Scarves, Flatbreads & Mushrooms
My first love is French artisanal breads. I am fascinated by the use of sourdoughs, levains and sponges to create such an amazing variety of textures and tastes. Epis, pain de campagne, fougasse, pain chapeau…the names alone are beautiful!
Lately the office has been crazy. I am finding it difficult to fit supper in, never mind bread making. It seems my City banking job is at odds with the slow, long rising techniques of artisan bread— go figure! Recently I have been experimenting with flatbreads as the techniques are simple and straightforward but equaly satisfying in relieving the day’s stress. The forgiving nature of flatbreads – a little over proofed, a little under proofed means they always turn out.
A master bread baker friend recommended I pick up a copy of Flatbread & Flavors, written by the American–Canadian pair Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. Ironically, I met Jeffrey and Naomi years ago at a dinner party at their Toronto home, long before my interest in bread. Having barely scratched the surface of this fantastic book I am beginning to realize just how enormous the world of flatbread is! I literally could spend weeks just making flatbreads and never tire.
Having mastered (ok, maybe a bit of an overstatement) a basic flatbread I have started to experiment with various toppings and fillings drawn from different cultural traditions. There is a wonderful Lebanese recipe from one of my most coveted cookbooks, Casa Moro, (also a great London restaurant) for flatbread topped with lamb, pine nuts and pomegranate molasses. This recipe definitely inspired me to try and come up with a similar idea for my flatbread.
Autumn is my favourite time of year. Jumpers, scarves, open fires…and of course mushrooms. I LOVE mushrooms. On a recent trip to a local farmers market I was blown away by the variety of mushrooms available this time of year. Some types, like the Scottish giroles are quite expensive but I am thinking— a better return then the current financial markets. It got me thinking about how I could incorporate mushrooms into a flatbread recipe. I knew the simpler the better, so decided that a thin flatbread topped with sautéed mushrooms would be perfect. For the dough, I decided to experiment by making a dried mushroom-tea to boost the mushroom flavour and then BBQ the flatbread with a little olive oil. The results were heavenly and my stomach is thanking me!
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