The point at which life completely gets away from you? That.
You see, the more balls you juggle the higher you have to toss them in the air, but that means they take longer to reach you again and by that time
who knows what you’ve missed regarding the red striped one
while you were busy making sure the blue spotted one
and the one with the yellow stars
and the solid green one
didn’t hit the ground.
The good news is that I managed to finish a new little cookbook in time to help out a friend with a table at the MCA Zine Fair this past Sunday. And sent off the artwork for new business cards that should arrive before an upcoming industry event. And got to bed last night before 3am. We won’t talk about the stuff still in the air.
I recently read an article about what lucky people do differently. The crux of the first point is that they tend to keep their eyes open, picking up on things most of us just rush past in an effort to accomplish whatever it is we are running towards at that moment.
I’ve been trying to do that lately, to slow down a touch — or at least stay calm while rushing around, which really does make a huge difference — and on a whole it has helped… It has also become abundantly clear when I’m moving to fast to pickup on things.
I’ve started a sentence about six times about how it all got too much this past week but you know what? Blah blah boo hoo etc etc. So I’ve given up on writing some poor me tale — or for that matter anything with any flow or literary strength — and will move on to the only two points worth making…
This bread.
Found on Karen’s Kitchen Stories, my assigned site for this month’s Secret Recipe Club post, it not only used up some of the sourdough starter in my fridge but is packed with all sorts of lovely autumn flavours. If you like baking bread you must, must must visit Karen. Her index is overflowing with dozens of fabulous sounding recipes including, wait for it, Pretzel.Crossants.
Of course I changed a few things — as much out of habit as based on what was in my cupboards. Karen’s loaf is much more rounded and lovely — but mine, while flat as a pancake, still turned out fabulously delicious. (I’m cursed with flat bread, I think it’s due to over-proofing and possibly using the wrong size pan, I’m open to any tips)
My mini-cookbooks.
These five booklets were developed last year for the zine fair and now they are available at a special discounted fair price! Also in the shop is my new creation — The Passive Aggressive Dinner Party.
A more traditional zine, it was created as a tongue in cheek flexing of my sarcasm muscle. You will either be insulted or get a great laugh out of it, matter for yourself. The mini-booklet includes eight recipes and nine hand-painted illustrations because after not picking up a paint brush for at least 15 years I decided to illustrate a mini-cookbook. Welcome to my insanity.
Yes, one day they will all be e-books, today is not that day. Today e-books are one of those balls that’s been thrown so high in the air it may take months to come back down. Just keeping it real. In the meantime, bread.
Sourdough Apple & Fig Bread
Packed with autumn flavours and whole-grains, this bread is a great way to use up extra sourdough starter || Adapted from Karen’s Kitchen Stories.
Makes 1 loaf
INGREDIENTS
- generous ½ c sourdough starter, fed or unfed (150g)
- 2 tsp dry yeast
- 2 tsp honey
- ¾ c warm water
- 1 c organic unbleached white flour (125g), plus extra
- 1 c stoneground organic wholewheat flour (140g)
- ¼ c potato starch (40g)
- 1/3 c rolled oats (35g)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 8-10 dry figs diced (150g)
- 1 medium apple, diced (1 c)
METHOD
Stir starter, water, yeast and honey together and leave 5 mins to bubble. Mix in flour through oil, squidge/stir until just mixed and leave for 5 minutes for flour to absorb water.
Turn out (the very sticky) dough onto a well floured bench top and use a dough scraper to knead for 2 mins, adding pinches of extra flour as needed. Cover with the empty bowl and rest for 2 mins.
Repeat kneading 2 mins/resting 2 mins two more times — for a total of 3 cycles. Add as little flour as possible to retain a soft and tacky dough.
After the third rest, flatten dough out into a rectangle and spread over apple and figs. Roll roughly and gently knead in — it will almost seem like there is more fruit than dough. Pour a splash of oil into your bowl (no need to wash it first) and turn dough to coat. Cover with baking paper and a tea towel and leave to rise for 60 – 90 minutes until doubled in size.
Lightly grease a standard loaf tin. Punch down dough, turn out, press out to a 7 x 12 inch rectangle and roll tightly. Place in prepared pan and lightly oil one side of your baking paper before covering pan with the paper and tea towel. Leave to rise 60 – 90 minutes until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Bake loaf for 40 – 45 mins until golden brown and hollow when tapped. Turn out and cool on rack before cutting.
COOK’S NOTES
- If you use fed starter your rise would theoretically be quicker. I used unfed and it worked just fine due to the added yeast.
- My starter is half rye and like a very thick pancake batter — you may need more flour as you knead if yours is more hydrated.
- Original recipe said to use potato flour or flakes, I however only had potato starch which is a different product entirely. It still worked fine, although the amount of extra flour needed while kneading will differ as potato flour is much more absorbent.
- Original recipe uses a stand mixer
with a dough hook
, if you have one go for it, I don’t.
vegan // vegetarian // refined sugar-free // whole-grain // dairy-free
This looks amazing! I’ve been wanting to make my own sourdough bread. Did the course and all but just never got around to do it. Where did you get your sourdough starter JJ?
Thanks! It’s more a dough that uses extra starter than a true sourdough because of the yeast, but the starter adds great flavour 🙂 I made mine back in January by feeding some leftover dough until it started to grown on it’s own – mad science and all haha.
I’ve been dying to try some sort of sourdough bread. This is amazing!! Congrats on the cookbook. That’s pretty amazing, too!! 🙂
I had your blog for my reveal this month JJ, and love the Caramel Bourbon Bananas with Coconut Whipped Cream I wound up making.
My family loves homemade bread, but I’ve never tried my hand at a sourdough type yet. It is on my kitchen bucket list though. Yours turned out looking great, even with the flat top. As long as it taste good, right? 🙂 Congrats on your cookbook, and happy reveal day!
Bread. That is all that matters. Balls in the air…oh yeah, I get that. Great SRC pick!
Hi JJ, I’m glad you enjoyed this bread! As you can see, I’m a total bread head! Ha ha! Figs sound perfect for this bread. It is definitely one of my favorites! Your photos are just gorgeous too. P.S. If you are interested in theories about “luck,” I love John Krumboltz theory of happenstance. =)
Oh great, will look it up! You’re my new go-to for bread inspiration and I’m determined to tackle those croissants one day!
Balls in the air…. another one who gets the concept!
glad you found the opportunity to make this amazing bread, figs and sourdough, great combo!
(I almost entered 9 in the answer to 8-1 bad eyes? bad math? let’s just move on…. )
Sourdough is so good in anything. I really want to make a batch, but we’re moving in less than 2 months and I don’t know what to do with it then…so we’re just gonna wait. The bread looks very yummy despite it being “flat” – I think it looks just fine 😉
Happy reveal day.
Glad you quit juggling long enough to post this fabulous recipe.
Thanks Wendy 🙂
Absolutely beautiful bread! Love the photos. Great pick this month!
What an awesome choice for the SRC – this bread looks beautiful. And I totally understanding what you mean about juggling so many things at once – I’m always trying to get better about not juggling too much, and focusing on what’s already in front of me. =)
I’ve never attempted sourdough before but this one sounds SOOOOO good!!! Love the mix-ins!
Completely beautiful bread! And completely beautiful little books! Congrats on both of them! 🙂
i recently attempted sourdough and failed miserably. must give basic sourdough a go before i go for this!
Any way to use up excess starter is a good one in my book JJ. I usually feed it then forget to make bread so get left with lots of starter. Unfortunately juggling is not my forte so all my balls just fell in a heap a while ago and now I just think maybe I should clean them up (someday) 🙂
I think my eBook ball is floating up there with yours! I totally need to slow down or get less stressed when I’m doing things. I will try! I’m always looking out for more sourdough recipes. Yummo!
Love the pictures – and sounds like you have been BUSY!!! Great pick this month!
Ha can’t believe you made bread when you have so much to do!. looks great and i just love sour dough with figs in it
Oh, I totally get having too many balls in the air in the once. Thankfully, in recent years, my yoga practice has helped me to be a little more present and to live with a little more consciousness, but there are still times when it all gets a bit out of control.
Sitting down with a good brew and a slice of this bread would be a great way of slowing down and getting things back in check – excellent choice.
Sue