Bread Angels get up to all sorts of things in addition to baking bread and teaching bread classes. We speak, write, demonstrate and volunteer. Recently Rhiannon, Bread Angel and owner of the Epsom Bake House went to Hackney to bake bread. Here is her report!
Bread baking at Made in Hackney
Being a Bread Angel has presented me with many brilliant opportunities in the last two years. This was certainly true when I took up a last minute call from Made in Hackney for a bread teacher to lead a class of seven students one Monday this April. 
The group were cookery apprentices training with Beyond Food, an organisation supporting those who have been homeless or are at risk of homelessness into meaningful employment. It was great to learn that an introduction to bread making was part of their training, and the group got baking with enthusiasm.
Hosted in the cosy community kitchen of Made in Hackney, we mixed and baked three doughs during the day – white, wholemeal and soda bread. As well as basic techniques such as kneading and shaping, we discussed the science of breadmaking, plus some of the differences the group might encounter making bread in a commercial kitchen environment. The group were able to sample their soda breads over lunch with some wonderful dips made by a Made in Hackney volunteer who assisted the class. This was also an opportunity to discuss the potential benefits of including freshly made bread on menus for their future customers.
Slowly, piles of fresh rolls, loaves and flatbreads began to emerge from the Made in Hackney ovens. Unusually for me, I didn’t snap a photo of the finished products, but it’s fair to say that the group got to see how far a few batches of dough could go! With recipes and notes handed out, it was time to wrap up. I had a great time with an enthusiastic class – and feedback from the students, via MIH, was fantastic. I hope to work there again in the future!
If you would like to learn to bake bread or learn to set up and run your own your own microbakery, click here to have a look at our courses.
If you have a project that needs some bread support from a bread angel, contact us!