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Last broadcast on Mon, 28 Dec 2009, 16:00 on BBC Radio 4 (see all broadcasts).
Synopsis
Sheila Dillon celebrates the rise of real bread.
The majority of Britain's bread is highly processed, packed with additives and often made with cost, rather than quality, in mind. But countless bakers, amateur and professional, are fighting back.
Sheila finds out about some of the new ventures that are making artisan bread more widely available, and at a competitive price. Reporter Gerard Baker visits the Handmade Bakery in West Yorkshire, a community-supported bakery with dozens of local subscribers.
Sheila also hears about St Mary's Bakery in Frensham in Surrey, where Richard Dean started his venture by offering his bread to the neighbours. Sunday Telegraph food columnist Bee Wilson explains what happened to bakers in the Middle Ages when their bread was not up to scratch. In the studio, food writer Rose Prince launches her idea for extending breadmaking skills to the young as well as encouraging more people to enjoy 'real' bread.
Recipes
Three-minute Spelt Bread from the The New English Table: Over 200 Recipes That Will Not Cost The Earth by by Rose Prince published by Fourth Estate Ltd, ISBN-10: 0007250932
ISBN-13: 978-0007250936
Making spelt bread is completely different from making conventional wheat bread. The grain reacts aggressively to yeast, and does not have to be mixed, let alone kneaded, for more than a minute. There is also no need to let it rise.
This recipe is from Sibille Wilkinson, whose husband, Andrew, grows organic spelt and mills flour on their Northumberland farm. It really does take just three minutes to prepare.
Ingredients
500g/1lb 2oz spelt flour
10g/1/4oz fast-action dried yeast
½ teaspoon sea salt
55g/2oz sunflower seeds
55g/2oz sesame seeds**
55g/2oz linseeds
500ml/18fl oz warm water
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, adding the water last. Mix well, and then turn the dough into a greased 900g/2lb loaf tin. Put in the oven immediately and bake for 1 hour, until the loaf has risen, lifts out of the tin easily, and sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Take the loaf out of the tin, and then put it back in the oven for 5–10 minutes to crisp up the sides and base. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.
Copyright Sibille Wilkinson
Doris Grant Loaf
A super simple, no-knead loaf invented by Mrs Grant in the 1940’s. Add a handful of seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, poppy or a mix) to the dough to accentuate the deliciously nutty flavour.
Ingredients
1lb/450g strong wholemeal or spelt flour
1 tsp brown sugar or honey
½ sachet easy-blend or easy-bake yeast
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil or melted butter
Method
Mix the flour with the sugar or honey, yeast and 2 tsp salt. Stir in the oil or butter and 3/4pt/420ml water to make loose, sticky dough.
Scrape the dough into a greased 1lb/450g loaf tin.
Cover loosely with oiled cling film; leave in a warm place for 30 minutes (until dough has risen by a third).
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7.
Bake for half an hour. Slip out of the tin and check that the base sounds hollow when tapped (if not, give it another 5-10 minutes). Cool on a rack.
Copyright Doris Grant
Book: Swindled: From Poison Sweets to Counterfeit Coffee - The Dark History of the Food Cheats
Swindled: From Poison Sweets to Counterfeit Coffee - The Dark History of the Food Cheats by Bee Wilson, published by John Murray, ISBN-10: 0719567769
ISBN-13: 978-0719567766
St. Marys Bakery, Frensham, Surrey
Richard Dean bakes for his neighbours and local shops from his home kitchen at Frensham in Surrey. To Contact St. Marys Bakery email: stmarysbakery@ymail.com
Broadcasts
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Sun 27 Dec 200912:32
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Mon 28 Dec 200916:00
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