Tracey Grgic Potter: SWEET SATURDAYS: The Art of Cooking

I can't share with you the painting I'm working this morning because I'm creating my Monthly Painters Challenge piece - which is top secret until the 15th, but I can share with you some art of a different kind, the art of cooking, that is. I finally found a bread recipe that worked! I'll share below the recipe for the soft, fluffy, crisp on the outside WHOLEMEAL bread, along with the instructions to make a delicious Lamb and Lentils slow cooked meal that's perfect for a cold day.

Wholemeal

{Deli Style Bread}

adapted from Peter Andrew Ryan's Deli Style Rye Bread

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3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 Tbsp yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp caraway seeds, plus more for sprinkling

1 1/2 Tbsp L.S.A. (optional)
6 1/2 cups Atta Wholemeal Flour
Cornmeal/Semolina for sprinkling
Cornstarch/Cornflour for cornstarch wash

{I halved all the ingredients to make the batch above}

1. Mix the yeast, salt and carawy seeds with the water in a large bowl. mix in the remaning dry ingredients without kneading. cover with a towel and allow to rest at room temperature for about 2 hours. at this point, you can prepare the dough for baking or store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

2. Dust the surface of the dough with flour and cut off 1/4 of the dough. dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball. elongate the ball into an oval-shaped loaf. allow it to rest and rise on a cornmeal covered surface (pizza peel if you’re going to transfer to a baking stone or a baking sheet if you’re baking right on the baking sheet) for 40 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 450 F with an empty broiler tray on the shelf underneath the one you plan to bake on. heat the baking stone up with the oven if you are using one.

4. Make the cornstarch wash by combining 1/2 tsp cornstartch with a small amount of water to form a paste. add 1/2 cup water, whisk and microwave for about 60 seconds. paint the top of the loaf with the cornstarch wash and then sprinkle on caraway seeds. slash with a deep parallel cuts across the loaf using a serrated bread knife.

5. Bake the loaf on a baking sheet or slide it onto the hot baking stone. bake for 30 minutes. as you put the bread in the oven to bake, pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray and quickly close the oven door. allow to cool before slicing or eating.

ENJOY!

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Slow - Cooked

{Lamb and Lentils}

adapted from Slow Cook by Sara Burford

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4 Lamb Shanks OR Lamb Mini Roast Cut into 2cm rounds
3 Carrots, finely chopped
2 Celery Sticks, finely chopped
1 cup Brown Lentils
1/2 cup red wine OR water/beef stock
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tsp Mixed Herbs
Sprinkle of chilli powder (can omit or adjust to taste)
Salt and Pepper to taste

To serve:
Sour Cream
Green and White Trees (steamed)
Oven Baked Roast Potatoes

{boiled with skin on, peeled, chopped

and baked with olive oil and rosemary in oven until browned}

1. Cook on Low temperature in slow cooker.
2. Put all ingredients in slow cooker and mix.
3. Cover and cook for 9-10 hrs,

stirring halfway through (preferred, but not essential).
4. Season to taste.
5. Serve with sour cream, trees and potatoes

(you can add them to the slow cooker during the last 30mins

of cooking if you like- not essential though).

ENJOY!

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If you missed it, here's what I've been up to in in the studio this week.