Home baking: white bread and focaccia

 

Last weekend N and I did some baking.  We baked two loaves of white bread and a focaccia, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt crystals and chopped rosemary from the garden.

The dog tried to take a bite from each at different moments throughout the afternoon and evening.  We only lost of tiny bit of crust – thankfully!

We used a white bread recipe from Darina Allen’s Forgotten Skills of Cooking and a focaccia recipe from River Cottage Everyday by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

On Sunday, we enjoyed the sunshine, walked the dog, and pottered in the garden.  I did a bit of weeding, and helped N make a run for Lovage and Daisy’s hutch – it’s so smart and they now have much more room.  Happy bunnies.

Late afternoon we sat and watched the rugby and ate hunks of homebaked bread spread thickly with goat’s butter and raspberry jam.

Eating mom’s plum jam

Following on from yesterday’s post, mom cracked open a jar of the freshly made plum jam for breakfast today.  She spread a slice of organic white bread with some butter and topped it with a dollop of plum jam.

It was a gorgeous amber jelly, just holding together enough to be great for spreading.

We all had a nibble.  It was just sweet enough, with a soft and subtle plum taste.  Not too overpowering, with a lovely smooth, slippery texture.

My recommendation: find some local plums and get making your own homemade plum jam.  Perfect for Christmas presents, and in the depths of winter you’ll be pleased of a little slice of summer for breakfast.

Making plum jam with mom

N and I are spending a lovely weekend at home with my family in the Cotswolds.  Today my mom and I made plum jam from using plums from her garden.  She has a tree that is positively groaning under the weight of plums, many boughs almost touching the ground. 

With a large basketful we seated ourselves in a sunny spot in the garden and began the task of pitting all the plums. 

The saucepan was laden down with nearly 7lbs of plums.  The saucepan was popped onto the hob and brought to a simmer.  This was then followed by long periods of checking to see whether the plums were turning into jam.

Once the jam had begun to set when smeared onto a plate, it was removed and placed into sterilised jars (they’d been put through the dishwasher).  We made about 13 jarfuls.  Not sure how it will taste – will have to let you know when we try it.

My mom insists I can’t share the recipe, not because it’s a closely guarded family secret, but because she’s not sure it’s very good.  Will let you know how it rates on a crusty piece of grain bread with a good layer of butter.