Sourdough fig and goat's cheese scones

Ingredients

• 100g sourdough starter (100% hydration) (optional)
• 350g self-raising flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 85g cubed butter
• 50g dried figs cut into pieces
• 50g grated cheese
• 175ml warm milk (with a squeeze lemon juice)

Method

• Heat the oven to 220C (no fan)/200C (fan).
• In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and rub with your fingers until it resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the sugar.
• Make a well in the flour, add the warm milk and the sourdough (if using), and mix with a cutlery knife. Add the figs and cheese and mix them in. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and fold it two to three times.
• Pat the dough into a round about 4cm high, and cut the scones (8 to 10). Brush the tops of the scones with beaten egg or milk, and transfer to a hot tray.
• Bake until risen and golden on the top, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Lemon Polenta Cake

And finally, here's the recipe of the winner cake of the Great DDH Bake Off 2012. Enjoy!!

See the delicious polenta cake
at the bottom right of the picture

Ingredients

For the cake

• 200 grams unsalted butter (or goats butter if you are Elena or equivalent)
• 200 grams caster sugar
• 200 grams ground almonds
• 100 grams polenta
• 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 medium eggs
• 2 medium lemon(s) (zest - save juice for syrup)

For the lemon syrup

• 2 lemons (juice)
• 120 grams of sugar (icing or caster)

 Preparation

1. First of all, preheat the oven 180°C (fan)
2. Prepare a cake tin with baking paper and grease its sides with some butter
3. Melt the butter and mix it with the sugar in a bowl. You can use a wooden spoon for this.
4. Add the baking powder, the polenta and the almonds and keep mixing. Finally, add the 3 eggs and the lemons zest and mix again.
5. Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and bake in the oven for about 35 minutes
6. In the meantime, you can make the lemon syrup by boiling the lemon juice of two lemons and the sugar in a small saucepan.
7. Once the sugar is dissolved into the juice, the syrup is ready.
8. When the cake is done, prick the top of the cake all over with a toothpick and pour the warm syrup over it. Leave to cool before taking it out from the cake tin.
9. Share, eat and enjoy!

 

Sourdough flatbreads with mixed herbs

Ingredients

• 200g starter (100% hydration)
• 200g water
• 400g strong bread flour
• 1tsp salt
• 2tbsp oil
• 3tsp mixed herbs (optional)

Method

• Mix all the ingredients together until you have a soft sticky dough. Cover and leave for 10 minutes.
• Rub a tablespoon of olive oil on a work surface, and knead the dough 12 times. Return the dough to the bowl, cover and leave for 10 minutes. Repeat the kneading two times more at 10 minutes intervals.
• After the kneading rest the dough for 30 minutes.
• Heat the oven to 250C (no fan).
• Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into pieces (8 to 10). Round the pieces into balls, cover them and leave them to rest for 15 minutes.
• Roll each ball into a round shape until it is about 5mm thick. Leave them to rest for 2 minutes.
• Bake two to three flatbreads at a time for 3 to 5 mites, until lightly coloured and puffy. Remove from the oven and wrap with a tea towel to keep them warm and soft. Repeat with the remaining flatbreads.

This recipe was a adapted from a pitta bread recipe by Dan Lepard.