120 GOURMETTRAVELLER.COM.AU
Aged goat’s cheese and toasted
walnut bread
Serve the toasts warm so the cheese melts over them as
you scoop. We’ve used Mothais sur Feuille, a soft goat’s
cheese from France wrapped in leaves, but any soft
cheese works well with the toasted walnut bread.
Prep time 20 mins, cook 50 mins (plus proving)
Serves 6-8
250 gm ripe aged goat’s cheese, such as
Mothais sur Feuille, bûche de chèvre or
Holy Goat La Luna (see note), removed
from the refrigerator 30 minutes before
serving
Muscatels and pears, to serve
Walnut bread
7 gm (1 sachet) dry yeast
350 gm white spelt flour (see note)
100 gm baker’s flour, plus extra for dusting
130 gm walnuts, coarsely chopped
Olive oil, for greasing and brushing1 For walnut bread, combine yeast and 50ml
lukewarm water in a bowl and set aside until
foamy (3-4 minutes). Combine flours and ½ tsp
salt in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook,
add yeast and 235ml water, and mix until a
smooth dough forms (3-5 minutes). Add walnuts
and stir to just incorporate, then transfer to a
lightly oiled bowl and stand until doubled in size
(1-1½ hours).
2 Preheat oven to 200C and oil a heavy oven
tray. Knock back dough and shape into two logs,
about 25cm long, dusting lightly with extra flour
to prevent sticking, then roll onto tray, leaving
space between each, and set aside to prove for
15 minutes. Transfer to oven, spray a mist of water
into the oven before closing the door and bake
until bread is golden brown, and feels firm when
pressed (25-28 minutes). Cool on a wire rack.
Bread can be kept refrigerated, wrapped tightly
in plastic wrap, for up to 2 days.
3 Preheat oven to 180C and thinly slice bread
with a serrated knife. Brush cut sides with a little
olive oil and bake in a single layer on oven trays,
turning once, until golden brown and crisp
(15-20 minutes). Serve warm walnut toasts with
goat’s cheese and fruit.
NoteMothais sur Feuille and bûche de chèvre
are available from Formaggi Ocello (ocello.com.
au) and Fourth Village Providore (fourthvillage.
com.au); Holy Goat La Luna is available from
Simon Johnson (simonjohnson.com). White spelt
flour is available from select supermarkets and
health-food shops.
Drink suggestion Nut liqueur, such as nocino.#Pear, honey and ginger pudding
This dessert is pure autumn comfort. Try it with the
more fragrant wild ginger if you can get your hands
on some (it’s available online from herbies.com.au), or
finely grate fresh ginger into the batter for a fresh lift.
Prep time 25 mins, cook 35 mins
Serves 6-8 (pictured p114)
90 gm honey
30 gm butter, diced
4 William pears, peeled, cored and cut into
rough 2cm pieces
Icing sugar, for dusting
Vanilla bean ice-cream, to serve
Ginger sponge topping
150 gm (1 cup) plain flour
1¾tsp baking powder
150 gm softened unsalted butter
130 gm raw caster sugar
3 eggs
½ tsp ground ginger, or to taste (see note)
1 Preheat oven to 170C.Bring honey and butter
to the boil in a saucepan, add pears, reduce heat to
low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pears
are just tender (5-7 minutes). Spoon into a 1.5-litre
baking dish.
2 For ginger sponge topping, sieve flour and
baking powder into a bowl. Beat butter and
sugar in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle
attachment until pale and creamy. Add eggs one
at a time, beating well between additions, then
beat in ginger, stir in flour mixture, then spoon
batter evenly over pear. Bake until top is risen and
golden brown (30-35 minutes). Dust with icing
sugar and serve with ice-cream.
Wine suggestion Late-harvest pinot gris.Champagne Crustas
(RECIPEP116)