Pams Marvellous Marmalade!

More of that later, but first, you need bread for Toast and Marmalade. Now I spend time making bread for others, and it often seems that I don't make much for us. Not only that, I have an ever increasing amount of Sourdough starter, so in an effort to stop it taking over, every week I make a hybrid Sourdough loaf, this time I added White flour.

I baked it in my new Metal roaster (£4 in a charity shop)

The Recipe:

400g Active Sourdough Starter, (at 100% Hydration this is 200g Flour and 200g Water)
300g Strong White Flour,
10g Salt
200g Water.

Method:

Mix everything together with a non-metallic spoon until a wet dough consistency is reached. Cover and leave overnight.

Next Morning, turn the oven on to max, with the roaster inside.

Lift the now risen dough onto your surface and stretch and fold it a couple of times.
Leave it to rise again for half an hour, while the roaster gets really hot.

Put the dough in the roaster for 30 minutes, with the lid on.

It then needs about 15 minutes with the lid off to brown and crisp.

You cant slash a pattern in this loaf, but it seems to make its own, and the crumb is pretty good as well. It spread a little, probably because the roaster is too large for the batch of dough, next time I will do a 750g flour mix.

Back to the Marmalade, I recently discovered, (at breakfast time, which is about the worst time to discover anything) that we had NO marmalade left. I think we have a secret Marmalade eater in the house cos I made 50lb of Seville Orange in Feb, and then 10lb of Pink Grapefruit in May. Admittedly, I sold some in Gravesend, but even so! I resolved to make another batch of Grapefruit as soon as I had a day spare.

We were in a well known supermarket yesterday, and they were a little short of Grapefruit, Yvonne and I got talking to another seeker of the citrus, who was also into preserve making, her favourite method was to throw in whatever was available.

Taking inspiration from Pam, I brought Oranges, Limes and Lemons.

I need 3lb of fruit, and here it is,

Cut up and ready to boil,

Boiled and cooling, ready to bottle,

and the finished result, Thanks Pam, for the inspiration.

Shopping this morning, I found these sausages and couldn't resist, stay tuned for a report later. I do hope they're not reduced cos they're awful!!!!!!!

Yvonne is making her home-made faggots this afternoon, if I can, without incurring her wrath, I will describe the process.