No-Knead Crusty Artisan Bread

Ingredients:

• 400g plain white flour (strong flour worked fine)
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 0.5 tsp teaspoon dry yeast (active dry or highly active dry work best)
• 350ml water

Method:

1. Sift flour into a large bowl and stir in salt and yeast. 
2. Stir in water using a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a shaggy but cohesive dough. Do not over-work the dough. 
3. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough sit at room temperature for 8-24 hours until dough is bubbly.
4. [skipped pre-heating of the pan]
5. Oil white casserole dish with gold handles. Pour in dough. Rest for 30 mins.
6. Preheat oven to 230c.
7. Bake for 30 mins covered with a metal bowl. Remove bowl and bake for 15 mins more.
8. Cool.

Source: https://www.thecomfortofcooking.com/2013/04/no-knead-crusty-artisan-bread.html

Bali banana pancakes

These worked quite well. Not spectacular, but nice as an occasional thing to do for guests.

Makes 4 pancakes.

Ingredients:

• 150g plain flour
• 1 egg
• 300 ml milk (substituted with soya without issue)
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (could try a little more)
• 1 tbsp butter plus extra for cooking
• 4 tsp light muscovado sugar (used caster sugar, which was alright but prob not as good)
• 1 large bananas, not too ripe as they don't slice well, 
• 4 tbsp desiccated coconut (not essential, couldn't really taste)

I like served for yoghurt, sprinkle of desiccated coconut and perhaps honey/syrup depending on how sweet bananas are. Jude likes plain.

Method:

• Slice bananas thinly on the diagonal (about 3mm)
• Melt 1 tbsp butter
• Sift flour into large well. Make well in centre and crack in the egg. Pour in a little milk, then whisk the egg and milk, incorporating a little more of the flour with each whisk, adding milk gradually until you have a batter. Whisk in the salt, cinnamon and melted butter.
• I used centre of non-stick wok. Heat to medium-high heat. Add a knob of butter and swirl it around the pan. Sprinkle 1 tspn of the sugar over the base of the pan, then arrange a quarter of the banana slices over the base of the pan. Cook for 2-3 mins until the bananas start to caramelise (check this by lifting up one of the slices with the tip of a knife), then scatter over a quarter of the coconut and cook for another minute.
• Pour over a quarter of the pancake batter and tip the pan gently to cover the banana pieces and coconut evenly. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the batter is almost set, then flip over the pancake carefully using a palette knife or spatula, and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until golden. (I found it's better to over-cook then under-cook).
• Keep the pancakes warm in a low oven while you cook the rest.

Taken from: The Botanical Kitchen by Elly McCausland, extracted in The Week.