INGREDIENTS

I think that when baking, and when cooking in general, the rule should be that you have to use the best ingredients to get the best results. Budgets for food differ, of course, but I prefer to eat less cake and make it the best cake I can afford. That means that I am always looking for fresh flour from a good source. Flour that’s left unused for many months will become dry and that will affect your baking. Preferably buy all organic ingredients. For example, I only buy organic eggs or eggs straight from the farm. Firstly, because I think it is not right that we keep hens in confined barns where they never see the light of day and can never roam freely. Secondly, because an egg from a chicken that has had the space to live and breathe has much more flavour. So you can decide why you choose organic eggs – is it because you say no to animals suffering for your dinner, or because you simply want the best eggs? The two are naturally connected. That, of course, also applies to meat; good provenance ensures good taste.

Flour

I think it’s important that you understand why I ask you to use a certain flour, because the protein content of flour has an influence on your results. The higher the protein content of your flour, the more elasticity your dough will get. A flour with a high protein content is therefore good for bread and other pastries that are supposed to be light or would benefit from a little elasticity. Unlike white flour, wholemeal flour is brown because it is made from the entire grain and still contains bran. It therefore also contains fibre and vitamins that are no longer present in white flour. Wheat is the most common cereal used for wholemeal flour, but it can also be made from rye, spelt, oats and barley, as well as a lot of other rare, ancient or less common crops.

Strong white bread flour – around 12.6 g (½ oz) of protein per 100 g (3½ oz) of flour (12–13%)

British recipes for bread and other bakes sometimes require completely or partially strong white bread flour, which can be compared to patent flour. This flour is made from harder wheat, which means that the flour contains more gluten. Gluten is needed for a light and well-raised result. There are several varieties of patent flour and the difference is in the protein content. French flour, which has the designation T65, usually contains 13 g (½ oz) of protein. In America they work with winter or summer wheat. Winter wheat is sown in the fall and harvested in the summer. This wheat produces more protein than wheat that grows in the summer. These types of flour are only available in specialist shops, but are very accessible to hobby bakers.

Plain (all-purpose) white flour – around 10 g (¼ oz) of protein per 100 g (3½ oz) of flour (10%)

Where I live in Flanders, close to Holland, we have Zeeland flour, made from soft wheat that grows in a maritime climate. Zeeland flour has a low protein content and will therefore develop little gluten. It’s ideal for brittle cookies such as shortbread and short dough for shortcrust cake bases. Zeeland flour has a protein content of 10%, which is the same as plain white flour you can get everywhere.

Oats

There are many varieties of oatmeal and oat flakes:

Rolled oats are made by steaming whole oat groats, then running them between rollers to make flat flakes. The steaming partially cooks the oats, which makes them cook faster when you use them in your cooking. Rolled oats are sold in the traditional size and also as jumbo oats.

Pinhead oats, also called ‘steel-cut oats’, are whole oats that have been cut into two or three pinhead-sized pieces. Pinhead oats are also used for porridge and are considered the Irish way of making porridge. They have more bite and and a nuttier flavour.

Porridge oats, or oatmeal, are made by grinding steel-cut oats or rolled oats about halfway to flour, leaving lots of coarse pieces. They come in a fine, medium or coarse variety.

Oat flour is a much finer substance than oatmeal. It is ground from whole oat groats, steel-cut oats or rolled oats. It’s completely soft and resembles wholemeal flour. You can create oat flour by grinding rolled oats with the blade attachment of a food processor.

Cornflour

Cornflour (cornstarch) has the ability to reduce the amount of protein in flour. It’s ideal for brittle cookies, but also for light cakes. Cornflour is the starch that is obtained from the endosperm of the corn grain. The extraction of this starch is done by soaking the corn grain in sulphur dioxide, a substance that has been used since time immemorial to preserve food. The surplus of this process is the proteins from the corn grain, which go directly to the animal fodder industry. Because corn is often genetically modified, I advise you to look for organic cornflour. You can order this from the British flour specialist, Doves Farm.

To lower the protein content of your flour (which should contain a minimum of 10 per cent protein), use the following rule: replace 20 g (¾ oz) of every 125 g (4½ oz) of plain flour with cornflour.

Self-raising flour

You can buy this flour but you can easily make it yourself. The advantage of making it yourself is that you only have to buy one type of flour and simply add baking powder when a recipe calls for self-raising flour. An old bag of self-raising flour that you’ve found in the back of your cupboard may not be active anymore and therefore yield an unrisen result. There is generally 15 g (½ oz) of baking powder in 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) of self-raising flour. You can play with this ratio if you want the dough to rise a little more or less. I haven’t used self-raising flour in this book and have supplied the amount of baking powder needed separately for each recipe.

Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda or E500) and baking powder

Both powders ensure the raising of a dough or batter, but are definitely not the same. Bicarbonate of soda is a natural carbonate that only works if you add acid to your dough or batter, such as lemon juice, yoghurt, buttermilk, vinegar or black treacle. In baking powder, to which a stabiliser has been added, the acid is already in the carbonate. You need three times as much baking powder to replace bicarbonate of soda.

Lard

British recipes often call for lard, which is the belly fat from a pig. You can make it yourself or simply buy it at the store. I make it myself by boiling the belly fat for a few hours, straining it and then pouring it into containers, which I then freeze – it keeps forever. A pie pastry made with a portion of lard has a nice savoury touch that goes well with a sweet filling as well. You can use the surplus of lard to fry eggs or roast potatoes. Delicious.

Suet

Shredded suet is kidney fat that is processed into small grains. It is often called for in British recipes for pie pastry, but also in puddings and in the filling of mince pies. You can buy ready-shredded suet in boxes, but you can also make it yourself, even if it is a rather long process. Because the fat has settled around the kidneys, it is full of fibres that you have to pick out. Then you have to boil and strain this fat, pour it into containers to harden and then grate it with a coarse grater before use. It is important that you process the suet into fine pieces. You can replace suet with butter or lard, although it does not give exactly the same result. Pastries made with suet have a longer shelf life than pastries made with butter.

Butter

By butter I always mean unsalted butter, preferably organic and with a fat content of at least 82 per cent. Most cheap butter has a lower fat content. That does not mean that this butter is healthier, but that it is not suitable for making delicious cakes and bakes. Do not use margarine for the recipes, even though this was recommended 50 years ago and our parents still swear by it. Your baking skills deserve the best butter. Fat is flavour.

Cream and milk

I do like some fat and therefore also cream. The recipes in this book call for double cream, a British name for cream with a fat content of at least 48 per cent. In many countries full cream has a fat content of between 33 and 35 per cent. Look carefully on the packaging, choose the fattiest and stay away from light versions.

The milk used in this book is always full-fat (whole) milk. If you are making cheese, I specify raw milk, which you can buy from the farm. It has a very short shelf life because it is not pasteurised. You can also make cheese with sour milk or milk to which an acid has been added, but you won’t have the exact result needed for these recipes because cheese made with sour or soured milk is more acidic, while cheese made with raw milk is sweet. If you can’t find raw milk, it’s better to use ricotta in recipes that ask for curd cheese.

Eggs

I use medium-sized organic eggs for my recipes. Eggs ensure that your cakes increase in volume and also add nutritional value, but also make your cakes drier. The egg yolk gives your cakes a nice colour. For the recipes, assume that one medium egg weighs around 50 g (1¾ oz).

Yeast

Yeast ensures the production of carbon gas and ensures that your dough rises. I mainly use dry yeast because you can keep this handy in your larder and I therefore also use dry yeast in the recipes in this book. If you prefer to use fresh yeast, use double the quantity of the dry yeast. Fresh yeast does not have to be immersed in lukewarm liquid before use.

Apricot kernels

In the past, bitter almonds were used instead of almond flavouring. These almonds contain a toxin that can be harmful if you eat too many of them. Apricot kernels contain the same toxin but to a much lesser extent, making them a good alternative. Bashed apricot kernels to which rosewater is added give the same marzipan-like odour and taste as bitter almonds. Adhere strictly to the quantities in this book and do not eat the kernels without incorporating them into the bake. The kernels may not be eaten in any case like regular nuts. Therefore keep them out of the reach of small children and housemates who are looking for something to nibble.

Golden syrup and black treacle

Golden syrup and black treacle are two typical English sugar syrups that are by-products from the sugar refinery. Golden syrup can be replaced by maple syrup or honey, while black treacle can be replaced by molasses, although the latter tastes much harsher than treacle. You can also use honey, but then you will miss out on that beautiful dark colour.

Candied citrus peel

In England this is simply called candied peel or mixed peel and it is often a mix of candied lemon and orange peel. For convenience, I have asked for candied citrus peel in the recipes – just use what you can find, unless it is specified in the recipe what kind of peel is needed. A good citrus peel is equal to or thicker than 5 mm (¼ inch). The skin must be sticky and not as tough and dry as candy. In some recipes I also talk about candied cedro, which is a type of lemon with a very thick skin. This candied skin is usually pale yellowish green.

Currants and raisins

Currants and raisins are often soaked for a few hours before use, but this isn’t preferable for all bakes. When it comes to some cakes, fruit loaves and buns, it’s better to use currants and raisins that haven’t been soaked. If you add soaked fruit to a bread or bun dough, it will get damaged during the kneading process and if you add it before shaping, it might introduce an unnecessary amount of moisture to the dough, often making it annoyingly sticky. I prefer to work with a wetter dough that compensates for the fact that the fruit isn’t soaked. I add the fruit before the first rise and it attaches itself perfectly to the structure of the dough. You should, however, always rinse the fruit to remove any dust and then pat it dry with paper towel.