What they say about the Little Eye Sourdough Baking Classes in November and December

December course's white sourdough bloomer

"very useful to pick up tips from experienced bakers"

"We both really enjoyed the course and meeting the others and yourself and your wife. We would recommend your course to any budding bakers."

"Great fun, I learned a lot and gained a lot of confidence. The expression “it’ll be fine” will stick in my mind as I had got rather too uptight about following everything in Andrew Whitley’s book to the letter. It was good that the group  were at pretty much the same level of (in)experience, and the group dynamics were also very positive which is always a bonus."

"We had been dabbling, and seemed to always meet the same issues. We now have answers as to why our loaves were inelastic, and a whole better understanding of managing our starters. Our first post course loaves are just cooling now, and are way better in texture and crumb than our previous efforts."

 "The lunch was great with the best bread ever I had since I’m over here. I was very much surprised about the bread we did. It was unexpected. I know sour dough bread as greyish heavy bread with a sour taste ( as you’ll find it in the French speaking part of Switzerland). I didn’t know that sourdough bread also can be light and not at all with a taste of sour. This experience was great."

 "We had a wonderful time, in a really friendly and open environment, with a small group of like-minded 'bread-heads'. The atmosphere was supportive and encouraging, with lots of helpful discussion and educational digressions. Lunch was exactly right, wholesome and nourishing, and just helped continue the 'pleasure in good food' ethos of the whole day. We were pleased that we were able to produce a range of loaves that we would actually pay good money for, and have already had the joy of sharing some with our neighbours. A fully satisfying and worthwhile day, and a great way to spend a birthday!"

The first West Kirby Farmers Market on Saturday 24th

we will be there - with 11 different sourdough loaves, a new banner, and a great bunch of producers. More info on www.westkirbyfarmersmarket.co.uk .
What will the good citizens of West Kirby make of it? How will it compare with Morrisons and Aldi. Will it hit local shops or attract more shoppers?
Time will tell - we will report next week

Baker in Residence, Homebaked Anfield

Little Eye baker Malcolm Williams has been appointed Baker in Residence by the Liverpool Biennial, at the Home-Baked project.

  http://www.2up2down.org.uk/ 

 The project aims to set up a new bakery on the site of an old family bakery that closed a few years ago. We will be making bread with volunteers and local residents, working with the Liverpool Community College to develop skills and some new lines of production - and as Real Bread bakers, Little Eye will be pushing hard to keep the quality up when the realities of selling for a living bite home. More info to follow, and on Twitter in weeks to come

From Wheat to Bread - working with young children locally

We are working with Black Horse Hill Junior School to grow wheat, harvest, mill and make bread. We have harvested our spring wheat, and will soon be planting a winter crop. Next, to mill the grain.

New bakery class dates for 2013:  January 20th, February 17th and March 17th.

 Three of our October class with a choice of bread - we also made fruit loaves and olive rolls.

Sourdough bread with a TEFF starter

Heard of TEFF? It's a plant originating in Ethiopia, with absolutely tiny seeds, that makes a nutty flour a little like buckwheat. It doesn't have gluten, but is very lively and will ferment very quickly, and can be used to make your usual wheat or rye loaves - or added in for extra flavour. TEFF is a very nutritious grain.

I got my TEFF flour from my friend Zee, fermented it with 50% flour, 50% warm (30c) water, and within 24 hours it was bubbling and after 48 ready to use to ferment a wheat loaf. I used it in the usual proportions for a sourdough wheat loaf. The recipe follow.

Sourdough is based on the natural process of fermentation - it is not just one kind of grain, or one kind of loaf - enjoy experimenting! I have eaten TEFF with Zee in Ethiopian cuisine - where it is used to make INJERA, a spongy sourdough pancake. You can buy it from some wholefood or world food outlets, and it is sold in the UK wholesale by Suma.

 1. The Tef starter after 72 hours

 2. The Tef starter and white flour dough

3. The loaf - a bit flat but nice and spongy!

Recipe

1. For a loaf, make TEFF starter up over 72 hours, starting with four tablespoons of flour and water each, adding a tablespoon of water and flour every 24 hours, and keeping warm. Keep in a loose top plastic container.
2. Take 25 grams of the starter, and mix with 110 grams of water, 110 grams of good quality white flour. Leave overnight for 8-12 hours, covered.
3. Add a further 290 grams of flour - white or a mix of white and wholewheat, plus 170 grams of tepid water. Mix into a dough. Leave to rest for 20 minutes and then stretch. Leave to ferment for 4 hours.
4. Place into a proving basket, or a tin, and leave to rise for 2-4 hours.
5. If in a basket, turn onto a hot tray or stone, and pop into a hot 220c oven, turning down after 10 minutes to 200c (fan ovens take off 20 degrees from those figures). Bake for 45 minutes.
6. Turn out , cool, and enjoy.

The starter will keep in the fridge if you look after it - but it is really easy to make a new batch. You could also use the starter to make a pancake batter. Spongier than blinis but with good flavour.

Little Eye at the Wirral Food and Drink Festival

 

We are on stage giving an introduction to sourdough baking on Monday August 27th

www.wirralfoodfestival.co.uk

We will be introducing the low tech, hands on approach to baking embodied in our loaves to a mainstream festival audience. Roll up Roll up get your sour dough here!

Down to Cornwall, I dropped in early to see wood-fired oven baking at St Kew Harvest Farm Shop (google "real bread finder")

While down on a break, I found the Harvest Farm Shop at St Kew on the real bread finder, and met Jeremy, who has set up a lovely bakery with a 30 loaf capacity wood-fired oven. I went to join Jeremy at about 5 am on his early morning bake (he'd started the fire at 4.00), where he works alone to produce a good variety of yeasted and longer-fermented loaves. We enjoyed sharing a little baker's chat while he did the daily bake. The bakery is based in a farm shop he runs with his wife Antonina, stocked with lots of locally sourced produce and goodies.

New Farmers Market for Wirral Peninsular - check it out

Little Eye is part of a group of local producers working with Transition Town West Kirby to set up a new farmers market. WEST KIRBY FARMERS MARKET will begin in November 2012, and we'll keep you posted on who and what will be there. Links are:

Facebook and Twitter  - West Kirby Farmers Market
http://www.westkirbyfarmersmarket.co.uk/
www.transitiontownwestkirby.org.uk/farmersmarkets.html 

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

We will be there!

Real Food - Little Eye Sourdough is Rob's choice for his Lands End to John O'Groats charity ride

 

at about 6.00 am I made marmite sandwiches with the sourdough to eat mid afternoon - when energy levels were lowest and savoury was better than sugary snacks cos of the need for salt. The sourdough really hit the spot.

First 2 days through Cornwall and climbing Dartmoor were really tough and caused all sorts of ligament/tendon suffering -  for the remaining 10 days I seemed to settle down and became more and more comfortable with the 90-100 mile days. A fantastic experience and I have, thus far, raised just over £2,000 for Alzheimer's Society - all possible because of the wonderful generosity of very many people. www.alzheimers.org.uk

Little Eye baker Malcolm Williams featured in the local glossy 'Cheshire Life' - have a quick taste:-



http://cheshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk/article/little-eye-bakery--sourdough-passion-in-west-kirby-41065/

Current Course Dates

 

Our August and September dates are now filled.

New summer and autumn dates for our popular one day Start It Up sourdough baking course:

august 19 (now fully booked)

september 30(now fully booked)

october 8 (monday)

november 11

for details see our Baking Classes page

* New sourdough bread class date on June 3rd - anyone not tied into the Jubilee weekend, come and join us on the Sunday * - 1 place left -  for details see our bread classes page

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