‘There are not many courses that are educational, inspirational and fun and that produce something so good to eat. A very enjoyable weekend and I look forward to putting my new knowledge and skills to the test. Thank you.’
Time for an uprising...
In 2008 the soaring price of rice and wheat caused riots in several countries. Population growth, industrialisation, climate change and the approach of ‘peak oil’ are making even rich countries think about food security. The great globalisation gamble, with its blithe disregard for ecological limits, offers pie in the sky when what ordinary people need is bread on the table.
In Britain the policy of cheap food at any price has given us over-eating and under-nourishment. With the cost of our daily bread rising, every slice counts. Yet too much on offer in the supermarket is the same old pap, adulterated with hidden additives and now, for ‘added value’, dressed up with some healthy-sounding supplements.
If everyone who needs it is to have access to real food, nothing less than a revolution in the supply system is needed. By choosing to make our own bread, we can begin to reassert some control over how our food is made. The uprising required is, therefore, not on the streets but in the flour, water, yeast and salt that we take into our own hands to make into bread and to share with family and friends.
If you want to learn how to make real bread, Bread Matters is the place to come. It’s led by Andrew Whitley who started one of the UK’s best known organic bakeries in the 1970s. After many years as a full-time artisan baker, he knows what he’s talking about.
Bread Matters courses are for everyone, novice or old hand. All you need is a desire to make proper bread. We learn by doing, so everyone makes a variety of breads, feeling the changes as dough forms, observing the crucial part time plays in developing good flavour, satisfying texture and nutritional integrity. The result? Several loaves of your own bread, a greater understanding of the processes at the heart of breadmaking, more confidence and a lot of fun.
Most Bread Matters courses are held in the delightful Cumbrian village of Melmerby, which lies at the foot of the Pennine fells not far from the English Lake District. The three Baking for a Living courses will, for the first time, take place at the Welbeck Bakehouse, a new wood-fired organic craft bakery in the East Midlands. In both places, a warm welcome, good companionship and lovely surroundings await you.
