It’s a truism that bakers never have bread for themselves (even retired bakers). Apart from miscalculations, you weaken and give the bread you put aside for yourself to a pleading customer who forgot to order.
Nowadays, of course, there’s the memory factor – the so called Senior Moment (daft old bat!)
And, if you only bake sourdough, a loaf is always a day away. Guarantee if I don’t bother to refresh my starter before I go to bed, by morning we’re short again.
Anyway, this is my solution. Instead of baking one large loaf, I bake two small ones and put one in the freezer, so there’s always something in reserve (I already know it won’t work).
Top left, baby Campagnes; right, Nina’s Bread with Dark Beer & Spelt (about 470g unbaked).
Talking of Senior Moments, this will worry people who know me (it worried me). Walked up to the bar in the Harkers in Chester last week. What will you have, says the barman. Open my mouth and nothing comes out. Seemingly, long pause. Finally say cider. Barman starts running through what they have on the pumps and I say, what have you got out the back? He goes to see which saves me, my memory returns, he comes back and says, Black Dragon and Dogbolter, and I say as nonchalant as you like, oh you haven’t got Old Rosie on then, and order a pint of Black Dragon.
I have memory lapses, particularly with names, but Old Rosie is tattooed on my heart.
I nearly ordered a pint of Wild Turkey …
The PArtisan Baker 