From Flour to Loaf - Our Bread Making Workshop

It was great to see a few of our locals brave the drizzle and come along to our bread making workshop. We started by learning how to use a bread maker and how easy it can be to simply add the ingredients, press start and let the machine do the work. There are lots of different types of bread makers on the market for all sorts of prices, so reading reviews can be helpful when deciding which one might work best for you.

Next, I demonstrated how to make bread by hand for those who don’t own a bread maker or a Thermomix. I used a Chelsea Winter recipe that was easy for a beginner to follow. While the yeast was activating, I demonstrated from my No Yeast Dinner Rolls recipe. This is a quick and easy recipe that takes just 5 minutes to make and 15 minutes to bake - perfect to enjoy with your soup!

Once the yeast was ready, it was added to the flour and other ingredients and mixed into a dough. We all had a turn kneading the dough, which my arms were very grateful for! It was great to watch the dough transform from a sticky mess into a mice smooth dough. I then put in back into the bowl to proof.

While the dough was proofing, it was Rachel’s turn to show us a couple of her favourite creations. First up was focaccia bread, which looked like a lot of fun to make – especially the dimpling of the dough! While it was baking, we took the dough out of the warm (but not too warm) oven to see just how much it had grown after 30 minutes. After punching it down and putting it back to proof, Rachel gave us another demonstration, this time it was Japanese milk bread. This is a soft, fluffy, sweet bread that is perfect for bread rolls. We all got a take a roll of dough home to bake ourselves.

After that, I kneaded my dough briefly before putting it into my loaf pan. The recipe said it could take 1-2 hours to proof, and since we didn’t want to sit and watch it for that long, I showed everyone the loaf I had make the day before as an end result.

By then, Rachel’s focaccia was ready, and wow – it tasted amazing!

By the end of our session, the cooking room smelt wonderful with all the freshly baked bread. Everyone went home with bread recipes to try, a roll of dough to bake at home, and hopefully a little more confidence to have a go at making bread themselves.

It was great morning of learning, baking, sharing and, of course, enjoying some delicious bread along the way!