The Baker's Blog

My rye bread recipe comes from my 22 years living in Denmark, where people either bake or buy rye bread for their family every week. Indeed, most Scandinavians eat rye bread daily and the Danes are no exception. Similarly to crispbread (like Ryvita), everyone from little kids to burly men eat what looks like dainty slices of rye bread for their lunch. It wasn’t until I tried eating some for... Read more

We're all familiar with recipes that specify flour, water, starter etc in grams, ounces, cups or spoons. But what if you want to make the recipe a little - or a lot - larger? Doubling a recipe using mental arithmetic is usually easy enough, but can still lead to annoying mistakes (at least, in my experience!). However, increasing the original recipe by a more complicated amount, such as 3.75 times... Read more

Like many countries in Europe, Belgium has a tradition for waffles with two very popular varieties widely eaten today: the "Brussels" waffle and the "Liege" waffle. The Brussels waffle, has been adopted by the USA, where it has become known as the "Belgian" waffle. In the USA, the recipe has evolved to make a lighter and sweeter waffle, risen by egg rather than yeast. On the other hand, the Liege ... Read more

An Inspiring Visit to the Axminster Community Waffle House As a grumpy old man, it’s unusual that my cynical heart is as unabashedly warmed as it was on my recent, very inspiring trip to the not-for-profit Community Waffle House, or “Waffle” in Axminster.  Axminster is a little market town in East Devon, just down the road from the BakeryBits offices in Somerset. Axminster... Read more

A pro-baker formula for the Foricher "Traverse" loaf is styled on a traditional Tuscan loaf: it has very little final shaping: cut from the bulk of dough and stretched after the final proof to the shape required.   Method: Mix the flour, 6L water, yeast and starter. Leave to autolyse for at least an hour at room temperature. Mix the remaining 0.5L water with salt until the dough becomes ... Read more

Make 6 jet black brioches for a bit of fun - why not make some with and some without the carbon powder for an interesting mix!   Mix the flour with carbon powder, dried yeast, sugar and vanilla powder then mix in eggs, honey, milk and rum. Knead by hand for about ten minutes or using a mixer for 2-3 minutes, then add the butter cut into pieces and knead again until it is completely ... Read more

SOURDOUGH MASTERCLASS WITH DAN LEPARD “It was excellent. Have been baking sourdough for a while now but Dan was able to simplify some of the techniques whilst retaining the principles of sourdough baking” – Chris S,Thames Ditton, United Kingdom, TripAdvisor Review Join award-winning baker and food writer Dan Lepard at this hands-on sourdough masterclass. Under his expert ... Read more

If you want holes in your bread then there are quite a few factors that affect how you exaggerate and enlarge them. So at BakeryBits we hope this discussion of the factors involved will help get you on the right track. But it's also fun and interesting when you get into it. You will see that many of these points conflict, so that’s where you have to decide what is more important to you. Do ... Read more

For Easter these mini carrot loaf cakes with ginger, dairy-free, are a great way of getting the family active helping you bake. The carrots are peeled, chopped, boiled, and pureed and this gives the cake texture a very seductive softness. Baked in our mini loaf tins they’re perfect as a snack or for a lunchbox treat. Makes 6-8 mini loaf tin cakes. Puree the cooked carrot and water until very ... Read more

Hot Cross Bun recipe by artisan baker Aiden Chapman For Easter, baker Aidan Chapman of the Phoenix Bakery in Weymouth likes to do things properly and his annual two-week stint making 1000s of hot-cross buns is no exception. Here is his recipe for exceptional buns, perfect to make at home, that don't take too long to make. Makes about 12 buns Method For the dough In a large bowl, add all the ... Read more

A simple but delicious sandwich loaf full of seeds together with the flavour of stoneground flour. Very quick to make, and often this can cause the crumb to be drier, but here the seeds hold in some moisture – especially the linseed – and this creates a crumb that stays soft for days. Toasts very well, and perfect for a hearty sandwich. Makes one large tin loaf  Method Put the ... Read more

The perfect bread when you want something that’s a little sophisticated but still has a comforting soft white simplicity to it. The recipe uses an overnight method, so prepare the dough the day before you want to bake the bread. Pain Viennois is a classic bread from the French boulangerie repertoire – it’s one of the listed bread French bakery students need to know by heart when... Read more

When you move away from roller-milled flours from imported grain and start using stone milled flours, especially using grains grown in a variable and wetter climate with a mixture of wheat varieties, you’ll notice characteristics that both improve the flavour and colour but also give a different consistency to the dough that might puzzle you at first. This is my go-to method for handling these ... Read more

Get excited about Focaccianaan! A fantastic dough that combines Mulino Marino's Strong Wheat "Furia" Flour with their Sapori Antichi flour – a stone-ground organic blend of Farro (Spelt), Rye, Khorasan Kamut, and Einkorn wheat, plus Organic Italian Chickpea flour. This one dough can be used to make many differently shaped and baked breads. Shaping one dough into sticks, rolls, loaves, buns ... Read more

We’re a big fan of Italy’s legendary Mulino Marino flour mill and their excellent Organic Farro Integrale (Wholemeal Spelt) Flour. Packed with flavour, a beautiful honey colour to the crust and crumb, and easy to use if you follow a few tips here. The secret to getting a light 100% spelt or wholewheat loaf is somewhat connected to watching your expectations and not treating it exactly... Read more

"The branded Panibois boxes really help to carry our strong brand across to our customers. They also make portion control easy, and show off the focaccia at its best advantage."Peter Cook Baker & Founder Peter Cooks Bread  Worcester, England  Images courtesy Peter Cooks Bread You can have your Panibois cases customised with your logo for an additional 3p per case. There are a ... Read more

An old English Georgian-era recipe for a great Shrove Tuesday “Pancake Day” pancake, that flips really well without falling apart. If you want something more delicate and less flip’able you can add ½ tsp baking powder to lighten it. There’s a range of milk given: the smaller amount will give a slightly thicker pancake; the greater amount will create a much thinner ... Read more

These are 21st century Staffordshire oatcakes, filled with soft potato mixed with tarragon, cheese, garlic and shallot, and layered with ham and mustard. Rolled up, chopped into 2-3 pieces and sat cut-side up in a buttered baking dish, they turn into a crisp, utterly rich and delicious lunch or dinner. Perfect with a light salad or vegetables on the side. Serves 3-4Method Put the shallots, water... Read more