At times social media can be distracting and infuriating but it can also be so much fun! On Sunday morning I posted a photo on Twitter of some dough rising. Later that day my friend and fellow blogger, farmer and bread enthusiast Anne, posted a very similar photo. On opposite sides of the world we were both quietly watching our dough as it proved. The love of bread, baking and real food is universal. Anne’s dough is on the left and mine is on the right, just in case you are curious.
Speaking of Anne, I made her brioche rolls. They felt so indulgent served with raspberry jam and were definitely one of the simpler brioche recipes I have experimented with.
Bloggers are some of the nicest people. Jane sent me all of these thoughtful kitchen things and it was truly the loveliest surprise. A girl can never have enough wooden boards and the beautiful brush has been designated to the task of brushing flour from my bannetons. So much better than the plastic brush I used previously.
My last batch of poached quinces for the season. I am so grateful to have had my first real quince crop.
Lime pickle is not something I am familiar with but when I started to get desperate to use up my excess limes I turned to Google and found Laura and her beautiful blog. This pickle is sweet, tart and spicy all at the same time and so good served with a biscuit (cracker) and cheese. I am fairly certain that this is not the traditional way to enjoy it but I followed Laura’s lead with the cheese idea.
What are you cooking at the moment?
Linking up with Celia at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. Love your work Celia.
tea with hazel
looking good jane..those brioche rolls look divine..and i think i'm going to have to plant a quince and a lime..it makes sense to put trees in that do well in our climate of extreme temperatures..glad you like the gifts..i use my brush for cleaning the dirt off my home grown vegetables..x
Jane S
Thanks Jane, quinces and limes do make sense. Your brush would be great for vegetables too…but it seems to be happy cleaning bannetons x
Kim
I am cooking potato gnocchi today with home grown tomatoes.
Your baking looks so beautiful.
Jane S
Your cooking sounds delicious Kim, thanks for calling in!
Donna
Hi Jane – Your lime pickle – Yum!! I am partial to a pickle or chutney of some kind. I always buy one of some description when the Anglesea market is on. Never tried Lime though!
Your gift is so nice – you have some lovely online blogging friends. Your broche rolls looks so good – I should never visit your blog hungry!! Have a great weekend. : ) xx
Jane S
Thanks Donna, I hope you are having a great weekend too x
Katie and Reuben
This all looks so good. And lime pickle sounds really yum! Seeing everyone's gorgeous bread pics on blogs and social media has got me determined to start making our own regularly (we've dabbled but never done it consistently). Though I love baking, for some reason making bread has always really intimidated me, but I've decided I need to overcome that. So my bread making missions starts this weekend!
Katie xx
Jane S
Don't be intimidated by bread Katie, although it can be a bit tricky it is also very forgiving. Good luck, it is so rewarding! x
ale
Hi Jane.
Your gift is lovely and the quinces look yummy.
Ale xx
Jane S
Thanks Ale, lovely to hear from you!
Kate @ Kate Writes
Ah quinces! I am a little bit jealous Jane…they always make me think of Granny xx
Jane S
Thanks Kate. I have a hand written recipe from Granny for baked quince roly poly…I have not had much success with the recipe, the handwriting is rather scratchy! It is very special to have thought; I might have to try it again x
Melanie Y
Lordy, the lime pickles look amazing – I'd totally eat them with cheese & crackers too!
Jane S
Thanks Mel!
Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things
Jane, I love how you spend time indulging in baking… it is such a pleasurable experience, while at the same time provides sustenance for the family! Such a lovely parcel of good things from your blogger friend, Jane too! And those poached quinces. Wow!
Jane S
Thanks Lizzy, yes sometimes there is just too much sustenance! Always good to have some baking stashed in the freezer though. Thanks for calling in x
Just a Smidgen
Lime pickle! I, too, thought immediately that it would be lovely smeared on cheese and a cracker! It must be a pretty color as well? Nice to visit you in your kitchen!
Jane S
Great minds think alike! Thanks for calling in.
frogpondfarm
I couldn't agree with you more … bloggers are such nice people. I adore lime pickle, would love the recipe or the link through to Laura's blog. Wonderful pics too 🙂
Jane S
Thanks so much Julie…if you hover over the word Laura or beautiful blog it should be linked, I hope it is working. It looks like it should be from this end. Can you please let me know if you try? Thank you, have a lovely weekend!
Anne
How wonderful to have an excess of limes Jane! I love your brush – are the dark bristles hard and the light ones softer? I know a shop that sells all sorts of brushes and think I may have to pop in next time to see if they have something similar. It would certainly beat my current method of banging the bannetons. I enjoyed the photo swapping on Sunday. Funny to think that 10,000 miles apart and we're both doing the same thing. Your dough and work surface looks much tidier than mine though!
Always a joy to see what's happening in your kitchen. Anne x
Jane S
Our photos sit together rather nicely don't they? Yes, that is exactly what the bristles are…one side soft and one side harder. On my bannetons I previously used a washing up style plastic brush with hard bristles which worked well, and a bit of good old fashioned banging too! x
Elizabeth
You are so right!! I am new to the food blogging world and have just posted my first IMK. I have been overwhelmed by the friendliness and support of people and the community. I have also been inspired to bake my own bread, after seeing your post and many others this week! My hot cross buns at Easter turned out ok, so now I really have to give bread a go it look wonderful! Thanks for Sharing!
Jane S
Thanks Elizabeth, lovely to hear from you. Bread baking is very rewarding. If you can make hot cross buns I am certain you will have success with bread! Good luck.
Kylie
I always love reading and seeing whats in your kitchen….In particular your bread making. Love seeing your dough and final products- very inspiring. Im not much of a baker in the bread dept so need to keep practicing! Also sharing your love of quinces and in our dream house we will have a quince tree. Ive poached (and eaten x) what quinces I had for the season…but my parents are visiting tomorrow and bringing me more…woohoo! Gorgeous gifts from your blogging friend- it is such a lovely community.Thks for sharing xxx
Jane S
Thanks Kylie, quinces are special aren't they? Bless your parents for bringing you more!
celia
I love that you and Mrs Muddy Boot were posting matching photos on Twitter! 🙂 I must check out Anne's brioche recipe too. The banneton brush is a fabulous gift – I use a cheap paint brush and a lot of banging, but there always seems to be some residue left. And Indian lime pickle – love it – we have all of three limes this year, so I'll have to bookmark the recipe for when we have more! 🙂
Jane S
Thanks Celia. I use the 'banging' method on my bannetons too, but a stiff brush is helpful to get in between the grooves, I find. Thanks for your lovely comments and support as always x
Taryn @ The Wooden Spoons
Hi Jane. I very much agree that a girl can never have too many wooden boards 🙂 Thanks for the tour.
Jane S
Thanks for calling in Taryn!
Chantille Fleur
Everything looks so yum! I too love blogging, I've discovered many new recipes and foods through it 🙂
Happy weekend,
Sarah x
Jane S
Thanks Sarah, I can't believe how many recipes I use regularly that have come from blogs!
Alison
I have been baking bread for many years but at times I still feel like a complete novice. What is a baneton? Should I be using one? An English friend was trying to describe the baskets you and Anne are baking your bread in to me. Do they have a name? (baneton, perhaps?) Where did you find yours? I have always shaped my dough using a couple of plastic paint scrapers, but I have a feeling there is a whole world of baking paraphernalia out there for me to discover. Love the look of your lime pickle. We are enjoying our first crop here and squeezing them onto avocado toast, pancakes and anything else we can think of. Thanks for the kitchen tour. x
Jane S
Hello Alison. A banneton is basically a cane basket designed especially to support sourdough (the actual dough) as it proves. The banneton keeps the dough contained and shaped and then you gently turn the dough out just before scoring and baking. I purchased mine through the Sourdough Companion website which is linked in this blog if you click on the word banneton in the third paragraph.
There is a lot of baking paraphernalia out there and some of it is really useful I find. But, mostly I just use the basics; scrapers, a water sprayer and a sharp knife for scoring. Happy baking!
Alison
Thanks Jane. Something to consider for my sourdough, especially those freeform loaves that somehow escape across the kitchen bench. I need to experiment a bit more!
look see. by naomi fenton
Oh, I love lime pickle! I'd put it on everything if I could! I can't bake much in my oven – it's quite old and needs replacing. It burns things to a crisp on the outside while the inside is raw and mushy. However, I can sometimes not burn potatoes or chicken when I roast them in there, so that's pretty much my oven standby. Tonight I'm having roast potatoes with some pork steaks (I'm frying those – don't trust the oven with them!)
Hope you're having a lovely long weekend! xx
Jane S
Thanks Naomi, good to hear from you. I have lost you since you moved blogs…I must follow that up! Pork steaks sound delicious! x
Fiona Ryan
That pickle sounds right up my alley and the mention of having it with a biscuit and cheese set my mouth watering. Limes are a blessing but there are only so many lime ice cube you can make. Cheers Jane.
Jane S
Thanks Fiona…so true. There are only so many lime ice cubes you can make 🙂
JJ - 84thand3rd
I want brioche and quince and lime pickle for dinner and I blame you ;D
Jane S
Thanks JJ, I wish I could share 🙂
e / dig in
i am very late to the table – is any of that delicious brioche still left? or quinces? just perfect with some ic cream, i bet.
the wooden brush and board are so beautiful – just beautiful, useful tools.
enjoy your weekend, jane xx
Jane S
Thank you for your thoughtful comments as always e! I hope you are enjoying your weekend also x
Anonymous
I have just discovered you through House of Humble and I suspect I'll be a regular from here on in. Any chance of a link to Anne's brioche roll recipe??
Jane S
Thank you, Anne did not post this recipe, she emailed it to me. If you would like to send me an email address I will happily forward it to you. janesmith7706(at)hotmail(dot)com