Knead to know the secrets of baking a perfect loaf

Clare Teal: Knead to know the secrets of baking a perfect loaf

We once made a very small loaf of bread at school. It was all going so wel, the booming voice of the Home Ec teacher, whose name I have sadly forgotten, rang out: “Your hands will now be spotless of flour, you should have a silky ball of dough and a nice clean bowl. In two minutes we will put our loaves into our preheated ovens.” It was going well, my spotless hands, silky dough, clean bowl and I surveyed the immediate area with a satisfying smugness, when out of the corner of my eye a much smaller bowl containing a foaming brown sludge came into view, closely followed by the teacher. With 30 seconds to go I frantically threw the dough back in the bowl with the yeast and as much flour as I could scrape off the table. A voice boomed: “What’s this Teal? Clammy dough, dirty bowl, dirty hands C-”.

This time around I did everything the recipes said. The whole flat was filled with the inviting smell of fresh bread, I almost expected an estate agent to walk in with a couple of house hunters and, even though I say it myself, the loaves looked amazing when they came out of the oven. Once cooled I eagerly cut into one, praying for a delightfully light and airy bready interior, only to discover something altogether heavier. My friends, I had invented Porridge Bread. It made nice toast though.

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I am not deterred and have hopefully found a solution in the form of drummer Benny’s brother Tom, who after years working as an ecologist, advising farmers on environmentally-friendly agriculture decided to follow his dream of becoming a master bread maker. Earlier this year the Coburg Bakery opened in Bristol. What this boy can’t do with a bit of flour and water isn’t worth knowing. I am hoping some of the magic will rub off.

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