I am so delighted to have run my first two bread baking courses at the loaf in Crich. The first one was called 'Getting Started' and took place on 16 October. I was delighted to welcome seven enthusiastic bakers to the loaf for a day exploring yeasted doughs and delving into the mysteries of the bread baking process. We baked some soft white and brown bread and rolls, focaccia, and various things using a sweet dough.

It was a great day, mostly working around the bakers' table in the bakery itself as the training room was yet to be fully completed.

Comments from the bakers who were there included:

"Excellent course, paced well with clear instruction, support and great breads to take home!" Mo

"Hands on and chance to make different things with the same dough" Gaynor

"Being in a small group: able to ask questions easily" Caroline

"Really useful to know what the doughs should feel like - good clear instructions" Jen

"The lunch was a delight and it was great to be baking in a working environment" Colin

"I will change the way I bake bread" Brenda

And here are some pictures:





Then on 13 November I had the first 100% Sour sourdough baking course. We were able to use the new training room more fully as it is nearly finished now. Again we baked three different doughs: the Crich special sourdough, sourdough baguettes and our 100% Rye with pumpkin seed and orange, though some of the bakers made a variant using sunflower seed instead.

It was a thoroughly good day and there were some terrific comments from the bakers which I have included below. One of the bakers, Anne, has written up this delightful entry on our friend Joanna's wonderful blog.

"Very informative day, continual guidance and assistance when required." Clare

"Range of breads made, well explained" Peter

"Different starters used and different methods" Anne

"Starting with breakfast was a good way to get to know the other people on the course - brioche and croissants were delicious" Wendy

"Great value for money" Colin

"Hands on involvement at all stages" Chris

"Masses of new knowledge - excellent session" Brenda

And here is a picture:

The new space that we have in the bakery means that we can attend many more markets and events going forward such as the Baslow Food Fair pictured.

Regularly we will be at:

Brampton Food Fair, Brampton Road, Chesterfield - first Saturday of the month

Matlock Farmers' Market, Imperial Rooms, Matlock - third Saturday of the month

Baslow Food Fair, Baslow village hall - Sundays every 6-8 weeks, next on Sunday 4 December

We are also keen to attend Belper and Wirksworth farmers' markets so watch this space. 

Christmas markets

We are delighted to be attending a few Christmas Markets this year. Already booked in are the fabulousplaces.co.uk Christmas Market over the weekend of 19/20 November. This promises to be a fantastic opportunity to do a bit of early Christmas shopping.

Then, over the weekend of the 2/3/4 December, we will be attending the Matlock Victorian Christmas Market for the first time. Do come along and find us among all the other festive goodies.

That weekend we will also be attending the Brampton Food Market and the Baslow Christmas Food Fair.

At all these events we will have some special seasonal breads including our Cranberry, Oat and Apple sourdough as well as our delicious mince pies made with Andrew's family recipe mince meat and festive baked goodies like Lebkuchen and Stollen.

There is an event calendar on the news page of the website with all of these events and other bits and pieces that we get involved in.

One of the things I love about running a bakery/café business in a village like Crich is the involvement we have in the community. Whether it is judging cake competitions or working with the Junior School on food for life projects, both Rog and I get a lot out of what we do within the village.

These last couple of weeks have been pretty busy on that front. Rog was asked to judge the Crich Area Community News photo competition which proved to be a great success. He had a huge pile of photos from which to select the winning entries. You can read more on the CACN website and if you would like to see the top three adult and top three junior photos, they are on display in the loaf in Crich.

Then last Tuesday I did a talk on the baking business and bread-baking for the Lee and Holloway WI. This is not the first I have done and in fact I get a call every couple of weeks asking if I will come along and do a talk.

A rather more demanding audience where 16 cubs from the Crich Cub group this week. They came to visit the bakery for an hour one evening and holding their attention for that length of time really put me to the test. We mixed some dough, tried to carry 25kg flour bags, talked through some fantastic samples from Shipton Mill showing the journey from grain to flour through the milling processes, worked out how the machinery works and baked some biscuits! Quite a packed evening.

Then on Thursday I was asked to bake croissants and baguettes for the Crich Junior School Harvest Breakfast. This is a lovely annual tradition when all the children at the school, parents, governors and others involved in some way have breakfast together. We are invited which is lovely and I really enjoyed a half hour out of the bakery.

One of the perks of being involved with the Junior School is getting presented from time to time with excess produce from their vegetable garden. This week they gave us some mammoth onions. Phil, our chef has been turning them into French Onion Soup and some will be going on the top of the cheddar and onion focaccia tomorrow!



All this really makes us feel that the loaf is seen as an important part of the community in Crich, and we certainly do our best to pull our weight.

Dear all,

***Late availability***

This Sunday I will be running the first of our new bread baking

 courses. As I have had a cancellation, I have a couple of spaces left to fill. If you, or someone you know, would like to have something fun and fulfilling to do this weekend, then why not get in touch.

The course this weekend is aimed at beginners or those with some previous experience but wanting some more tips and techniques. We will bake three different yeasted doughs and included in the cost of the day is a welcome bite, all drinks and lunch as well as anything that you bake.

Further course dates published into 2012

I am delighted to say that there are now dates for bread-baking courses up on the website for the first half of next year. As the first two dates this year booked up really quickly, I would encourage you to get your name down early to avoid disappointment.

All details about the dates and content of the courses and booking information are on the courses page of the website.

Pretty soon we will have vouchers available for courses which will make great gifts for friends and family this Christmas. Vouchers will be either for the full amount or a contribution towards the cost of the course. 

Pictured right is the new training room which is well on its way to completion. We are very excited about having this new space. You can keep up with developments on the blog.

Settling in

We have been baking in the new bakery for just over four weeks now so we are really starting to feel like we are settling in. The space we now have both in the bakery and in the café kitchen is fantastic and will help us to continue to develop new and exciting products as well as serve many more customers.

If you are wondering what the various buckets are on the table in the picture, they are all the sourdoughs and pre-ferments that we have to mix up each day ready for the next day's baking - it gets pretty complicated!

Events and dates for the diary

The new space that we have in the bakery means that we can attend many more markets and events going forward such as the Baslow Food Fair pictured.

Regularly we will be at:

Brampton Food Fair, Brampton Road, Chesterfield - first Saturday of the month

Matlock Farmers' Market, Imperial Rooms, Matlock - third Saturday of the month

Baslow Food Fair, Baslow village hall - Sundays every 6-8 weeks, next on Sunday 6 November

We are also keen to attend Belper and Wirksworth farmers' markets so watch this space. 

Christmas markets

We are delighted to be attending a few Christmas Markets this year. Already booked in are the fabulousplaces.co.uk Christmas Market over the weekend of 19/20 November. This promises to be a fantastic opportunity to do a bit of early Christmas shopping.

Then, over the weekend of the 2/3/4 December, we will be attending the Matlock Victorian Christmas Market for the first time. Do come along and find us among all the other festive goodies.

There is an event calendar on the news page of the website with all of these events and other bits and pieces that we get involved in.

Best wishes to all.

Andrew and Rog