Food techniques - le petit oeuf

I've always wondered if I need to knead spelt dough, because it never seemed to make much difference. So I've done a side by side bake test to see if you really need to knead!

Spelt Buns – Do I Need to Knead Spelt?

Gavin Wren September 29, 2017 Baking, Food Techniques, Recipes, Spelt & ancient grains

Throughout my blog, I’ve declared that there’s no need to knead spelt dough.

This pearl of wisdom originated several years ago from a source that I’ve entirely forgotten, yet, as I create more spelt recipes for my blog, I’ve begun to question it.

It’s all about the gluten

Roger Saul, in his Sharpham Park ‘Spelt’ book, says to knead spelt dough for 10 minutes in every recipe. I was surprised to read this, it seems excessive, however, I also realise that he grows the stuff and sells it in supermarkets, so I was interested to see what benefit this really has.

All varieties of wheat (including spelt) contain two proteins, gliaden and glutenin, which if combined with water and kneaded, create a complex protein known as gluten. Gluten is what gives dough it’s elasticity and stretchability, resulting…come and read more…

The Best Way to Store Herbs and Spices

Gavin Wren November 22, 2016 Food Techniques, Writing

It’s the little things in life, isn’t it? I never thought I’d post about the best way to store herbs and spices, because it’s such a minuscule thing in the world of food, yet here I am. This small thing has actually made an enormous difference to my life in the kitchen, because it’s often the small changes to my way of work that have an unreasonably large effect on my overall happiness, especially when …

How to Cook Onions and How Recipes Lie

Gavin Wren May 15, 2016 Basic Ingredients, Food Education, Food Techniques, Writing

Today I’m looking at how cooks and chefs around the world have lied to us about how to cook onions, misusing terms like sauté, caramelise, sweat and fry along with frankly ridiculous suggestions of cooking times. So if you really want to know your onions, read on, and I will expose the real truth about onions. Hold the Front Page! It’s time for a News of the World style exposé of the food world. Time …

Recipes for Beginners

Gavin Wren May 6, 2016 Food Opinion Pieces, Food Techniques, Writing

Recipes for Beginners. The world of recipes can be a daunting place where it’s easy to feel utterly imprisoned by the author’s written instructions, sensing that any deviation or misunderstanding could easily have catastrophic consequences on your dinner. If you’re new to cooking, cautious about it or a nervous cook it could be tempting to seek out the most simple recipes for beginners, to keep your channels of exploration locked into a tightly controlled path. …

Pizza Sauce

Gavin Wren May 2, 2016 Basic Ingredients, Food Techniques, Main Dishes, Recipes

Don’t listen to them. So the internet has a million and one recipes for pizza sauce. So what. They’re all wrong and I’m right, so listen carefully. I’m going to keep this simple, as it should be. You don’t need sugar, you don’t need herbs. You don’t need vinegar either. Pizza is a simple pleasure, the sauce should reflect that ideology. There’s one thing to consider very seriously when making simple food, which is quality …

Authentic Italian Food and how to make sure there's passion in your cooking

Authentic Italian Food and How to ‘Do It Right’

Gavin Wren April 28, 2016 Food Education, Food Opinion Pieces, Food Techniques, Writing

An Italian Muse. Over the last few days my ongoing obsession with authentic Italian food has been stoked by working on an ultimate spelt pizza guide, a series of recipe tests that have furnished my table with some of the nicest pizzas I’ve ever had, which although sounding incredibly smug and arrogant, is true. Soon I will share the delights of these creations with you, so that you can partake in these discs of passionate …

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