Tuesday, 10 February 2015

Crusty White Bread

A fantastic soft white loaf with a tasty crust. This also works well using whey from cheese making. You could also use the same recipe to make crusty rolls.

Crusty White Bread
Farmhouse Crusty White loaf recipe
Nothing tastes better than fresh home baked bread, served warm with a generous amount of butter, or as an accompaniment to a stew, soup or casserole . Many of our friends have been asking for the recipe for the crusty white loaf that we make here at Wrickton Hall.

Ingredients
2 cups lukewarm water or whey
1 sachet dry yeast (7g)
1 tablespoon sugar
5 cups strong white bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Instructions
Add 2 cups of lukewarm water into a large bowl and mix in the yeast and sugar. Leave to stand for 15 minutes until a froth forms on top of the mixture. Add 3 cups of the flour, salt and oil to your bowl and beat until you have a wet dough (approx. 5 mins). Stir the last 2 cups of flour into the mixture, then empty onto a floured surface.
 
Knead the dough for 5 minutes, pushing the dough away from you with the heel of your hand, then folding it over. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Kneed the dough for another 5 minutes and place in a bowl with a little vegetable oil. Roll the dough in the oil until it is covered, then cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or cling film. Leave to stand in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size.
 
Once the dough has risen, knock the air out of the dough, and on a floured surface, split the dough into two. Shape the bread into two long rolls and place on a greased baking tray. Cut about five slashes across the top with a sharp knife, and cover again to allow it to rise (approx. 30 mins).
 
Heat the oven to 180 C (Fan) and cook the bread for 30 minutes. Sprinkling some water over the bread halfway through helps make the bread even crustier.
Crusty White loaf
The wet dough mixture

Thursday, 6 March 2014

The Burwarton Show 2014 | Burwarton Agricultural Show

The Burwarton Show Returns Thursday 7th August 2014

Voted the "Best one day agricultural show" by readers of the Farmers Guardian 2012.

An event not to be missed, the 2014 Burwarton Show is being planned for Thursday 7th August. Dating back over 110 years, the Burwarton Show will be held at the Cleobury North Showground, and have many exhibitors, events and entertainment throughout the day.


The Burwarton Agricultural Show 2014
What Will You See At The Burwarton Show 2014.

  • Cossack trick Riding and Wild West Show
  • Falconry Display
  • Sheep Shearing Competition
  • Heavy Horse, Cattle, Sheep, Pig, goat and Horse & Pony classes.
  • Vintage Tractors and machinery

For further information on the Burwarton Show, please contact the Show Office 01746 787535

Home from home dog boarding for Cleobury North, Bridgnorth, Burwarton, Ludlow, Bewdley & Kidderminster is available.

Thursday, 27 February 2014

New Arrivals At Wrickton Hall | Keeping Chickens

Snowy, our White Leghorn
Wrickton Hall already has 6 hens to keep our family in eggs, 5 brown hybrid layers, and 1 White Leghorn. They produce enough eggs for our own consumption, and also our neighbours. One of our plans is to breed chickens to earn more from our smallholding and save some money in the process.

To enable this we will need to breed our own Warren hens to replace our girls once they stop laying. We are also intending to breed a variety of rare breed chickens that we will be able to sell to other chicken keepers, as well as a few birds raised for the table.

This weekend we bought the first of many new chickens and our first cockerel. Our new stock includes:

  • 1 Rhode Island Red cockerel
  • 5 Light Sussex hens
  • 1 Black Rock hen (We couldn't resist her)
  • 1 Speckledy hen
Below are a few pictures of our new chickens settling in.

Black Rock hen & Rhode Island Red Cockerel



Light Sussex, Speckledy & Black Rock hens.



Light Sussex hen
 
 

Light Sussex hen



Rhode Island Red Cockerel



Rhode Island Red Cockerel

Rhode Island Red Cockerel

Rhode Island Red Cockerel

Rhode Island Red Cockerel
 
Speckledy hen (Light Sussex hen background)

Rhode Island Red Cockerel



Speckledy hen




Wednesday, 26 February 2014

Ludlow Dog Day 2014

Ludlow Dog Day 2014, Stokesay Court, Ludlow
Ludlow will be holding it's first annual dog day at Stokesay Court on Sunday 20th July 2014. For more information visit http://www.homeboardingkennels.co.uk/ludlow-dog-day/ .