Sourdough pitta bread

Two pitta breads with charred bits, slightly puffed up, on a plate

Now that summer is officially under way and it (sometimes) gets hot, I tend to avoid turning the oven on, as our flat gets very hot and we don’t need any extra heat. It’s time for salads, gazpachos and things that can be eaten cold(ish).

However… sometimes the pull of making something with flour is still strong. And that’s when I reach for these very easy to make pitta breads, which are dry-fried in a pan rather than baked in the oven.

It will still be hot in the kitchen for a bit, but then you’re done and ready to eat your little freshly baked wonders. And it’s so exciting to see them puff up! One of my favourite parts.

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A serendipitous find in Hampstead Road

A plate with frijoles on rice, with coriander, soured cream and totopos

Some years ago we were on a bus to Muswell Hill, and we saw the sign for a big-looking shop called “Rupashi Bangla Cash and Carry”, which got me very excited.

It was the year that I had got the “Fresh India” book from Meera Sodha and I was very happy to be learning about Indian food.

I was also on the lookout for supplies, because oftentimes they were whimsically, inexplicably, unavailable from supermarkets. So the sight of a big shop that could sell a huge variety of these things under the same roof and in big portions was MEGA thrilling to me. Thus we said we’d visit some time—after all, it is a short walk from our place.

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KILN

Cornish greens, cucumber & beef curry, brown jasmine rice

We went to KILN last week, but we’ve spent the whole week holidaying and touristing in our staycation and so I haven’t had a lot of time to write things up!

We LOVE going to KILN! đŸ˜đŸ”„

The food is great: aromatic, well seasoned, hot and spicy and it pairs so well with their beer selection. Plus they have a record player out of which they tend to play dub music which we really enjoy as well.

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Za’atar bread

Za'atar bread loaf, sliced

We bought a really big pack of Za’atar a couple of weeks ago, and the first thought I had (apart from cooking more cauliflower fritters) was that it would somehow make its way into bread.

First we made some sourdough manakish: a sort of flatbread topped with a paste made of za’atar and olive oil. That was very good!

Then I had an idea: what about making a hybrid between manakish and a ‘classic’ loaf?

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