TRENCHER
No finer thing than roast beef oozing into a trencher.
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Heat the milk and water to blood temperature (99°F), then remove from the heat. Add the yeast and mix until dissolved. Leave in a warm place for about 10 minutes.
  2. Sift the flour, sugar and salt into a bowl and rub in half the dripping. Add the yeast mixture and stir well to form a dough. Cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place for 10–15 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead on a floured work surface for 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Cover again and leave in a warm place for 25 minutes, until doubled in size.
  3. Roll out the dough so it is a good ¾–1 inch bigger all round than your joint of meat. Place on a baking tray, cover and leave to prove for about 25 minutes, until doubled in size again. Bake in an oven preheated to 390°F for 20 minutes, until golden brown.
  4. Slice the top off the trencher (just a thin slice) and discard it. Dot the rest of the dripping over the trencher and put it in the oven for just a few moments to melt. Place on a serving dish, pour some gravy over it and put the joint of meat on top. Then give the meat its normal resting time, so all the lovely juices get sucked into the trencher.