William's spud fry
This recipe was inspired by my father, William Neil Gellatly. By all accounts he came up with it when he was serving in the Household Cavalry. He used to make it often for us as kids, and served it with all sorts.
Serves 4
large potatoes (eg Maris Piper) 750g
salt and ground white pepper
Spanish onions 2 large
garlic 4 cloves
butter a large knob
olive oil 2 tbsp
bay leaf 1
fresh thyme 4 sprigs
Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Coarsely grate the potatoes, with skins on, then put them into a large bowl and sprinkle with about 1 tsp of salt. Mix well, then leave to stand for 10 minutes.
Peel and dice the onions and crush the garlic. Put the butter and oil into a large non-stick ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaf and thyme sprigs, and cook for about 15 minutes, until the onions and garlic are soft.
Squeeze out the potatoes a handful at a time and put them into another bowl, discarding the liquid. Season them with ground white pepper and a small pinch of salt. Remove the thyme and bay leaf from the frying pan and discard, then add the potato mixture to the pan and mix well, pressing the mixture down with the back of a spoon.
Drizzle a little more oil around the outside of the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes on a low to medium heat, then transfer to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown and crispy and the potatoes are cooked through.
To serve, check out the following alternatives:
1 With 2 eggs per person.
2 Cover with melted cheese and put under the grill, then add a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce.
3 With chopped hard-boiled eggs, crispy bacon and chopped parsley.
4 As part of a full English breakfast.
5 With smoked kippers.
6 With smoked salmon and scrambled eggs.
Bun scrolls
I developed these for the St John hotel breakfast menu, as we wanted something different from the normal pastry offerings. They're a cross between the softest buttery bun and pastry.
Makes about 20
strong white bread flour 500g plus extra for dusting
fine sea salt 10g
fresh yeast 10g, crumbled
full fat milk 350ml
unsalted butter 250g
egg 1, beaten, to glaze
Put the flour and salt into a bowl and mix together. Whisk the yeast into the milk, then add to the flour and mix together for only a couple of minutes. Scrape out of the bowl on to a lightly floured surface and form into a ball, then wrap in clingfilm and put into the fridge for 2 hours to rest.
Take the butter out of the fridge, followed 15 minutes later by the dough. Let them both come to room temperature (they need to be the same).
On a lightly floured surface, start rolling the dough lengthways until you have a long, even, rectangular strip about 70cm x 24cm. Brush off any excess flour and make sure all the sides and corners are straight and even.
With one of the shorter sides of the rectangle facing you, place the butter in small knobs evenly all over the top two-thirds of the dough. Fold the bottom (unbuttered) third into the middle, then flip the folded two-thirds on to the buttered third to cover it. This is your first turn.
Turn the dough so that the seam or join is always on the right, then roll it out again and fold just as before. This is your second turn.
Wrap the dough in clingfilm and put it back into the fridge to rest for another 2 hours, then repeat another two turns, again resting for 2 hours.
Now make the last turn by rolling the dough out to the same size but folding in the top to the middle and the bottom to the middle (so that it looks like an open book). Fold it in half so that now the book is closed, then again wrap in clingfilm and leave for 2 hours or overnight in the fridge.
Lightly oil and flour two 12-hole muffin tins. Cut the dough in half and roll out 2 rectangles about 30cm x 20cm x 1cm. Roll each one up tightly lengthways, then brush the end with eggwash to seal it and slice into 3cm thick scrolls. You should have about 20.
Pop the scrolls cut side up in the prepared tins. Cover loosely with clingfilm and leave to prove for 2 hours somewhere warm, until they have doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Eggwash the tops of the scrolls and bake for 15–20 minutes, until golden brown.
Serve warm, with butter and jam.
Justin's ginger cake
This is probably the best ginger cake in the world and one of my best recipes, if I say so myself. You can ice it and serve it as a celebratory cake, but it is also great as a dessert – serve it warm, with cider and caramel sauce and vanilla ice-cream.
Serves 12-14
self-raising flour 300g
ground ginger 2 tbsp
ground cinnamon 1 tsp
ground mixed spice 1 tsp
full fat milk 375ml
soft dark brown sugar 165g
bicarbonate of soda 1 tsp
unsalted butter 150g diced, plus extra for greasing
black treacle 85g
golden syrup 165g
stem ginger 65g, chopped
stem syrup from the ginger jar 80g
egg 1, beaten
For the cider and caramel sauce
apple juice 125ml
cider 500ml
granulated sugar 100g
lemon juice of 1
butter 55g, softened
cornflour 15g
First sift the flour and ground spices into a large bowl. Pour the milk into a large, heavy-based saucepan, add the sugar and let it dissolve over a medium heat, stirring frequently. As soon as it's at scalding point, remove from the heat and add the bicarbonate of soda: watch out, it will fizz up a little. Leave to one side for 10 minutes.
Put the butter, black treacle and golden syrup into a medium saucepan, place on a medium heat and slowly bring up to a light simmer, until the ingredients have melted and formed a rich syrup. Whisk this mixture into the flour little by little; it will be quite firm to start with but once about half of it is in it will be a bit lighter on the whisk. Then gradually whisk in the milk mixture, until smooth. If it's not smooth, pass the mixture through a sieve. Add the stem ginger, ginger syrup and egg, give it a good whisk, then cover the bowl and leave to rest at room temperature for 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3. Lightly grease a 26cm springform cake tin and line the base and sides with baking paper. Give the cake mixture a good stir and pour it into the prepared tin. Bake for about 1 hour, until firm to the touch.
Meanwhile make the cider and caramel sauce. Put the apple juice and cider into a large, heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until reduced by one-third.
Put the sugar, lemon juice and 25ml of water into another large, heavy-based saucepan. Heat the mixture slowly to dissolve the sugar, stirring, then bring to the boil and cook over a medium heat until the mixture caramelises to a dark golden colour. Add the reduced cider/apple juice (this stops the caramel from going any darker) and whisk in the butter. Mix in the cornflour with 15ml of water. Bring the cider mix up to a simmer and whisk in the cornflour mix. Simmer until thickened, then take off the heat and leave for 5-10 minutes to thicken.
When the cake is ready, leave it to cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then turn out and either place on a rack to cool completely or serve straight away, with the warm cider and caramel sauce and vanilla ice-cream.
Swiss almond cake
Serves 8-10
For the cake
unsalted butter 200g
eggs 4
caster sugar 300g
plain flour 400g, sifted
baking powder 1 tsp
double cream 100ml
almond extract 1½ tsp
For the topping
butter 200g
caster sugar 200g
full fat milk 4 tbsp
plain flour 4 tbsp, sifted
ground almonds 50g
flaked almonds 200g
Preheat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3. Lightly grease a 26cm springform cake tin and line the base and sides with baking paper. Make the topping first: melt the butter and sugar together in a medium saucepan on a low heat, then stir in the milk, flour, ground and flaked almonds, and put to one side.
Now the cake: melt the butter in a saucepan on a low heat. Whisk the eggs and sugar together, using an electric mixer, until light and fluffy, then fold in first the melted butter, then the sifted flour and baking powder, then the cream and almond extract. Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake for 25 minutes, then remove and increase the oven temperature to 180C/gas mark 4. Gently and evenly spoon the topping mix over the cake and put back into the oven for 35-45 minutes, until it is golden brown and a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 20 minutes before turning out. Either serve straight away, still warm, or leave on a rack to cool.
The doughnut dough
Makes about 20 doughnuts (1kg dough)
For the dough
strong white bread flour 500g
caster sugar 60g
fine sea salt 10g
fresh yeast 15g, crumbled
eggs 4
lemon zest of ½
water 150g
unsalted butter 125g, softened
sunflower oil, about 2 litres for deep-frying
caster sugar for tossing
Put all the dough ingredients apart from the butter into the bowl of an electric mixer with a beater attachment and mix on a medium speed for 8 minutes, or until the dough starts coming away from the sides and forms a ball.
Turn off the mixer and let the dough rest for 1 minute. Take care that your mixer doesn't overheat – it needs to rest as well as the dough!
Start the mixer up again on a medium speed and slowly add the butter to the dough – about 25g at a time. Once it is all incorporated, mix on high speed for 5 minutes, until the dough is glossy, smooth and very elastic when pulled, then cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to prove until it has doubled in size. Knock back the dough, then re-cover the bowl and put into the fridge to chill overnight.
The next day, take the dough out of the fridge and cut it into 50g pieces (you should get about 20). Roll them into smooth, taut, tight buns and place them on a floured baking tray, leaving plenty of room between them as you don't want them to stick together while they prove. Cover lightly with clingfilm and leave for about 4 hours, or until about doubled in size.
Get your deep-fat fryer ready, or get a heavy-based saucepan and fill it up to the halfway point with sunflower oil (please be careful, as hot oil is very dangerous). Heat the oil to 180C.
When the oil is heated to the correct temperature, carefully remove the doughnuts from the tray by sliding a floured pastry scraper underneath them, taking care not to deflate them, and put them into the oil. Do not overcrowd the fryer – do 2-3 per batch, depending on the size of your pan. Fry for 2 minutes on each side until golden brown – they puff up and float, so you may need to gently push them down after about a minute to help them colour evenly. Remove from the fryer and place on kitchen paper, then toss them in a bowl of caster sugar while still warm. Repeat until all are fried, but make sure the oil temperature is correct every time before you fry – if it is too high they will colour too quickly and burn, and will be raw in the middle, and if it is too low the oil will be absorbed into the doughnut and it will become greasy. Set aside to cool before filling.
To fill the doughnuts, make a hole in the crease of each one (anywhere around the white line between the fried top and bottom).
Fill a piping bag with your desired filling and pipe into the doughnut until swollen with pride. Roughly 20-50g is the optimum quantity, depending on the filling; cream will be less, because it is more aerated. You can fit in more than this, but it doesn't give such a good balance of dough to filling.
The doughnuts are best eaten straight away, but will keep in an airtight tin and can be reheated.
Custard (creme patissiere) for the doughnuts
Makes about 900g ( for 20 doughnuts)
vanilla pod 1
full fat milk 500ml
egg yolks 6
caster sugar 125g (plus an extra 2 tbsp)
plain flour 80g
double cream 200ml
Slit the vanilla pod open lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Put both pod and seeds into a heavy-based saucepan with the milk and bring slowly just to the boil, to infuse the vanilla.
Meanwhile place the egg yolks and the 125g of sugar in a bowl and mix together for a few seconds, then sift in the flour and mix again.
Pour the just-boiling milk over the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling, then return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over a medium heat, whisking constantly for about 5 minutes, until very thick.
Pass through a fine sieve, discarding the vanilla, and place a sheet of clingfilm on the surface of the custard to prevent a skin forming. Leave to cool, then refrigerate.
Whip the cream and the 2 tablespoons of sugar together until thick but not over-whipped and fold into the chilled custard.
Butter fingers
These are really rich buttery biscuits that are great for elevenses, or as petits fours to serve with coffee.
Makes about 40
plain flour 220g
fine sea salt a pinch
cornflour 70g
vanilla pod 1
softened unsalted butter 250g
icing sugar 60g
dark chocolate (70%) 100g
Preheat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3 and line two large baking trays with baking paper.
Sift the flour, salt and cornflour into a large bowl and mix together well.
Split the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds. Put them into a food processor with the softened butter and icing sugar, then add the flour mix and whiz together until it becomes a smooth paste.
Put the mix into a piping bag with a 1cm wide star nozzle and pipe about 40 lines of fingers about 6cm long on to the prepared baking trays. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
Leave on the trays for 5 minutes, then put on a rack to cool.
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. When the fingers are cool, dip into your melted chocolate and place on a rack until the chocolate sets.
Devonshire splits
A fantastic alternative to scones, these enriched little bread buns are light and delicious, and they're not just for serving with cream and jam – try a ball of ice-cream in them instead. They need to be served warm and on the day they're made, though they also freeze well.
Makes 12
plain flour 450g, plus extra for dusting
fine sea salt ½ tsp
caster sugar 1 tsp
full fat milk 275ml
fresh yeast 15g, crumbled
unsalted butter 50g, melted
thick Jersey cream and jam to serve
Sift the flour, salt and sugar into a large bowl and mix well. Put the milk, crumbled yeast and melted butter into a jug or bowl and whisk to combine well and dissolve the yeast. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix to form a dough.
Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 2 minutes. Put back into a lightly floured bowl, cover and place in a warm place for 1-1½ hours, until doubled in size.
Line two baking trays with baking paper. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each one into a ball. Put them on the prepared baking trays, leaving room between them as they will spread. Sprinkle with flour, then cover and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until they have doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Bake the buns for 15 minutes, until golden brown, then place on a rack and leave to cool.
To serve, split them (but not all the way through), fill with extra thick Jersey cream and top with jam.
Sourdough starter – AKA 'mother'
I began my sourdough starter 14 years ago with rhubarb from my garden. I still have it today, and many of my friends and family keep little jars of it for me just in case something happens to it, like someone throwing it away (you know who you are!).
I have divided it many times to give to friends and chefs to bake with, so my mother's family is still growing.
Don't be scared to try this – I know it's more work than just popping some yeast in, but the results are well worth it, and you can divide your starter and get your friends baking as well.
Makes 500g of starter
rhubarb 30g
strong white bread flour finely sliced
wholegrain rye flour
strong wholemeal bread flour
Day 1: Place the rhubarb in a bowl (the rhubarb acts as a catalyst to start the fermentation). Pour on 100g of water, then mix in 50g of strong white bread flour and 50g of wholegrain rye flour to make a thick paste. Leave somewhere warm for 24 hours, loosely covered with clingfilm.
Day 2: At around the same time the following day, mix in 50g of water, 25g of strong white bread flour and 25g of wholegrain rye flour, and leave somewhere warm, again loosely covered. If there is a skin on top, just mix it in.
Day 3: Same as day 2.
Day 4: You should start seeing the beginning of the active fermentation. Same as day 3.
Day 5: The mother should be bubbling away and smell tangy. Stir, then pour 30g of the mother into a larger bowl and pick out any bits of rhubarb. Discard these, as the rhubarb has done its job, though it should have all broken down by now. Whisk in 125g of water, then stir in 80g of strong white bread flour, 30g of wholegrain rye flour and 30g of strong wholemeal flour until well incorporated. Cover loosely and leave in a warm place. Discard the leftover starter – there is a fair bit but it's the price to pay to get it up and running.
Day 6: Same as for day 5 (apart from picking out the rhubarb).
Day 7: Make bread!
Once you have made your sourdough you can refeed the mother and bake more, or store it in the fridge without feeding, but it will take a few days to restart it by feeding it again as for day 5.
The mother will keep happy for many months before it needs feeding again.
Rye and malt sourdough
If you are using the rye grain you will need to start this bread a day in advance, as you need to leave it to soak for 24 hours.
Makes one 1kg loaf
rye grain 100g + water 80g (optional), or you can use 100g rye flakes
rye flour 500g, plus extra for dusting
sourdough starter 220g (see above)
liquid malt extract 1 tbsp
water 300g
fine sea salt 15g
If using the rye grain, first preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Put the rye seeds on a baking tray and toast until golden brown (15–20 minutes), shaking occasionally. Pour them into a metal bowl and straight away pour the water over them. Leave for 24 hours, then drain.
Put the flour, rye flakes or soaked rye grain (reserving some for the top), sourdough starter, malt extract and water into the bowl of an electric mixer with a dough hook attachment and mix together on low speed for 2 minutes, until a ball is formed – it will be a bit sticky. Leave for 10 minutes to rest, uncovered, in the bowl, then add the salt, turn on the mixer again and mix for a further 4 minutes on medium speed. Take the dough out of the bowl and put it on a lightly floured surface. Shape it into a ball (it will be quite sticky and a little hard to handle), then place in a floured bowl, sprinkle it with more flour and cover. Leave to prove for 3 hours, then shape it into a tight ball again. Place it top down in the floured proving basket/bowl and leave to prove for 2½ hours.
Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6.
Sprinkle some rye flour on the top of the sourdough, then gently turn it out on to a baking tray and shape it into an oval loaf roughly 25cm x 15cm. Sprinkle it with a little more rye flour and the reserved rye flakes or grain and place it in the oven. Splash a few tablespoons of water in the bottom of the oven (to make some steam), then close the door quickly. Bake for 40 minutes, then turn down the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Take the loaf off the tray, place it directly on an oven rack and bake for a further 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool. It's best to leave until the next day before eating, as the crumb can be a bit soft and "gummy".
Great with smoked fish or for making a sandwich with garlic sausage and plum ketchup. It also makes amazing croutons.
Extracted from Bread, Cake, Doughnut, Pudding by Justin Gellatly
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