> Dress for success

> Killing for honour

> Man marries four women

> Perfume do's and don'ts

> There's money in Mao

> Divorced via SMS

> Cape Town's Baby Expo

> Online sex users married

> US has stream dating

> Thinking about inking?

Today, 07 November 2009

› Malema’s life in danger

› Leicester sting Bok Bs

› Eskom chair faces the axe

› Nedbank, ANCYL make up

› Hofmeyr addresses Joost

Yesterday, 06 November 2009

› ANCYL, BMF back Maroga

› Vanilla Ice, ice baby?

› Eskom boss 'slaughtered'

› I have fallen hard - Joost

› Eskom boss 'pushed'

Every now and then I have visions of a domesticated me. In this fantasy world, I'd spend my Saturday afternoon in the kitchen, flinging open oven doors left, right and centre, bringing out piles of freshly-baked biscuits, stirring pots of home-made soup, roasting vegetables like a pro, and producing the sort of gourmet five-course meal most often seen on 'Top Billing' inserts, without even breaking into a sweat. Hell, I'd even be wearing an apron.

But the truth is I'm probably the world's most indolent baker, and a cook who specialises in one-pot pasta dishes only because they're quick, easy, and don't leave much mess to clean up. So I really wasn’t the ideal candidate for a bread making course — or perhaps, on second thoughts, I was. If I could handle it, surely anyone could?

Whatever the reasons, I ended up at Tina Jewell's bread making course in Franschhoek one Saturday morning. Held at the aptly named Bread and Wine restaurant (life’s two essentials) on Môreson wine estate, Franschhoek, the half-day-long courses include very thorough tuition, recipe book and notes, wine tasting and three-course lunch.

"The skill of bread making is not a closed order; with an understanding of the basic ingredients, an inclination to try and the patience and time needed to help this living dough make its way to a finished loaf, the aroma of freshly baked bread equalled perhaps only by that first mouthful, still hot from the oven, is yours to achieve," promises Tina in her introductory notes.

Yeah?

Nevertheless, with Tina's help, we make four different kinds of breads: focaccia, French sourdough bread, Mantovana olive oil brown bread, and soda bread. I would have liked a go at our very own Cape seed loaf too, but maybe next time.

Plunging my hands into the soft dough, just a little nervous in case I’m doing something really, irretrievably wrong, I pull and squeeze and knead. Somehow I'm doing things right, with Tina or her assistants coming round now and then to help me out, finish things off, or make things just perfect.

Making bread is incredibly sensous: the warm comforting smell of the yeast rising to my nostrils, the dough seeming a living, breathing thing. I love the salty, yeasty taste of the raw dough, and can't help pulling the left-overs from my fingers. This is hands-on cooking, literally — the sort of stuff that'll sort out any lingering intimacy issues you may have with your food.

Bread making, Bread and Wine style, is sheer pampering. I feel like a celeb, just pottering about for the sake of creative expression, with all my ingredients measured out for me and placed at my table, used mixing bowls whipped out of sight for someone else to deal with. At home, of course, it's a different story — baking seems far less appealing when you have to clean up your own mess.

And yet I was sufficiently inspired to have another go at making focaccia, on Easter weekend. Quelle disaster! The dried yeast I dug out of the cupboard turned out to have expired three years ago, I'd forgotten half the ingredients for the stuffing, and badly miscalculated the length of time I'd need to make the bread. Still psyching myself up for another attempt, but I guess I'm not about to metamorphise into Nigella just yet.

But at least I've got my apron now.

Tina's focaccia recipe:

600g white bread flour
25g fresh yeast (or 15 ml dried yeast)
15g salt
400ml water
olive oil

Cream the yeast with 300ml water, add 15ml olive oil. Weigh the flour and salt and combine in a bowl. Make a well in the centre. Pour the yeasted liquid into the well. Draw the flour in, adding the remaining water as needed to make a soft, sticky dough. Knead for 15 minutes to form a smooth, pliable dough.

Leave to rise for 30 minutes.

Deflate the dough and divide as required. Chafe the pieces for five minutes, then rest for five minutes.

Shape and fill as desired. Prove for 30-40 minutes (maximum 90 minutes). Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for approximately 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Variations:
Fillings and toppings are as varied as your imagination. Blue cheese and rocket, kitchen-dried tomato and green garlic oil, feta and pesto, rosemary and sea salt, sage and sea salt.

The bread making course is held at Bread and Wine restaurant, Franschhoek, on Saturday mornings. The cost, including tuition, notes, apron, wine-tasting and lunch at the restaurant, is R350. Contact Tina on (021) 876 3692 or email breadandwine@moreson.co.za.