vinegar and coriander (roots and stems).

Then the pork and enough water to cover. 

The pork is covered and baked in a slow oven for four hours turning every hour.

After resting for ten minutes it is gently pulled apart with two forks.

The sauce is reduced down until thick.

And combined with the pork.

Done, easy. 

Then you can serve however you wish, so many options with this tasty dish.

The first night I served it in some crunchy tortilla bowls.

It was very much enjoyed. 

Not to forget the next night when we served it with corn chips, yum!

Masala Dosa with Coconut Chutney

A few years ago I fell in love with dosa, a superthin crispy shell filled with spiced deliciousness.....

But I never even dreamt of attempting it. 

Then I saw Simon on The Cook and the Chef create the amazing Masala Dosa and before we knew it the ingredients were on my shopping list.

It is not a recipe for the faint hearted as it is essentially three days prior soaking rice and urid dal then blending and fermenting, then repeating the process.

The filling though is easy, precook some potatoes and lentils.

Bring your mustard seeds to a pop.

Add sliced onions.

Then add ginger, chilli, tamarind, turmeric and curry leaves.

Followed by your potatoes and lentils.

Fry with a little water for about fifteen minutes, then season with garam masala and salt.

Now this is the tricky bit, add a little of the rice/urid dal batter to a pan and spread out with the base of the ladle.

Mine is too thick, it took a few attempts to even get this and it doesn't even compare to a true dosa! 

But flavour wise it was not too bad.

Once it is crispy, fill with your potato curry and serve.

Accompaniments are a must with dosa and this coconut chutney made from coconut (I used frozen), ginger, lemon juice and mint was so refreshing.

Overall we loved it but I think next time we'll go down the street and order it :)