Month: July 2020

If you’re drowning in a sea of courgettes or swept away by the zucchini tsunami – this soup is the perfect remedy. Five ingredients and ready in 20 minutes. Low in calories unless you go crazy with the cheese at the end. Our favourite soup this summer.

The only special equipment is a stick blender but if you don’t have one you can mash by hand or whack it in the food processor or the blender. I have two stick blenders – a domestic one for small jobs and a commercial one as powerful as an outboard motor. The Davinator got tired of me burning out domestic ones with jobs too big for them and sourced a commercial one from Nisbetts – it’s about as much fun as you can have with a kitchen appliance. Your domestic stick blender will be fine for this soup.

The soup has a lovely consistency – this comes from cooking the potatoes with just enough water to cover them. This means the starch from the potatoes stays in the soup and isn’t rinsed away when you drain them. I scrub the potatoes and do not peel them but you might want to peel them if the skins feel thick or tough.

I’ve added this blog to my ‘courgette roundup’ blog, lots of other great ways to use your courgette surplus. Use a vegetarian cheddar to make it suitable for vegetarians. Also easy to make a vegan version of this soup – it’s lovely without the cheese or use a vegan substitute. Remember to check your stock cubes if you’re cooking for a vegan or vegetarian some use animal products.

Hope you are staying safe and keeping well in these challenging times. Thank you for reading and sharing the blog. Send in requests and tag me in photos if you post on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.

Why make your own buns for Independence Day or summer barbecue season? Because you can, I say. And they are yummy. The recipe that served as a basis for this blog was badged as ‘easy’. My experience suggests that’s stretching the definition of easy but it’s well within the grasp of most bakers. There are a couple of techniques that don’t change the taste of the buns but actually help your make your buns look like (but taste much better) than store bought ones.

A couple of great things about these buns – the dough is all machine kneaded and the first rise is in the refrigerator. You can refrigerate your dough for a couple of hours or 24 hours – the recipe works around your schedule.

You want your buns to be short cylinders (like hockey pucks but less dense) and not spheres (like a baseball or cricket ball). A couple of crucial techniques here to make this happen. First, weigh your dough and divide it into 8 equal pieces then roll each piece between your hands into a smooth ball. The second step is to place a a second piece of parchment paper over the shaped dough then a second baking sheet over the parchment. This forces the ‘rise’ to move out rather than up producing the cylindrical shape.

Once you’ve got the techniques in this recipe, you may never buy buns again. I’m working on perfecting the shaping and baking of the hot dog buns so watch this space. Have a great Fourth of July. On to the recipe.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 500 grams all purpose or bread flour
• 130 grams whole or semi-skimmed milk, room temperature
• 90 grams water, room temperature
• 8 grams (2 tsps) active dry yeast
• 12 (1 1/2 tsps) grams salt
• 15 grams (1 tbsp) caster sugar
• 30 grams vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• Oil for the bowl
• Egg for egg wash
• Sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer.
2. Beat the water, milk and egg in a separate bowl.
3. Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix to combine.
4. Put the dough hook on and knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it forms a smooth ball. If it feels dry add water a tablespoon at a time. Be cautious – the dough needs to be quite wet.
5. Add the oil and knead for 8 to 10 minutes. You will stare at it during the early period of kneading thinking it’s never going to come together. Be patient, it will. If it’s not smooth and shiny at the end of 10 minutes, add flour a tablespoon at a time and knead for another minute each time. Don’t make the dough too dry – it will firm up and be easy to work with when its chilled.
6. Transfer the dough to a clean oiled bowl, cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.
7. Lightly dust your work surface with flour and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut a second sheet to place over the top of your shaped buns.
8. Weigh your dough (tip – put a piece of parchment on the scale) and cut into 8 equal pieces.
9. Roll each piece into a firm ball and place on the parchment sheet about 7 cm (3 inches) apart.
10. Press each piece to flatten to a disk. Lightly dust the tops with flour, place the second parchment over the top, and cover with the second baking sheet. Cover the entire thing with plastic wrap.
11. Allow the dough to rise for about an hour. On a cold day, this might take longer or less time on a warm summer day.
12. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F) about 30 minutes before baking.
13. Beat the egg with a pinch of salt. Wash the tops of the rolls with the egg wash. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.
14. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven when golden brown and puffy. Best eaten on the same day or wrapped tightly in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Enjoy! Thank you for reading the blog and baking the recipes. Please tag @mamadolson with photos on social media. Send requests!