against the grain

Korean fermentation meets healthy baking in an inspiring book

‘My love of bread, in particular the satisfying acidity of sour dough, was born of my passion for kim chi–the ubiquitous Korean fermented vegetable dish.’ So writes Jordan bourke in his new book, Healthy Baking (orion, £20). That a spicy Korean staple should inspire a passion for a traditional loaf is odd, especially when you consider that bourke is an Irish chef who trained at ballymaloe Cookery School and is now based in london, where he cooks, writes and styles food for a living. but he also happens to bea master of Korean cuisine–in 2013 he was crowned best Korean chef in the UK, and hot on the heels of that the Korean foreign ministry granted him an honorary ambassadorship to promote the east-asian cuisine in europe. Simply, bourke found himself ‘besotted’ not only witha girl from Korea but‘ the food and culture of a nation so far away’ from his own.

Together, bourke and his now-wife rejina Pyo, a fashion designer, shared their adored spiced pick les, sesame glass noodles and soy-marinated beef dishes in the award-winning book Our

Korean Kitchen (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £25). It was big, as Korean meals are, on fermentation. Cue a new book with a Western angle that draws on bourke’s other passion – cooking with bubbling ferments, ancient grains and lots of vegetables – but doesn’t hit you over the head with ‘clean eating’ dictates (wheat, he says, ‘is not t he devil’). There are sour dough recipes galore, cakes enriched with parsnip, and tarts made with wholegrain spelt flour. His storecupboard ideas provide year-round flavour bombs, including a salsa verde containing – you guessed it – kimchi.