dan lepard's easy white loaf and some jam.

 

Making bread and jam are two of my most favourite things to do.
There is immense satisfaction to be gained from slicing into a homemade loaf or lining up a row of jars filled with a lovely preserve,

so after listening to Dan Lepard's inspirational talk the other week at the small bread company I just had to have a go at making his easy white loaf.  Click here for the full recipe.

 

The loaf was a pleasure to make and, as Dan promised, resting the dough and lightly stretching it at intervals really did produce a silky smooth dough.

 

I was very pleased with the end result.

 

 

A loaf with a good chewy crust and nice open texture.

 





And so to the jam or to be more precise jelly.

This year the blackcurrants on the allotment were ahead of last year ( unsurprisingly, given the difference in temperature this spring compared with last year's ) and a couple of weeks ago I was able to pick a big bowlful of fruit.

Rather than the usual blackcurrant jam, I decided to make blackcurrant jelly.

 

 

A trawl through my various books and the internet did not reveal a recipe for blackcurrant jelly as such, so I used the guidelines from The River Cottage Handbook No. 2 : Preserves which suggested simmering the blackcurrants in 900ml water per kilo of fruit until soft.

The fruit then has to be strained overnight either in a jelly bag or a sieve lined with muslin placed over a bowl.

 Resist the urge to poke and prod the bag, tempting though it may be, or the resulting jelly will be cloudy.

 

Next day, measure the juice and to every 600ml add 450g sugar.

Heat gently to dissolve the sugar and then boil rapidly until setting point is reached.

 

The result was a gently quivering jelly with an intense blackcurrant flavour.

 

 

 

Just right for enjoying with some homemade bread!