Real Bread Bakers

This is possibly the most engaging video on bread making and on the benefits of sourcing locally that I have ever seen. Thank you for your contribution to the documentary that has given us this viewing.

2 Likes

Hello! I so wished to watch this exciting offering. I am in England, though, and a notification said the content was not available in my area? Is this not viewable outside of the US? :frowning:

1 Like

Thanks for having this available to us - I loved seeing passionate bread makers and hearing the story of bringing good, real bread to the people of their town. An inspiring story!

1 Like

Sorry Nina, but I think you just missed the weekend window of opportunity.

1 Like

Thank you for hosting the video. It is very well done and inspiring. Forum members here would greatly enjoy his videos on crofters and fisherman in the Outer Hebrides.

1 Like

Hi Nina, It’s available here - https://gumroad.com/l/psrqH for less than a loaf of good sourdough.

Very nice of your to say so, Lois.

Splendid documentary! It was doled out in a very digestible form. Thank you for being concise, yet full of information!

1 Like

Hi Catriona from High Rise Bakers here. So glad you enjoyed the film. We really enjoyed getting to know Zev and learning more about fellow bakers in Scotland. Here’s the Gorbals Loaf recipe. It’s not sourdough because we only have limited access to the kitchen twice a week on non-consecutive days which isn’t enough to make it regularly. We use ‘sponge and dough’ as the next best thing. Hopefully one day we’ll be able to make the switch.This version which we used for a bake-along at this year’s Online Gorbals Fair is a make two, share one recipe. If you make it please post the photos on our Facebook page Bridging the Gap - High Rise Bakers. Have fun!
Gorbals (Fair) Loaf

At least two hours and up to 24 hours before baking

  • 370g or 2 level mugfuls strong white bread flour
  • 5g or 1 teaspoonactive dried yeast
  • 450g/ml or 1 ½ mugfuls warm water
  1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl or tub, using your hands, until there are no lumps. Cover with a plastic bag or seal the tub and set to one side on the kitchen counter.

When you want to bake (12.30. Saturday 6 June!)

  • 370g or 2 level mugfuls strong wholemeal bread flour
  • 10g or 2 level teaspoons salt
  • 30g or 2 tablespoons (6 teaspoons) oil (Whatever you have. We use rapeseed)
  1. Fill a small bowl with water and spread a little on the surface where you are going to knead. Have a scraper or spatula ready that you can use to scrape the dough out of the bowl and off your fingers.

  2. Add the above ingredients into the first mixture and stir well together using your hands.

  3. Tip the mixture out onto the wet bit on your table and scrape every bit of dough out of the bowl.

  4. Start to knead the bread until it is smooth and a bit glossy. If it starts to stick to the table you can smear more water over it or dip your hands in. It will get less sticky and start to pull away from the table as it becomes ready.

  5. Divide your lovely, smooth ball of dough into two and place into two greased loaf tins or on a greased baking sheet.

  6. Cover the bread with a large plastic bag making sure the bag doesn’t touch the dough and leave in a warm place to rise.

  7. Check your bread after around 45 minutes. Switch your oven on as high as it will go, around 220C/Mark 8. When your bread has only a little spring to it, sprinkle it with flour. You can slash a design with a sharp knife in the dough if you want. Put the loaves in the oven.

  8. After 10 minutes turn the oven down to 200C/Mark 6 and bake for about 25 minutes more until the crust looks how you like it.

  9. Remove from the oven and the tins and cool it on a wire rack

  10. Chap your neighbour’s door to give them one before you eat the lot!

2 Likes

Thank you for your kind comments about High Rise Bakers. We’re closed just now because of the Covid lockdown and I’m just back from three weeks of being furloughed from work. I’m longing for the smell of fresh bread and the sound of laughter to drift back out into the foyer of the high rise block where we bake. You might also enjoy this podcast series on Cereal from Farmerama which includes a bonus episode on High Rise Bakers. I learned so much from listening to the whole thing. It covers grain to loaf across the UK. https://soundcloud.com/farmerama-radio/cereal-bonus-episode-high-rise-bakers

1 Like

Thank you Catriona! I look forward to making this loaf this weekend or next. Will definitely post images to FB, but it will have to be via my wife’s account as I am on IG.

Tom

1 Like

Hi Tom,

Nice to hear from you. Enjoy your baking and I look forward to seeing the results. I’ve got a sourdough on the go just now. We’ve got three teenage boys at home all day during lockdown. That’s a lot of bread!

1 Like

Catriona,

Thank you for the link to the podcast. We enjoyed it. One thing that you mentioned was the aroma of freshly milled flour. I agree, it creates another sensory memory that makes you smile and anticipate the aroma of the finished product.

All the best to you and the High Rise Bakers.

Mike

1 Like

Hello again Catriona, I finally set the time aside to make the Gorbals loaf & it is a keeper! It has a nice crumb, a sweet, nutty taste, & the upper crust is thin & crispy. It was so simple to make, I allowed it to ferment on the counter for 16 hours in step one, & pre-heated my oven to 220c after mixing in the remaining ingredients in step 2 & placing them in their loaf pans, dropping the temp to 200c for the final 25 minutes. Actually one of them went into a 9x5" casserole dish as I only have one loaf pan. That one came out better than the tin as the dish was just a bit shorter, giving the bread a bit more lift.

Visit me on IG @homebrewbeer57 to see the pictures. My wife is also posting the images on FB as I don’t have an account there.

2 Likes

I’m so delighted that you tried the recipe and liked it. Are you in the States? If so, I imagine your flour is a lot stronger than our soft Scottish variety so you’d get a really good rise. Our teenage boys prefer this loaf to my standard sourdough. It’s a good standby if you forget to get a sourdough going and there are hungry people in the house. It can work with as little as two hours preferment but the flavour is much better when you give more time. It disappears almost as quickly as the length of time it takes to make it! Please thank your wife for sharing the photos to Facebook. It’s lovely for folk here to see their recipes being enjoyed elsewhere.

2 Likes

@Catriona, do you by any chance have a sourdough recipe version of your Gorbals (Fair) Loaf? Due to some health concerns I don’t bake with commercial yeast. I just use sourdough.

Many thanks,
Leah

1 Like

Hi, I posted this in the Whatever section, but just to let you all know, on Aug. 12, three of the interviewees, renowned bread educator and author Andrew Whitley, Catriona Milligan and Marie McCormack, along with Matt Fountain, director of Freedom Bread in Glasgow, will be on hand for a Zoom panel discussion on Bread and Community. Barring technical snags, we hope to have questions from the audience. More details, trailer, etc here - https://gum.co/MHTqo We’re asking for a small donation about the price of a good loaf of bread, half of which will go to a Glasgow based food fund.