The Baker's Blog

Jack Smylie Wild from Bara Menyn Bakehouse

Jack Smylie Wild from Bara Menyn Bakehouse
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

Recipe: Pwdin Bara Menyn (Bread and Butter Pudding)

Recipe: Pwdin Bara Menyn (Bread and Butter Pudding)
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

Recipe: Tear & Share Brioche With Cheesy Pesto Filling

Recipe: Tear & Share Brioche With Cheesy Pesto Filling
Tear and share brioche with a pesto and cheesy filling Having a soft and sumptuous, comforting and tasty brioche that is stuffed with cheese and pesto is a marvellous thing, but to share it is even better. This is a great way to use up any odd bits of cheese that are knocking about in the fridge. This recipe is with pesto but you could just as easily use tapenade, semi dried tomatoes, Marmite or... Read more

A Guide To Our Specialist Sugars

A Guide To Our Specialist Sugars
A Guide To Our Specialist Sugars Using specialist ingredients can set your bakes apart and make your job easier. Knowing exactly which specific ingredient you want is something we want to help you with, so we have compiled a list of our specialist sugars together their uses, to help you choose the right sized sugar that you need. You can also find related recipes below and in each product listing... Read more

Darryn Bruton's 2023 Christmas Gift Guide for Bakers

Darryn Bruton's 2023 Christmas Gift Guide for Bakers
Welcome to my BakeryBits Christmas 2023 gift guide. Whether you are looking for fabulous festive gifts to get your star baker yearning to switch on the oven or are after pocket-friendly perfect parcels as stocking fillers, I have compiled two lists to inspire you or your gift giver this year selected from our range. I've been a keen home baker for decades and have spent 20 years working in the ... Read more

Recipe: Mendiants, French Christmas Confections

Recipe: Mendiants, French Christmas Confections
What exactly is a Mendiant? Mendiants have quirky roots in France from the Middle Ages. They were part of the Provençal tradition with toppings denoting the original robes of the four Mendicant order of friars. Today they are a well-loved tradition in many a French household and if you try making these they could be a firm favourite in yours. They are commonly eaten over the Christmas period so ... Read more

Recipe: Pumpkin Soup

Recipe: Pumpkin Soup
This soup pairs perfectly with our Pumpkin Bread recipe or works well as a stand alone for whatever bread you have to hand to mop up the last remnants from the bowl after eating. I like to experiment with different types of pumpkins as they give different results. Some of my favourites are Crown Prince, Turban, Butternut and the Hubbards, both Golden and Blue. These all have different taste ... Read more

Recipe: Picture Perfect Pumpkin Bread

Recipe: Picture Perfect Pumpkin Bread
Having some fun with your baking is always a good idea and getting a great result that tastes as good as it looks is what its all about. I love soup and not just for the autumn, but when the pumpkins are in season I stock up the freezer with homemade soup to see me through the winter. While pumpkin soup making I had some leftover roasted pumpkin chunks which I added to a simple bread recipe and ... Read more

Which... lame or dough slashing blade should I choose?

Which... lame or dough slashing blade should I choose?
You’ve got the right flour, spent time mixing it, shaped it correctly, and the rise looks good, then you try slashing the loaf with a knife and it drags and looks ugly. Well, we’re here to help you avoid that and finish your loaf as well as you started it. BakeryBits was the first UK company to offer French dough slashing blades for sale in the UK to the  public, and since then ... Read more

Black Ciabatta Burgers With Crispy Coated Halloumi

Black Ciabatta Burgers With Crispy Coated Halloumi
I really like the contrast made between the jet black ciabatta burger buns topped with contrasting sesame seeds, and the deep yellow crispy-coated halloumi, topped with a spicy sauce - they are fun to make and are a tasty treat for a Halloween night. The buns are soft and airy - softer still with the addition of the carbon powder -  and sprinkled with sesame seeds for a little contrast and ... Read more

Recipe: Finnish shortbreads for Christmas

Recipe: Finnish shortbreads for Christmas
Finnish shortbreads are not actually Finnish! Now that's out of the way they are shortbreads and 100% tasty. The Danes say they invented these traditional Christmas biscuits and call them Finnish bread (Finskbrød in Danish) where as the Swedes maintain that they invented these tasty Yuletide treats and call them Finnish sticks (Finska pinnar in Swedish). The Finns could not give a hoot, ... Read more

Recipe: Annika Naish's (from Fika) - Swedish Scones

Recipe: Annika Naish's (from Fika) -  Swedish Scones
One thing I used to bake a lot in the 90s as a teenager and also in my early twenties when living abroad in Norway, Switzerland and Spain was Swedish Scones. They're not the same as English scones and are more akin to making soda bread, only we use baking powder instead of bicarbonate of soda. I have fond memories making them in the mornings, surprising family and friends to create freshly baked ... Read more

Recipe: BakeryBits Granola

Recipe: BakeryBits Granola
Granola first made an appearance in 1863, then called “Granula” but it wasn't until the late 1960s that the modern style of Granola was invented, slowly growing in popularity until hitting the mass-market in 1972. It has continued to grow in popularity ever-since but not always for the better: some producers have added cheap fillers to reduce the production costs thereby lowering the quality ... Read more

Fika - Authentic Swedish Exeter based micro bakery

Fika - Authentic Swedish Exeter based micro bakery
An Interview with Annika Naish from "Fika" Bakery in Exeter Fika (pronounced Fee-ka) is Swedish for slowing down, taking time out and sharing a tasty snack with friends or colleagues. However there's no slowing down with the energetic Exeter based Annika, who when not singing or composing jazz or working out at the gym, runs a very popular micro bakery business in Exeter, Devon. She has taken ... Read more

Recipe: Danish Open Sandwiches (Smørrebrød)

Recipe: Danish Open Sandwiches (Smørrebrød)
You've made your delicious Danish-Style Rye Bread. Now, here is how to make some open sandwiches just as you see in Denmark. When people hear “potato on bread” most think about a chip butty...but in Scandinavia the open-topped sandwich is a staple for lunch and their potato topped rye bread is absolutely delicious.   Here is a simple recipe for you to try on a nice slice of ... Read more

Recipe: Danish-Style Rye Bread

Recipe: Danish-Style Rye Bread
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

How to: Bakers' Percentages & the MyWeigh KD8000 scales

How to: Bakers' Percentages & the MyWeigh KD8000 scales
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

Recipe: Belgian "Liege" Waffles

Recipe: Belgian "Liege" Waffles
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
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