Bread Psychology

Last Sunday we had two couples of really good, long-standing friends round for lunch and I did a lot of work on an Axis of Evil Middle Eastern meal mostly drawn from Claudia Roden’s fabuloso “Arabesque”. We saw her in discussion with Michelle Roberts at the Bath Literary Festival a few years ago – boy […]

Cymraeg

At last, at great personal expense, Bethesdabasics has been translated into Welsh and is available as a pdf for a mere £10: If there’s enough interest in this unique publication I’ll order a print-run.

Snaps III

Madames, Messieurs – Voila! Starter in fridge five and a half weeks, refreshed Monday, returned from my hospital bed to refresh a second time Tuesday, hand mixed dough Wednesday, three short kneads, no folds, four hours fermentation, shaped, three and a half hours prove, baked 65 minutes at 210C – a pretty perfect 2 Kilo […]

Snaps II

Rye starter after five and a half weeks in fridge: White granular crust on surface, fine underneath. Refreshed a.m. – pictured following morning. As I expected took longer to pick up than the white. Starter had risen, fallen and was quite active.

Holiday Snaps

Well, yes, we’re home after getting a final comprehensive soaking (and a fabulous last meal at Tupina) in Bordeaux on Saturday night. As well as the annual self portrait of Sue and me sitting against the hedge I usually do the starter snaps for those doubters who are scared of their leaven. Before we left […]

Still here …

…. but less tha two weeks left. The only thing you can say about the weather after three weeks is that the rest of France (and Europe) are having it worse. This oven gives a new meaning to “white bread”: Doesn’t matter what flour you use, it comes out white. Had a go at olive […]

Technology!

Been here best part of two weeks already and it is the feast of St Honore, patron saint of bakers and it’s pissing it down. I am being SERIOUSLY challenged by technology. Just before we came to France I bought a Blackberry Playpad and a little keyboard and we brought this and a laptop over […]

France 2013 01

Well, here we are back in France yet again, in Arcachon yet again, in the studio at Villa l’Alma yet again. For all of you suffering from starter phobia: I refreshed my starter last Thursday, put some in the fridge for the next bake in the middle of June, put a little in the corner […]

Dutch Banana Bread

Gert, one of my commercial customers, translated a bunch of Dutch sourdough recipes for me some time back which was very kind of him but now, of course, it’s payback time. I’ve already been called on to make him sauerkraut bread; this time it was banana. The politest way of describing the style of the […]

A Kitchen Drawer

There is something about Bethesda Rugby Club that is just beyond description. You could say it was tatty, even scruffy but that tells you nothing. It’s a huge rectangular single storey building that you feel is standing up better in some places than others – part of the ceiling over the pool table collapsed recently […]