French onion soup and my first attempt at bread-baking!

Last week was the 200th anniversary of the battle of trafalgar. Kaya called me to say that she and historian hubby were cooking an English roast in celebration.

I liked the idea of a theme dinner, and being a poor student, was thinking more along the lines of Bangers and Mash rather than a full-blown roast.

However, I didn't get to the store (such things happen) and ended up getting very absorbed in baking my first loaf of bread. I used Nigel Slater's basic white bread recipe from his book Appetite.

Like Nelson's battle at Trafalgar, my attempt at bread-baking was an unqualified success. The loaf was just exactly what you would want it to be: crispy, soft, fragrant, warm and big. I even halved his recipe, since I am not a huge bread-eater, and figured a small loaf would be enough. I was right. So here's his recipe, halved (makes one loaf).

Nigel Slater's White Bread

4 cups of white flour (plus extra for kneading)
1 envelope of rapid-rise active dry yeast
2 tsps of salt
1 1/2 cups water

Put the flour, yeast and salt into a large mixing bowl.
Pour in almost all the water and mix to a sticky dough. Keep mixing for a minute or so, the dough will become less sticky, then add a little more flour until you have a dough that is soft and springy and slightly sticky to the touch.

Flour a large flat work surface and scoop the dough out onto it, and knead for ten minutes.

Place the ball of dough back into the bowl, cover it with a clean tea towel and let it rise until it's doubled in size, about one hour.

Then flop the dough out again, and knead for another two minutes. Bring the dough into a ball again, and put it on a floured baking sheet. Dust it heavily with flour and return it to it's warm place covered in the tea towel to rise again. Again, it should roughly double in size.

Set the oven to 500 degrees F.

Once the dough has risen (or spread) very carefully fold it back into a high ball and place it in the oven. Don't slam the door.

After 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 425 and let it bake another half-hour. When it's done, it should sound hollow when you tap it's bottom, like a drum. Let it cool completely before eating.

What do you do when you have an excellent, fresh loaf of bread sitting on the counter? You don't waste time making bangers and mash, (sausage, gravy, carrots, onions and mashed potato), you do onion soup au gratin(ish).

French onion soup, au gratin(ish)

1 tbsp butter, plus a bit of oil
1 large spanish onion (or 1 - 1 1/2 cups of diced onions)
3 cloves garlic
2 ounces brandy
1 cup stock
water to measure
Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1 tsp peppercorns, optional

Saute the chopped onions in the oil and butter in the saucepan you use for soups. Add a bit of salt while doing this to "sweat" the onions, and encourage them to give up their delicious juices.

Add the chopped garlic and saute a little more.

Once everything looks juicy and fragrant and delicious, add the cup of chicken or beef or vegetable stock, and then enough water to just cover the onions. You can also add the peppercorns at this point.

Add the brandy. Bring to a weak boil, then let simmer until the onions are very soft.

Add a fair amount of Parmesan cheese to taste. I used my reggiano, and grated it freshly, which makes an enormous difference. I think it was maybe a tablespoon into the soup, and then more at the table.

To serve, pour the soup over a hunk of good bread in a bowl, then add plenty of cheese to the top.

Enjoy it with a bit more brandy.

Chinchin!