Each month we show you how to waste less, make ingredients work harder and last longer
recipes AILSA BURT photographs KIM LIGHTBODY
Flour power
Make sure you get the most out of your grains with our handy tips.
● Flour should be stored in a cool, dry place.
● Wholegrain and seeded flours can be kept in the freezer as they have a shorter shelf life than white flours. They can be used straight from frozen, no need to defrost.
● Decant and store flour in airtight containers to prevent pests such as weevils.
● If you’re out of self-raising flour, you can create your own simply by combining 1 tsp baking powder with 100g plain flour. You can scale this up or down as needed.
● Bread flours have a higher protein content than plain flour, which is needed to give bread its structure, shape and a good rise.
● Plain flour has a lower protein content, which makes it ideal for pastry and cakes.
● If swapping out white bread flour for wholemeal bread flour, bear in mind you may need to increase water ratios slightly, as wholemeal flours can absorb more water.
● If you’re making ‘raw’ cookie dough, you must toast the flour first as it should not be consumed raw.
● Toasting flour before using it to make a béchamel or a roux-based sauce will enhance the flavour, giving your sauce greater depth.
● For a more tender-crumbed single-layer cake, use some ‘00’ flour. You can substitute up to half the amount of flour required with ‘00’. However, we wouldn’t recommend this for taller, layered cakes as being too tender will mean the sponge doesn’t have the structure to support the layers.
Pear & yogurt spelt cake
Spelt flour is rich in fibre and works well in bakes, giving a nuttiness and subtle sweetness. This recipe is excellent served warm after a Sunday roast.
SERVES 10-12 PREP 15 mins COOK 55 mins EASY V
125ml sunflower oil, plus extra
for the tin
3 pears
200g Greek-style yogurt,
plus extra to serve
3 eggs
175g golden caster sugar
275g light or dark spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp honey, plus extra to serve
(optional)
1Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Oil a round 20cm cake tin and line the base with baking parchment. Peel the pears, reserving the peel, then cut in half lengthways, trim the tops and, using a teaspoon, scoop out the core. Put the peel in a food processor, blitz until finely chopped, then tip into a jug. Mix in the yogurt, eggs, oil and a pinch of salt, then set aside.
2In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, baking powder and cinnam
