Live webchat and baking session with Dan Lepard, Fri 8 Jan, 12-2pm

[GeraldineMumsnet]

We've got a Mumsnet first this Friday - award-winning baker and food writer Dan Lepard is our guest for a bake day and live webchat. Should be just the thing to counter wintry gloom and warm up your kitchen.

Dan's involved with the World Marmalade Festival, which promotes all thing marmalade-y and supports the charity Hospice at Home. So he has chosen Ponymum's muffin recipe and given it a citrus-y twist. Full details, ingredients, plus all Dan's variations on the recipe are here.

Please choose the version that tickles your tastebuds and join us to bake along with Dan on Friday. He'll be online from noon.

While your (and our) culinary creations are cooking, Dan will answer questions and swap tips about baking, bread making, marmalade making and the like.

Once your muffins/pudding/traybake are out of the oven, please share a picture of the finished result on your profile. We'll put up pix of our efforts here.

And, of course, if you can't make it on Friday but have a question you'd like to ask Dan, please post here.

thanks Dan and bluesky

Right, they are now in the oven! I had SOO much mixture, possibly because my carrots were so huge. Have got 24 mini muffins and 4 giant ones! Let's see what happens.

Hi personanongrata (Wed 06-Jan-10 17:30:16)

You asked about failsafe recipes for sourdough, and faff-free tips for keeping sourdough leaven going.

First off, I have to be honest and say that - at first - getting a sourdough going is a bit of a faff, and not entirely failsafe. Yes, I know that X baker, Y telly chef and Z magazine food writer all say that sourdough is fun, quick and easy. Utter crap. It's like driving a car. Easy when you know how, and at first a nightmare.

But these tips will make it easier:

1. Look at these websites:

Mine: www.danlepard.com/forum thefreshloaf.com sourdough.com

and read them slowly to get an overall idea first. In fact, all you will ever need is probably within those three websites, and they're free. The benefit of a website over a book is that they get updated, and as we learn more about what goes on in a sourdough ( I know, two thousand years and we still don't know everything). And they contain help from hundreds of bakers around the world.

1. Remember that the yeast and bacteria you need in your leaven will be contained in any organic wholemeal flour and simply refreshing it each and every day until you have a good, vigorous, vinegar-aroma starter is enough to start it.

1. Keeping the leaven. I freeze it, and that way it's faff-free. Read about it here:

www.danlepard.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2243

Slng (Wed 06-Jan-10 18:02:58)

Slng asked why my sour rye bread and sweet rye bread in The Handmade Loaf both turned out to be like bricks?

Because they're meant to be like bricks. Your son is right, that 'really hard bread ' does have some fans - I'm one - but it sounds like you're not. I slice it very thinly and have it toasted in the morning with marmalade. The sour and the sweet go lovely together.

But it you want a lighter rye bread, there will be one in the Guardian soon.

Dan, thanks so much for your answer about the hot oven. I have just relayed it to DH and he is currently planning where to buy a tarracotta floor tile. Nom nom nom, lots of fresh bread for me!

DavidTennantAteMyHeart (Wed 06-Jan-10 21:33:10)

What makes some dumplings in a layer over a casserole lovely and light, and the others a bit stodgy? You?re right about the liquid in the casserole. What happens is that the chunks in the casserole release less moisture than the gravy and so the dumplings above the chunks are lighter and crisper while the dumplings above the sauce are softer (stodgy?) and moist. You could bake them on a baking sheet on the shelf below the casserole and drop them in after it comes out of the oven.

For a variation, look at my recipe for cheese scones in this month's (February) Sainsbury's Magazine. You can see one on the cover and I bet it would make a great dumpling.

StarlightWonderStarlightBright (Thu 07-Jan-10 00:46:46)

asks is kneading bread dough "EVER worth the muscle pain"?

I never knead bread in the traditional sense and haven't for about eight years. My bread is great, tastes lovely and looks picture perfect. Most of the users of my forum, and lots of readers around the world now knead bread very little or not at all.

But a quick Google will find home cooks and bakers that swear by it. So clearly, it's not necessary but do it if you like it.

As for no-kneading, no rising bread, SoupDragon (Thu 07-Jan-10 12:07:48) has the right idea. A bread machine.

Lovely smell wafting through kitchen

oh, hope i'm not too late. I'm snowed in and running out of kids snacks.

I have :

plain flour
eggs
some milk (not loads)
caster sugar
chocolate chips
cake decorations (hundreds and thousands and mini marshmallows)

We're now out of fruit and yoghurts and I cant get to the shop until tomorrow

I have no self-raising and no yeast. I am also not a very good cook.

Any recipe ideas gratefuly received

Ok, that is them in the oven, kitchen tidied and the grocery delivery that arrived in the middle of baking, put away.

I think that was the first time that I really enjoyed baking with the DC. It has been more of a chore until now.

Hi phdlife (Thu 07-Jan-10 11:52:28)

Very sorry to read you have problems with the soy and linseed loaf, though if it's any help you can read and see lots of successes with the recipe here:
www.danlepard.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1906
and you're the first I know of to have a problem with it. My guess, without comparing the recipes, would be that Andrew uses more yeast and warmer water as this would make it rise faster and maybe that works better in your kitchen.

Hi mark12 (Thu 07-Jan-10 19:23:12)

You asked about replacing the dried fruit in a tea-loaf type cake with chopped fresh orange. I wasn't certain whether you have tried this or if you wondered if I had? I haven't tried it, and as an idea I would want to look at how much liquid the fresh orange was adding to the cake mixture. The best cakes are low in watery liquid, as too much will make the texture rubbery. I think I might be tempted to make a hot rum syrup, pour this over the chopped orange pieces and serve it with a slice of the cake and a spoonful of softly whipped cream.

Hi Guimauve (Thu 07-Jan-10 21:11:02)

I know this is too late but, yes, in Polymum's recipe I would substitute the carrots for a combination of parsnip and courgette. I know, it sounds mad but it will taste really good. Both parsnips and courgettes are really good in grated-veg style recipes.

our first batch out! second one going in.

Hi susanzs (Thu 07-Jan-10 21:38:06)

A recipe for gluten-free yeasty challah! Now there's a tall order and I'll have to have a think about it. I'll see if I can come up with one for the Guardian.

Meanwhile, I would go with your idea of using the Kaiser tin, but I can't find one in stock either. Send the company an email at www.kaiserbakeware.com/Contact-Kaiser-Bakeware.html
I'll do the same and see if it helps. Good luck!
Dan

thanks dan
i shall try that either tomorrow or monday and post the results on here

Thanks Dan! If I haven't forgotten and eaten the courgettes and parsnips by tomorrow, I'll give it a try I've seen many courgette cake recipes, but I've never come across a parsnip one, which is strange as they're so sweet and delicious!

same here, first out, next set (which are slightly bigger) going in.

will attempt to make the frosting when I've had some lunch

Dan just let slip that he was David Hockney's cook for a year in Malibu (not Bradford)

Right, some more of today's questions to answer.

BTW, our muffins are out cooling now.

I'd love the gf challah too. Oh, and nice gf wraps, as you can't buy anything like a wrap - and it avoids the gf sandwich horror .

I have tried making corn tortilla like things, but they are too hard

Ponymum, thank you so much for the recipe, and I can safely say from everone here you've been a tremendous inspiration. I'm sure that there is always a bit of hesitation posting a recipe and thinking, "what will people make of it?"
Well, it's been good to us.

Snowing again, and a flash warning of heavy snow on the news. Aaahhhhhh

Okay my patented "shove in top oven when bored with them not cooking" method has worked and they out cooling now and smell yummy.