NEWS

- Remark of the Day - on March 4th, we were getting the baking going at Claremont Farm - our Start It Up sourdough class for March. With a group ranging from Steve who had never baked, to experienced bakers who wanted to know what sourdough is, we had a great time, and Nick said " I can't decide whether sourdough baking is really simple or really complicated". You got it, Nick!

 

"I enjoyed it all very much and will certainly give it go at the weekend!.  I baked the fruit loaf last night and have just enjoyed a slice with a coffee at my desk in work - it's gorgeous."

- Hoylake Food Fair on Sunday 26th Feb

We sold our 120 loaves in 2 hours - the fair was great, a very local bunch really interested in trying something new. The cheese and chilli was a fast seller.

http://www.wirralfood.org.uk/hoylake.html



- Our February sourdough class

- Growing wheat and baking with local schoolchildren
Little Eye Bakery is sponsoring and working with a local school to grow wheat, make flour and bake bread  - linked to the Real Bread Campaign 'Bake Your Lawn' project - info to follow soon

Little Eye Bakery Sourdough Bread Course - Start It Up!

Fancy an informal, hands-on bread-making session,  in a relaxed kitchen environment ?  
*June 3rd and 17th * - booking now
and will take place at Claremont Farm on the Wirral (www.claremontfarm.co.uk).

Learn all you need to know to get going in your own kitchen as a home baker, making delicious breads in a way that fits into your life. Our one day Start It Up class is an informal, hands-on session, in a domestic-scale kitchen. You will:

• ·         Understand the importance of the ingredients - from grain to loaf – sources, millers and traditions

• ·         See how the  fermentation works, and talk through how it can fit into your life

• ·         Work from different starters, through mixing, shaping and proving  doughs, to the bake

• ·         Experiment and have some fun                         

We provide all materials and lunch, and you bake tinned and hand-moulded breads to take home.

Little Eye Bakery is built on 25 years baking experience (including pioneering London sourdough bakery Natural Rise in the 80s). Malcolm Williams marries traditional and modern - working with wild yeast starters, slow fermentation techniques, hand-kneading, and organic and local sourcing. 

Little Eye will be using top quality ingredients, with all breads made with traditionally-milled flours from organic and/or local sources - with no additives

We are committed to

• ·         making food that is great for flavour, keeping, health and enjoyment

• ·        supporting sustainable local food production businesses and artisan craft

Lunch provided. The course will start at 10.00am to around 4.30pm so please come a few minutes early to grab a coffee or tea.

For info and bookings - email us at info@littleeye.org.uk.  Payment by cheque for £75 to Malcolm Williams
Gift vouchers available.

'What can I do with my sourdough when I go on holiday?'

Sourdough starters are tough and flexible - a small handful of starter dough, whether in a miner's trousers in the frozen Yukon goldrush, or in the plastic tub in the modern kitchen, and you have all you need.

You can freeze it - but we left one in the fridge for 2 weeks, which was quick to grow back when fed. The other three, which I needed to use the day I got back, we took with us, for a holiday in Cornwall. A handful of flour and water every three of four days was enough to keep the bubbles rising.

 

Little Eye Bakery - NW Food Award Winner 2011

After only 9 months in start-up, Little Eye won regional fine food awards in 2011 for two of its sourdough breads - the Russian Rye,and the Omega. One of three bakeries in the North West to win awards, Little Eye is looking forward to delivering its traditional slow leaven breads across Merseyside in the coming months. See

http://www.nwda.co.uk/news--events/press-releases/201101/taste-of-success-for-regions.aspx

or

www.wirralnews.co.uk/.../local-bakers-win-at-fine-food-awards-2011-80491-28875813/

An independent benchmark for the region’s best foods, in 2011 the awards were judged by a select panel of food experts including top chefs, food buyers and food writers, through a series of heats held across the region. 

Pat Foreman, chief executive of Food NW, said: “The Fine Food Awards honour the very best of the fine foods to be found in our region. Little Eye Bakery should be proud of their achievement, which is testament to the hard work, creativity and innovation that has gone into making their award-winning product. We are delighted to be able to help promote and support the finest foods our region to offer.”

This year’s awards saw nearly 400 products entered by 132 companies from across the Northwest.