Recipes from My Kitchen
Three recipes I come back to again and again. They're written the way I'd
hand them to a friend — short, honest, and trusting that you'll taste your way
through. Quantities are by weight where it matters.
Country Sourdough Boule
Prep: 30 min
Proof: ~24 h
Bake: 45 min
Makes: 1 large loaf
A patient loaf with an open crumb and a deeply caramelised crust. The cold
overnight rest is what gives it that almost-tangy finish.
Ingredients
- 500 g strong bread flour
- 100 g active sourdough starter (100% hydration)
- 350 g water (lukewarm)
- 10 g fine sea salt
Method
- Mix flour and water; rest 45 min (autolyse).
- Add starter and salt; pinch and fold until smooth.
- Bulk ferment 4–5 h with stretch-and-folds every 30 min for the first 2 h.
- Pre-shape, rest 20 min, then shape tight and place seam-up in a floured banneton.
- Cold proof in the fridge 12–18 h.
- Bake in a preheated Dutch oven at 250 °C — 20 min lid on, 25 min lid off.
- Cool fully on a rack before slicing. Listen for the crackle.
Bavarian Laugenbrezeln (Soft Pretzels)
Prep: 25 min
Rise: 1 h
Bake: 15 min
Makes: 8 pretzels
Mahogany-dark on the outside, pillowy inside. The lye dip is what makes them
proper Bavarian — handle with gloves and respect.
Ingredients
- 500 g strong flour
- 275 g cold water
- 30 g unsalted butter, soft
- 10 g fine salt
- 7 g instant yeast
- 1 L water + 40 g food-grade lye (or 60 g baking soda, simmered)
- Coarse pretzel salt for topping
Method
- Mix dough until smooth and elastic; rest 1 h.
- Divide into 8 pieces, roll each into a long rope thicker in the middle.
- Twist into pretzel shape; rest uncovered 30 min in the fridge so a skin forms.
- Dip each pretzel for 10 seconds in the lye bath (gloves!).
- Score the belly with a sharp blade, sprinkle with coarse salt.
- Bake at 220 °C for 13–15 min until deep brown. Eat warm with butter.
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cake)
Prep: 1 h
Chill: 4 h
Bake: 30 min
Serves: 12
The cake of my childhood Sundays. Three layers of dark chocolate sponge, soaked
in Kirsch, between drifts of cream and sour cherries.
Ingredients
- 6 eggs, separated
- 180 g sugar
- 120 g flour
- 40 g cocoa powder
- 60 g melted butter
- 500 g sour cherries (jarred), drained, juice reserved
- 60 ml Kirschwasser
- 700 ml whipping cream
- Dark chocolate shavings, to finish
Method
- Whip yolks with 120 g sugar to ribbon stage; whip whites with remaining sugar to stiff peaks.
- Fold whites into yolks, then sift in flour and cocoa; finish with melted butter.
- Bake in a 24 cm tin at 175 °C for 28–32 min. Cool, then slice into 3 layers.
- Reduce cherry juice with Kirsch into a syrup; brush generously onto each layer.
- Whip cream to soft peaks. Layer: sponge, cream, cherries, repeat.
- Coat the outside in cream, finish with chocolate shavings and whole cherries.
- Chill 4 h before serving — a day ahead is even better.