• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • ABOUT
    • All About Grantourismo
    • Work With Us
    • Meet Lara and Terence
    • Itineraries, Tours & Retreats
    • Media Coverage
    • Contacts
  • SLOW
  • LOCAL
  • EXPERIENTIAL
  • RECIPES
Grantourismo Travels Logo

Grantourismo Travels

The website of globetrotting professional travel writing and photography team Lara Dunston and Terence Carter

Grantourismo Travels Logo
  • AFRICA
        • KENYA
          • Masai Mara
          • Mombasa
          • Tsavo West
        • MOROCCO
          • Essaouira
          • Marrakech
        • SOUTH AFRICA
          • Cape Town
  • ASIA
        • CAMBODIA
          • Battambang
          • Phnom Penh
          • Siem Reap
        • INDONESIA
          • Bali
        • JAPAN
          • Tokyo
        • LAOS
          • Luang Prabang
        • MALAYSIA
          • Borneo
          • Kuala Lumpur
          • Penang
        • MEKONG RIVER
        • SINGAPORE
        • MYANMAR
        • THAILAND
          • Bangkok
          • Chiang Mai
          • Isaan
          • Phuket
        • VIETNAM
          • Dalat
          • Hanoi
          • Hoi An
          • Saigon
          • Sapa
  • AMERICAS
        • ARGENTINA
          • Buenos Aires
        • BRAZIL
          • Rio de Janeiro
        • COSTA RICA
          • Manuel Antonio
        • MEXICO
          • Mexico City
          • San Miguel de Allende
        • UNITED STATES
          • Austin
          • New York City
  • AUSTRALASIA
        • AUSTRALIA
          • Adelaide
          • Darwin
          • Gold Coast
          • Melbourne
          • Perth
          • Sydney
  • EUROPE
        • AUSTRIA
          • Vienna
          • Zell Am See
        • ENGLAND
          • London
        • FRANCE
          • Céret
          • Paris
          • Perpignan
        • GERMANY
          • Berlin
        • HUNGARY
          • Budapest
        • ITALY
          • Alberobello
          • Calabria
          • Italian Lakes
          • Sardinia
          • Venice
        • MONTENEGRO
          • Kotor
        • POLAND
          • Krakow
          • Zakopane
        • PORTUGAL
          • Porto
          • Portugal Wine Regions
        • SCOTLAND
          • Edinburgh
        • SPAIN
          • Barcelona
          • Jerez
          • Mallorca
        • TURKEY
          • Istanbul
  • MIDDLE EAST
        • JORDAN
          • Desert Areas
        • QATAR
          • Doha
        • UAE
          • Dubai
Baking Sourdough Bread in a Toaster Oven – Here's the Secret. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Baking Sourdough Bread in a Toaster Oven – The Secret to Getting Great Oven Spring

Baking sourdough bread in a toaster oven wasn’t something I envisaged when we moved to an apartment without an oven. But baking sourdough in a toaster oven is better than not baking sourdough. Much to my surprise, my toaster oven sourdough bread turned out terrific. Here’s the secret.

Have you been put off baking sourdough bread because you only have a toaster oven? Well, so was I after we moved to a new apartment without a proper oven. But after a few months eating bad bread, I had to try baking sourdough bread in a toaster oven.

And I was in for a surprise. As I discovered, with a little extra attention to detail during shaping and proofing, it is possible to produce a great sourdough loaf from a modest toaster oven. The secret is getting great oven spring.

Before I tell you how to do that, we have a favour to ask. Grantourismo is reader-supported, which means we rely on income generated from our readers to continue to publish recipes and food stories. If you’ve made and enjoyed our recipes, please do consider supporting Grantourismo.

In this post you’ll find lots of ways you can support Grantourismo, such as clicking through to links to buy travel insurance, rent cars, hire campervans, book accommodation, or purchase books, kitchen utensils or ingredients. You can also buy something from our online shop (we have everything from food-themed face masks to gifts for foodies featuring Terence’s images) or you could consider supporting our Cambodian culinary history and cookbook on Patreon.

Now let me share some secrets to baking sourdough bread in a toaster oven.

Baking Sourdough Bread in a Toaster Oven – The Secret is Getting Great Oven Spring

While bakers with domestic ovens that can reach 260°C have no trouble making sourdough boules, batards and baguettes, baking sourdough bread in a toaster oven that struggles to reach over 200°C is far more challenging. Why? Because it’s difficult to get great oven spring.

So what is oven spring and why is getting great oven spring important? Oven spring is the expansion of the bread dough during the initial baking phase. It’s generally considered that to get a good oven spring you need high heat – at least 250-260°C – to help the bread, well, spring.

Good oven spring occurs during the first 15-20 minutes of a bake, after which the baker reduces the heat down to around 220°C to harden and brown the crust. For my test sourdough loaves I’ve been baking batards (oval-shaped loaves) with a single score off-centre on the dough.

As the loaf expands, the score directs the steam to break through the surface of the loaf. This creates what is called an ‘ear’, the flap of dough that rises from the upper edge of the score. You can have good oven spring without a great ear, but you can’t get a good ear without great oven spring.

So, besides the ear, what do we look for in a sourdough loaf with great oven spring? Firstly, we want an evenly risen loaf. A final batard loaf should look like a rugby football sliced in half. The only part of the loaf that should have split is the score.

The ‘crumb’ (the interior structure of the loaf) should have evenly spaced holes. The size of the holes is determined by the hydration of the loaf, that is, the percentage of water (including the starter) to the percentage of flour. The higher the hydration, the more ‘airy’ the crumb should be.

People often talk about the blisters on the exterior of the loaf as an indicator of oven spring, but this actually comes from long (usually overnight) fermenting. Carbon dioxide (CO2) leaks from the surface of the dough during a slow ferment. A slow ferment also increases the sourness of the finished loaf. I always do an overnight ferment in the fridge for at least 12 hours.

So here are the secrets to getting great oven spring if you’re baking sourdough bread in a toaster oven…

Baking Sourdough Bread in a Toaster Oven – Here's the Secret. Copyright © 2021 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

The Secrets to Getting Great Oven Spring in Sourdough Bread in a Toaster Oven

Make Sure Your Sourdough Starter is Lively And At Its Peak

I’ve covered how to make your sourdough starter and maintain it in an earlier post. Once you have a good strong starter, there are several things you can do to time and test your starter for making dough that will result in good oven spring.

You need to note how long it takes your sourdough starter to peak after feeding and just how much your starter has risen when it’s at its peak. For instance, my recently revived starter that was resting in the fridge now takes 7 hours to peak and it peaks just shy of triple the initial amount and is quite actively bubbly.

When feeding the sourdough starter, I add 50g of both flour and water. To make the most of the peaking of the starter, I will use it at 6 hours, before it has fully peaked. I time this so that if I feed the starter at 9am, I’m mixing my bread at 3pm, finishing at around 6:30pm, ready for a bake the next morning at around 8am.

Using the sourdough starter just before it peaks is the key to all the processes of making the bread if you want a great oven spring.

Choose Your Flour and Flour Mixture Wisely

Strong white bread flour is what gives your bread great gluten development and structure, however, whole wheat flours or rye give add flavour. We currently use a blend of 80% strong white bread flour to 20% whole wheat flour.

If you’re experimenting by baking sourdough in a toaster oven for the first time, I would recommend going with 100% strong white bread flour (you can add a little extra salt for flavour) and work from there.

Folding Your Dough and Autolysis

Autolysis is a process in bread making where the flour and water for the bread are mixed together before introducing the starter and salt. This is usually left for up to an hour for small batches of bread.

I find, however, that this doesn’t make much of a difference to our dough – apart from the starter sometimes not mixing in with the dough very well. However, our mix is left for an hour before the first set of stretch and folds begin, which are then done half an hour apart.

Generally, I do three sets of stretch and folds, then check the structure and strength using the ‘windowpane effect’. This is where you take a small portion of your dough and stretch it in four directions until it’s a thin translucent membrane where you can see light through it. Sometimes it can take an extra set of stretch and folds, so don’t just leave it at three – trust the windowpane effect.

A quick note: I’ve found that a very gentle stretch and fold works the best. Do not pull the dough up until it breaks and don’t overwork the dough in the bowl. Just do a few stretch and folds each time.

Shaping and Proofing your Dough

Perhaps the trickiest part of the whole process of baking sourdough is shaping and proofing the dough. Shaping the dough without enough tension will result in a weak oven spring. Underproofing the dough leads to an uneven crumb, while an overproofed dough can result in a flat bread with no oven spring. Clearly it is better to underproof, as at least the bread will still be edible.

However, I have a formula that I use to get the best results. Once the dough has passed its ‘windowpane effect’ test, I like to leave it at 28°C for about 20 minutes before the pre-shape of the dough, and then another 20 minutes before the final shaping. After the final shaping the dough goes straight into a cold fridge for at least 12 hours and up to 36 hours for a really sour bread.

But back to the pre-shape first – and we have a recipe here with detailed photos – this is when you shape the dough into a taut ball, running your hands across the table and underneath the dough.

The art to it is knowing when you have reached peak tension before the ‘skin’ on the outside of the dough begins to tear. If it does tear, flip and flatten the dough out for 20 minutes before trying again.

One of the indicators that you are close to peak tension is that small (and sometimes large) bubbles form on the surface or ‘skin’ of the dough. You should pinch the big bubbles, but you can leave the smaller bubbles intact. Let the dough relax covered for 20 minutes before the final shaping.

This is when you must handle the dough lightly. Although you’re releasing some of the tension of the dough, the structure of the dough should remain intact. When you’re finally shaping a batard, you should see bubbles as you roll the dough up. If it’s very taut there’s no need to do anything more.

If you need extra tension you can ‘stitch’ the surface of the dough once it’s in its proofing basket with the seam facing up. Stitching is done by grabbing the dough alternatively from the left side and then the right side, and stretching the dough to get more tension in the surface of the dough (which should be facing downwards).

The Perfect Score

I always get a little paranoid when I see bakers doing intricate, decorative scoring of proofed sourdough loaves in a hot bakery. Why? Because I was always taught to get the sourdough loaves onto a tray after proofing and get them into the oven ASAP.

This is particularly pertinent if you have a toaster oven or any oven that is not the hottest. Putting the just-scored cold loaves into your toaster oven gives you the best chance of success.

This is why a simple, single score is one of the keys to baking a great toaster oven sourdough loaf. You do, however, need a razor blade of some description and it’s safest to use a bread ‘lame’. It needs to be a single angled cut away from the centre of the loaf. Of course, first we need to pre-heat the oven.

How to Bake Great Sourdough in a Toaster Oven

The first thing you need to do when it comes to baking great sourdough in a toaster oven is to test just how hot your toaster oven can get. You’re going to need an instant read oven monitoring thermometer (this is my pick for one).

You simply cannot trust the temperature dial and a little red light. For instance, with our toaster oven, I could set it on 250°C for a week and it will never reach 250°C. It maxes out at 220°C. Do this once to check the maximum achievable temperature and there’s no need to waste electricity in vain waiting for the temperature dial to move.

I use a Dutch oven that will just fit in our toaster oven. If you’re using a Dutch oven, it’s important that you place it in the toaster oven when it’s cool and then turn the temperature to maximum.

To prepare the sourdough loaf for the Dutch oven, I like to have two sheets of oven paper placed on a pizza peel and tilt both the banneton and the pizza peel to transfer the loaf to the peel. Score the bread and have a water spray bottle ready.

Remove the Dutch oven from the toaster oven and quickly shut the door to the oven. Place the Dutch oven on a bread board.

Take the lid off the Dutch oven and, lifting the loaf up by the oven paper, place it in the Dutch oven. Spray water liberally over the loaf and under the parchment paper. Put the lid on the Dutch oven and put it back into the toaster oven. Set a timer for 20 minutes.

Note that most toaster ovens have a mechanical timer that will turn the oven power off when it ‘chimes’ zero time left. Turn the timer to full before baking so that the power does not go off during a bake.

After 20 minutes open the toaster oven and remove the Dutch oven lid. At this point the bread should have risen to its maximum amount of oven spring. If your toaster oven miraculously can go above 220°C, turn it down to this temperature for the rest of the bake.

The second half of the bake hardens the crust and colours the bread. For a light-coloured loaf, usually 20 minutes is enough. If the ear of the bread has really risen (congratulations!) you might want to place some aluminium foil over the ear to stop it from burning.

Toaster Oven Buying advice

I’ve used so many of these toaster ovens over the years of staying in holiday rentals where cooking appliances consist of a couple of hotplates and a toaster oven. Most are barely adequate.

The main problem with toaster ovens, besides weak heat retention, is that they are not really made to work flat out at the highest temperature. Elements tend to stop working, seals can go hard and knobs eventually fall off about the same time the handle packs it in.

I can’t really recommend many of the toaster ovens I’ve used, including our Electrolux toaster oven, which was fixed once before they replaced it, twice. However, in the better-equipped apartment rentals that we’ve stayed in over the years, a couple of toaster ovens have really stood out.

The first toaster oven I recommend is the Breville BOV800XL Smart Oven which has a lot of functionality aimed at the microwave crowd with settings like ‘cookies’, ‘bagel’ and ‘pizza’, but it works amazingly fast due to the quartz elements for heating. The best bit, for a toaster oven, is that it can hold 230°C all day.

The second toaster oven recommendation is the smaller Cuisinart TOB-260N1 Chef’s Convection Toaster Oven. It has similar functions and features of the Breville toaster oven, but doesn’t have the fast heating abilities of it. However, once up to temperature, it can hold 230°C, quite enough to bake sourdough bread with and to achieve a great oven spring.

Please do let us know if you end up baking sourdough bread in a toaster oven and you follow my advice, or if you’ve been baking sourdough in a toaster oven for a while and have had success, then we’d love to hear from you.

Support our Cambodia Cookbook & Culinary History Book with a donation or monthly pledge on Patreon.

SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Share
Tweet
Pin21
Yum
21 Shares

SUBSCRIBE TO THE GRANTOURISMO TRAVELS NEWSLETTER

Sign up below to receive our monthly newsletter to your In Box for special subscriber-only content, travel deals, tips, recipes, and inspiration.

100% Privacy. We hate spam too and will never give your email address away.

Share
Tweet
Pin21
Yum
21 Shares

Related Posts You Might Like

Shop for related products

About Terence Carter

Terence Carter is an editorial food and travel photographer and infrequent travel writer with a love of photographing people, places and plates of food. After living in the Middle East for a dozen years, he settled in South-East Asia a dozen years ago with his wife, travel and food writer and sometime magazine editor Lara Dunston.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Darell says

    October 25, 2021 at 2:36 am

    I use a Breville Smart/Air. The largest “small” oven they make. And it can achieve a proper 480ºF which is awesome as far as temp goes. The problem that I encounter is that the heating elements are so close to the loaf! So the bottom gets too dark and the top gets too dark. I’m having trouble getting it even. And this is with convection on.

    The other issue is what to bake the bread in. I’ve been putting it on a pizza steel and covering with a bowl because my dutch oven won’t fit (and is round where I like making oblong loaves.) The steel is getting too hot and blackening the bottom of my loaf.

    So oven temp in my countertop oven isn’t the issue. It is the other bits.

  2. Terence Carter says

    October 25, 2021 at 12:48 pm

    Hi Darell, I’m currently looking for a new countertop oven and I’m staying away from the ‘air fryer’ ones and digital displays as I don’t think they’ll last cooking at 480ºF all the time. Unfortunately one of the keys to a good bread bake in an oven that is not a dedicated baking oven is the Dutch Oven.It makes its own controlled space, I did not get the same rise in a conventional oven using a pizza steel or stone.
    I actually got better results using the countertop ‘toaster oven’ that never really got past 430ºF.
    Perhaps shop for a cheaper countertop oven that your Dutch Oven can fit in.
    FYI my batards fit into my Dutch Oven because they’re not that big, I prefer them over boules.
    Good luck!
    T

  3. Eileen says

    March 1, 2022 at 7:22 am

    My oven died I’ve been making sourdough over 6 months n now have a new Brevelle just like you advised.
    Made my first loaf.. a bit small
    But hey I got nice ear..Crump was a little heavy side..I think I’ll bake it longer see what happens!

  4. Terence Carter says

    March 1, 2022 at 12:38 pm

    Hi, Eileen, glad you have an oven to bake in.
    If you have a nice ear, but the crumb is very tight, maybe the starter is not active enough or you’re mixing it past its peak.
    It can be several other things, but that’s what I’d look at first. Make notes on how many hours it takes the starter to reach peak and mark your jar with the time and then see how long it peaks for (usually 1-2 hours). Based on this, time your next mix so that it’s just before or is just peaking.
    Happy baking & good luck!

  5. Jeams says

    January 29, 2023 at 7:43 am

    Thank you for providing this information! To save time, I like to try it at home. Could you do a review on that?

  6. Lara Dunston says

    January 29, 2023 at 2:10 pm

    Hello Jeams, do you mean a review about you trying the recipe? Why don’t you come back here and share your experience of baking the bread after you’ve finished?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

About Grantourismo

Lara and Terence are an Australian-born, Southeast Asia-based travel and food writers and photographers who have authored scores of guidebooks, produced countless travel and food stories, are currently developing cookbooks and guidebooks, and host culinary tours and writing and photography retreats in Southeast Asia.
READ MORE…

Featured Posts

Melbourne Shopping: The Most Eclectic Boutiques Of All. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Melbourne Shopping: The Most Eclectic Boutiques Of All

Soto Ayam Recipe for Yogyakarta’s Indonesian Chicken Noodle Soup for the Soul. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Soto Ayam Recipe for Yogyakarta’s Indonesian Chicken Noodle Soup for the Soul

Banana Coconut Tapioca Pudding Recipe for Cambodian Chek Ktis. Star Anise Recipes. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Cambodian Banana Coconut Tapioca Pudding Recipe with Sesame and Star Anise for Chek Ktis

Footer

ABOUT GRANTOURISMO

  • All About Grantourismo
  • Meet Lara and Terence
  • Work With Us
  • Itineraries, Tours & Retreats
  • Media & Advertising
  • Media Coverage
  • Contacts

THE GRANTOURISMO SHOP ON SOCIETY6

The Grantourismo Shop on Society6

GET THE BEST MANAGED WORDPRESS HOSTING

Get the Best Managed Wordpress Website Hosting with Flywheel

IMPORTANT DETAILS

  • Terms and Conditions
  • Editorial Policy
  • Comments Policy
  • Advertising
  • Privacy Policy

AMAZON AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE

Grantourismo Travels is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program.

GRANTOURISMO AFFILIATES/SUPPORT

Grantourismo is reader-supported. Posts contain various affiliate links. If you click through and purchase something, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. That income supports the work we do to create content. Here are more ways to support Grantourismo.

SUBSCRIBE

SOCIALLY CONNECTED

  • 6,048 Followers
  • 2,579 Likes
  • 1,859 followers
  • 19,050 Followers

INSTAGRAM FEED

Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check o Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check out our seafood recipe collection, especially if you celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with a fish focused meal in the Southern Italian tradition, transformed by Italian-Americans into the Feast of the Seven Fishes, or like Australians, who celebrate Christmas in the sweltering summer, feast on seafood for Christmas Day lunch, we’ve got lots of easy seafood recipes for you.

Our recipes include a classic prawn cocktail, blini with smoked salmon, a ceviche-style appetiser, and devilled eggs with caviar. We’ve also got recipes for fish soup, seafood pies and pastas, salmon tray bake, and crispy salmon with creamy mashed potatoes.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/seafood-recipes-for-christmas-eve-and-christmas-day-menus/
(Link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating!! 

#christmas #christmasfood #seafood #fish #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #grantourismo #grantourismotravels #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you’re still looking for food inspo for Chris If you’re still looking for food inspo for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meals, my smoked salmon ‘carpaccio’ recipe is one of dozens of recipes in this compilation of our best Christmas recipes (link below). 

The Christmas recipe compilation includes collections of our best Christmas breakfast recipes, best Christmas brunch recipes, best Christmas starter recipes, best Christmas cocktails, best Christmas dessert recipes, and homemade edible Christmas gifts and more.

My smoked salmon carpaccio recipe makes an easy elegant appetiser that’s made in minutes. If you’re having guests over, you can make the dish ahead by assembling the salmon, capers and pickled onions, and refrigerate it, then pour on the dressing just before serving. 

Provide toasted baguette slices and bowls of additional capers, pickles and dressing, so guests can customise their carpaccio. And open the bubbly!

You’ll find that recipe and many more Christmas recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/best-christmas-recipes/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas!! X

#christmas #christmasfood #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #salmon #smokedsalmon #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels 
#xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I sh If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I shared a collection of recipes for homemade edible Christmas gifts — for condiments, hot sauces, chilli oils, a whole array of pickles, spice blends, chilli salt, furakake seasoning, and spicy snacks, such as our Cambodian and Vietnamese roasted peanuts. 

I love giving homemade edibles as gifts as much as I love receiving them. Who wouldn’t appreciate jars filled with their favourite chilli oils, hot sauces, piquant pickles, and spicy peanuts that loved-ones have taken the time to make? 

Aside from the gesture and affordability of gifting homemade edibles, you’re minimising waste. You can use recycled jars or if buying new mason jars or clip-top Kilner jars, you know they’ll get repurposed.

No need for wrapping, just attach some Christmas baubles or tinsel to the lid. I used squares of Cambodian kramas (cotton scarves), which can be repurposed as napkins or drink coasters, and tied a ribbon or two around the lids, and attached last year’s Christmas tree decorations to some.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/homemade-edible-christmas-gifts/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Yes, that’s Pepper... every time there’s a camera around... 

#christmasgiftideas #ediblegifts ##christmasfoodgifts #foodgifts #giftideas #homemadegifts #christmasfood #ediblegiftideas #hotsauce #chillisauce #sriracha #pickles #homemadepickles #recipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood 
#blackcat #blackcatsofinstagram #picoftheday 
#christmas #christmastree #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas #cambodia #siemreap
This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’ This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’s perfect if you’re just back from the fish markets armed with luxurious fresh crab meat. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and very, very moreish.

Our crab omelette recipe was one of our 22 most popular egg recipes of 2022 on our website Grantourismo and it’s no surprise. It’s appeared more times than any other egg recipes on our annual round-ups of most popular recipes since Terence launched Weekend Eggs when we launched Grantourismo in 2010.

If you’re an eggs lover, do check out the recipe collection. It includes egg recipes from right around the world, from recipes for classic kopitiam eggs from Singapore and Malaysia and egg curries from India and Myanmar to all kinds of egg recipes from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Mexico, USA, Australia, UK, and Ireland.

And do browse our Weekend Eggs archives for further eggspiration (sorry). We have hundreds of egg recipes from the 13 year-old series of recipes for quintessential egg dishes from around the world, which we started on our 2010 year-long global grand tour focused on slow, local and experiential travel. 

We’re hoping 2023 will be the year we can finally publish the Weekend Eggs cookbook we’ve talked about for years based on that series. After we can find a publisher for the Cambodia cookbook of course... :( 

Recipe collection here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio):
https://grantourismotravels.com/22-most-popular-egg-recipes-of-2022-from-weekend-eggs/

If you cook the recipe and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either in the comments at the end of the recipe or share a pic with us here.

#recipe #recipes #eggs #eggslover #breakfasteggs #WeekendEggs #egg #breakfast #brunch #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #lookingforapublisher #writingacookbook  #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angko I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angkor Archaeological Park, home to stupendous Angkor Wat, pictured, celebrated 30 years of its UNESCO World Heritage listing. 

That’s as good an excuse as any to put this magnificent, sprawling archaeological site on your travel list this year.

While riverside Siem Reap, your base for exploring Angkor is bustling once more, there are still nowhere near the visitors of the last busy high season months of December-January 2018-2019 when there were 290,000 visitors. 

Last month there were just 55,000 visitors and December feels a little quieter. A tour guide friend said there were about 150 people at Angkor Wat for sunrise a few days ago.

If you’re looking for tips to visiting Angkor, Siem Reap and Cambodia, just ask us a question in the comments below or check Grantourismo as we’ve got loads of info on our site. Click through to the link in the bio and explore our Cambodia guide or search for ‘Angkor’. 

And please do let us know if you’re coming to Siem Reap. We’d love to see you here x

#siemreap #cambodia #asia #travel #instatravel #traveldeeper #slowtravel #localtravel #experientialtravel #exploremore #neverstopexploring #goexplore #igtravel #angkorwat #angkor #temple #temples #angkorwithoutcrowds #unesco #unescoworldheritagesite #unescoworldheritage #archaeology #archaeologicalsite #traveladdict #beautifuldestinations #beautifulplaces #travelgram #wanderlust #picoftheday📷 #grantourismotravels.
Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky, flavourful and succulent chicken thighs that are fantastic with steamed rice, Chinese greens or a salad, such as a Southeast Asian slaw. 

The chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours before cooking, which ensures it’s packed with flavour, then it can be cooked on a barbecue or in a pan.

Terence’s soy ginger chicken recipe is one of our favourite recipes for a quick and easy meal. I love the sound of the sizzling thighs in the pan, and the warming aromas wafting through the apartment. 

It’s amazing how such flavourful juicy chicken thighs come from such a quick and easy recipe.

Recipe here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio): https://grantourismotravels.com/soy-ginger-chicken-recipe/

If you cook it and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either here or in the comments at the end of the recipe on the site or share a pic with us x 

#recipe #recipes #chicken #soygingerchicken #asianfood #southeastasianfood #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #cookingtime #recipe #recipes #comfortfood #foodblog #food #foodstagram #healthyfood #instafood #healthy #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re mak Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re making with my market haul from Psar Samaki in Siem Reap — all for a whopping 10,000 riel (US$2.50)?! 

Birds-eye chillies thrown in for free! They were on my list but the seller I spent most at (5,000 riel!) scooped up a handful and slipped them into my bag. She was my last stop and knew what I was making.

My Khmer is poor, even after all our years in Cambodia, as I don’t learn languages with the ease I did in my 20s, plus I’m mentally exhausted after researching and writing all day. I have a better vocabulary of Old and Middle Khmer than modern Khmer from studying the ancient inscriptions for the Cambodian culinary history component of our cookbook I’m writing.

So when one seller totalled my purchases I thought she said 5,000 riel but she handed back 4,500 riel! The sum total of two huge bunches of herbs and kaffir lime leaves was 500 riel.

Tip: if visiting Siem Reap, use Khmer riel for local shopping. We’ve mainly used riel since the pandemic started— rarely use US$ now as market sellers quote prices in riels, as do local shops and bakeries, and I tip tuk tuk drivers in riels. I find prices quoted in riels are lower.

Psar Samaki is cheaper than Psar Leu, which is cheaper than Psar Chas, as it’s a wholesale market, which means the produce is fresher. I see veggies arriving, piled high in the back of vehicles, with dirt still on them — as I did on this trip. 

The scent of a mountain of incredibly aromatic pineapples offloaded from the back of a dusty ute was so heady they smelt like they’d just been cut. More exotic European style veggies arrive by big trucks in boxes labelled in Vietnamese (from Dalat) and Mandarin (from China), such as beautiful snow-white cauliflower I spotted.

Note: the freshest produce is sold on the dirt road at the back of the market.

#cambodia #siemreap #foodwriter #foodblogger #foodphotography #igfood #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #instadaily #picoftheday #market #siemreapmarket #psarsamaki #marketfresh #vegetables #healthyfood #marketshopping #traveltips #foodtravel #culinarytravel #localtravel #cooking #cookingtime #curry #homemade #currypaste #grantourismotravels
My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recip My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recipe makes tender meatballs doused in a delightfully tangy-sweet sauce, sprinkled with crispy fried shallots, with carrot-daikon, crunchy cucumber and fragrant herbs. 

The dish is inspired by bún chả, a Hanoi specialty, but it’s not bún chả. No matter what Google or food bloggers tell you. Names are important, especially when cooking and writing about cuisines not our own.

This is an authentic bún chả recipe:  https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-bun-cha-recipe/ You’ll need to get the outdoor BBQ/grill going to do proper smoky bún chả meat patties (not meatballs).

My meatball noodle bowl is perhaps more closely related to dishes such as a Central Vietnam cousin bún thịt nướng (pork skewers on rice noodles in a bowl) and a Southern relation bún bò Nam Bộ (beef atop rice noodles, sprinkled with fried shallots (Nam Bộ=Southern Vietnam) though neither include meatballs. 

Xíu mại= meatballs although they’re different in flavour to mine, which taste more like bún chả patties. Xíu mại remind me of Southern Italian meatballs in tomato sauce.

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, home to millions of Khmer, there’s bánh tằm xíu mại. Bánh tằm=silk worm noodles. They’re topped with meatballs, cucumber, daikon, carrot, fresh herbs, crispy fried onions. Difference: cold noodles doused in a sauce of coconut cream and fish sauce. 

Remove the meatballs, add chopped fried spring rolls and it’s Cambodia’s banh sung, which is a rice noodle salad similar to Vietnam’s bún chả giò :) 

Recipe here: (link in bio) https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-meatballs-and-rice-noodles-recipe/

For more on these culinary connections you’ll have to wait for our Cambodian cookbook and culinary history. In a hurry to know? Come support the project on Patreon. (link in bio)

#recipe #recipes #vietnamesefood #cambodianfood #asianfood #southeastasianfood #ricenoodles #rice #noodlebowl #meatballs #igfood #igfoodie #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #writingacookbook #writingacambodiancookbook #patreon #patreoncreator #grantourismo
It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour matches the furnishings of our rented apartment. So, no, I did not colour-coordinate the interiors to match our cat’s eyes. 

I keep getting DMs from pet clothing brands wanting to “partner” with Pepper and send her free cat clothes and cat accessories. Although she did wear a kerchief for a few years in her more adventurous fashion-forward teenage years, I cannot see this cat in clothes now, can you? 

#pepper #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcatsrule #blackcatsmatter #cat #cats #catsofinstagram #catstagram #catlover #catlovers #catlove #catoftheday #catphoto #catpic #catpics #cambodiancat #cambodiancatsofinstagram #catlife #catloversclub #catoftheday #catgram #catstagram #cats_of_instagram #catphotography #catsofig #catsoftheworld #catsofinsta #cats🐱 #siemreap #cambodia

SAFETY WING INSURANCE

Safety Wing Insurance

Images Protected By Pixsy

Protected By Pixsy

Footer Widget Header

WEB LOVE

As Seen in The Guardian As Seen on NineMSN As Seen on Tnooz
As Seen In The Independent As Seen on Frommers As seen on Viator
As Seen in Afar As seen on Gadling As seen on Context
As Seen in Fathom As Seen on Matador As seen on Inspirato with American Express
As seen on the Daily Mail website As seen on the Forbes website Grantourismo on the SilverKris website

ALL MEDIA COPYRIGHT © 2009–2023 GRANTOURISMO | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
DESIGNED IN APARTMENT RENTALS, HOTELS AND RESORTS AROUND THE WORLD BY GRANTOURISMO MEDIA.
ASSEMBLED IN SOUTH-EAST-ASIA.
GRANTOURISMO TRAVELS AND ‘MAKING TRAVEL MORE MEANINGFUL AND MEMORABLE’ ARE ™ TO GRANTOURISMO MEDIA.