Microbakery – BBC Food Programme (2)

So what do I think having listened to it carefully twice? A whole 28 minutes of the esteemed BBC Food Programme devoted to microbakery! When I started Bethesdabakers in 2007, the word microbakery wasn’t even in current use; I started to call it that on D. Lepard’s forum a few months later and wondered if […]

Microbakery – BBC Food Programme (1)

Do a two day Microbakery Course with me and become a radio star!! At the end of 2001 Albert Smith was a virtually unknown baker wanting to start a small business and naturally came to me to learn how to set up and run a Microbakery. Today, just over two years later, he was featured […]

Pizza (dough) Again

So I tried the same method with a much wetter pizza dough that had been in the fridge 3 or 4 days. It works!

Pide Again

This week Gert is doing Turkish therefore it has to be Pide. The brilliant thing about baking for Gert is he not only gets you devising new breads, he has you revisiting old favourites. That’s when you find out, like last week with the Cistercian, that your notes aren’t as comprehensive as you thought they […]

Me & Jeffrey Hamelman

Bet you never realised that Jeffrey Hamelman and I are really close. It’s a long story but I just rejoined the Bread Bakers Guild of America after a lot of years, paid my $110, checked out my membership details, and who’s there next to me alphabetically? Maestro Hamelman! That might take a bit of living […]

Cistercianed!

Well, it was going to be a poor week anyway – just baking four loaves for Gert who is doing a Welsh booze menu this week. But it’s so long since I did Cistercian I forgot the method. Basically it’s stuffed full of grain soaked in beer. This time I used pot barley which truly […]

Real Cheesy

I expect you all got your Real Bread email the other day. Last month I suggested that maybe the sensible approach to the membership problem would be to ask everyone on their email list why they don’t join. Then maybe they could create an organisation that bakers do want to sign up to. And I […]

Voodoo Chile

“2 teaspoons active dried yeast ¼ cup warm water 4 cups plus 1 tablespoon bread flour ¾ cup plus ½ cup polenta 1 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal 1¾ teaspoons kosher salt 1 can (15 ounces) yellow corn kernels with liquid 1 egg ½ cup buttermilk ¼ cup dark unsulfured molasses 1 yellow onion, coarsely […]

Pizza #34

During my birthday romp around Cardiff and Bath a couple of weekends ago I studied the proliferation of celebrity bread books with a sinking heart and noticed that the wonderful Kitchens shop was awash with bannetons, evens lames. At the equally wonderful Toppings book shop in Bath I bought Guiseppe Mascoli & Bridget Hugo’s Artisan […]

That Dough Again

Nothing to complain about this week I’m afraid. Four books sold to Iceland, West Sussex, Texas and Ipswich, another awaiting confirmation from someone on an airbase somewhere in Turkey. Picked up a bakery consultancy gig. This meant my pizza dough stayed in the fridge for a third day. Knocked it back: Gave it a couple […]