Baking with Fortitude: Winner of the André Simon Food Award 2021

by Dee Rettali

Overview

WINNER OF THE ANDRE SIMON AWARD 2021
SHORTLISTED FOR THE FORTNUM&MASON FOOD AND DRINK AWARDS 2022
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'I love Dee Rettali's baking – she is obsessed with flavour. A bold and beautiful book' DIANA HENRY

The 90 recipes in this book are all about beautiful, natural flavours from quality ingredients like fruits and spices.

Dee Rettali is an artisan baker who, over a lifetime of baking, has honed her recipes to bring out intense flavour using forgotten craftsmanship. Dee's cakes, created for her bakery – Fortitude Bakehouse in London – are a world away from generic cakes loaded with sugar or artificial flavours.

Many of her recipes are incredibly simple one-bowl mixes, brought together by hand and with no need for fancy kitchen equipment. The batter can be baked then or, to heighten the natural flavours and reduce sweetness further, left to slightly ferment in the fridge. This technique allows you to prep ahead and simply bake the cake when you want it. Some other recipes use a sourdough-like starter as a base to which any combination of seasonal flavours can be added.

Dee has roots in both Ireland and Morocco that have inspired the unique flavour combinations in her bakes, such as:
· White grape and rosemary cake
· Marrakeshi mint and orange peel sourdough loaf cake
· Blueberry and lime little buns
· Turmeric custard and roast pear brioche buns
· Chilli-soaked date and oat loaf cake

This is a cutting-edge way of baking and at the same time it has antecedents in Dee's past. Growing up in rural Ireland, seasonal and no-waste baking was simply a way of life. This book brings this back to life in a thoroughly modern way.
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'This isn't just another book about baking; it's a whole new way of approaching it' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526626950
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	10/28/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	73 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Dee Rettali was at the forefront of the organic food movement, having founded Patisserie Organic in 1998, and her belief in preserving traditional crafts, using time-honoured techniques and sourcing simple, seasonal ingredients has informed the way she cooks and bakes ever since. She opened Fortitude Bakehouse in London in 2018 and has amassed a loyal following.

Table of Contents

Introduction 6

Chapter 1 Herbs and Botanicals 12

Butter Loaf Cakes 16

Olive Oil Cakes 32

Little Buns 38

Chapter 2 Fruit and Berries 42

One-Bowl Yogurt Cakes 46

Fruity Cakes 52

Little Buns 62

Chapter 3 Dairy 72

Dairy Cakes 74

Butter Biscuits 80

Little Buns 87

Chapter 4 Spices and Aromatics 92

Spiced Loaf Cakes 96

Little Bakes and Pastries 110

Chapter 5 Bread-ish 118

Sour Milk Soda Breads 122

Simple Brioche Buns 134

Hot Cross Buns 148

Chapter 6 Sourdough and Fermented Cakes 150

Sourdough Loaf Cakes 154

Fermented Butter Cakes 166

Chapter 7 Storecupboard 174

Spice Mixes 176

Dairy 178

Preserves 181

Suppliers 186

Index 187

Acknowledgements 191

Editorial Reviews

11/01/2021

Rettali, owner of London’s Fortitude Bakehouse, debuts with a thoughtful collection of hearty loaf cake recipes that put a modern spin on traditional artisanal baking. “For me, baking is about crafting, where it’s as much about the process as the end result,” she writes. For bakers that prefer a deeper taste, that process requires patience (her fermented bakes take a week in total to make). While non-fermented loafs—such as her sage, buttermilk, and almond butter loaf cake, and thyme and lemon basbousa buns—can be “made and baked straightaway,” she often urges bakers to let the cake batter ferment for up to three days for a more intense flavor. Still, the recipes themselves are simple to execute, often only involving a handful of ingredients. Spices, nuts, and fruits are employed liberally, such as in a thyme and apricot butter loaf cake, and in a chilli-soaked date and oat loaf cake, which draws its inspiration from her mother’s fruit cakes. Her Moroccan honey and cinnamon sourdough loaf cake requires a buttermilk starter and time to ferment, while her batbout buns are constructed with a simple combination of self-raising flour, yogurt, and a pinch of salt that leaves out the fermentation process entirely. Those willing to wait will be greatly rewarded. Agent: Jonathan Hayden, Jonathan Hayden Literary. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

I love Dee Rettali's baking – she is obsessed with flavour. A bold and beautiful book” —Diana Henry

“This isn't just another book about baking; it's a whole new way of approaching it” —Sunday Telegraph

“A world away from your average sugar-laden creations. Instead, [Rettali] harnesses flavour-building processes such as using sourdough starters, fermenting batters before baking, steeping fruit and making herb infusions. Among her many stand-out bakes are turmeric custard and roast pear brioche buns, Spanish fermented butter cake with fizzy apricots, and ras el hanout and black treacle cake, scattered with chilli flakes” —Waitrose Weekend

“Typical sweet bakes not your style? Dee Rettali of London's Fortitude Bakehouse uses sourdough starters and fermented batters to create buns and cakes with intensified flavours. Emphasising the craft of baking, her recipes rely on herbs, spices, and fruit for character, and many can be made in straightforward fashion before you try the fermented version.” —Delicious Magazine

“Over a lifetime of baking, Dee Rettali has honed her recipes to bring out intense flavour using forgotten craftsmanship. Here she shares the sourdough cakes and simple breads she creates for her bakery – Fortitude Bakehouse in London – full of deep flavour and generations of artisanal technique.” —Daunt Books, Books of the Year

“A whole new world of baking” —Sunday Telegraph Travel, Books of the Year

“A thoughtful collection of hearty loaf cake recipes that put a modern spin on traditional artisanal baking ... Those willing to wait will be greatly rewarded” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher