Mary’s Clootie Dumpling
The week before Christmas, I started to pump out all the old favourites. The dumpling was intimidating, as needs to be steamed in a muslin cloth. I watched my mom make it countless times growing up but never really paid any attention. After two attempts and several emails home, I managed to perfect the dumpling.
1. Mix the flour with sugar and then add spices.
2. Rub in the butter and then add treacle. Add the raisins and lastly the water. It will be a wet mixture but not too wet.
3. Wet a dishtowel or muslin cloth in boiling water. Sprinkle one side of the wet towel with flour. This flour forms the skin of the dumpling.
4. Place the dumpling mixture in the centre of the towel and tie it up with a kitchen string. Leave about an inch for expansion.
5. Bring a very large pot of water to the boil and add a foil plate upside down so the towel does not touch the bottom.
Place the dumpling on the plate.
6. Steam for 3 hours topping up with more boiling water often. The water has to be 2/3 up the side of the dumpling not higher and not too low.
7. Remove the dumpling from the pot and peal the dishtowel or muslin cloth off immediately. Let cool overnight.
Michael Clark
Michael is a banker with a love for bread. His desire was kindled by morning visits to a local bakery while holidaying in France. He was struck by the passion of the bakers and the simplicity of hand made bread— 4 ingredients; flour, salt, water and yeast. He soon found himself experimenting in his own kitchen, before recruiting a master baker to show him the ropes. Wanting a taste of the real thing, he traded his holidays for midnight shifts in one of Canada's leading artisan bread bakeries. To quote Michael, “there is nothing more satisfying then the solitude of waking up early, hand kneading the dough, smelling the aromas coming from the oven and then slathering a hot piece of bread with some delicious butter”. An avid traveler, he seeks out crusty loaves and the people who make them around world. When not working in The City, Michael can be found in his London kitchen or his local pub