Monday 28 May 2012

currant slice and 'in it goes bread'

i played in the kitchen today and made this currant slice which is a recipe from one of my recent old recipe book op shop purchases..the book is a hard copy of '100 delicious biscuits and slices' published by the australian women's weekly in 1972 bought for $1..

currant slice


lately i've been making at least one yeasted loaf a week of what i call my 'in it goes bread'..what i mean by that is that if i have a bit of leftover whipped cream, a bit of milk sitting in a jug, the end of a carton/bottle of milk, whey from yoghurt straining, the end of a batch of yoghurt, a little previously melted butter, the last scraps of a pat of butter, some close to use by date semolina, discarded sourdough starter and so on, well, in it goes..i've cut down on the amount of yeast i use to 1/2 a sachet and i don't measure the liquid any more..i just add enough cold liquid to form a wettish dough and i find that by the time i've rested and kneaded it a few times it's very manageable..i've also been practising my slashing technique and i'm much happier with the way i am getting an 'ear' on one side of the loaf (as described here)

the 'ear' refused to show up in my whole loaf shots

the 'ear' shows up a bit better here

currant slice recipe

ingredients
base
1 cup plain flour
pinch salt
125 gms butter
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar* lightly packed

topping
1 cup currants
1/2 cup sultanas
1 tablespoon (tbs) cornflour
1/2 teaspoon (tsp) cinnamon
1 cup water
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1 tbs lemon juice

glace icing
3/4 cup icing sugar
1/2 tsp butter
1 tbs milk
pink food colouring

method
base
~sift flour and salt and rub in butter and add oats and butter
~press mixture into 18 cm x 28 cm greased lamington tin
~spread over cooled topping
~bake 180 deg c for 35 minutes
~ cool and drizzle** with pink icing
~cut into bars
topping
place fruit, cornflour, cinnamon and water in a saucepan
~cook over medium heat stirring until the mixture boils and thickens
~add lemon rind and juice
~cool
glace icing
~sift icing and add butter and milk***
~colour pale pink with a few drops of food colouring
~stand bowl of icing over hot water and stir until pouring consistency

note:
* i used moscovado sugar
** i put the icing into a small sandwich bag, cut the corner off, and piped the icing onto the slice
*** i decided to adhere to the recipe the first time i made it but next time i would add a little lemon juice


wishing you all a happy week..x




21 comments:

  1. Your slice and bread look so good. Your bread making is very interesting Jane...I admire how you use all those little 'bits' to make something so delicious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks jane..i do get a sense of satisfaction from avoiding waste..

      Delete
  2. Boy, your bread looks good, Jane! As does your currant slice, sometimes those old recipes are unbeatable! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks celia..i'm on a small crusade to bring back some of the oldies..

      Delete
  3. ah the elusive ear. I can never get the bugger... yours look good though Jane, darn good.

    ReplyDelete
  4. this bread making lark is such a great learning experience brydie..i feel as if i find out something new with every loaf i make..i love it..if is dare say so the ear was even better than in the photo..i don't think my camera is great and i'm not much of a photographer but it's hard to get a good shot at night in a room with poor light..

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've got that little book, and I wouldn't be without it for quids!! I've told my adult kids that they are going to own one of the best recipe book collections in Australia when I go- especially the 'classics' -but they're only into Jamie etc....... :-[
    My darling (farmer's wife) late m-i-l gave me 3 of the CWA cookbooks for Christmas once and I love them to bits too!! When it comes to cakes/biscuits/slices, country cooking is hard to beat, though I DO have a special old USA published 'cookies' book that I pull out when I want to really impress!! ;-)

    ReplyDelete