Hey, we might be rustic: but we can also do shiny:

Pane Pugliese – rustic or what. None of yer poncey flour, tap water at 66%, 50 minutes at 250C.

For several years my main concern was knocking out and selling as many loaves as I could from my little kitchen. These days things are a little more leisurely which is just as well because my knees are pretty well fucked from running up and down stairs with sacks of flour, boxes of dough, full […]

Big G’s Cherry Tomato Focaccia in all its glory http://www.amazing-grains.com/ A bit modified since I learned it from Gareth back in 2010 but that’s where the main idea (and the olive oil/water/salt emulsion) came from.

Younger people often say to me, “Yo, awesomest respect Mick bro dough man (that sort of thing). Your bread might be light on the ancient grains of the Pharohs or the amaranth and quinoa of the New World but you always get the most out of  your loaves with snappy snaps. Tell us about your […]

I’ve made a lot of rye bread in my time but it still doesn’t feel as natural to me as wheat – I always feel I’m working against the grain (as you might say) even though the results are good. In fact I love the results, I just find the process awkward. On the other […]

I am in my seventieth year. It has been a very long time since I thought that I could have the slightest influence over our national or global destiny. Even if I could influence which political party comprised the UK Government through the ballot box, all governments are in the control of the major corporations, […]

So Sue comes home from the market with figs, the first this year. I, wise virgin that I am, have dough lurking in the fridge for just such an eventuality. A few curls of serrano, the odd spoonful of the elixir (honey 2, olive oil 2, balsamic vinegar 1) and we’re away: All it needs […]

Saturday was the Dyffryn Ogwen (Bethesda) Agricultural Show – http://www.sioedyffrynogwen.co.uk/ Held on the Rugby ground where many a Bethesdabaker has pitched his tent (and, in the case of Chris Young, Real Bread Campaign, had it nicked before bedtime day one) it’s probably typical of small agricultural shows around the country; a roped off square for […]

What I mean is, you can make other breads out of pizza dough. Or, to put it another way, what is pizza dough? Saturday I knocked up some dough for pizza. These days I use an 80% hydration dough for pizza and ferment it in the fridge for a couple of days. But I was […]