Hello from NL 59. This is Bake Sense, the somewhat ordered record of ramblings that concern the world of baking. Here, we champion flavour and the thoughtfulness of knowing your ingredients well. It’s a space that welcomes interaction, a hopeful extension of life beyond my bakery. Expect commentary on what is happening at or passing through the bakery, as almost everything that happens here is, one way or another, inspired by the community or suppliers that I engage with there.
Unlike Kent, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Essex, Yorkshire is not known as a region for commercial apple production. Traditional orchards in the area have declined since the twentieth century, but a number still appear in these parts. The apples grown are often destined for juice and cider, or they remain a living record of past varieties. The North has numerous apple cultivars that are regionally specific, dating back hundreds and hundreds of years; the loss of orchards, therefore, represented a considerable threat to unique varieties that were favourable to an otherwise commercially unfavourable environment.
Thankfully, there are some orchards intent on preserving the biodiversity of Northern apple cultivars and recognising them as essential features of the region’s landscape. Every year, I visit the orchard at Lotherton Hall to peruse and pick apples from trees that bear these century-old varieties. The most intriguing to me are the culinary varieties; they go beyond the ubiquitous Bramley Seedling to include Catshead, Newton Wonder, Nancy Jackson and Peasgood Nonsuch. Some have the virtue of holding their shape well when baked in cakes and tatin; others collapse into a froth of pure apple flavour for sauces and compotes. Some even keep well enough to eventually become the most aromatic and sweet dessert apple when stored in the cold until Christmas.
Aside from being an ecosystem in which a wide range of flora and fauna prosper, these old orchards provide historical and social context to apple production, a reminder of a time when apples were an important local food source for the winter months when good cookers and keepers were a blessing, large enough to bake whole wrapped in pastry for dessert or used in savoury dishes with belly pork or game.
The apple obsessive in me takes the time to label each apple picked and write notes on how much I like it for this or that application. I have definitely misidentified some over the years. It’s easy to get overwhelmed in the orchard and lose your orientation up, down, and in between tree lines, but each year, I learn a little more from the trip.
More often than not, a new apple variety will arrive at the bakery each week via the organic wholesaler. These come from organic orchards much further south, which we’re keen to support given that it’s becoming increasingly difficult for British apple production to remain viable given the number of imported apples on supermarket shelves. It generates a point of conversation with customers who ask why they never see anything but Galas, Granny Smiths and Pink Ladies in the supermarket and why these apples taste so much better. They often leave with one of each variety and hopefully a new take on apple diversity.
Needless to say, I’m inspired to make something with each and every variety, and one in particular, Rosette, was too stunning not to display in an apple tart; subscribers to the Extra Credit portion of the newsletter will receive the recipe in their inboxes.
When not distracted by apples, my mind has been formulating biscuits, or at least trying to, in readiness for creating the annual festive biscuit selection. The exact selection is as yet undecided, but as I take inventory of the ingredients that have arrived recently (namely buckwheat flour and three varieties of barley) along with an inventory of my own appetite and autumnal cravings, I’ve been playing around with a chocolate cookie that’s intense and truffle-like, studded with walnuts, and leaning salty in a satiating way.
I rather like them small, a two bite affair at most, but for the purpose of retailing in the bakery, I’ve baked them at a larger size to fit in with the existing cookie family. I encourage you to give the recipe a go and make them as big or small as your own appetite dictates.
Chocolate Buckwheat Truffle Cookies
The origin of this cookie is Liz Prueitt’s Salted Chocolate Buckwheat Cookie, which is a wonderful cookie in itself; you should make it as is. But the particular cookie that I held in my mind and wanted to pull from the oven was fudgier in the centre, did not have the overly crackly crust of a brownie, and had a deeper, richer cocoa flavour.
To get closer to this, I played around with the ratio of ingredients, reducing the melted chocolate and adding cocoa, increasing the butter, decreasing the baking powder and using a combination of both caster and soft light brown sugar. You can add mix-ins, such as chopped nuts, nibs or chocolate chunks or allow the pools of chocolate batter to bake to a smooth, centred, truffly cookie. The uninterrupted texture is representative of the uninterrupted moment of calm you hope to have as you eat one warm from the tray at the back of the bakery.
One important note: these cookies are designed to be portioned and baked right after mixing. Once cool, the batter will not spread out in the oven and bake as intended.
Makes approximately 11 cookies
200g dark chocolate (65% -85% cocoa)
90g unsalted butter
120g eggs (approximately 2 large)
50g caster sugar
110g soft light brown sugar
25g cocoa powder
45g buckwheat flour
2g sea salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
option to add any of the following mix-ins -
85g chopped walnuts or 100g chopped chocolate or 50g cacao nibs
Prepare two baking sheets with greaseproof paper and turn the oven on to 175 degrees C.
Melt the chocolate and butter together in a bowl set over a pan of very gently simmering water. Once the majority has melted, remove the pan from the heat, but keep the bowl on top of the pan and allow it to finish melting. This way it never gets too hot and will not cool down too much. Avoiding these extremes makes for a batter that is easier to scoop or pipe before baking.
Meanwhile, combine the cocoa powder, buckwheat flour, and sea salt in a small bowl. If you’re adding walnuts, chocolate chunks, or nibs, weigh these into a separate bowl and set aside. Ideally, you want any mix-ins to be chopped to medium-small, approximately 5-7mm at max, so they distribute evenly in what will be quite a fluid batter.
Whisk the eggs and sugars together using a stand or hand mixer for approximately 6 minutes until the mixture is pale in colour and at a voluminous ribbons stage.
Add the still-warm but not hot chocolate and butter mixture and fold through with a silicone spatula. Follow with the dry ingredients, mixing to combine until just about streak-free before adding any mix-ins.
Using a scoop or a piping bag, portion the batter into evenly spaced puddles, 5 or 6 per baking sheet. Sprinkle the top of each with a little flaky sea salt and place in the oven. Drop the temperature to 170 and bake for 8-15 minutes or until the cookies have formed a matte, set exterior. The inside will still be soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. They store well in an airtight box for up to 4 days.
I didn't know this about northern orchards, but that's fascinating! I love learning these kinds of regional food facts
I've put the date in my diary to visit Lotherton Hall this year (2025) and pick apples in the Orchard.