White Cottage Bakery & Baking School

Well, the currants, cherries and apricots are over and the plums hard on their heels (my Opals are a delicious early variety). I'm picking the mulberries regularly, the mirabelles won't be long and the gages are 'à point'. Not sure when the figs will be ready - it's early yet but they turn so suddenly and it's been so hot and dry for so long...

I baked the last of the apricots with honey and thyme and served them with some pistachios roasted in a little maple syrup and some delicious whipped goats cheese. Barely a recipe really, but deliciously light and fresh for a summer lunch in the garden.

I love to serve my summer fruit with something tangy - usually with whatever is in the fridge and needs using up. If there's some soft goats cheese in the mix, all the better.

This was a some Welsh soft goats cheese whipped with a little leftover marscapone, some proper Greek yogurt - I have never understood 0% fat Greek yogurt! The fat's the best bit! It's like having low-fat lardons - and finished with some double cream and about a dessertspoon of sifted icing sugar. But it's always different, depending on what needs using up. Recommend the goats cheese as a base, though! You won't regret it.

The only good thing to say about this relentless dry, hot weather is that, for once, you can rely on the garden or the park as a venue! Make the most of it!

I am!

Hx

I threw together a batch of olive oil dough to take to friends over the weekend. I love how easy it is to knock something up from the most basic of ingredients - flour, oil, water, salt and yeast.

Here we have the prepped focaccia, ready for the oven - I went with a caramelised onion and za'atar one (which I finished with pomegranate molasses and coriander), one with roasted tomato, roast garlic, olives and fresh oregano and finally a simple sesame and nigella seed one I kept for myself. I could, of course, have simply thrown salt and a few herbs on. No frills. Delicious.

This is such a great time of year for sharing food - picnics and barbecues and garden gatherings. And wherever people gather, there will always be bread. And good bread will always be a focal point.

If your bread game is a little rusty or you'd simply love to learn, we have a few spaces left in the next couple weeks before we break for the summer recess when it gets too hot (oh, the irony of the past couple of weeks!).

There are a couple of spaces on next week's Baguettes and More Workshop and, due to a late cancellation, we have one space only on our Sourdough Workshop on Friday 10th July which is the last chance to join us for sourdough before the Autumn.

And finally, we still have spaces on our Breads of the Levant Workshop on Thursday 16th July, where we'll make wonderful flatbreads with delicious Middle Eastern flavours and fragrant spices - the perfect accompaniment to Ottolenghi-style salads over the summer.

These are the last workshops before the Autumn Term and late cancellations have opened up some that have been long booked up, so do check out availability if you'd like to come along.

Hope to see you there!

Hx

https://www.whitecottagebakery.com/book-workshops.html

Wild garlic (or ramps) everywhere around us here at the mo. If you have a bluebell wood nearby, chances are there will be some wild garlic lurking. It's just coming into flower, here in Cambridgeshire, which makes it much easier to identify if you're unsure of exactly what to look for. The little white allium flowers are easy to spot and are edible too.

Last week it was wild garlic soup (roast garlic, celery, leek, broccoli, courgette, cavolo nero, parsley, veg stock and copious handfuls of wild garlic). I basically emptied the fridge of anything green and fresh, cooked them all down well then threw in the foraged greens, stock and seasoning with a splash of lemon juice. Delicious.

This week, I wanted to use up some mushrooms, cream and defrosted filo leftover from the Easter weekend. The rest of the leftovers could be frozen (I always manage to over-cater when family and friends descend) but these three needed using up.

I fried off the mushrooms in some butter before adding some sliced roasted garlic (I keep a store 'sott'olio' in the fridge) and a generous splash of marsala. I then wilted the wild garlic in the pan with the mushrooms, finally adding some double cream, seasoning and a handful grated Grana Padano and cooked for a few minutes. Once the sauce had thickened a little, I allowed the mixture to cool before layering up the filo with melted butter and piling the mix inside, scrunching the overlapping pastry back over the edges. Baked at 180C until golden. Quick and simple but sooo tasty!

What next? We still have a week or two left of the season...