Tag Archives: jane alexander

Green bean salad with hot bacon and tomato dressing

Recipes, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

greenbeensaladI grow green beans every summer and love making this keeping salad that tastes just as good the next day as it does freshly made. Picking young tender beans is a luxury so its great to make a fuss of them. If you don’t have any pomegranate molasses you can use balsamic glaze instead but it doesn’t quite bring the same acidic caramel notes to the dish as the former.

Serves 2

Steam around 450g green beans for 8-10 minutes and rinse with cold water to prevent overcooking. Whilst the beans are cooking make the dressing. Heat 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in a pan and add 2-3 thinly sliced salad onions and 4 rashers of finely chopped smoked bacon. Stir-fry until the bacon is cooked, then add 2 finely chopped tomatoes and cook for a further 1-2 minutes and remove the pan from the heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons of pomegranate molasses and some freshly chopped garden herbs (I used chives and oregano) season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Place some salad leaves in a serving dish and top with the beans. Pour over the hot dressing and finish with 50g crumbled Wensleydale cheese and serve immediately.

bean salad

Treacles Tea Shop

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The Green, Chiddingfold, GU8 4TUafternoon tea at treacles in Chiddingfold

An elegant tea-shop serving homemade classics with provenance

Go there for: Overfilled sandwiches, gorgeous cakes and afternoon tea.

Avoid: Not ordering afternoon tea in advance if you want the full monty.

Is it worth the calories?: Go for a walk first and earn a guilt-free treat.

Tips: Check out the cards and shabby chic home accessories.

It was a delight to learn that this reincarnation of the uninspiring Green Room has been choreographed by Tracey Honeysett. She trained at Westminster College and her impressive CV includes time as a pastry chef at a London’s Mayfair hotel and ownership of a Michelin starred restaurant in Surrey. More recently Tracey launched the menu at the Hothouse Café at the Medicine Garden, Cobham. This café now boasts a stylish interior, and you can pick up a tasteful selection of home-wares and greeting cards.

With a small on-site kitchen there is a manageable sandwich and panini menu using some local ingredients. Tracey bakes most of the cakes at home, supplementing these with cup cakes from Butter and Cream in Milford. Bread is delivered each day from  Bread of Heaven in Haselmere ; ham and other meats come from Black Barn butchers at Secretts. Coffee is from artisan roasters Coffee Real (ethically sourced and expertly cupped) and a great selection of teas and soft drinks complement the menu.

ham sandwichWe visited on a warm day so we sat outdoors overlooking the green. Indoors we noticed a group of ladies enjoying a full afternoon tea. Served on a dramatic cake stand were macaroons, crustless mini sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and madeleines. I chose a more modest ham sandwich on granary bread: overfilled, fresh and packed with salad, it was robust and hearty but I couldn’t resist asking for a spoon of homemade spicy tomato chutney on the side. A perfect addition, this lent a piquant nudge to the palate. I was also tempted by the hummus and char-grilled peppers (£5.75) and egg mayonnaise made with free-range eggs (£4.50) from Hallgate Farm in Sussex. My son’s hot sausage sandwich (£5.00) disappeared so fast I only managed to get a picture of half of it but he assured me it was on a par with the best. We shared a slice of carrot cake (£2.50); it was moist and spicy and I think Paul and Mary would have struggled to find fault. When Tracey is busy villagers supplement her cakes with their home-baked offerings: she says the coffee and walnut cake is a big hit.

treacles_trio

Service here is friendly and efficient and the achievable menu won’t disappoint. Tracey is keen to experiment and develop the menu but is taking it slowly: she wants to get into the groove before doing any serious marketing. Already discovered by cyclists, this café is a jolly good reason to stop off in Chiddingfold.

treacles_tea_shop_exterior_9x6

01428 684859

Facebook page

No website at present

Text and images Shirlee
Text and images Shirlee

Toby Cottage Restaurant

Blog, Restaurants, , , , , , , , , , ,

toby_cottage_exterior High Street, Ripley, GU23 6AF

 A charming, old-fashioned restaurant with a contemporary twist

 Go there for: Retro classics, heaps of fresh vegetables and flambé specials.

Avoid: Being influenced by the website, which suggests a more modern vibe.

Is it worth the calories?: You get a well-balanced plate here.

Tips: This is perfect for those who appreciate service and a dessert trolley.

Toby Cottage welcomes you to the food culture of the 1970s (the good bits), the era it opened. The sixteenth-century oak-beamed interior may be intact but subtle changes to the menu and a change of ownership have ensured its continued existence.

Classic flambé dishes Crêpes Suzette and Steak Diane are firm fixtures alongside a heaving dessert trolley.  Our amusing waiter Daniel (the flambé expert) was happy to tell us he’s been waiting tables here for 22 years – a rare loyalty that we saw as a jolly good sign. Choosing from the lunch menu (3 courses for £19.50 or 2 courses for £15.00), we kicked off with a tapas-style starter of chorizo cooked in red wine with olives. The chorizo was spicy and tender, suggesting authentic, quality ingredients. The plump olives added a satisfying richness to the piquant sauce. We used the fresh bread from our basket to mop it up. It was to good to see melba toast here too, another nod to a former culinary era.

toby_cottage_trio_1

We shared the starter so were ready to wade into our substantial mains. My calves’ liver was cooked pink as requested; and although the gravy may have had a run in with the gravy browning it was robust and complemented the meat. The crunchy bacon added texture and saltiness to the dish. My daughter’s salmon was perfectly cooked: moist, fresh and flaky and enhanced by a knob of herb butter and a heap of fresh rocket. The meal was fully elevated when the fresh vegetables arrived. These had clearly been cooked to order, arriving vibrant in colour and steaming.

toby cottage_main_dessert_trio

We so enjoyed our lunch that we decided to share a light dessert from the trolley of pudding heaven. Our crème caramel had been cooked in a slightly hot oven but had the ‘we made it from scratch’ flavours of a proper pudding. It wasn’t too sweet and had just the right amount of eggy resistance on the tongue. We could have gone for any of the chocolaty creations, a summer jelly or a fresh-fruit salad – perhaps next time.

Here you feast on more that just food. For me it brought backs lots of memories of eating out with my parents. My dad, who hated the pretention of modern fine dining (which I love), would have felt at home, particularly as he liked having food cooked for him at the table. Few waiters are trained to do this now.

When Spaniards Tony Trias and Tony Trillo bought The Toby Cottage as a going concern they decided that change was unnecessary.  With an established clientele and brisk trade this seems to have paid off; six years later they are pleased with the addition to their portfolio. Their ethos is to buy top-quality ingredients – Smithfield for meat and a fish supplier who delivers daily. Their regulars love Dover sole, sea bass and lobster from the à la carte menu.toby cottage_9x6

They don’t like to experiment too much with food here and that seems to be their selling point. However you will find some more modern classics (scallops and pea purèe) alongside more traditional dishes. If you can get past the Toby jugs and dated décor, it’s worth giving this eatery a try. I’m glad I did.

www.tobycottage.co.uk

Tel: 01483 224225

Shirlee Posner
Text and images Shirlee

 

 

At Home Catering

Blog, Deli, event caterer, functions, Products, Take Away, weddings, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

40 High Street, Cobham, Surrey KT11 3EB

Deli and outside caterer selling top-notch, freshly made food.at_home_jeremy_6x9

The upside: Doorstep sandwiches, ready-made family meals and delightful party food.

The downside:  Food that is hard to resist – you have been warned!

The flipside: This business will bend over backwards to meet your individual needs.

Tips: Take your own dish to fill with lovely home-cooked food; no-one need know you didn’t make it yourself.

This impressive business was started Marilyn Newman over thirty years ago. An experienced caterer, who spent time in the USA saw a gap in the UK market for expertly prepared take-home food; three decades later this business is thriving. Today Marilyn has stepped back from the business but has left a tight management team in place.

at_home_cheese_6x9The team have created a winning model, surviving several recessions. At Home’s base is in Cobham but it has a London office and a list of iconic catered events under its belt (the Brit Awards for starters) and lots of high-profile clients. Every event, from a dinner party for 10 to a marquee wedding for three hundred, is catered for with equal attention to detail.

Chef/director Jeremy took me into the kitchen where a gluten-free canapé buffet for 30 was being created. All the items on the menu were prepared in the kitchen and finished at the venue. Delicious savoury toppings were sealed in piping bags and chilled; baby meringues were being packed, tiny bread rolls were being filled.

at_home_collage

At Home offer modern-style catering alongside old-fashioned service and hospitality.  The three directors run all aspects of their business, updating their menus to keep on trend and stop their clients getting bored. They produce comprehensive catalogues of their food twice a year so you can easily build your perfect menu.

They make some extra portions of their catered dishes to sell in the deli, so there’s always something different on offer. I sampled a rich,at_home_salads_6x9 satisfying spicy seafood stew and a wild rice salad with green beans. Both were tasty, hearty, healthy and worth going back for. Jane’s chicken breast in a creamy wild-mushroom sauce was rich and tender. Jane and I shared a ham and coleslaw sandwich. We agreed it was a classic: overfilled with an American portion of ham and homemade slaw with proper mayonnaise. At lunch times large queues form for these legendary sandwiches. The date and apple loaf was moist, fruit packed and perfect with afternoon tea. Other cakes include a classic Victoria sponge and lemon drizzle.

at_home_breadThey carefully source their products from local and London producers: you’ll find Norbury Blue cheese in the deli counter and artisan sour doughs from the Bread Factory in London. Pastries come from La Patisserie in Stoke D’Aberbon, who stone-grind their flour every day. To complement the fresh food they have a selection of artisan and gourmet oils, vinegars, mustards and other relishes. They also stock handmade chocolates and some select crockery.

Next time you cater for a big crowd pop into At Home and see what they could do for you. You won’t be disappointed.

www.athomecatering.com
01932 862 026

Green Rooms of Godstone

Blog, Cafes, Restaurants, Tea Shop, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 Plum Cake Corner, Needles Bank, Godstone Green, Godstone, RH9 8DZsylvia_jeremy_godstone

 A super friendly café serving satisfying home cooking with a quirky edge

Upside: Sylvia’s eyelash-curling lemon drizzle cake and other baked delights.

Downside: Its a trek for me from Guildford but one I am prepared to take!

Flipside: This years (2015) award winner for best cafe in Surrey from Surrey Life Magazine!

Tips: On a sunny day you can eat al fresco, with a lovely view over the green.

green_rooms9x6

Sylvia met Jeremy when he worked at her family’s bakery. One thing led to another and they are now legally united with three lovely kids. The Park Bakery where their romance started was a legend in Wandsworth, serving locals and celebrity chefs for 32 years. Foodies who fell in love with miniature meal canapés from finger-food queen Lorna Wing (mini burger buns, bagels and other tiny delights) will be impressed to learn that they were made for her in this bakery. When Sylvia’s dad retired they wanted a fresh start out of London. They happened upon the Green Rooms; luckily they have the right mix of great home cooking and personality to make it a success.

godstone_soupSylvia is in charge of the kitchen and Jeremy does front of house. Charming and relaxed, he makes everyone feel at home. My son opted for the all-day breakfast (£6.95). Everything was freshly cooked to order – and local. Sausages and bacon come from Flower Farm Shop down the road and eggs are local too. The panini with goat’s cheese and caramelised onion (£5.95) was tempting, as was the Cumberland sausage and baby-spinach leaf sandwich (£4.95) but I was in the mood for soup. Sylvia had freshly made mushroom soup (£5.95); instead of bread I had a spinach salad with a tasty homemade balsamic dressing on the side. It was creamy, earthy, flavour-packed and delicious. The food ethos here is ‘humble, rustic and honest’: Sylvia’s words but I can vouch for their veracity. Refreshingly, these restaurateurs are happy to accommodate patrons’ preferences.

Whilst enjoying your meal, peruse the cookbooks on the shelves, which provide inspiration for the menu, or take a look at some of the unusual vinyl toys Sylvia collects. The décor here is a quirky mix of country-style and hip city café, bringing a bit of London edginess to Surrey.

godstone_green_rooms_interioR_SHOT_9X6

Last time I popped in for a coffee they had just launched their summer menu, which included salmon fish cakes with salad and pasta pesto with chicken (both £8.95). They also do a homemade tomato and vegetable sauce for paste penne (£4.95, which kids love) from a secret family recipe.

Sylvia’s started baking with her dad when she was eight, so it’s not surprising that she’s a dab hand. I sampled lemon drizzle, which is eyelash curling in a good way (£2.95 per slice), and whoopie pies (£2.45) – who can resist two delicious sponge discs held together with fresh cream? Other homemade treats include white chocolate cake, rocky road and cream teas with clotted cream and freshly baked scones. Following in her father’s footsteps Sylvia will also create a teatime feast of miniatures for your party (book in advance). Try a full spread of mini filled bagels, sandwiches, cakes and other gorgeous finger foods for a really special treat (£19.50 per person).

jgodstone_trio

The menu here is evolving and Sylvia and Jeremy are keen to listen to their customers and try new things.  They hold barbeques, supper evenings and other events: like their facebook page to see what’s coming up next.

www.greenroomsofgodstone.co.uk

Facebook page

Tel: 01883 740 407

Jacobs Well Country Market

Blog, Country Market, local food shop, Local producer, Local products, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jacobs Well Village Hall, Nr Guildford, GU4 7PDJacobs_well_checkout_

Go there for: Freshly baked cakes, bread, savouries, pies, free-range local eggs, meat and cheese.

Avoid: Arriving late! Only open Friday from 10 -11.30 am, regulars snap up best buys fast.

Is it worth the calories?: A social enterprise that helps the smallest producers sell their wares – of course it is!

Tips: You can order goods in advance, including meat – remember it’s cash only.

This little community market is one of 350 in the UK and Channel Islands, including eleven in Surrey. Established in 1919 as a co-operative social enterprise, Country Markets provide a unique opportunity for individuals and small producers to sell their products locally.

Only open on Fridays between 10 and 11.30, Jacob’s Well Market is a complete treat. We found tables of home-baked cakes, breads and biscuits; savouries, including quiche, beetroot and goat’s cheese tarts and lentil tray-bakes; preserves, honey and chutneys; and culinary delights like bacon and cheese bread (heavenly toasted with butter). One lady runs a stall for award-winning local butcher Conisbee, another sells free-range eggs and cheese. In summer stall-holders sell the glut from their vegetable plots as well as plants and flowers. The stock here rightly changes with the seasons.

products on sale

On arrival you are furnished with a shopping sheet and a basket. Each time you select an item your form is updated and you pay at the cash desk. The market records all the sales and pays the vendors after removing their ten percent. A small stall in North Street market in Guildford will cost you £60 a day. This community marketplace charges a nominal membership fee of just 5p a year. To bag a stall you have to join the waiting list and bring something that other traders aren’t already selling.

Jacobs_well_products

There’s a craft market too: we found beautifully sewn babies’ bonnets, toys and greeting cards. Everything is homemade and unique – an experience that cannot be replicated on the high street.

crafts for sale

Country Markets offer a low-key but essential outlet for people who want to make a few items to sell once a week. They provide camaraderie, a modest income and a way of making a contribution to the community.

If you need an antidote to chain-store shopping, check out your local market – knowing the money you spend goes straight in the producer’s pocket.

www.jwcountrymkt.free-online.co.uk

National Country Markets 01246 261508

www.country-markets.co.uk

The Speckledy Hen

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The Speckledy Hen, Café & Deli, Shamley Green, Nr Guildford, GU5 0UBcathychristina_6x9

 A pretty, shabby chic parlour combining a café, gift shop and deli counter.

Go there for: Homemade specials, gourmet sandwiches, handmade cakes and bakes.

Avoid:  Not booking ahead for a large group.

Is it worth the calories?: Homemade soup and specials are well balanced but go easy on the cakes!

Tips: Parking can be a little restricted; the pub across the road has additional spaces.

speck_hen_exterior_9x6

When Cathy Garthwaite and Christina Collins met on the school run a few years ago they immediately became friends. Managing careers and children was stressful so they explored business ideas closer to home. With successful backgrounds in textiles and hotel and catering the idea of a stylish café for locals to enjoy evolved. When the Old Forge in Shamley Green came up for rent its interior of red brick and beams hit the right note and Cathy and Christina signed the lease. They bought all their equipment and furniture second-hand and, after painting and decorating, created a lovely space.

The Speckledy Hen (a name borrowed from a children’s book) opened in 2012 and quickly gained a loyal following. Pastel-painted furniture, carefully sourced gifts, traditional children’s toys and local-food products creates a feel-good atmosphere. It’s the perfect place to lift the spirits, leaving the politics of life firmly outside. You get the sense that this venture has brought more than just a new venue to this community. Many of the staff live just around the corner and, as they pointed out, it’s a lovely place to work.

red pepper tom soup _9x6

The kitchen is tiny so there is a limited but well-constructed menu. For breakfast choose from granola with yogurt and honey (£3.95), satisfying bacon butties (£3.95) or scrambled eggs served on artisan sourdough bread on its own (£5.95) or with bacon (£6.95) or smoked salmon (£9.95). Lunch options include an open and toasted sandwich menu (£7.50 plus) and Hen platters such as grilled haloumi, hummus, roasted peppers and grilled artichokes (£9.95). Daily specials might be Thai green curry (£9.95). There’s a good balance of vegetarian options and gluten-free diets are catered for. Fresh coffee is supplied by local roaster Coffee Real, tea is from Tea Pigs and cakes are made by Madeleine and Rachel, who live locally.

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For lunch we sampled Thai green curry with a wholegrain mixed rice (very healthy). The portion wasn’t huge but substantial enough. I thought the curry could have been feistier, but my daughter loved it. I had a bowl of tomato and red pepper soup with bread (£5.95): this over-generous portion was served on a hen-shaped board (it’s a bit of a thing here). Piping hot and extremely tasty, it had me quietly admitting that I couldn’t have made it better myself.

We managed to squeeze in a slice of rocky road (only 70% cocoa solids chocolate allowed here) and a granola-style fruity flapjack (£2.50): both were sweet, indulgent and satisfying.speck_hen_flapjack

The shop and deli sell a range of local and specialty foods including Ouse Valley preserves and Norbury Blue cheese. Bread is from the Hungry Guest in Petworth, and you can also pick up Kokoh chocolate hand produced by Joanna in Ewhurst . Take away and outside catering are also on offer. Although the menu states that food is locally sourced, that doesn’t extend to sausages and meat: a shame as there are so many great butchers in Surrey. But this evolving food business is a great addition to Surrey’s food destinations.

thespeckledyhen.com

01483 894567

Text and images Shirlee
Text and images Shirlee
Cream Tea

Abinger Hammer Tearooms

Blog, Cafes, Shops, Tea Shop, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Post Office House, Guildford Road, Abinger Hammer, Dorking, RH5 6RX

A charming old-fashioned tearoom serving generous portions of food and hospitality

Go there for: Big slices of cake, toasted sandwiches, ploughmans and freshly made scones.

Avoid: Modern coffee-shop mentality; this tearoom is quintessentially English.

Is it worth the calories?: Support this lovely little business and put the tracker away for the afternoon.

Tips: Enter the tearoom via the shop. Book ahead for Sunday lunch.

Sadly the Abinger Hammer post office closed 9 years ago but Annie seized the opportunity to open a teashop. Her desperate action has been a gift.

Jane and I first popped into the teashop after a disappointing lunch elsewhere. We had enough room to share a cream tea (£4.75), which proved to be one of the best! The scone would get a 1980s Home Economics teacher’s approval (just warm from the oven) and the tea came in a lovely big pot with a jug of milk in rose-embellished mismatched china.

Annie says trade is seasonal but she has regular refuelling visits from cyclists touring the Surrey Hills; she’d love to see more people in the colder months. In summer the stream opposite pulls in families with younger children. Fishing nets and cricket sets are sold in the shop for some traditional fun with the kids.

sign_soup_nets

Annie offers a comforting, traditional menu. It’s mostly home made and portions are generous. I chose a full cooked breakfast with scrambled free-range eggs (£7.50 including a pot of tea) – the perfect pick me up after an enthusiastic night’s socialising. One companion chose a baked potato with prawns in a Marie Rose sauce: a retro classic down to the obligatory salad garnish (£6.50). From the same generation a French ploughman’s, this overly generous plate featured a wedge of gooey brie and a generous ramekin of pâté. The bread was oven fresh: when business is unpredictable Annie stocks part-baked bread. I am not usually a fan of this product but here it worked perfectly and other venues could take note as it’s not uncommon for day-old bread to be served. Some tomato and parsley soup arrived piping hot (hooray); intensely tomatoey, it was savoury with just the right hint of sweetness and was accompanied by plus a generous portion of warm bread (£3.95) – perfect for dunking.

abhammer_4

They also serve toasted sandwiches (from £4.50) and, a local seasonal tradition, Watercress Tea: a bowl of watercress from Kingfisher Farm across the road, a slab of cheddar and buttered brown bread (£4.75).

No tea room is worth mentioning without talking cake. Here, they offer a selection including  Victoria sandwich, coffee and walnut, classic chocolate and carrot. A steal at £2.50 a slice (£1.50 to take-away) this is a cupcake-free zone reserved for serious cake consumption.

When I popped in recently I met Paul Baker, chef/proprietor of Kinghams in Shere, having lunch on his day off. I can think of no better recommendation. Cream Tea

01306 730701

No website

Text and images Shirlee
Text and images Shirlee
Roasted rhubarb with mascarpone

Roasted rhubarb and muffins

Recipes, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

After a cold spell it’s warming to see the first show of forced rhubarb heralding spring. Intensely pink and wooingly desirable it’s a fabulous ingredient. Here are two simple but rewarding rhubarb recipes to inspire.

Roasted rhubarb with light lemony mascarpone

3 large stems of rhubarb cut into 10 cm sectionsroast_r_whole
2-3 dessertspoons of maple syrup or a good sprinkle of light brown sugar
1 x 250g tub of light mascarpone (full fat if you prefer)
2-3 tablespoons Greek yogurt
Zest of 1 lemon
a little sugar to sweeten
Edible cornflower petals to decorate (optional)

Pre-heat the oven to 190˚C/170˚C fan assisted/ Gas mark 5.
Place the rhubarb in an ovenproof dish and drizzle with syrup. Roast for 15-20 minutes and cool slightly.
Mix together the rest of the ingredients except the flower petals.
Divide the rhubarb between 4 plates and serve with a spoonful of mascarpone cream. Sprinkle with a few cornflower petals to serve.

To enliven this recipe, make a delicious, tart yet almost toffee-like sauce. In small pan heat 1 dessertspoon of pomegranate molasses and 2 dessertspoons of date syrup. Let the mixture just come to the boil then remove from heat and cool. Serve a spoonful with each plate.

Roasted chopped rhubarbRhubarb and ginger muffins
I saw this recipe ages ago on the Village Greens website. This is my variation.

2 free-range eggs
150g golden caster sugar
50ml sunflower oil
125ml natural yogurt
1tsp grated orange zest
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
300g sliced roasted rhubarb
300g plain flour
2tsp baking powder
½tsp bicarbonate of soda
½tsp salt
1tsp dried ginger
a few chunks of crystallized ginger, finely chopped

Pre-heat the oven to 190˚C/170˚C fan assisted/ Gas mark 5. Fill a muffin tin with 9 deep liners or 12 muffin cases.
Combine the eggs, sugar, oil, yogurt, rhubarb, orange zest and vanilla. Mix well. In a separate bowl, stir all the dry ingredients together thoroughly. Then mix the wet and dry ingredients together until just mixed.
Spoon into muffin cases and top each muffin with some ginger and bake for 25 minutes. Remove and cool on a rack.

At their best served while still warm

Roasted rhubarb and muffins

Crumbs of Capel

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Crumbs of Capel The Old Brickyard, Coles Lane, Capel, RH5 5HPdineke_soda_bread

A small artisan bakery in Surrey Weald supplying totally handmade bread.

Buy from: Village Greens or the Dorking Food Float.

Avoid: Inferior factory-made imposters.

Is it worth the calories?: Traditional slow-fermented bread using ingredients with provenance gets an undisputed thumbs up.

Tips: Book onto Dineke’s course and learn how simple it is to prepare artisan breads at home.

Having sampled Dineke’s breads and fruited buns at Village Greens’ food festival last summer I snapped up a place at one of her bread courses. Offered in partnership with Village Greens in Ockley, the principal retailer for Crumbs of Capel, it seemed a perfect foodie night out. In confidence, luck has not been on my side in the sourdough department so I was secretly hoping this would turn things around.

dineke_trio

At a cost of £25 (including ingredients and dinner) I attended ‘Soda and Sourdough’ at the community hall in Capel. The evening started with a run through of the principles of sourdough starters. We prepared a sourdough bread first, which needed a couple of hours to rise, and then a speedy soda bread. While waiting for the bread to rise and prove, we had dinner and a chance to chat. Catherine Dampier, our Village Greens’ hostess, had put together a buffet of scrumptious products from the shop, all served with Dineke’s wonderful bread. Everything was local, carefully sourced and in perfect keeping with the ethos of the evening.

Nutbourne tomatoes, charcuterie, soft ewes milk cheese from Golden Cross Cheese Company and English Regional wine from Denbies

Making sourdough is a lengthy process, not to be confused with bread machines and easy-blend yeast. No, sour dough breads take time, a long time: when Dineke is baking for her retailers she makes the dough in the evening and ferments it all night. In the morning the dough is knocked back, kneaded again, formed into loaves and proved for another two hours. Then it’s ready to bake. But all the decisions are based on experience and timings can change each time you bake.

We were all provided with a portion of bubbling starter, which takes a couple of weeks to make. Warm water is added to flour to start the process, which encourages the growth of naturally occurring yeasts. This is fed with fresh flour and mixed and hibernated to create (eventually!) the bubbling, fermenting mass of batter characteristic of sourdough. Flour choice affects the result. We used Sharpham Park’s organic spelt flour for the sourdough and Doves Farm white organic for the soda bread.

making sour dough

Dineke’s course was jam packed with bread-making wisdom and tips but the most important was that to make your starter all you need is good-quality flour and some hand-warm water. It really is that simple. So why had I and so many other would-be sourdough bakers been sold the idea of fresh orange juice, raisins, bottled water and other mixtures? No wonder my previous efforts with strange concoctions in my airing cupboard had been a disaster.

sour_dough_rolls6x9Armed with a cup of starter, we added flour and a little more water and salt. We kneaded this for 10 minutes and formed it into four equal-sized rolls. We had a choice of seeds for toppings to add texture and nutrients – and to make it look good. We left this to rise while we got on with our soda bread.

For the soda bread we added bicarbonate of soda, the raising agent that gives soda bread its name, to white flour, then our choice of liquid: natural yogurt, milk, buttermilk or water. Kneading isn’t required, just a quick mix to form a soft dough. Ready to bake as soon as it’s made, we put our loaves in the oven while we tucked in to our dinner. Afterwards we had time to check our breads and troubleshoot.

If you don’t want to bake your own bread, Dineke supplies over a hundred loaves of bread a week to Village Greens (available fresh every day) and at the Dorking Food Float on Saturdays. Her gluten-free cheese biscuits and nibbles are available from Tanhouse and Kingfisher farm shops. Working to full capacity, Dineke has plans to convert her garage to a larger bake-house to increase production.

There are plenty of reasons why you should go to Village Greens in Ockley but this bread is near the top of the list for me.

www.crumbsofcapel.co.uk

01306 710087