JUNE 2016 – SPARKLING THEME
BREAD
1. Baton
The perfect vessel to scoop up the soft cheese! Our batons are made using an overnight poolish. This is where a very small amount of yeast is added to one third of the total flour and water. It is then left in the fridge to ferment overnight. In the morning it is then mixed with the remaining flour, water and salt and fermented some more. This very long process is what gives it its chewy texture and a high water content gives it the light, holey texture
2. Giol Prosecco Frizzante / Gorgonzola / Sharrow Sourdough / roasted peaches
Our sourdoughs are made with just three ingredients: flour, water and salt. Making bread this way is very traditional. We ferment flour and water together and this leavens the bread instead of using fresh or dried yeast. The bread is made over three days as this method generally needs much longer to prove than yeasted breads. The long fermentation gives it a chewy, holey structure and slightly sour taste. Sourdough breads also have natural keeping qualities because they are slightly acidic (which prohibits mould growth). We think that the slight tang complements the strength of the cheese.
3. Primvs Cava / Baron Bigod / Walnut bread / Truffle honey
This is the same dough as the Sharrow Sourdough that you just had except with LOTS of toasted walnuts added. We toast all the nuts and seeds used within our breads as this releases their natural oils and brings out their flavour. You will notice that the bread is slightly purple this is a chemical reaction between an enzyme in the walnut skin and the acidity in the sourdough starter. The nutty, savoury flavour of this bread should match beautifully with the rich truffle and mushroomy cheese.
4. Lambrusco / Winchester biscuit / Grapes or chutney
We have made a savoury Winchester biscuit. They are slightly spicy from cayenne and mustard. The crumbly texture should work really well against the dryness of the Lambrusco.
5. Innocent Bystander Moscato / Sweetened curd cheese / Scone and strawberries
We have opted for a plain scone so that the curd and berries can shine. We use organic, uncultured buttermilk that is bottled for us by Acorn Dairies in North Yorkshire. Scones rise because of a chemical reaction between the acidity of the buttermilk and the bicarbonate of soda mixed in with the flour. This reaction happens as soon as they touch so need to go straight into the oven to ensure a light, fluffy texture.
CHEESE
Brillat de Savarin
A French, cows’ milk soft cheese
Rouzaire’s Brillat Savarin is lusciously creamy and sinfully rich. The classic and original triple-cream cheese. Unpasteurised.
Gorgonzola Dolce
Young, voluptuous, creamy and rich. Not to be confused with the stronger and harder gorgonzola piccante. Sublime when drizzled with honey. Italian pasteurised cows’ milk cheese.
Baron Bigod
Baron Bigod is Britain’s first unpasteurised Brie to be made on the farm in traditional large (3 kg) form and ladled only by hand. Jonathan and Dulcie Crickmore have been dairy farmers all their lives at Fen Farm Dairy in Suffolk. Falling milk prices prompted them to diversify into cheese making. Seeing a gap in the market for a large (3 kg) unpasteurised Brie (similar to Brie de Meaux) they started to develop Baron Bigod. This involved purchasing a herd of French cows (Montbeliarde) to provide the rich milk needed to complement their newly acquired cheese-making skills. Unpasteurised cows’ milk,
Old Winchester
Needing an outlet for their milk, Mike and Judie developed Old Winchester. This Gouda-style cheese aged for 18 months; caramelised, smoky and with crystalline crunches. Made by Mike and Judie Smales in Landford, Wiltshire, England. Pasteurised cows’ milk using vegetarian rennet.
Curd cheese
This curd is from Cow Close Farm where Stanage Millstone is made. Curd is made by adding a small amount of starter culture, which causes the milk to sour and curdle and rennet, which helps to solidify the curds and make sure they are not too acidic. Rennet also helps the flavour and texture of the curd. Rennet is a natural product produced in the stomach of animals, but vegetarian rennets are also used as well as traditional coagulants made from plants such as thistle which have been used for thousands of years. Curd cheese is the freshest, youngest cheese and is simply curds with a small amount of salt added.
WINE
Vevue D’Argent (France)
Giol Frizzante Prosecco (Italy)
Primvs Cava (Spain)
Lambrusco (Italy)
Innocent Bystander Moscato (Australia)
