“Artisan Bread”?

Look what just came through my letter box: Does that look like incitement to con and rip off the British public? It suggests that you too could market small loaves of fake bread for the best part of a fiver – no knowledge required. The Real Bread Campaign is celebrating it’s tenth anniversary this year […]

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Grill Pan II

Next in the grill pan- Burgers! 100% beef (well, a little salt & black pepper) Plus instant burger buns (dough in fridge 48 hours, roughly shaped and straight in the oven as soon as it reaches 250C). Not a meal for food-faddists.

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Bruschetta

Roast cherry tomatoes in olive oil with garlic and chile flakes. Grill Pain de Campagne, rub both sides with a peeled clove of garlic and sprinkle with olive oil. Layer the tomatoes on the toast with goats cheese and rocket pouring any pan juices over the top. Sue’s favourite (minus the chile)

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Santes Dwynwen

Santes (Saint) Dwynwen is the Welsh patron saint of lovers and her saint’s day is this Thursday 25 January. This is a bit weird because she spent most of her life as a nun but not as weird as the rest of the story. Back in the 5th century Dwynwen is deeply in lurve with […]

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2018

10 January already. Better crank up the blog. People who have done courses with me are already featuring in the news this year. Three years ago I taught Benjamin Lee and his staff at Becws Mefus, Llangefni, to bake sourdough and went on to do a product development consultancy for him. Since then he has […]

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Happy New Year/Blwyddyn Newydd Dda

Legs, the bakery pest control officer, was supposed to be announcing the New Year’s greetings to family, bakers and other friends but, as you can see, she is deeply immersed in her new extreme fitness routine. Fortunately she has spent Christmas reading “The Angry Chef – Bad Science and the Truth about Healthy Eating”” by […]

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First Course

Christmas lunch, first course, got to be simple. Table laid with linen, antique family tablecloth, candles, champagne in the flutes, nice Touraine lined up, Pysgod Mark’s very fine smoked salmon matched with my thinly sliced Borodinski, minimal accompaniments – shards of red onion, a few capers, mildish horseradish sauce. Stuff the turkey …

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A Knock in the Night

In Bethesda when you hear a loud knock followed by rapidly departing footsteps, and you open the door to reveal what looks like a brick wrapped in foil and an anonymous looking envelope, you do not phone the Bomb Squad. It’s just the first of the Christmas Bara Briths being delivered by someone who has […]

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