Raisin Challah – an old friend. This one made with duck eggs. Kev (another old friend) brought the duck eggs so he shall have a loaf.

2 kilos – when bread starts to become real. Mick’s Classic Sourdough – half-and-half bread flour/wholemeal. 2,150g dough; 250C top, 220C bottom; 15 mins steam; 65 minutes total bake.

The search for Pinsa continues. Marc Vetri’s Mastering Pizza contains a sort of self-assemby formula for Pinsa. By this I mean he gives you a basic formula and method for yeasted 80% Al Taglio dough and then gives you several pages of variations, Whole Grain Al Taglio, Sourdough Whole Grain Al Taglio until we arrive […]

– but not a bad start. Us aged and vulnerable people have taken our first couple of local excursions since lock-down in the past two or three weeks. A couple of OK meals that leave you longing for something special – at least more special than you can make yourself at home. My baking mate, […]

What it is to have your own cheese-maker on hand! And not just any old cheese-maker. Carrie Rimes makes amazing ewe’s milk yoghurt and a selection of cheeses including the prize winning soft Brefu Bach. So I nurture her: One pot of her yoghurt fuels two Beetbrots and two Chleb Bezkidzki’s. Yes, one of each […]

The last time Sue and I went anywhere was to Liverpool in February 2020 (with the exception of Covid jabs, GP appointments and minimal trips to the local Tesco Express). We once took the bus all of the four miles to Bangor to get my eyes tested. Fortunately we met a friend there who whisked […]

Ist March – Saint David’s Day once again New version of Focaccia Dewi Sant this year. 400g 80% hydration dough, a mere 24 hours old, pressed and stretched in a 20cm square tin. Who needs Caerffili cheese when we have our own Cosyn Cymru Olwyn Fawr cut in small cubes, scattered and pressed into the […]

Aren’t you supposed to have a gentle day on a Monday if you are retired (and tired) and there are no great committments and there’s practically a full week before your income tax returns have to go in? That was the intention but (bread) jobs started to line up right from the git-go. First and […]

This stylish black ceramic casserole with its sweet yellow lid was part of my Christmas present from Sue. I’ve always had a weakness for ceramic pots that can be used directly on a gas hob – the food cooks differently and more gently – flavours seem to be richer and more rounded. Here’s a few […]

100% wholemeal rye is strange, primeval, wonderful stuff. It doesn’t seem to have any connection with wheat bread and, in my book, it’s a mistake to try to treat it as though it does. I developed my own baking method years ago: very hot oven for 15 minutes followed by 45 minutes moderate heat, then […]