Andra at Sourdough Explained tells us her baking journey from the very beginning, her favourite flours and top-tips on milling flours at home.
"My love for bread was inspired early on by my Romanian grandmother. As a toddler, I spent many mornings on her bread shop counter, right next to the steamy loaves. I was only three years old, and to this day, the memory is as fresh as a freshly ... Read more
The Unbleached White flour from Gilchesters is truly special. It's not your average bread flour. It creates a loaf with an incredible flavour, a creamy interior and a beautiful dark crust.
This recipe makes about 1 kg of dough, which Andra suggests proofing in a 750 g oval banneton.Step-by-Step Instructions
1. First things first - feed your starter
- ... Read more
Bake My First Cake
Baking cakes can be such a wholesome experience, taking simple ingredients from your kitchen and turning them into a sweet treat in your own home.
With so many flavours to choose from, it’s best to start with a true classic. Once you’ve mastered it, you can experiment with flavours and sizes. So, let’s begin with a Victoria sponge equal-weight cake. This ... Read more
Simple Breadmaker Loaf
This is the perfect first step on your journey to eating better bread. We’ve got a simple loaf that’s both reliable and delicious - it’s the one we use in our BakeryBits HQ breadmaker.
It’s based on the wonderful Matthews Cotswold Crunch flour, the very first flour I baked with many years ago. We mix it with Mulino Marino 00 Soffiata, ... Read more
Apple and Blackberry Cake
With apples dropping from the tree and blackberries ripening in the early autumn sunshine, this cake is the perfect way to ease into the changing seasons.
It has a subtle warmth from cinnamon, just enough to complement the fruit, without overpowering it. The berries add a fresh burst, while the apples keep the cake moist. For a little crunch on top, toasted almond ... Read more
I’ve always bounced back and forth about breadmakers. They’ll never turn out a rustic, crusty, hand-shaped sourdough, but they do make a very decent loaf — one that’s far better than anything you’ll find in the supermarket. Why? Because you’re in control of what goes in. No mysterious “improvers” to keep it soft for weeks, no extra water to bulk it out — just flour, yeast, water, ... Read more
An A–Z guide to bread baking and flour terms
Bread baking and flour milling come with a surprising number of technical terms. What is hydration in bread? What does W value measure? Is strong flour the same as bread flour? How does 00 flour differ from plain flour?
This BakeryBits baking glossary explains common and specialist terms used in artisan bread baking, sourdough fermentation and ... Read more
A common question for anyone starting with a home mill is:
“If I mill white wheat, do I get white flour?” Or put another way:
“Can I make proper white flour at home?”
The answer is yes – but not in the way you might think.
When you use a home mill,
you’re stone-grinding the entire grain: the starchy endosperm, the bran, and the wheatgerm.
That means the flour ... Read more
Simple White Yeasted Loaf Recipe
There’s something special about a simple homemade loaf. This one bakes up soft and light, perfect for everyday sandwiches, golden toast or just a warm slice with butter and jam straight from the oven. With just a few basic ingredients, it’s a lovely recipe to have on hand whenever you fancy fresh bread at home.
P.S. Once you’ve perfected this ... Read more
Does Tap Water Affect Sourdough Baking?
A quick answer: yes, it can. Chlorine, Chloramine, it's all in the water.
Most of the time tap water is fine. If you are using a really good flour for your starter like our go-to Mulino Marino Type 00 Soffiata, but your sourdough starter isn’t bubbling as expected or your dough feels sluggish, your tap water might be part of the problem. Many UK ... Read more
