0:00:01 > 0:00:05This is the show where we bring together some of the nations top TV chefs and letter by letter
0:00:05 > 0:00:07serve up some of their greatest ever dishes.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11It's as easy as A, B, C, on the A To Z Of TV cooking.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16Today we're looking at things linked by the letter B.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34Let's start with one of life's basics.
0:00:34 > 0:00:39And here's Michel Roux with his B, he's baking bread.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43First, put the milk on to a gentle heat.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45Then, slowly melt some butter.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49Before adding a tablespoon full of golden syrup.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52The golden syrup is in there to give just a touch of sweetness
0:00:52 > 0:00:56but also it helps to give that lovely moist crumb.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59So whilst this is melting...
0:01:02 > 0:01:05..we put our fresh yeast in our bowl.
0:01:07 > 0:01:12Every bread needs some form of leavening and this yeast is the leaven.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14It's the life.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18Pour the warm milk on to the yeast and stir until it's dissolved.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21We buy more white bread in Britain than any other variety.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24I want to prove to you that it is possible to make a really
0:01:24 > 0:01:28delicious white loaf, that's why I'm using white flour.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32Then, add two pinches of salt to complete the dough.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34Then we're going to leave it for a while
0:01:34 > 0:01:38so that all the moisture is absorbed in the flour.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40And that's it.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43After just five minutes resting in a warm place, you can
0:01:43 > 0:01:46start to knead the dough.
0:01:46 > 0:01:47I'm just keeping it in the bowl
0:01:47 > 0:01:50and I'm not really working very hard, I'm just stretching.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52Stretching the gluten in there.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56And if it does stick to your hands a bit you can just get a little
0:01:56 > 0:02:01bit of flour and rub that on your fingers and your fingers come clean.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07There are no shortcuts to making a great loaf of bread.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10So after the dough has been kneaded for around ten minutes,
0:02:10 > 0:02:14leave it to rise for half an hour, to give the yeast time to do it's work.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25And again, as soon as you take the clingfilm off you can smell
0:02:25 > 0:02:26those yeasts working.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29It has a lovely aroma, beautiful aroma and it's smooth,
0:02:29 > 0:02:30it's glistening.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32Quite beautiful.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34So I then turn this out on to the board.
0:02:35 > 0:02:40I remember these smells, these aromas as a child.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42Of waking up to freshly baked bread.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45I want every house in Britain to be baking.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47Or at least supporting your local baker.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Form the dough in to two balls, place them in a baking tin
0:02:52 > 0:02:55and allow to rise for a 2nd time.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58A bread that's only risen once and has been pushed through
0:02:58 > 0:03:02the whole process is bland and it hasn't had a life.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07A further 30 minutes in a warm place is all it should need.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12Wow, that looks beautiful.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14It's got that lovely shape, beautiful sheen
0:03:14 > 0:03:16and it's ready to go in the oven.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20First off, we need to slash the bread.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25So we take a very sharp knife and just go over there like that.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30And that will help the bread develop and open up. And in to the oven.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38Now the oven is at 200 degrees C and we do that for about ten minutes.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41And that helps to really push and make the bread develop
0:03:41 > 0:03:43and then we turn it down to about 180.
0:03:43 > 0:03:48And it should take 30 minutes to cook. 30 minutes to wait for heaven.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58Here we go. Looks beautiful and the smell is great.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03This is what I love about cooking bread.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05You never know exactly how a loaf will turn out.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13This is beautiful and it's white bread
0:04:13 > 0:04:16but it actually has got a crust so it's crunchy on the outside.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20And it's got that lovely delicate texture on the inside.
0:04:20 > 0:04:21It's got the perfect crumb
0:04:21 > 0:04:24and you can smell all the ingredients in there.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27That golden syrup gives it just a hint of sweetness
0:04:27 > 0:04:33but it's also helping the yeast to grow and to give that lovely texture.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38Good bread needs butter.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49Mmm. So simple to make.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52But the pleasure you get out of that is indescribable.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59Next up, a breakfast time B, courtesy of Sophie Dahl.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02This is her bright and beautiful bruschetta.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05So having had the most perfect breakfast on my selfish day,
0:05:05 > 0:05:07I've been thinking about lunch.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10In fact I haven't been able to stop thinking about lunch.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13So, I'm going to make a really simple feast of the most
0:05:13 > 0:05:15beautiful ingredients.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17A yellow and green bruschetta.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23Got some fennel here and unless you're an expert chopper,
0:05:23 > 0:05:27peeling is a brilliant way to go.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30Our lovely yellow courgette.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Predominantly chosen for it's colour
0:05:33 > 0:05:35but they have a really subtle flavour and
0:05:35 > 0:05:39when you put the dressing on it it really sort of wears it like a coat.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42And fennel is the sort of opposite of that.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44It's the kind of bold, fearless cousin.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49Sort of sharp and liquorice and crunchy,
0:05:49 > 0:05:51so they work really well together.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56Add some orange to it.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01And little fennel tops, little aniseedy fronds.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Mint, you can just roughly tear it in.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12When I was little I loved going to the bakery
0:06:12 > 0:06:15and sort of picking things out.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17I was very keen on doughnuts.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20So that would be my earliest memory of the experience of eating
0:06:20 > 0:06:23on my own and sort of picking something out on my own.
0:06:23 > 0:06:28And I recently met a child who was a far more sophisticated
0:06:28 > 0:06:31version of my kind of gluttonous eight-year-old self.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34I was doing a book signing at a shop in London.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37I said what are you doing here? Are you here with your mum or your dad?
0:06:37 > 0:06:44And he said, "No, I come here every Saturday morning to buy sushi." He came on his own.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48He'd sit on the steps of the shop and eat it on his own.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50And he was called Bertram.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52And I so wanted to be his friend
0:06:52 > 0:06:54and then he sort of disappeared off in to the ether
0:06:54 > 0:06:57and I will for ever wonder here he is and what he's doing
0:06:57 > 0:07:00because he's a boy after my own heart.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03So I'd like to dedicate my lunch to Bertram, actually.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11So, we've got the first stage done. Happy, fragrant little salad.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15We've got a really lovely sourdough.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19It's a good hearty loaf.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25Take a clove of garlic and rub the surface of the bread with it.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28It gets sealed in by the heat,
0:07:28 > 0:07:32without it sort of whooshing up in your face when you take a bight.
0:07:34 > 0:07:39My favourite bit, the cheese. It's a lovely, alabaster ball.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41Buffalo mozzarella.
0:07:41 > 0:07:47It's really soft, a bit like kind of, the wobbly bit on someone's arm.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56There's something about ripping a great,
0:07:56 > 0:08:00soft hunk of it off that is deeply, deeply satisfying.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04Our lovely yellow ribbons.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11The fennel, orange, mint and frond.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14And as I'm here on my own I can totally indulge.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19Having a little sort of artistic frond arrangement on my plate.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21No-one's here to mock me.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26So there is my ultimate selfish lunch.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Totally thrilled I don't have to share it
0:08:29 > 0:08:32because I'm not very good at sharing to begin with.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36Particularly not good at sharing when faced with that.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Now, pudding time and we're looking at B for blackberries,
0:08:44 > 0:08:46with those Hairy Bikers.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51You didn't pick those blackberries off a bush near here, did you?
0:08:51 > 0:08:53I was just thinking, you see these blackberries?
0:08:53 > 0:08:56If you found a blackberry bush close by where you live
0:08:56 > 0:09:00- and you found those on them, you'd kill for it, wouldn't you?- Oh, aye.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04But that's what we just found this morning when we were out foraging.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06Yeah.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10- Down the fruit wholesalers.- Well, you can't win them all, can you?
0:09:10 > 0:09:12- We're busy, you know!- Right. - Cooking stuff for you.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19You start with the usual thing when making sponges.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Blend together 150g of butter
0:09:21 > 0:09:24and 150g of golden caster sugar.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29To this, we add the zest of a lemon.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33Now, if the butter's hard,
0:09:33 > 0:09:36just knock it about the bowl a bit with a wooden spoon
0:09:36 > 0:09:39and once it's softened slightly take it over to the electric mixer
0:09:39 > 0:09:42and blitz it there.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46Meanwhile, I need three eggs in a bowl, lightly whipped.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52The first mention of any sort of sponge was a sponge cake,
0:09:52 > 0:09:56referred to in a letter written by Jane Austen in 1808.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Sponge pudding, which is steamed,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04arrived at the end of the 19th century.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12They're both made with the same basic ingredients of
0:10:12 > 0:10:15eggs and flour, which allows the mixture to rise.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20And, do you know, it was like a seminal moment
0:10:20 > 0:10:23in the world of baking and pudding making, when people first
0:10:23 > 0:10:28decided and realised that eggs could be used as a raising agent.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30First off, whisking half the eggs.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35Then, whisking half the flour.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38Then, the other half of your eggs.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40And by adding it bit by bit,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43you kind of ensure that it's not going to split.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45That means, kind of go all curdley.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53Now for the Bramley apples.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Skin them, core them and cut them in to cubes about 2cm.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02These are nice, big, appley chunks that just sit in the duvet of sponge.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10Meanwhile, I'll prepare the pudding basin.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14Butter a basin, put a disc of greaseproof paper in the bottom.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17That sits there and it stops a seal being formed between the pudding and
0:11:17 > 0:11:22the basin. That will enable you to get your pudding out without it sticking.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26There's nothing worse after all the cooking, all the baking,
0:11:26 > 0:11:27all the foraging,
0:11:27 > 0:11:30getting your pudding stuck and it comes out looking like a...well, a cobbler.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34And you put these in to there.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39When the sponge cooks, there's going to be quite a lot of liquid
0:11:39 > 0:11:40comes out of the bramleys.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47Blackberries are our classic foraged ingredient.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Now this is the lovely, Hairy Biker, tricksy, twisty bit.
0:11:51 > 0:11:56Just put a little kind of phalanx of blackberries
0:11:56 > 0:11:58on the bottom of the bowl.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02Now, obviously when we pop the pudding out they're going to
0:12:02 > 0:12:05be like proud little soldiers standing on the top.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09There you are, look. Nicely packed in the bottom.
0:12:09 > 0:12:14We reserve this to make a sauce for the top. That goes in.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16But blackberries are interesting.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19- There's over 2,000 varieties of blackberry.- Is there?
0:12:19 > 0:12:23- And it's said that the blackberry leaves purify your blood.- Ohhh.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26Every year we used to go out blackberrying with my mother
0:12:26 > 0:12:29and she'd make blackberry and apple pies.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Bramble jelly was always a favourite. That was lovely.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34It was just like a thin, thin jam.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37But the thing about foraging is, it is seasonal.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41It's wonderful and you can actually define the seasons by what you're eating.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44Because we've got big hunks of apple in it, what we're going to do
0:12:44 > 0:12:48is we're just going to tamper the mixture down a little bit.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50There we are, brill.
0:12:50 > 0:12:55The mixture will expand, so take some greaseproof, put a pleat on.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57Then wrap it over the pudding bowl.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00Put the foil on next then.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06Then do the same thing with a layer of pleated foil to seal it up.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09The pleat will allow that paper and foil to expand,
0:13:09 > 0:13:14- so it's not just going to simply split and pop off.- Tricky bit this.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16Tie the foil in place with some string,
0:13:16 > 0:13:20- leaving a bit left over to make a handle.- Lovely.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25That gives us a nice little handle to drop our pudding in to the pan.
0:13:25 > 0:13:31Now, you notice in the pan we've put an upturned flan ring.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33That's like a trivet to rest the pudding on.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36You can use an upturned saucer, it's just
0:13:36 > 0:13:39so that this bottom doesn't rest on the bottom of the pan and catch.
0:13:39 > 0:13:40So, you put that on there,
0:13:40 > 0:13:44pop your pudding in, sitting nice on the trivet.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46Then pour water in up to about,
0:13:46 > 0:13:50kind of two or 3cm short of the top of the basin.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52Set it on a low simmer
0:13:52 > 0:13:55and allow it to bubble away for an hour and a half.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Keep an eye on it to check it doesn't boil dry or else it'll
0:13:58 > 0:14:01ruin your pudding and your pan.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04That gives us time to make the sauce.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08It's a simple sauce made with blackberry jam
0:14:08 > 0:14:11and whole blackberries.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13Don't worry about those little stalks
0:14:13 > 0:14:16because we're going to sieve this off before we serve it.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18Take the rest of the lemon
0:14:18 > 0:14:21and squeeze out the juice into the fruit mix.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25Oh and these Amalfi lemons, they're like the caviar of the lemon world.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27- Beautiful, aren't they?- Yeah.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30Like that that quintessentially Mediterranean sunshine in a lemon,
0:14:30 > 0:14:32- aren't they?- I know.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34And I know it's cheating but we British,
0:14:34 > 0:14:37we're a nation of traders and it's just the thing you need after
0:14:37 > 0:14:39a cold day out foraging for your blackberries.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Well, this is nice cos it's sweet-sour.
0:14:42 > 0:14:47But we need to cook this until these blackberries are soft,
0:14:47 > 0:14:49they're still quite hard at the minute.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51So let's just cook them down for a little bit further.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58Stir over a low heat for six to eight minutes.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01Look at the deep, red colour that is.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04So lovely, so autumnal, just lush.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10I think they're just about ready, mate.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13- Aye, they've disintegrated, haven't they?- They have. Fabulous.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15I'll get the basin, sieve those off.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23Press the mixture through a sieve and in to a bowl.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25Look at that.
0:15:25 > 0:15:26It's fabulous, isn't it?
0:15:28 > 0:15:32Taste the sauce and add more sugar or lemon, as you prefer.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35- Right, that's perfect.- Oh, yeah.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39Big, big flavour of fruit, blackberries.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41But it's sweet and sour. It's like sherbet, isn't it?
0:15:41 > 0:15:44It is. Oh, yes.
0:15:44 > 0:15:45Epic.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50All that's left now is to wait for the pud to cook.
0:15:54 > 0:15:55The moment of...
0:15:55 > 0:15:57- Cor, look at that.- Oh, yes.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00There's pressure under there, Kingy. See that?
0:16:00 > 0:16:04- That's stretching like Nell Gwyn's bodice, isn't it?- Ooh.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08- If this was a bosom, it would heave, wouldn't it?- Beautiful, isn't it?
0:16:08 > 0:16:11All the chemistry's happened in that pan.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14- Right, should we unleash the beast? - I think so.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18There's something that's always exciting about unpacking
0:16:18 > 0:16:20your pudding, isn't there?
0:16:20 > 0:16:23- There is.- Has it worked? Has it happened? And will it come out.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32- Oh, that is epic man.- Beautiful, oh.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48- This is the tricky bit, isn't it? - Danger's over.
0:16:51 > 0:16:52Yeah, it's coming.
0:16:53 > 0:16:59- Apple chunky, yes. Look at that. - Oh, yes.- That's beautiful.
0:17:01 > 0:17:07Now that is an apple and blackberry, steamed, sponge pudding.
0:17:07 > 0:17:12This is what we like to refer to as the Vesuvius moment.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Ahhhh.
0:17:25 > 0:17:31It's just screaming out for cream. Or ice cream, or home-made custard.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37That is flipping lovely.
0:17:45 > 0:17:51Bit of sauce on there like that. And now...
0:17:51 > 0:17:53Oh, yes.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58- You've got to get the berries of the top, haven't you?- Yeah.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03- Ahh, that's absolutely gorgeous. - It's great, isn't it?
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Do you know what's lovely?
0:18:05 > 0:18:08The sweetness of the sponge pudding, it's offset by the bramleys.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10It's quite a grown-up pudding this.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14It is and there's that lovely level of acidity in the blackberries
0:18:14 > 0:18:17- and the Amalfi lemon. Really nice. - Yeah, yeah.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20- That is a foragers success. - Oh, yeah.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24So we've reached the end of today's A To Z Of TV Cooking.
0:18:24 > 0:18:29Thanks again to all our amazing chefs and I hope you feel inspired.
0:18:29 > 0:18:34Make sure you join me next time for more delicious food. See you soon.