I’ve been recovering from my 5 week stint here. I finally mustered up the courage to mettre la main à la pâte as the French say. It wasn’t easy to decide what to make but a cake was not definetly on the menu. Nothing better than a bit of kneading to think things over (a great bit of exercise if you do it by hand ). With every new year there’s always a mad rush to start new things or stop old things. It’s not an easy option to stick with the old and get through the difficulties much easier to give up, especially when you have so many  other “better looking” options. I guess it’s a bit like just putting an egg in one basket rather than spreading them about. A risk that 2009 is going to be for me and many others. I’ve finally decided to be a full time professional freelance food creative after several years of doing it part time. To get a better idea of what I’m getting myself into check out my professional website. It’s not quite finished yet, still having some teething problems.

I wish everyone a success, fun and delicious filled 2009!

Back to the food, I did this recipe twice. Once at home and the other at my parents. Second time round it turned out perfect, I must say myself. The bread had a beautiful texture. Crisp crust with a light airy dough inside topped off with a egg in the middle. A snack or breakfast all-in-one on the run. Yummy I’ve based my recipe on Andrew Whitley’s Bread matters book which I consider one of the best bread cookery books on the market. He uses a wetter dough technique which results in an airy bread. His recipe requires using a specific water temperature which I, being lazy just used warm water. I also tried my hand at air kneading (which involves kind of throwing/stretching the dough from one hand to another in the air) but my arms just ached too much after 10 minutes so I chose to knead the classic way, on the work surface. A little messier.
Just a note the dough will feel wet and sticky at the beginning of kneading. Don’t feel tempted to add loads of flour. Once you start kneading for a while the dough will start to come together.

Egg in a basket
Recipe adapted from “Bread matters” by Andrew Whitley
(makes 8 )

Overnight sponge

5g fresh yeast
130g Water, warm
150g Strong white flour

Mix the yeast with the water and then combine with the flour. Place in a large bowl. Cover with clingfilm and leave in a room with an ambient temperature (if the room is warmer than 25°c than place somewhere cooler) for 12-18 hours. The sponge should triple in size: bubble and have a slight beery, vinegary taste.

Final dough

285g overnight sponge
350g strong white flour
100g stroneground strong wholemeal flour
5g Salt
270g water, warm
15g olive oil
8 eggs

Mix all the ingredients into a soft dough and knead until it becomes silky and stretchy. Leave to rise for an hour. Grease two trays with some olive oil. Divide into 8 parts. Then divide each part into 3. Make 3 long “worms” and plait/braid them and join the two ends to make a circle. Make sure to leave a big enough space in the middle to crack the egg in. Leave to prove (double in size). Set the oven to 230°c or the hottest setting. Bake for 5 minutes at the hottest setting and then turn down to 200°c. After 15 minutes take the buns out and crack one egg into each hole. Bake for another 5 minutes (altogether baking time 20 minutes). Leave to cool slightly before eating or eat them cold too.

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