The PArtisan Baker

Made a batch of Cistercian/Torth Owain Glyndwr/Torth Caradog (my breads tend to have a name for every occasion) in last week’s bake:

(note the little jar of fermenting apple on the shelf. Pain des Pommes coming soon)

Still chewing on one eight days after baking …

Something about this reminds me of Madness – the band – silly walk – no?

So I’m sitting around minding my own business a couple of weeks back when an email clatters into the mail box. It’s from Cynan: can I supply trenchers for a mediaeval feast for Gwyl Owain Glyndwr? My reputation for mediaeval bread must have gone before me. For a number years I supplied bread for an annual celebration of William Morgan (1545-1604) of Penmachno who first translated the bible into Welsh.

Cynan Jones is (amongst other things) proprietor of Yr Ardd Fadarch (The Mushroom Garden) which produces the fabulous shiitakes that inspired my mushroom focaccia:

But this time he was in his role of acting chief officer of Partneriaeth Ogwen a local regeneration organisation who were organising the event.

Trenchers were basically plates made of bread. At Mediaeval feasts the food was served on trenchers, the juices soaked into the bread which were then passed on to the lesser guests, thrown to the dogs or given to the poor. A Trencher Man was someone who scoffed the lot himself.

A bit of research showed that trenchers weren’t individually or purpose made, they were simply slices of old bread. So the starting point was a loaf and we weren’t looking for authenticity beyond using ingredients that would have been available at the time and trying to produce something of the spirit of the age.

Cwrw Ogwen (Ogwen Beer), Bethesda’s first microbrewery, has only been around a matter of months but it provided the opportunity to make it a beer bread with local connections. As a representation of the coarser flour of the time I used a mix of strong bread flour, wholemeal and rye and the dough was stuffed with whole wheat grain soaked in the beer which was kindly supplied by Cwrw Ogwen.

Four 2 kilo loaves can’t have left anyone hungry.

They also wanted a bread to go with the opening soup course so I thought it had to be a total contrast to the heavy, chewy beer bread. I was thinking of an olive oil bread but, although olive oil would have been available to the rich, they used it for frying fish. When it came to enriched doughs butter and eggs were used. White flour was also there for the rich so I decided Owain Glyndwr was sufficiently generous a host to use not only the whitest of flours but also to flavour the dough with saffron.

Saffron Brioche – Mediaeval tear & share – the bread pulls apart to provide 60g rolls.

As usual I end up with the runt:

I also ended up half a bottle of Carodog with which I made a beer batter and went on to fry a fantastic posh fish and chips – cod, squid and prawns from Pysgod Mark. – fresh fish, Friday nights, Bethesda Rugby Club.

Interesting things happening in Bethesda these days …

Last of my entries:

“Marcus Row’s Dark Wheat Beer & Red Onion Bread nestling in the Spring primroses.

Slowly fried red onions finished in simmering wheat beer cooled and incorporated into an overnight leaven sponge. Using dark beer deepens the flavours.

This is the bread formula I most wish I’d developed myself.”

Other people can do what they like but personally I wonder about the current trend towards highly decorated breads. What could be more effective than these simple slashes on this week’s Medbred – an olive oil bread with red onion and herbs?

Torth Caradog!  A 2K loaf containing a whole bottle of Caradog, the bottled beer of Bethesda’s new brewery Cwrw Ogwen. Bursting with whole grain.

Mom 96 yesterday eager for the cab to take her to lunch. Had to quieten her down with a small prosecco …