This month, bakers across the city will be rising against the machine to champion honest loaves for Real Bread Week (21 February to 1 March) – we catch up with teams from The Orchard and Hobbs House bakeries to find out more, and get some insider tips on perfecting your own superhero bread at home.
Not all loaves are created equal. We’ve probably all been there, right? When you’re seeking out a snack on the go, snapping up a cheap service station sandwich because you need sustenance, sharpish. Then afterwards, you might feel uncomfortable. A little bloated. Lethargic, even. It might be the bread; some types of bread are crammed with additives – many of which are included with good intentions – yet essentially then fall under the category of ultra-processed foods. But bread has the potential to be so simple, made with only flour and water.
While we know that it’s not always possible to completely avoid the odd additive here and there, this month provides one helluva reason to celebrate real bread thanks to a week-long campaign that will see many of Bristol’s best bakers marking the occasion.
Real Bread Week, which fires up its ovens from 21 February until 1 March, is in its 16th year, and gives local bakeries, baking schools, mills, schools, care homes, youth and other community groups a great excuse to make, buy and share real bread in all its wonderful shapes and sizes.
But what exactly is ‘real bread’? And why is it worth celebrating? We turned to those in the know to understand more about the best kind of bread since, well, sliced bread.
“Real bread is simple,” says Lauren Booth, who is head baker at The Orchard, which has sites in St George and Stokes Croft. “It’s just flour, water and a touch of salt (without caking agents). These days, lots of bread for sale is packed with additives and chemicals your body doesn’t need. A proper sourdough loaf, however, is different: slow, natural and gentle on your gut.”
The folks over at Hobbs House Bakery – which among its stores has locations in Chipping Sodbury and Gloucester Road and supplies many more businesses across the region – couldn’t agree more. Their marketing director told us: “To us, real bread is made by real bakers with real ingredients, no additives or processing aids. Bread can be baked at its simplest with just three ingredients: flour, salt and water. Our Rye Sourdough is literally just made from three ingredients. Our other sourdoughs contain two different types of flour, always rye sourdough starter, so rye flour, and then often a white flour – so four ingredients in total.”
The Real Bread Campaign – which is behind Real Bread Week – defines real bread as being made “without chemical raising agents, so-called processing aids or any other additives… Sadly (depending on whose figures you believe) around 95%+ of what is sold as ‘bread’ in the UK falls short of this very low bar.”
Rise against the machine
Real hands and valuable skills are extremely important when it comes to making real bread, it seems. So we put it to our expert bakers: how do you make your daily, bread? Now, bear with us – if you’re not a regular home baker, things are about to get a little technical. But we think it’s rather fascinating to hear about how the magic happens.
“With our sourdough, we fermentolyse the dough [resting the mixed flour, water and starter] in the mixer for 30 minutes before adding salt,” explains Lauren at The Orchard. “This process improves stretch and strength as natural enzymes begin breaking down proteins and starches into sugars, which in turn support healthy wild yeast activity.
“For our bread rolls, we bulk prove the dough to create a light, fluffy, tear-able crumb. Bulk proving is a resting period of 30-40 minutes after mixing, before weighing and shaping, allowing the dough to relax and develop flavour and texture.”
Gosh, just imagine the glorious aroma! Over at Hobbs House, there’s equal amounts of time and care being put into their bread, too: “We bake 24 hours a day, six days a week,” explains Anna. “We have a large team of bakers who mix, shape, mould and bake our bread. Some of our bread will take 24 hours to go through this process, with a large amount of rest for the dough and unbaked bread. Making bread in this slow way gives a chance for the dough, gluten and flavour to develop in that resting time. Taking this time often means the bread lasts longer once baked, that’s if you can resist eating it!
“Our Sourdough Starter is 70 years old; it has risen a lot of loaves. It’s made from organic dark rye flour and has a distinctive tangy flavour. We choose our other ingredients carefully too, and we are working with local farmers to find the best grains for our bread. We believe you can taste the difference. Baked in our loaves is also five generations of history, knowledge, and shared recipes, so hopefully you can feel and taste that too.”
Starter for Ten
Right, well we’ve heard how the big bakers manage to perfect those irresistible loaves that line tempting window and counter displays across the city – but how are we able to recreate this communion of art and science at home?
Looking after a sourdough starter (that regular ritual of feeding with flour and lukewarm water, letting it ferment and then carefully discarding the excess) is no laughing matter… it’s as prized as a puppy in some homes. Thankfully you can put it to sleep in the fridge for a bit if it all gets too much.
“Keep it simple, choose a recipe and method that works for you,” advises Anna. “We find lots of people like ‘no-knead’ recipes where you fold the loaf at regular intervals. Also, find a good and stable sourdough. We bake with a dark rye because it’s stable and reliable and gives a delicious flavour. (We also sell this online and in our shops.)”
And although it sounds like hard work, it’s worth thinking ahead if you want to bake your own at home: “Get your starter ready at least a week ahead; a strong starter makes a strong loaf,” notes Lauren. “Then on mixing day, embrace a high-hydration dough – it will look wet, and that’s exactly what you want. Smaller home batches often need slightly longer mixing than bakery-sized doughs. You’ll know it’s ready when a small piece stretches thin and smooth without ripping.”
If all this talk of real bread has you cautiously eyeing your drab supermarket loaf in its plastic wrapping on the kitchen side, then look no further, because our friends at Hobbs House have shared their sourdough recipe with readers on the next page.
If you want to share your loaf during Real Bread Week, use the hashtag #RealBreadWeek. hobbshousebakery.co.uk | theorchardbristol.com
Visit sustainweb.org for more information on Read Bread Week from the Real Bread Campaign.
Sourdough Recipe by Hobbs House Bakery
A classic sourdough bread recipe makes a loaf with the perfect texture for sandwiches, toast or crispy bruschetta
Ingredients for feeding the starter
225g sourdough starter
75g water
75g flour
Equipment
Sourdough Starter
Proving Basket
Cling film or shower cap
Dough Scraper
Water Sprayer
Oven Gloves
Ingredients for making the loaf
250g warm water
500g good quality white flour
Big pinch of salt (10g)
Method
1. To make your own sourdough culture, mix equal parts flour and water in a sealable jar – 75g of each works well. The mixing action traps natural airborne yeast particles in the flour and water mix,
and they begin to feed on the flour in the jar creating a living yeast colony. Leave the jar somewhere warm and remember to feed your sourdough equal parts flour and water every day. By 5 days in it should be bubbling and ready to use to bake our sourdough bread.
2. Feed your starter 12 hours before baking with 75g flour and 75g water, leave out of the fridge for 12 hours before baking to enliven. Put the flour into a bowl and add 300g of your sourdough culture. Then add the warm water and the salt. Mix it all together and then turn it out onto a table for kneading. It is a wet dough so you have to work it for a long time (15 minutes by hand) before it will start to come away from the table. The finished dough should be very soft but doesn’t stick to the back of your dry hand. If it does, work in a little more flour.
3. Feed your starter for the next time with 75g flour and 75g water and store back in the fridge.
4. Once the dough is stretchy, put it into a bowl and leave it somewhere warm to rise for 2 hours.
5. Shape the dough on a lightly floured surface to fit a proving basket or loaf tin. To do this, stretch the dough out into a long rectangle then fold each outer third inwards. Knuckle down a seam at the bottom of the dough nearest to you, then roll the dough down from top creating a tight loaf shape.
6. Dust the proving basket or loaf tin with flour and roll the dough in flour to stop it sticking. Put it into the basket, cover it and leave it to rise in a warm place for a second time, for about 8-12 hours.
To bake it you will need a baking stone or a heavy metal baking tray. Get your oven very hot at 240°C/gas mark 9 and heat the stone or tray. Carefully turn the loaf out onto the hot stone or tray – be careful not to knock any air out. Give it your signature cut on the top then put the dough in the oven and throw a cup of water into the bottom of the oven to create steam. Bake for 30 minutes until golden.
For more information, and to buy sourdough starter and equipment, visit hobbshousebakery.co.uk
