A few weekends ago, I was lucky enough to be asked to help
with one of the brilliant Food Safari ‘Bread in a Day’ courses, getting my
hands dirty as I delved in to the mountains of washing up, scraped the remains
of the plentiful loaves out of the bowls of the all-kneaded-out participants,
and measured endless jugs of water and portions of butter. Now, it is not often
that the words ‘lucky’ and ‘washing up’ are seen in the same sentence, the last
time probably being from the mouth of a pot washer on Roman Abramovich’s super-yacht
moored in some balmy Caribbean paradise; but on this occasion, an exception must
definitely be made. From my station at the sink, I learnt a wealth of bread
making tips, secrets of the trade and even had a sneaky listen to some of Chef,
and resident bread-making instructor, Peter Harrison’s well-guarded recipes...
Now, if you love food, and live in Suffolk, the chances are
that you have heard of, and almost definitely, covet a place on one of the
unique, experience-led courses at the Food Safari. Brainchild of Sweffling’s
Polly Robinson, the food lovers haven is hot on the radar of foodies near and
far, dishing up the perfect opportunity for those with a true love of good-grub
to learn more about their favourite producers, get down and dirty with
butchery, rummage in the hedgerows on one of the incredibly popular foraging days
or try their hand at producing beautiful loaves of artisan bread. The exciting
venture, started in 2009, is all about getting back to the real, grass-roots of
food; inspiring a real connection with where the stuff we pile onto our plates
comes from and how it is made; encouraging a reconnection with the unique and
exciting local producers that make this possible, and that we are lucky enough
to have right on our doorstep.
The Food Safari gives the intrigued day-tripper, to the full
on gastro-geek the chance to go behind the counter of our most exciting food producers,
delving in to the traditions and processes that make their offerings so special,
whilst encouraging the intrepid food explorer to get elbow deep in the finest
quality ingredients with an absolutely unique range of utterly hands-on courses
and experiences. Whether you long to peek behind the doors of the smokehouses at
Pinney’s in Orford, crammed with rows of vibrant, glistening sides of salmon;
long to learn more about Sourdough starters at the now famous Pump Street Bakery,
or want to get your hands dirty with a spot of game butchery with the Wild Meat
Company; the experiences offered up by Polly and her team are totally unrivalled.
Winner of the hotly contested Best Day Course/Food Experience category at the
2012 UK Cookery School Awards, the company is rapidly spreading it’s wings,
growing up and getting ready to fly the nest and dive into the extensive waters
of the wider British food scene; with branches popping up in London, Derbyshire
and Cambridgeshire to name but a few. Now you see why I was excited to squeeze
on those Marigolds.
But, back to the loaf in hand, and on with a little
reminisce about a day filled to the brim with almost every kind of homemade
bread possible; that passed in a cloud of flour and a blur of washing up suds
and, to be honest, left me absolutely desperate for a sandwich...
The day began at 9.45am (I would say sharp, but the roads
around Suffolk are notoriously not too friendly with the SatNav;) the group
arriving in excited dribs and drabs, armed with bread making questions, and
keen to discover where their brick-like, tasteless loaves had been going wrong. Over
steaming coffee pots and baskets of wholemeal scones, homemade Eccles cakes and
local jams, the small crowd of novice bakers took the opportunity to indulge in
a short chat about all things bread; grilling Peter for advice and delving into
his catalogue of experience for any little titbit of trade secrets, before
getting straight to the work stations, out with the scales, and on with the
arm-stretches to avoid any kneading based injury (the true peril of bread, never
mind what the dieticians say.)
As the sink filled, and I got to grips with the finer points
of washing up plug-clogging bowls full of dough (definitely as exciting as it
sounds); the class cracked on with mixing, shaping and proving enough beautiful
loaves to fill a small bakery. White and brown tin loaves emerged from the oven
in perfectly bronzed drones; tea breads filled the air with delicious wafts of
fruit and spice, and overflowing basins of pillowy pre-made dough were rolled,
flattened and pinched into every shape imaginable before being covered in
poppy, sesame and sunflower seeds; making an army of rolls big enough to take
on any dinner party.
As lunch neared, a tray crammed with mismatched bowls of the
most beautiful pizza toppings appeared, ready to adorn the olive oil enriched
foccacia dough, proved and waiting by the side of the Aga. After forming half
of this great duvet of creamy white dough in to dimpled, shining foccacia,
topped with sea salt, rosemary and glistening pools of olive oil; the
apron-clad bakers smothered their freshly rolled bases with homemade tomato
sauce, before speckling with their favourite toppings from a deli-lover’s
bounty of creamy mozzarella, olives, glistening Sunblush tomatoes, spicy
chorizo and Parma ham. So, as I tried not to dribble (unprofessional, even for
a washer-upper,) the guests feasted upon their anchovy or goats cheese strewn
pizzas; twinned with likewise drool-inducing chargrilled vegetable and chickpea,
and grilled chicken, roasted squash and pesto salads. Dessert, of course
followed, a gorgeously sticky orange and almond cake, served up with neon pink
roasted vanilla rhubarb and tart crème fraiche, and glasses were amply filled
with plenty of local apple juice, wine and Adnams beers. Just what those worn
out arms needed.
So, after a quick wind-down and fill-up, it was straight
back to the worktop; ready to stretch some more gluten strands. After lunch it
was the turn of flat breads; charred in a hot griddle pan, puffed up under a pan
lid on the Aga, or baked in a scorching hot oven to produce perfectly pocketed pittas.
What a mouthful. Served with roasted cumin seed and coriander yoghurt or
butterbean and garlic dips, the delightfully misshapen rounds were just further
proof of the versatility of bread; perfect for a dinner party or as the ideal
base for a special lunch- piled with hummus, roasted peppers and charred chorizo.
One of the best things about the course, other than the
absolutely vast array of delicious food that was offered up on an almost
non-stop basis; was the opportunity to grill a seasoned baker, discovering the
answers to all the questions you have always wished were written on the back of
your bag of strong white flour; tips that make the difference between a loaf
that breaks the bread knife, and the kind that will make you turn away from the
supermarket bakery aisle time after time in favour of. From the best flours to
buy, the ultimate temperature for a perfect crust, to the slightly alarming,
but as the class was assured, completely safe, spraying of the inside of the
oven with water to achieve the optimum bake; there were more tips being thrown
about in that room than in a good American restaurant.
However, my absolute favourite in the quest to avoid bread
only worthy of the duck pond, was the ‘window-pane’ test. Don’t worry, this
does not involve throwing your rolls at the French doors to check their texture
or crust; it is simply the best way to check if you can give your arms a break
and stop kneading. Pinch a small piece of dough from your kneaded ball and
stretch between your fingers, looking out for a texture that holds together
like a thin piece of Clingfilm (or indeed glass.) If (sorry arms) any breakage
occurs or holes appear before you have formed a translucent film, it is back to
the kneading board to achieve that perfect texture, where the gluten strands
have been stretched enough to guarantee the perfect loaf. Phew the tension, I
definitely couldn’t help leaving the sink for this part of the bread making
process...
At the end of the day, as the guests left with bag upon ‘Food
Safari’ stamped bag of fresh, still warm bread, I leant back against the sink
and realised that I have never enjoyed washing up so much. The day was a
whirlwind of yeast, flour and balls of dough, splattered with plenty of periods
reserved for eating gorgeous local food, asking questions and racking Peter and
Polly’s bread filled brains for tricks of the trade. The bowl of every
participant was overflowing with an obvious love of food, and the importance of
good, local ingredients was highlighted by the team in a way that only those
with a true love and respect for producers and products can make possible. This
was definitely not your average day of bread-making; the quality of the
ingredients mouth-watering, the passion of the teachers inspiring, and, I like
to think most importantly, every bowl scrubbed to complete, sparkling
perfection...
No comments:
Post a Comment