Monday 26 July 2010

Our Daily Bread


I had a lovely day on Sunday! An entire day dedicated to learning how to make a good loaf of bread.
I have made bread before & the results have been fine - especially when baked in the Aga, but I've always wanted to learn more & to try something more adventurous than a plain loaf.
So, early on Sunday morning I headed off to Nailsworth to do a full day's bread making course at the well known Hobb's House Bakery.

There were just seven of us plus Claire from Hobbs House HQ & we had the entire place to ourselves. My fellow bread making enthusiasts were from far & wide - I was the only local one!

We were met by our tutor for the day - the very enthusiastic baker Tom & were then whisked upstairs to the cafe area to meet everyone & to enjoy coffee & a delicious breakfast made by their talented chef, Anthony.

It would take ages to tell you everything we were taught but the highlight was of course when we were able to see the finished results - we made sour dough, soda bread, white bread, bread rolls, focaccia, pita bread & cholla. They all turned out beautifully & made us feel like quite the artisan bakers!
In between we had elevenses & a delicious lunch once again made by Anthony, coffee, teas & juices.




It was a thoroughly enjoyable day & I would recommend it to anyone. We eventually bade fond farewells at about 6pm & toddled off laden with bread, recipes & a tub of "Monster" - Hobb's 55 year old sour dough which we have to keep alive & kicking for our own baking.




You may recognise Tom from "Mary, Queen of Shops", he is also co-presenting "The High Street" which is currently being filmed in Shepton Mallet.

Here we are at the end of a busy day in front of the fabulous wood burning oven where all the bread was baked.


24 comments:

  1. Oh lucky you! All those yummy smells of freshly baked bread I can smell in my imagination.
    Julie xxxxxx

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  2. What a lovely thing to do...I'm sure you will never buy another loaf of bread from the supermarket again. You can't beat homemade bread for the smell and the taste.....
    Julie x

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  3. Hi Jayne,
    Funnily enough, I did a bread making course at River Cottage last week. Your bread looks scrummy, there's nothing quite like the smell of baking bread, is there? ?
    Hen x

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  4. Why doesn't my bread turn out like that!

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  5. What a fab day...and yes I remember Tom, he was quite dishy...did he comment on his appearance with the 'very knowledgeable' other baker (not !!).
    Your bread looks delicious, trouble is when it's that good I want to eat more!...

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  6. Looks like a great day out, I love freshly baked bread. I remember Tom from the show, I thought he was great with that crazy women!!! :)

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  7. What a fun thing to do!!
    So are you busy in your kitchen making bread all this week?
    ;-)

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  8. I love coming over to you- your yellow jug of tulips ALWAYS makes me smile!

    What a lovely way to spend your Sunday...I have made bread before but it never worked as an economy measure because we just sat and ate the whole lot while it was warm- heartburn city!
    I should love to start baking it again- perhaps when the Rayburn is re-lit in the autumn.

    xx

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  9. Sounds like a fantastic day. Who can resist the smell of freshly baked bread?

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  10. Oh Jane what a lovely day in so many ways. Thanks for telling us all about it, very inspiring.

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  11. wow it looks fabulous, what a lucky thing you are. That bread is making me feel really hungry!

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  12. What a wonderful thing to do!
    I did see Tom on Mary Queen of Shops and he seemed like a lovely chap!Freshly baked bread, yum yum!
    Rachel x

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  13. One of my favourite smells is fresh made bread. Nostalgia at country cottage is based in Shepton mallet high street and has been taking us through what is happening there. It is fascinating.
    Gillx

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  14. WOW that bread looks delicious!

    Victoria x

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  15. "Monster" has been around for fifty five years and you get given some to keep alive.... no pressure there then...:O))))))))))))))!!!

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  16. Wow! You are an expert baker now by the sounds of it! We used to have a lovely bakers just round the corner and the smell of the bread baking at 6am in the morning was heavenly.Sadly it's gone now and we have a burger bar instead :o(

    Bellaboo :o)

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  17. yum yum pigs bum! I am starving after gazing at those loaves xxx

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  18. Adorei o teu blog, fiz um post sobre ele on my blog, this is the link http://moniceterra.blogspot.com/2010/07/novas-da-rede.html
    Thanks
    XOXO

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  19. I'd love to do this, you really can't beat home-made bread can you. What a great day's work. I remember Tom on MQOS. He was most definitely on to a lost cause trying to help out that bigoted woman from the failing bakery! x

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  20. Ohhhh how scrummy! My eldest boy isn't too keen on his veggies, but for some reason he adores homemade veggie soup with crusty bread...maybe I should knock a few loaves up like you eh?? Hmmm...not sure mine would turn out as great as yours.
    Looks like you had a great day...I want to go on a day course somewhere now! What do you recommend? xxx

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  21. It all looks so pretty and yummy on that polka dot tablecloth.

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  22. You cant beat home baked bread :) xxx

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  23. What a fun day! Home made bread is delicious and it sounds like a wonderful time was had by all. So many different breads too. Lesley

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