Bread on the Table - Community Baking course

We completed our first pilot classes in December, and have road-tested our 3 sessions, using simple rolling dough method. We just kept a bit of dough from each session, and used it to make dough for the next.

After Christmas we will be piloting the outreach to users who will gain health and financial benefits from baking.

A traditional rolling dough method means you only need flour water and a pinch of salt to make your bread. In 3 sessions, people learnt to make up the dough the night before to bake the next morning, and to handle, shape and bake three diferent sourdough-leavened bread.

One husband loved it, and the other wouldn't touch it!

Our pilot is part-funded by a Wirral Public Health Innovation grant.

Medecins Sans Frontieres - Little Eye contributions

We are proud to donate a place on our bread class as first prize in a Charity Bake-Off event organised by Wirral Public Health Team to raise funds for the wonderful front-line response from MSF to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. We also made bread for sale on the day. The winning bake was a chocolate and toffee cake.

We look forward to welcoming the winner to our January class.

 http://www.msf.org.uk/

Enriched doughs for English buns; baguettes; and breads from the Med  - our new Sourdough Follow Up class is on the way! 

We are starting on October 27th with bakers from our earlier classes, and then we are opening up for bookings on December 6th. This course is for people already baking their own bread regularly, or who have already done some sourdough baking and want to expand their range.
We will be making

•                    baguettes and boules

•                    white and light rye – or a cheese loaf

•                    enriched dough (eggs, butter and sugar) – Chelsea/almond buns

•                    a hybrid sourdough made with a non-wheat starter eg teff or gram flour 

The course will be a similar price range to Start It Up class (currently £90), depending on ingredient and venue costs. Lunch will be included with the all day class 10-4.

• email us if you're interested - info@littleeye.org.uk

 

New community interest company for Wirral

Better Food - bread-making initiative to tackle low skills and food poverty

Little Eye is setting up a new social enterprise to bring bread-making opportunities to people currently using Foodbank charities who can't make best use of the food as they have the baking & cooking skills. Starting this autumn, first classes will be running in Leasowe, and then repeating in Tranmere. Opportunities to spread the programme will be researched. This is in line with our belief that tackling food poverty with improved knowledge and skills is the way forward.
We will update the story on this blog as we go.

See our Bread On the Table page on the menu on this page, for details.

Start here!

If you want to try making a loaf of sourdough bread yourself, before you try to make your own starter, you can buy some of our own, made on the premises, Little Eye starter for just a £5 plus postage.
No equipment needed, starts bubbling before you have got time to read a recipe book and wonder how they did it! Do it yourself!

DIY? - try it in the kitchen
We want everyone to try sourdough bread - stories about how hand-made sourdough bread is better for flavour and general well-being keep on coming -
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/aug/12/rise-sourdough-bread-slow-fermented-health-benefits

but at Little Eye we also say learning to Do It Yourself will strengthen your confidence in the kitchen, your understanding of where good flours and equipment come from, and bring the great satisfaction that a crusty, well-risen loaf delivers. Come on a course, or buy some sourdough starter from us and try it yourself at home.

Awesome!

A message today from Julie, who came on our course in December 2013:

"have you organised your advanced bread making course yet? Still really enjoying making my sourdough, and supplying friends and family.  Have created a space in my utility room for my big Shipton Mill sacks!
 My kids think my pizzas and focaccia are awesome now."

Attached some photos of my sourdough"    They look great Julie! 

Advanced course to run from September 2014