Real Bread Week is here, and Catherine Whyte wants a slice of the action. Treat yourself to an artisan loaf or sign up for a bread-making course
There's so much going on this month: not least Real Bread Week (May 9-15).
So popular are the artisan bakers now found in farmers markets and on the high street – Chalk Hills Bakery in Reigate is a great example – that you need no longer use your loaf to find good bread.
If you'd rather make your own, why not use Real Bread Week as a prompt for participation in a bread-making course? There is a wide range available – from those teaching the basics to courses covering more advanced topics such as Italian breads, Scandinavian sweet breads and sourdoughs (we've got a list below).
I caught up briefly with Jack Sturgess who, under the catchy designation of Bake with Jack, travels to private homes all over Surrey to teach. That’s when he isn’t hosting classes in a professional kitchen at Puttenham, near Guildford.
A chef by trade, Jack inherited his love of baking bread from his mother.
“I used to try the mix and developed a real love for the taste of flour,” he reveals.
“I find bread endlessly fascinating – you can do so much with just four simple ingredients - flour, water, salt and yeast - although it benefits greatly from the addition of a fifth: love!”
Jack’s classes – like most – teach the basic techniques from which students can go on to experiment at a later date. So, if he had one tip for our readers, what would it be?
“Be patient and don’t worry. Just go with the dough…”
Bread Angels is a great online resource for learning to bake or setting up your own micro-bakery
Along with Bake With Jack, there's a host of other local baking courses on offer:
- Crumbs of Capel runs courses, and their produce is widely available at outlets such as Food Float, Dorking and Village Greens in Ockley.
- The Epsom Bakehouse is a micro-bakery that also runs bread-making courses. You can find their delicious bread at the Epsom Farmers Market.
- Surrey Hills Cookery School's Baking Day course (Fetcham / L’head) covers loaves, pastry and cakes.
- A Taste of the Past offers traditional bread-making courses and more. They're based at Merstham, near Redhill.
- Blackbirdbread is a Twickenham-based community bakery which also holds regular classes at Lulu’z coffee shop.
- Ourbread in East Sheen is a micro-bakery with classes by Bread Angel Juli Farkas.
- Ma Baker is a successful Fulham micro-bakery that also hosts classes.
- The Agaphile holds beginners courses run by Sarah Rowland in Waverley Hall, Hindhead.
- Pennyhill Park Hotel's Head Pastry Chef Denis Drame hosts bread-making classes at the gorgeous Bagshot hotel. Enjoy a welcome drink, plus afternoon tea once the hard work is over.
