Home Baking

Nothing equals the satisfaction of home baking. No commercial cake mix or shop-bought biscuit can match one that is made from the best fresh ingredients with all the added enjoyment that baking at home provides — the enticing aromas that fill the house and stimulate appetites, the delicious
Straight-from•the-oven flavour, as well as the pride of having created such wonderful goodies yourself.

The spanishchef.net site is filled with familiar favourite recipes as well as many other lesser known recipes from all around the world. Explore the wealth of biscuits, buns, tea breads, yeast breads, pies, tarts, and cakes within these pages. Even if you are a novice baker, the easy-to-follow and clear step-by-step photographs will help you achieve good results. For the more experienced home baker, this we will provide some new recipes to add to your repertoire.

Baking is an exact science and needs to be approached in an ordered way. Unlike other types of cooking, where most chefs state that their recipes are a bare canvas and to adjust to your own liking.

First read through the recipe from beginning to end. Set out all the required ingredients before you begin. Size 3 eggs are assumed unless specified otherwise, and they should be at room temperature for best results.

Sift the flour after you have measured it, and incorporate other dry ingredients as specified in the individual recipes. If you sift the flour from a fair height, it will have more chance to aerate and lighten.

When a recipe calls for folding one ingredient into another, it should be done in a way that incorporates as much air as possible into the mixture. Use either a large metal spoon or a long rubber or plastic scraper. Gently plunge the spoon or scraper deep into the centre of the mixture and, scooping up a large amount of the mixture, fold it over. Turn the bowl slightly so each scoop folds over another part of the mixture.

No two ovens are alike. Buy a reliable oven thermometer and test the temperature of your oven. When possible bake in the centre of the oven where the heat is more likely to be constant. If using a fan-assisted oven, follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for baking. Good quality baking tins can improve your results, as they conduct heat more efficiently.

Practice, patience and enthusiasm are the keys to confident and successful baking. The recipes you will find on this site should inspire you to start sifting flour, breaking eggs and stirring up all sorts of delectable homemade treats — all guaranteed to bring great satisfaction to both the baker and those lucky enough to enjoy the results.

To get you started, here are a couple of easy recipes – an Italian flat bread, individual fruit tarts and a family size lemon meringue pie. If you like these, then start exploring the site and find hundreds more of these easy to make home recipes.

Baking Italian Flat Bread With Sage

2 teaspoons active dried yeast
8 fl oz (25O ml) lukewarm water
12 oz (375 g) plain flour
2 teaspoons salt
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
12 fresh sage leaves, chopped

1 Combine the yeast and water, stir and leave for 15 minutes until the yeast has completely dissolved.

2 Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl, and make a well in the centre.

3 Stir in the yeast mixture and 4 tablespoons of the oil. Stir from the centre, incorporating flour with each turn, to obtain a rough dough.

4 Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until it is smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, for about 2 hours.

5 Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C/ Gas 6 and place a baking sheet in the centre of the oven.

6 Punch down the dough. Knead in the sage leaves, then roll into a 12 in (3O cm) round. Leave to rise slightly.

7 Dimple the surface all over with your finger. Drizzle the remaining oil 0n top. Slide a floured board under the bread, carry to the oven, and slide off on the hot baking sheet. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a rack.

Baking Fruit Tartlets

6fl oz (175 ml) red currant jelly
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
6fl oz (175 ml) whipping cream
1 1/2 lb (700 g) fresh fruit, such as strawberries, raspberries, kiwi fruit, peaches, grapes or currants, peeled and sliced as necessary

For the pastry

5 oz (140 g) cold butter, cut in pieces
2 1/2 oz (65 g) dark brown sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder
7 oz ( 200 g) plain flour
1 egg white

1 For the pastry, combine the butter, brown sugar and cocoa over low heat. When the butter is melted, remove from the heat and sift over the flour. Stir, then add just enough egg white to bind the mixture. Gather into a ball, wrap in greaseproof paper, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2 A Grease 8 3in (8cm) tartlet tins. Roll out the pastry between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper. Stamp out 8 4 in (10cm) rounds with a fluted cutter.

3 Line the tartlet tins. Prick the bottoms. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Preheat a 350°F/l80°C/Gas 4 oven.

4 Bake until firm, 20-25 minutes. Cool, then remove from the tins.

5 Melt the jelly with the lemon juice. Brush a thin layer in the bottom of the tartlets. Whip the cream and spread a thin layer in the tartlet cases. Arrange the fruit on top. Brush with the glaze and serve.

Baking Lemon Meringue Pie

grated rind and juice of 1 large lemon
8fl oz (250 ml) plus 1 tbsp cold water
4oz (115 g) plus 6 tbsp caster sugar
1oz (30 g) butter
3 tbsp cornflour
3 eggs, separated
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

For the pastry

5 oz (140 g) plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 oz (70 g) cold vegetable fat or lard, cut in pieces
2 tbsp iced water

1 For the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the fat and cut in with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. With a fork, stir in just enough water to bind the mixture. Gather the pastry into a ball.

2 On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry about 1/8 in (3 mm) thick. Transfer to a 9 in (23 cm) pie dish and trim the edge to leave a 1/2 in (2 cm) overhang.

3 Fold the overhang under and crimp the edge. Refrigerate the pastry case for at least 20 minutes.

4 Preheat a 400°F/200°C/Gas 6 oven.

5 Prick the case all over with a fork. Line with crumpled greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and continue baking until golden, 6-8 minutes more.

6 In a saucepan, combine the lemon rind and juice, 8 fl oz (250 ml) of the water, 4oz (115 g) of the sugar, and butter. Bring the mixture to a boil.

7 Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, dissolve the cornflour in the remaining water. Add the egg yolks.

8 Add the egg yolks to the lemon mixture and return to the boil, whisking continuously until the
mixture thickens, about 5 minutes.

9 Cover the surface with greaseproof paper and let cool.

10 For the meringue, using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the salt and cream of tartar until they hold stiff peaks. Add the remaining sugar and beat until glossy.

11 Spoon the lemon mixture into the pastry case and level. Spoon the meringue on top, smoothing it up to the pastry rim to seal. Bake until golden, 12-15 minutes.

baking with Bill & Sheila

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