I’m back on the cake-baking wagon with this sourdough cinnamon pecan coffee cake. It commemorates another Sourdough September.
Last year was the first year that I didn’t put my starter into hibernation for the winter… and it survived! I’ve learned a trick for keeping the conditions favourable for the wild yeasts to prosper even though our kitchen is cold. Every time I refreshed it, I put my jar of starter in the microwave alongside a mug of boiling water and shut the door (without ever turning it in, of course). I use the same method for proofing my loaves if I’m not doing a long, overnight rise.
Anyway – back to this week’s cake. I found this recipe in my Cultures for Health recipe book. The recipe is called a sourdough cinnamon pecan coffee cake… but there was no coffee in the list of ingredients. Perhaps the cake is meant to be a cinnamon pecan cake to have WITH coffee. Nevertheless, I added a couple of heaped tablespoonfuls of fine ground espresso to the mix. I also used half pecans and half Brazil nuts (as I didn’t have enough pecans in the cupboard!).
My decision was a stroke of genius – the coffee really worked – it added an extra layer of flavour. It’s a moist, sweet, sour, spiced, nutty, tasty cake that really suits the cooler autumn clime. I love the edges where the sugar and nuts came together to form a chewy caramel crust.
Click here to save the recipe to Pinterest
- 175g/6oz whole cane sugar (Muscovado, Rapadura or Sucanat)
- 1 tbsp plain white flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- 60g/2oz softened butter
- 125g/4½oz chopped pecans & Brazil nuts
- 115g/4oz softened butter
- 255g/9oz honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 150g/5oz sourdough starter
- 60ml/2 fl oz milk
- 275g/10oz plain white flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 240g/8½oz thick buttermilk or sour cream
- Grease a 23x33cm/9x13-inch glass baking dish; set aside. Preheat oven to 175ºC/350°F/Gas mark 4
- Mix pecan topping ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside
- In a larger bowl, stir honey and butter together until well blended. Stir in vanilla extract, sourdough starter, milk and eggs
- Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl
- Using an electric hand mixer, stir flour into sourdough mixture alternating with buttermilk until the batter is smooth
- Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of the topping. Cover with remaining half of batter and sprinkle remaining topping over top
- Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until a skewer inserted in centre of the cake comes out clean
- Serve warm or cold plain or with cream or vanilla ice cream
Cakes & Bakes: Soft sourdough sandwich loaf
What do a bacon sandwich, fried bread, French toast, Croque Monsieur and Welsh rarebit all have in common? They’re all best made using a plain, white sliced loaf.
I’ve confessed in the past that I’m quite partial to the odd, soft slice of Warbie’s Toastie now and again. The French have a far more chic-sounding name for this kind of bread – pain de mie. I saw this recipe recently for a soft sourdough sandwich loaf and thought I’d give it a try. As I outlined earlier, you don’t always want a strong flavoured loaf with an open, uneven texture.
The knack to making a loaf with a soft, tearable texture is to knead, knead, knead until the gluten has developed fully. You can attempt to do this by hand, but my arm muscles aren’t up to the job! The other trick is to roll it out and roll it up… twice. Finally, a couple of long proving sessions with an overnight stint in the fridge in between.
Making a sourdough sandwich loaf is a long, drawn out process – the exact opposite to the mass produced, Chorleywood processed stuff. Don’t fret though, bread preparation can fit easily around the rest of your day and night.
The original recipe says you need to allow your loaf to have a final proof of 6 hours. I don’t know if it’s the ever-cool temperature of my kitchen, but this wasn’t anywhere near long enough for mine. I’ve made this loaf on two different occasions now, and I’ve needed at least 12 hours on both occasions. Rather than go by length of time, judge it ready when your dough has doubled in size.
I like the first few slices of my fresh, home-made bread plain & simply buttered. Justin preferred using it as an opportunity to make a bacon sandwich. Apparently, the sweetness of the bread worked perfectly with the saltiness of the bacon.
What’s your favourite sandwich to make with soft, white bread?
Save the sourdough sandwich loaf recipe to Pinterest here
- 18g/⅔oz ripe sourdough starter (100% hydration)
- 30g/1oz milk
- 56g/2oz strong bread flour
- 138g/4¾oz plain flour
- 138g4¾oz strong bread flour
- 20g/¾oz milk powder
- 34g/1oz sugar
- 134g/4¾oz milk
- 1 large egg white (50g)
- All of the levain
- 34g/1oz butter, softened
- 6g/⅕oz salt
- Mix together the starter, milk and flour and allow to develop at room temperature (23ºC/73ºF) until mature (about 12 hours)
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, combine the flour, milk powder, sugar, milk and egg white until it just comes together. Cover and autolyse in a warm place for half an hour
- Add the levain and half of the butter mixing in completely. Add the rest of the butter and the salt
- Knead until the dough is smooth, silky, stretchy and shiny and passes the windowpane test (this took me about 15 minutes in my stand mixer, on a slow-medium speed)
- Cover and bulk rise at room temperature for 2 hours. Fold, cover with cling film (or plastic bag) and refrigerate overnight
- Divide the dough into 3 or 4 equal pieces (I made 4 x 160g/5⅔oz pieces), roll them into balls, cover with slightly oiled cling film and allow to rest at room temperature for an hour
- Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out each piece into an oval. Roll up tightly and allow to rest for 10 minutes
- Roll each piece along its seam into long oval again. Roll up tightly for a 2nd time.
- Place the rolls, seam side down, into a 23cm x 13cm / 9" x 5" loaf tin or Pullman pan if you have one. Cover the tin loosely with cling film and allow to proveat room temperature for about 6 hours
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas mark 6. Bake the loaf for 20 minutes
- Turn the temperature down to 175ºC/350ºF/Gas mark and bake for a further 15-20 minutes. If the top of loaf is browning too quickly, cover over the top with a piece of aluminium foil to prevent it from burning
- Take the loaf out of the oven and immediately turn the loaf out on to a wire cooling rack
- While the loaf is still warm, brush the top and sides with a little melted butter
Cakes & Bakes: Wild garlic sourdough focaccia
Wild garlic loves this damp, shady corner of our garden. We keep the majority of it contained within an old galvanised wash tub, but if you look closely, you can see that it’s managed to escape and grow in the cracks of the flags!
I harvested a few of the leaves to go in a wild garlic sourdough focaccia; wild garlic and wild yeast!
In less than a minute, I blitzed the leaves with some olive oil into a liquid about the consistency of a vinaigrette.
The dough took a little longer to be ready… about 12 hours in a cool cloakroom.
Depending on the size of your baking tray(s), the recipe makes 2 small or one large loaf. I used a large tray – 39cm x 27cm (15″ x 10½”).
It’s absolutely delicious – moist yet airy – and full of intense flavour. Perfect for accompanying pasta dishes, salads, antipasti and cheeses.
Click here to save my recipe to Pinterest for later
- 190g/7⅔oz sourdough starter (100% hydration)
- 310g/11oz tepid water
- 2tbsp olive oil
- 1tsp runny honey
- 500g/17⅔oz 00 flour
- 4g/⅛oz salt
- 6 leaves of wild garlic
- 5tbsp olive oil
- 1tbsp coarse salt crystals or flakes
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the starter with the water, olive oil and honey
- With the dough hook attached and on a low speed, slowly add the flour and knead for around 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to come away from the sides of the bowl. Leave to rest for 10 minutes
- Add the salt, kneading until it's fully combined
- Allow to prove until doubled in size (depending on the temperature, this could be anywhere from 2 hours in a warm kitchen to overnight in the fridge. Make it fit in with your plans and schedule)
- Once sufficiently proved, preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas mark 6. If you have one, put your baking stone on a shelf in the bottom ⅓rd of your oven
- Coat a baking tray(s) liberally with olive oil, making sure you include up the sides
- Gently pour the dough into the centre of the oiled tray and carefully ease it towards the corners. You don't want to deflate the air pockets
- Cover with greased clingfilm and allow to prove again in a warm place for about an hour
- Make rows of indentations across and down into the dough, drizzle with more olive oil, sprinkle with the coarse salt and bake for 15 minutes
- Remove from the oven and spread the wild garlic oil over the top.
- Turn the tray 180º (to ensure even browning) and return it to the oven for a further 15 minutes or until the top becomes golden brown
- Remove from the oven, take the loaf off the baking tray(s) and allow to cool on a wire rack for a couple of minutes
- Slice and serve
- This bread is perfect for mopping up tomatoey or cheesy pasta sauces!
Cakes & Bakes: Sourdough burger buns
I’ve been wanting to treat myself to some mini bannetons since I saw them on Amazon a while ago. They’re the perfect size for making bread rolls or sourdough burger buns. I came across a seller offering a set of ten for £48.50 with free P&P which I thought was good value.
They’re 13cm/5″ in diameter and can hold around 225g/8oz of sourdough – enough to make an extra-small boule. On this occasion, I only put 140g/5oz of dough in each – a perfect amount for sourdough burger buns.
Prior to use, give each a wipe with a clean, dry cloth or tea towel and sprinkle with flour to stop the dough from sticking. For this, I’ve used plain flour and semolina; however, I’ve found that rice flour is by far the most successful option.
I’ve tweaked and speeded up my favourite 24-hour sourdough loaf recipe to make half a dozen rolls.
The addition of a sprinkling of black sesame seeds makes them look pretty and adds a lovely nutty flavour.
They may be burger buns – however, they’re also perfect for bacon sandwiches, sausage sandwiches, fried egg sandwiches… or a combo of them all!
Click here to save the recipe to Pinterest
- 290ml/10¼fl oz water at 27ºC
- 90g/3oz 1:1 (100% hydrated) fresh, active sourdough starter
- 450g/15½oz strong white bread flour
- 4g/⅛oz fine sea salt
- 1tbsp sesame seeds (I used black sesame seeds)
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the warm water and starter and mix well
- Add the flour and, using the dough hook, mix until all the ingredients just about come together into a ragged ball shape. Cover with a damp tea towel or large plastic bag/cling film and allow the dough to rest in a warm place for an hour
- Sprinkle over the salt and knead until it is evenly distributed. Cover again with a damp tea towel or large plastic bag/cling film and allow the dough to rest in a warm place for about 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size
- Dust each bun banneton generously with rice flour
- Lightly sprinkle a work surface with bread flour, pour out the dough and divide it into 6 equal portions (you can weigh them out) - each piece should be about 140g/5oz)
- Carefully form each piece of dough into a ball and place them into the bun bannetons
- Sprinkle with rice flour and cover the bannetons with a damp tea towel. Allow to prove in a warm place for an hour or two, or until the dough has doubled in size
- Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/Gas mark 7 (put your baking stone in now, if you have one)
- Once the oven (and baking stone) has reached the correct temperature, dust a peel with rice flour, turn the buns out on to it and slide them onto the baking stone. If you don't have a peel, dust the baking tray with the rice flour before turning the buns out on to it
- Using a spray bottle on the fine mist setting, dampen the tops of the buns and sprinkle with sesame seeds
- Carefully slide the buns off the peel (if using) on to the baking stone (if using) or slide the baking tray into the hot oven
- Bake for 5 minutes before turning the heat down to 200ºC/375ºF/Gas mark 5. Bake for a further 5-10 minutes until the tops are golden brown and they sound hollow when knocked on the bottom