Recently I have been reading a sobering book by Joanna Blythman called Swallow This. In it, she writes about how food is processed, and it makes for sobering reading. I set up Virtuous Bread to change the world by helping people make, buy, and learn about good bread and, over the past six years, I
How do I get those big holes in my bread? That is a question we often get from students. In fact, we get it so quickly that there is a post dedicated to it. However, take a set back and ask yourself these questions: Bread with holes in it is simply one kind of bread,
A long time ago I wrote a post about the difference between proofing in a basket and proofing in a tin. Since then I have received lots of questions about proofing baskets. The top five questions about proofing baskets are: 1. Where do I buy proofing baskets?2. Do I bake in the proofing basket?3. How
Here at the global HQ of Virtuous Bread, we frequently reflect on bread. Who bakes it? Where are they baking it? Why? And how? People who come to bread classes may be surprised at how hard we make them work to knead the bread for 10 minutes by hand! Insisting on this activity is a
Setting up a bakery can seem daunting. Even if you want to mess around at home after taking one of our wonderful bread courses can seem daunting. All that stuff! It may seem like rather a lot to spend, especially if you don’t know whether you are going to take to it. Ladies and gentlemen
Recently a reader tried (and loved) the 100% rye recipe on the website and sent me a few questions. They are great questions, so I thought I would answer them here. Should I buy a 1lb tin, or just double up the quantities next time to adapt to my 2lb tin? You can just double
My bakery training did not take place at college. This is a well known fact about me and it is partly what enables me to be a great baker and a great teacher. I have seen a lot and I have been trained by great bakers all over the world. From Cambodia and Canada,
Ka’ak are the third in our series on Banned Buns (click here to read the first and second of our banned bun recipes). They are little, crispy buns shaped like tiny bagels and they used to be on sale all over Syria in coffee shops, bakeries and bars. Sprinkled with sesame seeds and satisfying crunchy,