What food did you last make

Dusk

Well here is the official reason I found…

'The acid in the buttermilk neutralizes the baking soda, making a scone dough rise. Plus, the reaction between the sour milk and the bicarbonate composition of the baking soda makes a better leavener than baking powder.

Another great thing about buttermilk is it can break down gluten strands in the dough, which creates more tender and fluffier scones.'

I use it because I saw a recipe and thought I would give it a try and it has never let me down and they do seem to have a lighter texture. Also, I always buy a tub of buttermilk which is easily available from Sainsbury’s and the like because I make soda bread (cheesey and fruit) at least once a fortnight

But I have also made scones without using buttermilk and they are in my opinion just as lush. For me, to get less dence scones the idea is more to work the dough as little as possible, bring together quickly and gently (not kneading) and pat into a round or square rather than roll with a rolling pin so as not to compress the dough too much, have a really good thickness (certainly no less than 1 and a half inches but I go for two) and straight cuts no twisting….works for me.

Been on a diet since January, when my yearly MOT blood results came back as just edging into pre-diabetic and cholestoral was up. I was 15 stone (which when you are 5 foot 4 and three quarters is not good) but now down to 11 stone 13 and my latest bloods show I am no longer pre-diabetic and well into the safe zone for blood sugar levels and cholestoral is way down to aceptable levels too. And I have done this being very strict for most of it and only having the odd treat (such as the scones) at different landmarks in the weight loss, because complete denial leads to failure IMHO.

So, as I am a pie lover, for our Sunday dinner I rustled up a lovely minced beef, mushroom and onion pie in a rich red wine infused gravy. Had it with a moderate amount of mash and loads of veg….chuffin lovely!

Pompeyexile wow that’s good weight loss, what’s the secret please?

Well, the pre-diabetic diagnosis was what made me come to my senses and realise I had to seriously do something about it, so I decided to kick start it with two things…One, initially cutting out biscuits, cakes, pastries, chocolate etc and just having the one meal a day. Sounds extreme, but that one meal was a proper full size meal, as I still had to cook for my other half and I cooked - as always - good hearty food with plenty of veg or salad and definitely no packaged processed food.

Initially it was hard, not because of feeling hungry but cravings….as I have said, I loved a biscuit or ten and chocolate and cake, well puddings in general, but I resisted. Now, because of this my stomach has shrunk and I naturally cannot eat as much and stop when I feel full.

I have had moments where I have not kept to the diet, for example before starting it I had arranged a weekend away in London and another away at a friends and a couple of other meals out and on those occasions I have even eaten puddings/desserts and had a beer or two.

I will start introducing more, but what has happened and probably the most important as far as I was concerned is portion control. Being brought up with four brothers my mum would pile our plates high and I will admit if I didn’t come away from the dinner table feeling very full then it was not enough. Not any more, whihc will make maintaining my new eating habits easier. Also, it is surprising how much more I appreciate the naughty stuff when I do have it.

It may not be what a doctor would say is the right way to do it, but it works for me and they say the proof of the pudding and all that, and with the blood results and the fact I feel so much better, more energy, less tired, able to bend down without grunting and not feeling as stiff, is enough for me.

Fruit scones following a new recipe….it said to use a 4cm cutter so ended up with 14 when I would have expected 8!

Love fresh homemade scones, making a baking leap next week new Flour Mill.

Thought we’d celebrate seeing the sun for the first time in 9 months by giving the Ooni its first try. First time using a gas pizza oven. Wasn’t quite hot enough but went well and a breeze to use compared to wood.

Cuprajake

Could’ve been the bright lights from a plane to be fair, been that long Ive forgotten what the actual sun looks like.

A proper pizza oven is top of my wish list and I still think the top two contenders are the Ooni and the Gosney Rockbox. I am not bothered at making really big pizzas, as I think anything over 12 inches is both greedy and just bragging 😉

Pompeyexile
Arc looks way better unless you want to use wood

Jony Arc looks way better unless you want to use wood

That Arc looks great! I’d not seen that before.

I am seriously looking at saving up for a bit longer and going for the Ooni Volt. Whilst I love the idea of pizza cooking outside with the westher we get here and I am not under cover It would get used very little. Plus I have seen the running costs of the Volt compared to an Ooni gas and the volt works out a lot cheaper especially when you look at te cost of gas bottles. Yes I know it is dearer to buy initially Ooni are selling it at £709, the Koda 12 £299, the Karu 12G £349, the Gozney £399. but the fact I would or could use it as many times a week as I want ALL year round for me counter balances that.

All the reviews I have seen show how versatile it is, how adjustable the temp control is for top and bottom heat and reaches temp in only 20 minutes and cooking a pizza in just 90 seconds. Oh, and of course I can cook outside with it too, because I have outdoor electrical points and one right near where I would use it.

Anyone else have any thoughts on that?

I have a massive wood fired brick oven that I built in my backyard. I love the ritual of chopping the wood, building the fire, managing the temperature and executing a day’s worth of cooking (sometimes overnight too).

I’d rather have an electric oven.

Okay, in fairness, I’d like to have both. One for outdoors in the warmer months and entertaining crowds, one for indoors the rest of the year.

You’ve hit on a couple of the most important issues, such as year round use, ease of temperature management, efficiency of electric compared to gas/wood. There are other issues as well. The exposure to particulates from wood/gas cooking is garnering more and more negative scientific consensus. I also live in an area that has been prone to massive wildfires–further increasing my exposure to particulates.

The frequent negative is that an electric doesnt doesn’t cook the pizza the same way. Utter hogwash. A pizza crust cant tell if the temperature was created by any particular means. I have heard that electric ovens create a drier environment, but I’ve never tested this out nor seen it. As for taste, at 500C, burning wood or charcoal are not smoking or imparting taste. And, the fact it can be used indoors means it will get double the use of an outdoor oven. I’ve also struggled at planned events if I screw up the temperature management or the weather turns bad.

One of my favorite pizza makers in the world switched to electric decades ago as it provides greater control, quicker heat times and greater efficiency. His crust is the best I’ve ever tried.

But, it’s a personal decision. It’s a big purchase, might as well get what you will enjoy the most.