Breaducating Strathblanefield

So Real Bread week is but a stones throw away, but I decided to get the party started early in Strathblanefield with my first foray into Breaducation: teaching 25 Girl Guides how to make their own bread. We knew it would be messy, we knew it would be fun, but would any of them get the baking bug or would it all end in a sticky, yeasty mess? The answer of course is yes to both!

With only an hour and a half to get them baking I did a 'Blue Peter' and had prepared dough in different stages before hand so they could see each bit of the process before making their own in teams of three, which then got divided and bagged to take home, prove overnight in the fridge and bake the next day. They were then tasked with sending me a picture of their creations to be in with a chance of winning some Hels' Bakehouse goodies. Here's what they made:

First prize went to Iona Campbell for her amazing plaited loaf (second from top, puts mine to shame!), whilst Eilidh Jones picked up the runners up award for her well risen and nicely fired mini loaf  (top). Vivienne, was disqualified despite making multiple beautiful loaves (bottom picture), as she is one of the leaders!

I for one needed a large glass of wine and a long sleep to recover, and I did feel slightly guilty about the amount of dough stuck to clothes, hands, hair, tables and the floor, but it was great fun and brilliant to see all the Guides having fun and getting involved in their bread making efforts.

Hopefully it will not be the last time I venture into the world of bread making education, but for now I will enjoy the relative serenity & cleanliness of the Hels' Bakehouse kitchen at 5am with renewed appreciation!

Well done to everyone who took part and thank you for inviting me to share my enthusisam for Real Bread with you!

Going public

Last weekend I took the plunge and decided to let the good people of Strathblanefield know about Hels' Bakehouse. A quick post on the community Facebook page and the word was out. I took a stroll up to our fabulous local deli, Pestle & Mortar, to reveal my secret identity 48 hours later and sure enough the jungle drums had already done the work for me!

Yesterday was therefore the first day of Hels' Bakehouse proper, with three local ladies taking the plunge and giving Real Bread a chance. On the menu was oat, apricot and walnut bread and it felt great to get baking and start delivering to people in the community.

Taking this community spirit further I've taken inspiration from the local area and been developing some Glengoyne whisky based Rye bread as a signature loaf. The first attempt, christened Pain de Glengoyne, made great tasting, good looking bread but didn't carry the flavour of the whisky particularly well, so taking advice from my product development team (my Dad) the second attempt featured raisins soaked in Glengoyne. The result was still subtle but delicious, and I drove up to the distillery to pick up more supplies and leave a loaf with the brand heritage team to sample.

I've also been selling granola to my growing band of addicts and sorting out all the boring bits of admin that I'd been putting off and it now seems I have a real business to develop all of my very own. Such a great feeling.

Finally, for the romantic amongst you, I leave you with a picture of the valentines biscuits baked by my husband and I as surprise treats for each other. Proof if ever it were needed that great minds (and gluttons) think alike.