The Baker's Blog

Fluffy Middle Eastern Sourdough Flatbreads I love Middle Eastern-style cooking, and having a pliable fluffy flatbread is indispensable for mopping up hummus, pesto or sauces and for wrapping and transporting falafels or fritters laden with labneh pickles and a zesty salad. These are easy to make and whilst being light and fluffy they are strong enough to let you to load them to the gunnels. ... Read more

Brown Bread Ice-Cream using the Ankarsrum Ice-Cream Attachment It might sound like a strange mix with brown bread and ice-cream but it works fantastically well. The toast infused ice-cream coupled with caramelised breadcrumb nuggets that give sweetness, light maltiness and texture to this delightful brown bread ice-cream made with the Ankarsrum Ice-Cream Attachment for the Ankarsrum Mixer. You ... Read more

Panettone Style Cookies   Making a panettone just before Christmas, when time is disappearing quicker than the evening sun, can seem like an indulgent project. However, if you love the taste of panettone and want to bake something everyone will enjoy, these cookies are something you’ll definitely want to "accept". They’re easy to make, the dough can be prepared ahead of time, ... Read more

Matthews Cotswold flour development baker Sophie has shared this recipe for Rustic Olive Rolls with us using the Matthews Cotswold Pizza Flour. "The Matthews Cotswold Pizza Flour is a much more versatile flour than you might realise – it’s obviously great for making delicious pizza bases, but it can also be used for a multitude of other recipes. As a baker, it’s one of my ... Read more

Torsten's Sourdough Pumpkin Croissants using a Dough Sheeter Great customers don't grow on trees but this one actually grows them. Torsten Junker of family-run "Junker's Nursery" not at all far from us in Wellington grows the kind of trees literally fit for a king. He's also an accomplished home baker and has been trying out one of our Japan Kneader Dough Sheeters to make, Sourdough Pumpkin ... Read more

A crisp home-baked baguette, with all the character, complex flavour and crunch that you might otherwise have to travel to France to find, is a dream for many bakers. The particular characteristics that French millers give to their premium darker bread flours through the wheat varieties they mill gives the loaves made from it, such as baguettes, a deep rich colour, a delicate beige crumb, and an ... Read more

What Size Proofing Basket or Banneton Do I Need?   Short answer: the proofing basket or banneton weight is the dough weight - all the ingredients including the flour and the water added together.   We show all our proofing baskets or bannetons with a weight in the name, for example, our popular 1kg / 2.2lb Round Cane Banneton or Proofing Basket. What does this weight mean? It gives ... Read more

Having blisters on your crispy crust on your bread that cracks when you squeeze it is so satisfying you'll just want to slice it up and devour the whole lot. I have tried a few different methods and found that there are a few simple tips that will help you obtain a nice crackly crust.   Create tension in your dough with the final shaping before placing it into your banneton or baking tin. ... Read more

Bara Menyn is how you say "bread & butter" in Welsh and also the name of the small family bakehouse that is hidden down a side street in the town of Cardigan in West Wales. We managed to squeeze some time out of the very busy and multi-talented Jack Smylie Wild for an interview and insight into his baking life.  Bara Menyn croissant - a work of art!   Bara Menyn which was ... Read more

We came up with this idea, Pwdin Bara Menyn (Bread and Butter Pudding), as a way to re-use leftover croissants years ago when I had a café attached to the bakehouse, and it’s real comfort food – a perfect dessert for these chilly, last days of winter. Because it’s made with croissants and baked on parchment, there’s no additional butter (normally used to grease-proof ... Read more