Real Bread Week!

I couldn’t possibly show you all that beautiful bread without celebrating the wonderful bakers that made it, could I?

This was the latest team from Brompton Bikes who came to Hen Corner to celebrate the end of their ‘On Boarding’ programme and are now fully integrated team members.

They came for a private Corporate Team Day to do our always popular Introduction to Making Bread course, which started with fresh coffee (we have a new barista machine!) and home made bakes, then they rolled up their sleeves to make the following:

• Rosemary Focaccia
• Organic White Stone Baked Loaf
• Artisan Cheese Bread
• Wholemeal 50/50 Loaf
• Pizza for lunch
• Cinnamon Swirls
• Chocolate Brioche

We had a fabulous time and have another date booked in for the next cohort of new recruits…

 

How will we be celebrating Real Bread Week?

Starting tomorrow, Saturday 17th February, we have a long nine days celebrating Real Bread Week, the annual international celebration of Real Bread and the people behind its rise. Whilst many of our readers are also customers of our weekly micro bakery and may have started baking their own bread since joining one of our courses, this week is a great opportunity to say NO to ultra-processed food and:

• BUY Real Bread from local, independent bakeries, and/or
• BAKE your own Real Bread

Here’s how we are getting involved:

Sunday: Baking Real Bread Focaccia for our local Youth Group

Tuesday: Meeting up with other bakers at Roots to Real Bread

Wednesday:  Full day course Introduction to Making Cheese (and a loaf of real bread with the whey!) – spaces available

Thursday: Full day course Introduction to Making Bread – spaces available

Friday: Our Weekly Micro Bakery

What about those who live without wheat?

Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten you! We’ve been baking our delicious Quinoa & Buckwheat loaf at the bakery for many years now, along with our decadent Chocolate Chilli Cake, and due to popular request have created a special Introduction to Gluten Free Baking course which incorporates all our favourite wheat-free bakes using a range of alternative flours and grains.

Recipes for the day include:

• Quinoa & Buckwheat Loaf
• Chocolate Chilli Cake
• Cheese Scones
• Seeded Crackers

We’ve already starting selling tickets for this small group class, and if it’s popular will plan to run it a couple of times a year. Full details here.

Oh my, we are already on the countdown to Easter…

Absolutely! The spring bulbs are flowering, the hens are laying abundantly, the bees are flying and we are planning for our Easter bakes and activities…

• Introduction to Easter Baking – Tuesday 26th March – Making Hot Cross Buns, Easter Apricot Couronne, Fresh Lemon Curd & Lemon Curd Butterfly Cakes
• Easter Micro Bakery – Thursday 28th March – Please place your orders by Wednesday 5pm
• Easter at Hen Corner – Saturday 30th March – Join us for Making your own Hot Cross Buns, Hunting for eggs (real and chocolate) in the garden, Easter craft activity & Hugging a hen

 

Coming up at Hen Corner:

Other news:

• Sadly, a few of our honey bee colonies didn’t make it through winter, hopefully the others are fighting fit
• The peach tree is budding ready to be the first fruit tree in bloom
• Our purple sprouting broccoli will be ready to harvest at the allotment any day now…

Jobs for the week:

• Start chitting seed potatoes for Easter planting
• Plant a Kiwi Fruit vine and a new Victoria Plum tree
• Deep clean the empty bee hives in preparation for new colonies

Let’s enjoy the longer days and keep ahead of the game …

Hope to see you soon,

Sara