In My Kitchen, I am surrounded by things starting with the letter ‘B’. No, this is not an episode of Playschool or an eye spy game, although there have been a few bambini hanging out in my kitchen lately. It all happened by chance I promise you. And thanks to Celia, host of this monthly event and bread making enthusiast, I seem to have caught her bread making bug.
The ceiling is beamed, the floor is brick, and there’s a Breville on the bench. Big bowls are often left standing on the bench, waiting for some more bread dough, while my starter, who lives in the fridge, (who is affectionately known as Celia), begs to be fed. The ‘Feed Me’ instructions are left on the fridge door.
Bread dough. I’m slowly learning about very wet doughs and hydration. This one looks too wet, but still made a reasonable loaf of bread. Thanks to Celia’s bead making tutorials, help is close at hand.
Big Bucket. This empty plastic bucket turned up at the Whittlesea Monday market last week. I should have bought more: at $2.00 a piece, they are a steal. Large enough to store all the odd flours. The baker’s white flour has its own big bin.
Boys Art on the fridge. This arty stage doesn’t last long, so must be embraced. Hiding their iPad helps! Blink, and they’ve turned into teenagers.
Books, old and new. The four oldies were found in a second-hand store and I once owned three of them. Talk about deja vu. For under $10.00 for four, it cost the same price as a new magazine! Now I am re-visiting my cooking past.
Three new books:
Book 1, Local breads by Daniel Leader, purchased via the excellent book buying search engine, http://booko.com.au, which sorts books for sale throughout the world, listed by lowest price first, delivered.
Book 2, The Handmade Loaf by Dan Lepard, bought from the Book Grocer, in Brunswick, a shop too hard to pass by.
And book 3, yet another Ottolenghi cookbook bought cheaply at Big W.
Biscuits. School holidays means baking biscuits with the bambine and the little blokes. The girls made these last week and the simple recipe is here.
The brandy was bought duty-free. Purely for medicinal purposes. It invariably ends up in all sorts of cakes and custards and so lives in the kitchen, unlike its other friends who have their own hiding place.
All the ‘B’ veggies arrive in Spring. Some pickings here include beetroot, broad beans, brocolli and borage. If I include them by their Italian names, the biete ( silver beet) and the barbabietola ( rhubarb) are in abundance too.
ALMOST ITALIAN 
So fun, Francesca! I love your ‘B’ theme! It is wonderful that some of your lost possessions are returning to you, bit by bit. The Verdura book looks very interesting, as does everything in your kitchen! Gosh, I must get to work on IMK for this month… am so slow at the moment.
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Thanks Ardys, the B theme should perhaps stand for brain damaged- which my brain seems to be at present! Typos, dropping and breaking things, sneeezing with the pollen, you name it!
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The vegetables look fabulous and I love the look of your chocolate biscuit baking. Great that you’re making your own bread and Celia is certainly helpful with her tutorials xx
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She is an inspiration.
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Beautiful!
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Lovely and imaginative post!
Thanks Francesca
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Thanks Ale.
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Biscuits, Brandy and Books… I wanna come party in your kitchen!
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Please come, I am sure we could find some more ‘B’ things to consume- Blood orange juice ( with vodka), Bellini come to mind.
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Bella “Bs” Francesca! I love your bargain book buys, buried bounty!
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Bound to be bedtime reading.
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More B’s… Bountiful! Beautiful! I read Celia’s IMK post earlier, and am now for 2 for… book adds that is, for my cook book shelf. Of your selection, the Big W Ottolenghi. Due to your inspiration I’ve been looking for but not yet found vintage-retro tea towels, and now I’ll add biscuit tins and big buckets to that also 🙂
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Op shops are a great source of vintage teatowels and tins. I found some beauties on my recent SA trip. Lovely old linens with daggy ads for towns from the 1970s, spotless and, of course, ironed. Oppy hunts break up long drives. Time to make some banana bread. F x
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We have a couple of short trips coming up, and that’s what I’ll be doing 🙂
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Great theme Francesca
-Bernice 🙂
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Thanks Bernice. I always need a theme to see through the chaos.
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Beeeeeauty!
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G’day! Can I come to your kitchen Francesa? Really enjoyed this month’s kitchen view! Thank you!
Cheers! Joanne
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Yes, any time Joanne.
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Bloomin’ brilliant B’s! 🙂
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Thanks Sue.
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Bella, buona, mia sorella
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Un bacio, mio fratello.
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Everything is lovely but I am in love with your bowls. My gran had bowls exactly like that and I haven’t seen one for years. I remember baking with her and mixing up dough in her bowl.
Have a wonderful day.
🙂 Mandy xo
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Hi Mandy. The bowls are old ones found at second hand shops and I love them too. I think they remind me of my Nanny which is probably why I like baking. Fxx
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I love all the Bs. The boy’s art if fab. You are right, it only lasts in the blink of an eye. What’s the Verdura book like? Looks interesting.
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The Verdura book is a beauty. Published in 1991, it has a modern approach to Italain vergetable cooking. Another book for inspiration rather than recipes.
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Butting in here… I also have Verdura and love using it for ideas and inspiration, definitely worth a look.
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Brilliant!! Love the theme! How wonderful that those books turned up for you – karma if ever there was any. Love the bowls and all the bread making – wonderful IMK post!!
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I have enormous luck with things turning up like that- karma for sure. So many things have been found. Thanks Selma.
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Yummy things in your kitchen Francesca including those beautiful veggies & also the chocolate biscuits. And I’m having covetous thoughts about those bread-baking books.
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The books are great but as yet, I haven’t baked from them Next week hopefully. Thanks for dropping in Andrea.
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I love your big bowls and bread Francesca! Your kitchen looks full of warmth and love. Thank you for the tour!
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Thanks Jane- it is a busy place, definately the heart of the home.
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Bread bread bread I love making bread but no one eats it here. You will never find a more enthussiastic bread teacher than Celia , hands down. Such beautiful vegetables and who can ever go paste a book with cooking in it?
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Since making real sourdough, I can now eat bread. I was having trouble before- not becasue I am wheat intolerant but I couldn’t digest it. The good loaves cost more than $7.00. I can make them for $1.00- and they last for 3 days. Yes, Celia is a national treasure!
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Hi Fracesca. I still haven’t got to Big W. I hope Ottolenghi’s books are still cheap. That’s storage bucket was a bargain. I keep all my flours in similar buckets. Your slice looks fab as does the artwork it’s a nice stage.
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Those tubs are great for flour but I am having trouble getting into the pantry!!!
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love your mixing bowl. it looks like a real Mason & Cash one unlike the newer ones which are made in thailand or somewhere like that. I do have a lovely one but it is Asian made. gotta get me one of those Ottolenghi books.
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They are lovely old bowls and make me want to bake. The Ottolenghi books are good, but patchy I would say.
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I am yet to try my own sourdough starter… But it is on my list! I love that you include all the wonderful produce you grow… I think it makes all the difference when you grow your own food! Thanks for sharing! Liz x
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My life has changed since I started making bread, I enjoy eating it , which I didn’t before. The produce is the basis of most meals at home. I can eat well for 50c often, then splurge a bit on holidays. Thanks for dropping in Elizabeth.
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Hi Francesca I went to Big W today and bought two Ottolenghi books. Now I have 3 🙂 Thanks for the heads up.
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Love the B theme in your kitchen this month. Mum used to have that beige bowl and I always admired it, my sister has it now. Enjoy the kiddies and their cute drawings… they grow so fast. Home-made bread is such a treat and love how you call your sourdough starter Celia 🙂
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The bowls are old and good, and make me feel like baking. Celia is well behaved and does what she is told. Very reliable starter. Thanks Moya.
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Love the theme this month! And I shall look out for The Handmade Loaf as I need a new bread book 🙂
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It seems to be popular with the Sourdough Makers around the world.
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All new bread books are inspirational.
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It all looks wonderful. Love the breads and bread cookbook. I also have a bit of boys’ artwork on the fridge as well, they keep putting more up all the time.
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Isn’t children’s art amazing? Thanks for popping into my kitchen this month.
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Lovely collection of Bs! That big bucket looks perfect for bulk proving large doughs in, and you’ve got some fabulous books this month – love the Maddhur Jaffrey one, and the Handmade Loaf is a treasure, both for the stories and the bread inspiration. If you’re using any of Dan’s sourdough recipes, you’ll need to change the change the hydration of your starter a bit, as he uses quite a dry one. I do this by taking a bit of our regular starter and feeding it up at a ratio of 80g water to 100g flour (it usually takes a couple of feeds). That gets the starter close enough for most of the recipes in the book.
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Thanks for the tip Celia. Haven’t started on that book yet as the little blokes are keeping me busy. But I did make Craig’s loaf the other day and it is superb. It is hard to move away from it, and uses your 100% starter. If you don’t have his recipe for his Finn loaf, I could send it. ( tell the boys it is impossible to taste or sense any wholemeal at all).
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my mind is really at the thought of an 8kg bucket of haloumi. oh dear wow!
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Hahhahaha. It’s a sickening thought! I’m sure it was a caterer’s pack. You know if you eat at the Lebanese places in Brunswick, they get throygh a ton of the stuff in those yummy pies.
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Beeeautiful!
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I love your bowls (or should I say I covet your bowls). Beautiful. Some fantastic book finds there as well. Sourdough baking is so satisfying isn’t it? Well worth the wait.
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Thanks Tania, yes, I have sourough all around the place at present, sticky bowls to wash, sourdoughs rising, crazy stuff but satisying indeed.
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Hi Fran, love your bowls, I have the fake ones in blue ; ) I sued to have a Herrman the German cake starter that I lovingly fed, talked to and stirred for weeks and he/she bubbled away merrily, until I went to Bali and hubby forgot it was there and it dried up like a sponge 😦 Anyway, maybe bread will be my next project? And your brandy is perfect for the upcoming Christmas baking period.
Nice beek into your kitchen.
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Oh No, Naughty Hubby not feeding Herman the German. I hope he was punished severely.
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