Western Morning News (Saturday)
Time to head down Mexico way for a taste of summer SOURDOUGH TIPS FROM TOP UK EXPERT ELAINE BODDY
Martin Hesp dips into a Mexican cookbook that captures the essence of Mexican cooking
For many of us, food is as much a matter of instantaneous inspiration and sudden excitement as it is a case of pure necessity. It might simply be catching sight of a recipe in the newspaper, or a meal in a new restaurant – often food yearnings can be influenced by the kind of weather forecast we see coming up for the next few days... All of these gastronomic mood-changers and a great many more besides can inspire our choice of meals, or even go as far as to create uncontrollable longings.
So, for example, this week I was sent a wonderful new cookbook by Mexican chef Edson Diaz-Fuentes which celebrates the amazing cuisine of that hot country – a cuisine that seems to ideally suit our recent heatwaves. More about Ciudad de México: Recipes and stories from the heart of Mexico City later – because I also attended a fascinating event on Tuesday which inspired an enthusiastic surge of bread-making in the Hesp kitchen for the rest of this week.
Actually, it was an event which might in future be regarded as one of the seminal moments in the story of modern British bread-making and baking. Not only was the open day at Matthews Cotswold Flour interesting because of all the new amazing and delicious flours the historic mill is now producing, but we attendees also learned how artisanal baking (both commercially and at an amateur level) will soon be helping to inspire new forms of environmentally friendly and sustainable farming.
As I will be writing an article about that occasion and its ramifications soon, I won’t go into detail here – suffice to say that at the event I met food blogger Elaine Boddy, who wrote the successful book Whole Grain Sourdough at Home, and she kindly gave me some pointers towards creating a better loaf at home (see panel).
A mission which for me was made a little more easy because I returned from the Matthews Cotswold mills clutching five new flours launched to answer increasing demand from artisan and home bakers for great-tasting unique blends. The new stoneground range includes Ancient Cotswold Crunch, Heritage Bibury Barley, Malted Cotswold Rye, Cotswold Spelt and Rye and Wychwood Oat Blended Flour. It’s all part of the company’s wise and clever drive to make the art of artisanal bread-making a lot more varied and interesting – and the new flours join the Matthews range of over 30 different blends, which basically provide a wide choice for both amateur and professional bakers.
Bread, of course, is eaten around the world – although it does take on many different forms. In Mexico, for example, it is often consumed in the form of rolls called telera, pambazo or tortas which locals use for their much-celebrated hot or cold sandwiches.
“Often baked in panaderías (bakeries) early in the morning, their soft texture makes it easy to bite through the generous filling of a torta or a pambazo,” writes London-based Edson Diaz-Fuentes in his new book, which has been inspiring me all week. It was the recent hot spell which pointed my thoughts towards the wonderful food of Mexico, so when my contact at Hardie Grant told me about
Ciudad de México: Recipes and stories from the heart of Mexico City by Edson Diaz-Fuentes (£26, photography by Robert Billington) I immediately ordered a copy.
Okay, so the hot spell turned cooler and wetter this week, but not for a moment did I regret taking delivery of the book. Because Mexican food absolutely lends itself to summer eating here in the UK. Countless recipes call for big ripe tomatoes, fresh sweetcorn, chillies straight from the greenhouse, bags of ripe avocados, locally gown peppers and so on – all of which can either come from our own gardens, farmers’ markets, or even well stocked supermarket aisles.
The fascinating thing about books like this is that they can open a window on vast and historic cuisines which are far more delicious and interesting than anything you could glean from a visit to the majority of restaurants which represent a particular nation in this country.
Mexico is a case in point. Its regional foods and dishes are far, far more intriguing and complex than anything you could imagine had to you been restricted to the usual suspects such as tacos, tortillas and guacamoles served in this country.
Ciudad de México concentrates on just the food of Mexico City,
which isn’t a bad thing as the gargantuan capital acts as a massive gastronomic melting pot representing that hot country’s many different regions.
As the book blurb says: “In his debut cookbook, Edson Diaz-Fuentes takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of one of the most diverse cuisines in the world. Inspired by the culinary highlights of his childhood and divided into chapters by time of day, Ciudad de
México features Mexico City’s favourite dishes, such as tamales, huevos motuleños, tacos de pescado estilo baja, pambazos, and oxtail mole de olla, accompanied by an array of cocktails including margaritas de Jamaica and mezcal sours.
“With dedicated sections for marinades, rubs, salsas, breakfast and snacks and handy substitution guides, this is the seminal Mexican cookbook that captures the essence of Mexican cooking with readily available ingredients and contains everything you need to bring a touch of Mexican flavour to everyday dishes.”
Should you be travelling to London any time soon you could sample Edson’s cooking for yourself – he set up the award-winning restaurant Santo Remedio in 2015 to recreate the flavours he grew up with in Mexico. What started off as an idea in New York later became a food stall in Shoreditch before evolving into what is now a highly acclaimed establishment at London Bridge.
Because of Covid I’ve been avoiding big cities, so I have been having great fun trying out some of Edson’s recipes – such as the amazing crab tostadas in today’s recipe. And it’s fun to experiment with new cuisines, especially today when some of the more exotic ingredients are just a click away.
As one of the nation’s great new gurus in what could be described as the Sourdough Revolution, Elaine (or foodbod-sourdough as she’s known online, at: www. foodbodsourdough.com) has kindly shared a few tips with WMN readers for making the perfect loaf using Matthews Cotswold Flour...
Always use great flour: the flour you use to make sourdough and feed your starter with makes a huge difference to the outcome of your baking. My sourdough making really took off once I started feeding my starter with good strong white flour, as well as using it in my dough.
Keep your starter healthy: a happy healthy starter is the key to it all. Aim to only ever keep less than 100g as your base amount and always feed all of it, don’t portion out parts to feed, or worry about ratios.
Invest in a room thermometer: your dough’s behaviour is wholly dependant on ambient temperature, so tracking the temperature in your kitchen is an absolute key to successfully making sourdough.
Don’t let the dough be in control: there really is no need to get up at 3am to tend to your dough, don’t let it take over or steal your sleep.