Tag: cinnamon

Hazelnut & Raisin Bread

22 August 2024

Two or three times per week we enjoy the taste of fresh home-made no-knead bread. The crust, the flavours, the aromas! And how about the singing of the bread when it’s just out of the oven? Baking your own bread is such a pleasure.

Our recipe for no-knead bread is based on a recipe published by Jim Lahey, owner of Sullivan Street Bakery, New York. It was published in the New York Times in 2006 and can also be found in his excellent book My Bread. The process is time consuming (it’s 24 hours from start to finish) but not labour intensive. The recipe is based on slow-rise fermentation. With only 1 gram of instant yeast in combination with 18+3 hours of rest the yeast will do a wonderful job. The dough will be perfect. And kneading, as you would expect, is not required.

Normally we bake our bread with blue poppy seed and brown linseed. Today we bake a luxurious bread with hazelnuts, raisins and cinnamon.

What You Need
  • 200 grams of Whole Grain Flour
  • 230 grams of Plain White Flour
  • 1 gram Instant Yeast
  • 70 grams Hazelnuts (peeled and roasted)
  • 130 grams Raisins
  • 2,5 grams Cinnamon
  • 4 grams Salt (this is less than usual, most recipes for bread would suggest 8 grams)
  • 345 grams Water
  • Additional Flour
  • Bran
What You Do

Mix flour, yeast, cinnamon and salt. Add water and create one mixture. Let rest in a covered bowl for 18 hours.
Soak the raisins for 10 minutes in warm water. Remove excess water. Cover your worktop with a generous amount of flour. Remove the dough from bowl and flatten somewhat. Cover the middle third with one quarter of the raisins and hazelnuts. Fold the lower third on top of the middle third. Cover with the second quarter. Fold the top third on top the the middle third. Cover the centre with a quarter of the raisins and hazelnuts. Fold the right part on top of the centre. Ad the last quarter of raisins and hazelnuts on top of the centre and fold the fold the left part on top of it. Dust with additional flour and let rest on a towel dusted with flour and bran for 3 hours. Check that the pot (and the handles!) can be used in a really hot oven. Transfer the pot to the oven and heat your oven to 235˚ Celsius or 450˚ Fahrenheit. Put the dough, seam side up, in the pot, close it and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for 15 minutes or until it is nicely browned. Let cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing it. Enjoy with a generous amount of butter.

Hazelnut & Raisin Bread ©cadwu
Hazelnut & Raisin Bread ©cadwu

Guineafowl with Ras el Hanout

8 September 2021

Preparing guineafowl can be a bit of a challenge: easily overcooked and quickly dry. Guineafowl has more structure and less fat compared to chicken plus it’s much firmer. The good news is that guineafowl has lots of flavour, perhaps a bit gamey, but not overpowering. So great to combine with nice ingredients such as morels or with grappa, junipers, sage, white wine and pancetta (as included in The River Cafe Classic Italian Cookbook, written by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers).

Ras el Hanout is a mix of some twenty plus spices such as coriander, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, fenugreek, fennel, cardamom, turmeric and many more. Ras el Hanout is complex, layered, warm, a touch sweet and bitter. It works beautifully with the guineafowl and the various vegetables. 

Wine Pairing

Enjoy your guineafowl with a not too complex, medium bodied, fruity red wine. Grapes such as Grenache, Carménère, Carignan. We enjoyed a glass of Merlot, produced by Les Ormes de Cambras from the French Pays d’Oc region. A round, fruity wine with aromas of berries and subtle tannins. Also available as Bag in Box!

What You Need

  • Guineafowl
    • Guineafowl (Supreme preferred, but Leg is also fine)
    • Teaspoon of Ras el Hanout
    • 2 Garlic Gloves
    • Olive Oil
    • White Onion or Shallot
  • Vegetables
    • 1 Sweet Potato
    • 1 Carrot
    • Cinnamon
    • Olive oil
    • Teaspoon of Soy Sauce
  • Ratatouille

What You Do

Crush the two garlic gloves and mix with some olive oil and ras el hanout. Rub the meat with the mixture and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours.
Pre-heat the oven to 180 ˚C or 355 ˚F. Add the two legs of guineafowl to a shallow dish with generous olive oil and chopped onion. Cook for 10 minutes. Turn the legs upside down and cook for another 10 minutes. Turn them a second time, skin up, for 10 more minutes. If you want a bit more colour, then set the oven to 200 ˚C or 390 ˚F.
In parallel peel the potato and the carrot. Dice and slice. Cook separately (the carrot needs more time) until tender but firm. Combine the vegetables, add olive oil, a teaspoon of grated cinnamon and a teaspoon of soy sauce. Mix well, making sure the vegetables are nicely coated. Leave on very low heat for 10 minutes. This will help integrate the flavours. (You wonder why we add soy sauce? Its umami will bring the flavours of the potato and the carrot together plus the saltiness will give the dish the required push. And because it’s one teaspoon only, you will not be able to recognise it).
The ratatouille is optional. Make it the day before, with relatively small slices and cubes of vegetables, add some tomato puree, making it nearly paste like.

Guineafowl with Ras el Hanout ©cadwu
Guineafowl with Ras el Hanout ©cadwu