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Cornstarch

Cornstarch has the ability to reduce the amount of protein in flour. It’s ideal for brittle cookies, but also for light cakes. Cornstarch

is the starch that is obtained from the endosperm of the corn grain. The extraction of this starch is done by soaking the corn grain

in sulfur dioxide, a substance that has been used since time immemorial to preserve food. The surplus of this process is the proteins

from the corn grain, which go directly to the animal fodder industry. Because corn is often genetically modified, I advise you to look

for organic cornstarch.

To lower the protein content of your flour (which should contain a minimum of 10 percent protein), use the following rule: replace

2½ Tbsp (20 g) of every 1 cup (125 g) of all-purpose flour with cornstarch.

Self-rising flour

You can buy this flour, but you can easily make it yourself. The advantage of making it yourself is that you only have to buy one

type of flour and simply add baking powder when a recipe calls for self-rising flour. An old bag of self-rising flour that you’ve

found in the back of your cupboard may not be active anymore and may therefore yield an unrisen result. There is generally 1½ tsp

(4 g) of baking powder in 1 cup (125 g) of self-rising flour. You can play with this ratio if you want the dough to rise a little more or

less. I haven’t used self-rising flour in this book and have supplied the amount of baking powder needed separately for each recipe.

Baking soda and baking powder

Both powders ensure the raising of a dough or batter, but are definitely not the same. Baking soda is a natural carbonate that works

only if you add acid to your dough or batter, such as lemon juice, yogurt, buttermilk, black treacle (or molasses), or vinegar. In

baking powder, to which a stabilizer has been added, the acid is already in the carbonate. You need three times as much baking

powder to replace baking soda.

Yeast

Yeast ensures the production of carbon gas and ensures that your dough rises. I mainly use dry yeast because you can keep this

handy in your larder, and I therefore also use dry yeast in the recipes in this book. If you prefer to use fresh yeast, double the

quantity of the dry yeast. Fresh yeast does not have to be immersed in lukewarm liquid before use.

Lard

British recipes often call for lard, which is the belly fat from a pig. You can make it yourself or simply buy it at the store. I make it

myself by boiling the belly fat for a few hours, straining it, and then pouring it into containers, which I then freeze – it keeps forever.

A pie pastry made with a portion of lard has a nice savory touch that goes well with a sweet filling as well. You can use the surplus of

lard to fry eggs or roast potatoes. Delicious.

Suet

Shredded suet is kidney fat that is processed into small grains. It is often called for in British recipes for pie pastry, but also in

puddings and in the filling of mince pies. You can buy ready-shredded suet in boxes, but you can also make it yourself, even if it

is a rather long process. Because the fat has settled around the kidneys, it is full of fibers that you have to pick out. Then you have

to boil and strain this fat, pour it into containers to harden, and then grate it with a coarse grater before use. It is important that

you process the suet into fine pieces. You can replace suet with butter or lard, although it does not give exactly the same result.

Pastries made with suet have a longer shelf life than pastries made with butter.

Butter

By butter I always mean unsalted butter, preferably organic, and with a fat content of at least 82 percent. Most cheap butter has

a lower fat content. That does not mean that this butter is healthier, but that it is not suitable for making delicious cakes and bakes.

Do not use margarine for the recipes, even though this was recommended 50 years ago and our parents still swear by it. Your

baking skills deserve the best butter. Fat is flavor.