No-knead spelt bread rolls

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When time is lacking, I sometimes decide to bake no-knead bread. Such recipes are now extremely common and pose no difficulty. But considering how little effort is required, the end result is more than decent, taste-wise. This morning I wanted to use spelt flour and bake individual bread rolls.

No-knead spelt bread rolls

Ingredients: (for 4–6 small rolls)

• 150 g spelt flour
• 100 g white bread flour
• 7-8 g instant yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 200 ml lukewarm water

Preparation:

Mix both flours in a salad bowl. Take 50 g out of this mix and transfer to a large bowl. To it, add the yeast and 50 ml lukewarm water. Mix well, to hydrate the flour. Add a little more water if necessary. Cover with cling film and leave at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Add salt to the flours in the salad bowl and mix. Add the yeast mixture and the remaining 150 ml water. Mix rapidly with a spoon until the obtention of an homogeneous, sticky dough. Generously sprinkle flour on top of the dough. Cover with a damp towel and leave to ferment 90 to 120 minutes or until the dough has at least doubled in volume.

Place an oven-proof dish filled with water on the sole of the oven and preheat to 250°C.

Flour your work surface. Tip the dough out of the salad bowl. Quickly cut the dough in 4 to 6 parts. Shape them without kneading.

Transfer to an oven rack lined with parchment paper. Cook at 250°C, 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size of the rolls. Here, 20 minutes were enough for 6 rolls. When baked, leave to cool on a rack for about 2 hours before serving.

Crackers with herbs and spices

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A very simple recipe for home-made crackers. You can customize them whichever way you want, for example by adding parmesan cheese, seeds or spices. I always make a whole sheet pan of them and as many variations as I can. For this batch, I used oregano, sesame seeds, paprika, coarse salt, cumin powder, blue poppy seeds and dried wild fennel flowers.

Crackers with herbs and spices

Ingredients: (for one oven sheet pan)

• 1 1/2 cup bread flour
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp instant yeast
• seeds and spices

Preparation:

In a salad bow, stir the flour, yeast, oil, honey and salt. Add water little by little, just enough to bring everything together in a ball. Knead for about 10 minutes, adding a little flour if necessary, until you get a supple but firm dough. Transfer to a lightly oiled container. Briefly roll the dough around to coat it with oil. Cover with cling film and leave to ferment for about 90 minutes or until the dough doubles in size.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface. Shape it into a square using your hands. Dust with a little flour. Roll into a large rectangle, using a rolling pin. You may need to let the dough relax (covered with a towel or plastic wrap) for a few minutes from time to time. The thinner you'll roll up the dough, the crisper your crackers will be.

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Carefully transfer the dough to the baking sheet. Mist the dough with a little water and sprinkle on seeds and spices. You can precut the crackers using a pizza slicer or bake the whole sheet as is and snap it into shards when baked.

Bake at 180°C for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the dough. The crackers are ready when they begin to brown evenly.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the crackers cool in the sheet for about 10 minutes before snapping them apart.

Indian street food menu at De Pastorale, Bart de Pooter's restaurant

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When Apolina sends along an invitation to an evening in Bart de Pooter's two-Michelin star restaurant (De Pastorale, Reet, Belgium) it's impossible to decline. A few weeks ago, the chef had offered her the fantastic opportunity of cooking Indian street food in his kitchen and to invite a dozen of Belgian food bloggers to attend. He also offered to serve dishes from his own menu during this evening, of which you'll find an illustrated summary below.

Thank you to Apolina, Bart de Pooter and his team for this memorable evening!

	De Pastorale (Reet, Belgium)
	Mussels in mussels jelly, miso and crusty algae bread
	Atlantic jackknife clam, coriander chutney, pandan rice cream
	Wada pav: bread with spicy potato mixture, coconut, garlic, peanut and chili dry chutney
	Pav bhaji: spicy vegetable mash with bread
	Bhel puri: puffed rice, tomatoes, cucumber, shallots, green mango, crunchy vermicelli, coriander/dates and tamarind chutneys
	Sev batata puri: crusty bread discs with potatoes and chutneys
	Ragda pattice: dried peas curry and idli (steamed rice and lentil bread)
	Pani Puri: hollow crisp bread
	Sea bass with fennel, fennel seeds and parmesan sauce
	Sweetbread and variations around the tomato (marmelade, chutney, ketchup)
	Raspberries filled with white chocolate mousse, basil sorbet, crumble, basil and peppermint flowers
	Sweets
	Sweets
	Fresh mango salad
	Red fruits crumble and ice cream
	De Pastorale (Reet, Belgium)

My personal favorites: wada pav (for the intensity of flavours), bhel puri (surprising texture), the sea bass dish (perfectly balanced and absolutely delicious) and the raspberries with basil sorbet (plenty of contrasts for both taste and textures).

The bloggers attending this evening were: Delphine, Fanny, Françoise, Grégory, Isabelle, Manue, Marc, Marion, Philou, Sandro, Sophie, Sylvain et Vanessa. A few journalists were present, together with Anouk Van Ranst, a young and talented designer who created items for the restaurant. Wines accompanying the meal were served by sommelière Lieselot Jonckheere.