The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

The First UK & Beyond TFLers Get-Together : Post-Event Report posted & Bread recipes

lumos's picture
lumos

The First UK & Beyond TFLers Get-Together : Post-Event Report posted & Bread recipes

Feb 23 - Post-event Report, posted at last. Thank you for waiting. (Hope you were waiting....:p)

<Link  to the post>


Feb 24 - Thought last one was THE final update, but apparently not....:p

   Formulae of some of the breads that were brought to Get-Together are being posted by each baker (See below for the links) .  Still more are coming.....I hope! :)


Links to the bread recipe posts by the participants (Last update 27th Feb)

Salilah – Chesnut Bread

lumos – Cocoa Sourdough with Cranberry and Walnuts

JuergenKrauss – Brighton Pebble (70% Rye + 30% Emmer)

pjaj  - Wessex Cobber

Daisy_A – Link to her Lemon Bread post posted

Bluesaturn – Link to the site her Brioche is based upon posted

vincenttalleu – Kefir Bread

ananda – Links to his Borodinsky & Bara Brith posts posted

 bertie26 - Vetkoek & Koetsistersplus Curry Sauce for Vetkoek

 

ananda's picture
ananda

Hi Both,

I'll liaise with Daisy_A by e-mail if that's ok.

Cheers

Andy

FoodFascist's picture
FoodFascist

Aha! I thought our biggest challenge would be to get Andy to come down from his Arctic plains but there he is :-)

Andy, if you make it bring Alison with you, otherwise we'll all have to bear the blame for stealing you from her on top of your work!

lumos's picture
lumos

Hi, Faith!

Can I assume your preferences and options are the same as you told me while ago?  If they are, I'll try digging out our old emails from the deepest end of  inbox and to the information.   BUT, IF you hava a spare time,  if you could please answer those questions above and post it here or send me via PM/email, that'll be a great help for me.

Thanks!

 

FoodFascist's picture
FoodFascist

oh sorry didn't see your post before I submitted the one below. I began typing an hour ago you see, then my little tinker woke up so had to leave it. And didn't refresh the page before posting. I'll PM you my location in case.

lumos's picture
lumos

No, it's OK.  Your post'll  do the job nicely. No need to do anymore.  Thanks! ;)

FoodFascist's picture
FoodFascist

as to the Do questionnaire:

1) you already know I'm all up for it

2) can do both, although Thurs and Fri would be the hardest for me

3) you know

4) you know

5) that the venue doesn't mind young kids. I DO hope they won't require some silly risk assessment for that?

6) none as such, but I HATE red meat so if there's a veggie/fish/chicken option available that would be fab. Although I'm well used to just picking any meat out of my food.

7) not really. Could possibly even do Christmas week.

lumos's picture
lumos

LOL love the way you answered the Qs. Thanks, Faith!  :)

txfarmer's picture
txfarmer

I am very jealous. That is all.

 

:P

lumos's picture
lumos

It's one of a few benefits of living in a tiny country. Almost anywhere is more or less within the easy reach.  ;)

As I said in the opening post, you're very welcome to join you, you know.  Our relatively warm (and wet) climate owes to the Gulf stream. If you just jump in the ocean and let the current carry you, you may reach our shore easily.....some day.....:p

lumos

whosinthekitchen's picture
whosinthekitchen

Imitation is the highest form of flattery...

Are there any Florida USAers interested in a meetup?

Send responses to whosinthekitchen message here on TFL...  Any takers from southern states interested?  Not wanting to exclude anyone...

Florida has many options for great meetup venues.... parks, beaches.... I can see this happening.... come on and let me hear from you.

Thanks  UKers!  You just may have started a global movement.  Who knows we might be able to bring peace to the world one piece at a time! (of bread that is!)

whosinthekitchen?

Lisa

 

freerk's picture
freerk

Great that you are getting together as well! Please keep me posted on any dates!

Freerk

bertie26's picture
bertie26

I would be very interested but woukl prfer rail likn since i do not drive. how about the midlands. reasonable for all on most types of travel. 

for a venue try ENTA  they  are a soical enterprise and have a conference venue, i think it  is avaiable week days only.

thank you  albert

lumos's picture
lumos

Hi, Albert. Nice to virtually-meet you.

There're tons of things we need to consider in deciding where and when and what sort of venue are most suitable,  so if you're interested in taking part, it would help us very much if you could kindly give us the information I asked in the opening post, as KateKat and FoodFascist did above.     Either posting it here or sending me via PM will be fine.

Thanks!

lumos

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

Hi Lumos & Daisy_A

Good idea:

1 - I would love to participate;

2 - Most times but last Thursday of any month (and the rest of that week and weekend following) are less convenient;

3 - West Midlands (35mi north west of Birmingham);

4 - Car (need very very close parking - but I do have a blue badge);

5 - As 4 but also convenient lift (if room is not on ground floor) and not a long walk within venue (unless wheelchair pushers are available :) );

6 - Not too spicy but fois gras and beef fillet or lobster are fine for me (I like my beef rare please);

7 - Whenever (or is that too teenager-ish?).

Richard

lumos's picture
lumos

Thanks, Richard! Thanks for the reply.

You're VERY welcome to supply those food to share with me! Anytime!

'Whenever' is slightly less teens-ish than 'whatever...,' so you're forgiven. :p

lumos

 

FoodFascist's picture
FoodFascist

Hi Richard,

if by wheelchair pushers you mean people as opposed to equipment, I'd happily volunteer. I even have a tiny bit of experience in steering wheelchairs ;-) But in the meantime someone would have to volunteer to look after my little tike :-)

Re your food choices - how would caviar pancakes satisfy your exquisite taste? With mustard? =D

(I could actually supply those if I tried really hard)

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

Hi FF

'fraid so - I may need someone to provide motive power!  Despite your kind offer of assistance, I have to confess to having no real ability with little tikes any more :) so I couln't help you out with that one. 

As for caviar, I can cope with that as well  as my suggestions - and mustard - just not too sure about the two together!  I would have more chance with providing foie gras and beef fillet - and not just because it is cheaper than the really posh sturgeon egg varieties but because I know good meat suppliers whilst my fishmonger doesn't get much call for caviar :)

FoodFascist's picture
FoodFascist

Well if you can do as much as to steer a little tike, we could use him as pulling power and me as pushing power =D

You didn't seriously think I'd put mustard on caviar? That's like ketchup on oysters (not that I eat oysters - the thought of it...)

FYI sturgeon is an endangered species (in fact, a group of species) and to my knowledge, is almost totally banned from sale. You can still find some, though. Thanks to poaching and farming. But it's literally worth its price in gold... I must have been about 10 the last time I had black caviar... half a teaspoon spread on a slice of buttered bread.

bertie26's picture
bertie26

Here is my corrected bit as requested

1- I would love to attend

2-Most days

3- Birmingham West Midlands

4- Train and Public Transport

5- no special venue

6- Anything filling and tasty

7- I will follow the group conscience

 

I will keep watching for any news and hope to be included

 Bye Albert

lumos's picture
lumos

Thanks, Albert!

Will keep you updated if there's any development, so watch this space.

Look forward seeing you. :)

lumos

bluesaturn's picture
bluesaturn

Hi Kate.

Funny that you live as well in Reading. Good luck with baking. I just became as well a new member.

Kind regards,

blue

 

freerk's picture
freerk

OMG...

I have enough miles for a free return ticket in Europe! I want to come! To chase Daisy's ornamental birds and whack Lumos with my super peel ;-)

So here we go:

1. Duuh!

2. It totally depends, but with enough time ahead I can squeeze it in and fix it in my agenda.

3. Amsterdahum

4. Plane, train, no car.

5. No special requirements on the venue

6. No special dietary requirements

7. No preference on date

Can't wait for this, exciting!

Freerk

p.s. did you see my ensaimada time lapse yet?

lumos's picture
lumos

FREEEEEEERK!!!  Can you really come?  That's absolutely wonderful!  Good you've got enough air miles to fly here. Otherwise I was thinking of suggestion goose fat

No, I had't seen the video, yet. Thanks for the link.   The way you rolled the dough so thinly is really amazing!  Lovely to see you in action......with your tombstone baking stone, too. :p   You're not bringing that monster with you, are you?  I can deal with the super peel, but  I don't think I'll survive a whack with that!

lumos

FoodFascist's picture
FoodFascist

lol Lumos, I think Freerk may need a rocket-propelled device in addition to goose fat to get here in time! In which case he's likely to be arrested by over-zealous border guards and sent to Guantanamo. Or that high security place near Paddington as a minimum. Not sure there's much in the way of bread recipe exchange (or indeed, bread) in those parts!

Freerk, funny you should post that video, there was thi big discussion on sfogliatelle on here recently, which uses essentually the same sort of stretching technique! I even thought, weird you should coat your dough with lard before stretching it not after.

I admire your commitment, Freerk. So much travelling for a few hours' bread chat!

lumos's picture
lumos

It's OK, Faith.  People usually swim across the Channel in 24 hrs or so he'll get there in time with just a day's notice.  And I'm sure he'll be retained for a few days in Paddington before getting handed over to Guantanamo (for suspicion  of terrorism activity.... with a weird looking board on a stick with inexplicable mechanism and an abnormally thick slab of stone), so  we'll just have our Get Together in front of his cell.  It usually has a small window on the door  to serve food through.  And the police station is close enough to one of the largest terminal station in London.  It'll suit us fine.

I admire your commitment, Freerk. So much travelling for a few hours' bread chat!

But he get to meet US!  What's more in life one would want?  :p

 

FoodFascist's picture
FoodFascist

your familiarity with the interiors of high security institutions worries me, Lumos ;-) as well as your expertise in unconventional means of travelling whilst attached to a slab of granite. Own up, how long have you been in trafficking?

lumos's picture
lumos

I've lived long enough to accumulate all sorts of useless information about all sorts of  weird things.....through books and films and papers, of course! :p

freerk's picture
freerk

I'll be able to use my suoerpeel to pick up my food from under the door, and you can all applaud and cheer me!

freerk's picture
freerk

Rockets, goose fat, guantanamo... Is it okay with you girls if I just board a boring ole plane and land there before I manage to get the peanuts out of the bag? I would have dissolved into the North Sea just off the coast of Scheveningen any way, goose fat or not.

I had the same thoughts about the lard, until I saw a video on Madrid tiene Miga (thanx to Daisy), than it made total sense. I'm still far away from producing the perfect ensaimada, but I'll get there, one day!

Freerk

pjaj's picture
pjaj

Sounds very interesting

  1. Are you interested in attending? - Yes.
  2. Can you make weekdays and weekends/weekdays only/weekends only? - Any day.
  3. Where do you live? - Near Oxford.
  4. What are your general travel options (car, coach, rail)? - Any of the above.
  5. Any special venue requirements, such as disabled access, etc? (Please do not ask if we can have it in Buckingham Palace. Not this time, anyway....) - No, but we could have Blenheim Palace! see below.
  6. Any special dietary requirements? - No.
  7. Any preference for the date or period? (particular month/late this year/early next year?) - No.

Not wishing to sound selfish, Oxford area is pretty central, with good road (A34, M40 + M4 to the South), bus and rail links in most directions. About 1 to 2 hours from London, Southampton, Birmingham or Bristol. In addition there's got to be lots of possible venues ranging from Blenheim Palace and all the colleges to plenty of pubs which have rooms to hire. For example The Jericho Tavern (can accomodate up to 300 at a squeeze - no personal connection). It would all depend on numbers of course. I could suggest one or two others, such as a Farm shop with Conference facilities + Resturant + Large Car Park etc if there is any interest.

lumos's picture
lumos

Hi, pjaj!

Great to hear you're interested in joining us! Thank you for the info.

As for the location, there're lots of things we need to consider, not only the distances/travelling options, but also some special requirements for various people, etc. etc. etc....... 

Luckily Daisy has a great expertise and knowledge in organizing events/conferences and also various venues, so if you could leave it to us, we'll try our best to make the travelling as easy as possible to as many people as possible. We're working on it! ;) 

But thanks for your input about your area, anyway. ;)

best regards,

lumos

lumos's picture
lumos

OK….I am partly to be blamed for fueling it and also joining in, so please read this as something I’m telling myself, too.

 We are happily surprised and really thrilled that so many people have shown an interest so quickly in taking a part in the first UK TFLers’ Get Together. We even managed to lure and de-lurk a few of you, new members, too!  (Welcome, again. :))

So thank you so much for everyone who’s responded so enthusiastically and kindly given  the information we asked for.  

We really appreciate so many people are positively excited about the prospect of the meet-up, but because of that, it’s already becoming  difficult to sieve through a bit of traffic jam caused by everyone’s excitement to fish out the posts with necessary information for organizing the event among some others that are not too relevant for purpose. And it’s only two days since I post the notice! (Yep, I know.  I’m a guilty party, too. Sorry!  :p)  

So, what I’d like to suggest is……..let’s calm down a bit, boys and girls....especially the latter...that includes me. :p 

The following is the list of the new Highway Codes I’d like you to keep in mind on this thread for a while, so that I won’t miss to pick up all the necessary info for organizing the event that will be as good as possible for as many people as possible.

 

1)       One important thing to remember: This thread is not a chat room or a twitter. :p

2)       What you’re seeing on this thread is not the whole picture. I’m getting several responses via PM/email. So what may seem like a ‘good idea’ by judging from the info you can see on this thread may not be such a good idea after all.

3)       Plugging your town/city/area is not necessary or welcome at this moment. There’re many things to consider, and both Daisy and I have a certain amount of experiences and knowledge about various areas and venues and potential options for holding this sort of event.  So if comes the time when we need to get more detailed information about your area, we may contact you and ask for your help.  But until then, the answers to the  questions in the opening post are all we need for the time being.  

 

As I said above is the mental note for myself as well, so please don’t think we’re not excited by your excitement, because we really are!   So, thank you very much, everyone! :)

As we get more responses from more people and our planning advances, we may need to ask you more questions or we may want to keep you updated how it’s developing.  Floyd has kindly made this thread sticky until the beginning of October (Grovel to Floyd, everyone!),  so you’ll find this on top of the front page for the period.

So, please keep on watching this space! :)

 

lumos the biggest sinner

candis's picture
candis

sounds like fun.

1.yes

2.any day but Thursday

3.near Oxford

4.any

5-7 no

lumos's picture
lumos

my god....I've almost miss your response!

Thank you for showing the interest. Look forward to meeting you, too. :)

Sorry for the late acknowledgement.

lumos

vincenttalleu's picture
vincenttalleu

Hello, I'd love to come, that sounds like good fun ;) (the food and drink part mainly ;))

  1. Yep
  2. Anyday except 12-17 oct
  3. Northwest London (willesden)
  4. Cycle/rail
  5. Anywhere except someone's attic/basement
  6. A lot of everything ;)
  7. Anyday except 12-17 oct
Looking forward to that ;)Vince
lumos's picture
lumos

Goooody!! So glad you're on board, too, Vincent!

Thanks for the info.  Will keep you updated via email....just in case you're too busy tackling with your dough. ;)

lumos

 

Salilah's picture
Salilah
  1. Are you interested in attending? - Yes
  2. Can you make weekdays and weekends/weekdays only/weekends only? - Can do any - prefer weekdays
  3. Where do you live? - London during week, outside Cambridge at the weekend
  4. What are your general travel options (car, coach, rail)? - any
  5. Any special venue requirements, such as disabled access, etc?  (Please do not ask if we can have it in Buckingham Palace. Not this time, anyway....) - none
  6. Any special dietary requirements? - none
  7. Any preference for the date or period? (particular month/late this year/early next year?) - any

Thanks lots for kicking this off!  Let me know if you could use any help organising

Sali

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

Hello Sali

Glad to hear from you.  I hope you are keeping well.

Best Wishes

Richard

Salilah's picture
Salilah

Hi Richard!  Yes I'm doing well thanks - baking a lot, but not really writing about it - message to self: must improve!!

<grin>

Hope you are also doing OK?  I still have the recipe for the Lemon Bread to post (oops)

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

Sali

It would be nice to have the recipe but it would be even nicer if I could source some durum wheat flour but I've only got semolina at the moment.  It is good to hear that you have been doing some baking.  I am having to restrain myself because I was so "fired up" when I recovered from the baking course that we now have a large stock of bread in the freezer so I am only allowed to bake when we are about to run out of a particular type of bread.  I was looking forward to making some ciabatta and baguettes this week but my wife went delving in the freezer to find a joint of meat for Sunday dinner and also came out with two baguettes and ciabatta so now I know we still have some I will be in trouble if I baked any :( .  Still, I do occasionally get the chance to bake and that included a focaccia that I made on Saturday.  It went down a storm with my youngest daughter and she has been using it for her packed lunches so far this week.

I'm sure that you will get around to posting that recipe when you have time.  I have been so distracted because of works that are going on in and on my home (I'm currently earning money because the new solar panels are generating in excess of 3 1/2 kW) but work on bathrooms is still in hand and the noise makes using my dictation software rather difficult so I still have some baking experiments to write up and email to catch up on.

Hopefully we can meet up again at this get-together that lumos and Daisy_A arranging.  There seems to be so many people interested that we will all need name badges (real name and forum name please)!

Best wishes Richard

Juergen Krauss's picture
Juergen Krauss

http://www.dececco.it/eshop/EN/prodotti.asp?Categoria=6

Hi Richard,

I didn't try these flours yet, but they ship to the UK.

Best Wishes,

Juergen

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

Thanks Juergen

Salilah's picture
Salilah

PS middle weeks of November not good (hope to be in China) - but hey, we'll all have time we can't do!

lumos's picture
lumos

Hi, Sali!

Can you PM me with the exact dates? Thanks. :)

lumos

lumos's picture
lumos

Hi, Sali!  Been wondering where you are. ;)

So glad you're interested. Look forward to meeting you!

lumos

 

p.s. How's your cowpat bread baking doing these days? :p

Salilah's picture
Salilah

Heya!  Sorry was away and didn't see original post!  I hope it will work out - sounds like a great idea to just talk to others!

Bread is not too bad - I still produce the odd weird thing, but they are getting fewer...  Sadly one failure (definitely a cowpat) was a Ciabatta I was trying to help my sister-in-law with - I gave her the recipe, then turned up to help mix, and found she'd allowed 24 hours for the biga instead of 12-16, and then had decided to give it a few S&F (!) - we went ahead with other ingredients but were alse doing accounts, so didn't watch it enough, and it definitely over-fermented!  Baked in a tin, and tasted OK if a little solid (sort of "soup bread" rather than ciabatta :-) ).  Shame, because she's not yet a confident sourdough maker, and this was one she really wanted to make work...  I might encourage her to try the cocodrillo recipe?

Anyway - fingers crossed re event, would love to meet folks F2F!

lumos's picture
lumos

*cough, cough*

Sorry to interupt your wonderful conversation, but........if you could, please. ;)

Thanks!

lumos

 

p.s. to Sali,

Will PM you later! :)

Ruari Gillies's picture
Ruari Gillies

Love to attend, but distance may prevent:

1. Yes

2. Any

3. North of Scotland.  Do occasionally travel south so very interested

4. Car

5. None

6. None

7. No

lumos's picture
lumos

Hi, Ruari Gillies!

We'd love you to join us, too. :)

Will keep you updated if any development in the planning, so please do watch this space!

lumos

cfmuirhead's picture
cfmuirhead

Good idea .

Yes interested - Week days if possible - Near Oxford.    Would welcome anywhere around Oxford or reachable by car.  London possible - would take train or bus.

 

lumos's picture
lumos

Hi, cfmuirhead. 

Thank you very much for showing an interest.  Can you please tell us about Q. 5,6,7, too? Thanks!

lumos

pjaj's picture
pjaj

If it eventually requires a car to get there (wherever "there" may be) from Oxford, maybe we could share?

candis's picture
candis

yes, I'd be glad to share the driving. and since there are already three of us from"near Oxford" maybe we should think about a mini-getogether locally. 

lumos's picture
lumos

When we eventually decide where the location will be, I'll conjure up some sort of method so that people who live in a same area can pre-arrange sharing a car or travelling together.  It's already on our agenda, so watch this space for that, too! :)

lumos

cfmuirhead's picture
cfmuirhead

Ditto candies for transport- let's contact once location decided. No problem to share.

cfmuirhead's picture
cfmuirhead

Q 5-7: no special requirements.  Prefers autumn to early spring, but very flexible xcept holidays late Nov-early Dec and January.

Hope this answers all your question and good luck to organise the event.

lumos's picture
lumos

Thanks! 

Just to make sure.... You're taking holidays in both late Nov-early Dec and whole of January? How flexible/inflexible are you during those periods?

 

cfmuirhead's picture
cfmuirhead

Putting it like that makes me feel a little guilty but that is what retirement is all about I tell myself: away last week nov and 1st December and 3 Weeks in January from 7th. Will bring the pics if u want :-))

lumos's picture
lumos

Yeah, I've heard a retirement life is extremely busy. :p   Thanks for the detailed info about the dates. It really helps. :)

bagel_and_rye's picture
bagel_and_rye

Hello UK TFLers!

Chicago Amateur Bread Bakers here. It sounds exciting, what you are putting together. We wish you all the best with your endeavor.

If we may lend you a hand in any way, please do let us know--it would be our pleasure to help. 

If you like, you are welcome to join our group as observing members, and browse our events. Simply visit our website, and click on the "Join us!" button.

Happy baking!

bagel_and_rye

Organizers of Chicago Amateur Bread Bakers

 

P.S. All of the above applies to Florida USAers, too, of course! Please keep us posted of your plans.


Follow us...
Website: http://www.meetup.com/Chicago-Amateur-Bread-Bakers
Twitter: @AmateurBakers
Event recaps posted here: http://www.designingmyday.com/

Chicago Amateur Bread Bakers is a not-for-profit group of avid home bakers of yeasted, artisanal breads. We get together in-person to share our experiences and learn from one another. We strive to support and inspire those actively baking bread at home.

lumos's picture
lumos

Thanks. :)

cfmuirhead's picture
cfmuirhead

Anyone in the UK TFLers that are 'graduates ' of the Bertinet Kitchen' Dough Smashing Academy ? Perhaps we were of the same Class.. Claudine here. See you at the TFL reunion.

lumos's picture
lumos

Good timing! This saved me a PM. I was just about to ask you if you're male or female.  Thanks. ;)

 

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

December 2007. Please pm me.

cfmuirhead's picture
cfmuirhead

Much later for me: 2010.  Did you do the 5 days?   Idid but in 3 sections - don't think I could have been able to stand the heat of that kitchen for a full 5 days. See you at the TFL meeting perhaps.

lumos's picture
lumos

[EDITED]I posted this above, but so that nobody misses it.....(It's becoming increasingly difficult to check all the posts. :p)

 

When we eventually decide where the location will be, I'll conjure up some sort of method so that people who live in a same area can contact each other and pre-arrange sharing a car or travelling together, or maybe offering a lift to/from the local station and the venue  for people who're arriving by public transport, etc. etc.

As I said, there're several people who contacted me via PM/email, so not all the potential participants are on the thread.

When we get the final picture of who're actually attending and where they live/come from and how, I'll make sure all of you can share necessary information with relevant people.

Planning the way to do it efficiently, without having to  desclose your private infomarion on internet unnecessarily,  is one of our agenda already, so please watch this space for that, too! :)

Thanks!

lumos

 

p.s.   All the important notice/information from Daisy or me will be posted in bold letters like this from now on. Hopefully it'll make it easy for everyone to find it.   So if any of you use bold letters on this thread just because you feel like it, I'll make you in charge of cleaning up all the mess after the event! :p

 

And as I asked above, please, PLEASE KEEP THIS IN MIND  (link).  Thanks!

 

 

 

lumos's picture
lumos

Hi, Geraint!  Thank you very much for your response.

Lovely to see you back to the forum. Look forward to meeting you in person at Get-Together. :)

lumos

lumos's picture
lumos

Hi, everyone!

As some of you already know, I sometimes may need to contact you by PM to get a little more information from you than what you've already given us in your response. 

Those information can help Daisy and I organize the Get-Together so that it will  (hopefully) be easier for as many people as possible to attend. 

So, please do check you inbox regularly for a new message.

And if you have any special request or question, or if you have something you want to discuss in private, please do feel free to PM me, anytime. :)

Thanks!

lumos

 

 

tanyclogwyn's picture
tanyclogwyn
  • Are you interested in attending? Yes
  • Can you make weekdays and weekends/weekdays only/weekends only? Can do most days
  • Where do you live? Banbury area - Oxford-W Mids corridor would be esp convenient, and also London
  • What are your general traveloptions (car, coach, rail)? Public transport always desirable, but do use the car  :-,
  • Any special venue requirements, such as disabled access, etc?   None
  • Any special dietary requirements? None
  • Any preference for the date or period? (particular month/late this year/early next year?) After October.

Re cooperation over transport, I am not too far from Candis.

Tom

lumos's picture
lumos

Thanks for the response, Tom.

Please keep on watching this space for updates. ;)

lumos

 

P.S.  We often drove through your town when we used to spend weekends in a hotel in Stratford.  (Pre-daughter days when we were freerer and could afford golfing weekends on almost every Bank Holidays. :p)   Really charming and beautiful part of the country. 

lumos's picture
lumos

***********************************************************************************************

After many enquiries, an additonal info added re time of the event (3-b). Sorry I should've mentioned it when first posted. Sincere apology.

************************************************************************************************

 

Hi, our fellow UK and Beyond TFLers! :)

Thank you very much for showing an interest in our first UK-based Get-Together for TFLers. 

Now we're in October already, thought we'd better give you some picture about how the organizing of the event is going, already, like what's decided and what's still in the process. ;)

 

So, here are the BASICS just to outline what's happening....and what hasn't happened yet. :p

1.  So far we received responses from 22 people in total on this thread and also via PM/emails. Thank you very much for all your enthusiastic responses! 

2. After considering various factors, we decided the location will be somewhere around  OXFORD. (Not in the town centre but probably just outside)

3-a. It will be held in WEEKEND.......possibly on Saturday, but Sunday is still an option, depending upon availability of a venue.

3-b.  The meet-up will start about 10:30 -11:00 am and finishing around 3:30pm. 

4. We already have several candidates for the venue (Grovel to Daisy, everyone,  for her efficient and very dedicated hard work! :) and are in communication with them,  but it'll probably take us a few more weeks until we finally decide which one to choose.   It'll all depend on which date/budget/catering option and their availability. 

5. Same situation as above for the catering options, too.  We have a few possible caterers in mind and have received quotation from some of them, but the final decision will, probably, be made much later, after we decide on the venue.  (And an option of self-catering ourselves, either fully or partly,  is still on the table, too, if that seems to work better)

 

....and some 'notes' to add.....

6.  We consciously decided the venue is NOT going to be in the centre of Oxford because driving into the town centre on Saturday is an absolute nightmare and parking is very difficult. (Also trying not having to  'Park & Ride,'  because that'll easily add at least 30 minutes to travelling time - with waiting for ages for a bus to come, having to wait for the next one because it's full, etc. etc. Been there, done that! -  into the town centre plus extra to the venue from the bus stop) 

We are trying to make this as easily-accessable as possible for as many participants as possible, but for those arriving in Oxford by public transport, that means another travelling from the station to the venue outside the town, which will add additional travelling time and cost.  

 To make their lives a little bit easier, we're thinking of asking people (especially those who live in/around Oxford area) who're driving to the venue to do a bit of chauffering job by giving them a lift to/from the local station.   We will think up some sort of system to make arranging this between all the concerned people as easy as possible. (says she.....:p)

 7.  Same thing goes to sharing a car/travelling together to Oxford for people who live in other parts of UK.   We'll figure out the way, so that  people who may be able to do so can get in touch each other and discuss/arrange their good travelling options.   (as said before)

8.  To be able to fund some deposits we may be asked by the venue/caterer to secure the booking, we may need to ask you to pay a deposit for the participation.

 

And here are a few things we need to ask you now.....

9. If any of you think you won't be able to attend (hope not! ) because of the location (=Oxford) or the date (=weekend) or any other reason  already,  please let me know as soon as possible.  The number of possible participants will greatly effect our planning and budgeting, so we really need to know how many of you are still interested.

10.  We may get in touch with some of you who are Oxford-locals to ask for your local knowledge about venues, etc.  So,  please do check your PM inbox regularly.

 

And lastly, just a small reminder (link), if I may. ;)

 

If there's anyone who haven't responded to the call already but are interested,  you're all still very welcome to join us, but please get in touch with me QUICKLY!!!!

 

That's it for the time being, but if you have any question or addtional request, please don't hesitate to contact me anytime.  I won't bite you....usually. :p

Thanks! ....and we'll keep you updated. :)

 

lumos @ withawesomedaisyholdingmyhand

Nici's picture
Nici

Hi Lumos,  I live in Edinburgh, so am very unlikely to attend, but would like to hear all about it.  Will that be possible ?  Cheers  Nici

lumos's picture
lumos

Hi, Nici

Sorry it's not very near from you, but if you change your mind and decide to join us, you're very welcome. ;)  If not, yes, I'll post some sort of post-event report here in the forum.

kind regards,

lumos

 

P.S.  Heard there's a special train service run by some sort of magic school based in Scotland between their local station (Hogsmead)  and Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross, London.  May worth investigating that.  I think it's free.  :p

lumos's picture
lumos

pjaj, please check your inbox, ASAP. :)

lumos's picture
lumos

Following people, please check your PM inbox........and reply ASAP.

 

cfmuirhead  Thanks!

Andy    Thanks!

Ruari Gillies   Thanks!

Juergen    Thanks!

Mwillson   Thanks!

Geraintbakesbread (ex-Sgratch)   Thanks!

 

(ETAs)

TonyI   Thanks!

Nici  Thanks!

 

Thanks!

lumos

lumos's picture
lumos

For everyone who's thinking of getting to Oxford by public transport

Can you please check the schedule for planned engineering works for Nov-early Dec on the lines you'll be travelling on?

If there's any weekend which would make the travelling virtually impossible without HUUUUUUUUGE detour and a MASSIVE extra time, let me know immediately.

Thanks!

lumos

 

P.S.

ToniI. Check your PM inbox, please.

 

lumos's picture
lumos

Hi, everyone!

So, so, so, sorry to keep you hanging in the air. 

Hopefully we can let you know about the possible date/dates for the event before too long, so that you can plan your journey or organize other things around it.

As a  head-up and preliminary info, it'll probably either be in a weekend in November or, if not, will be earlier next year (Jan/Feb).  

To share a little backstage situation, a problem we're having at a moment is to try to find a weekend when everyone can attend.  From the information I've got so far, the first weekend like that won't come until February.  And of course, we don't want any one of you to miss it.

So here's a question for you, if I may.  Is February too far ahead for you?   Would you rather have it earlier?  (you can reply either on here or via pm/email)

And if there's any change in your schedule for weekends between Nov-Feb from what you've already shared with me,  it'll be really appreciated if you could let me know ASAP. 

Thank you very much, especially for your patience.

best regards,

lumos

 

bertie26's picture
bertie26

Hi Lumos

 february or later wiull suit me too bye albert

candis's picture
candis

January impossible, I'm afraid. February terrific.

lumos's picture
lumos

(ETA 20th Oct : please read the bottom of this post)

 

Hi, UK & Beyond TFLers!

 

We're happy to announce we are almost there in finalizing our plan for our Get-Together, at last! 

These are what we have decided....

1)  It will be held on a Saturday in February, either 4th, 11th or 18th.

2) The venue will be in a suburb of Oxford, about 15 minutes drive from the station.  (Will let you know exactly where when we reached the final deal with the proprietor).  It has an ample parking space and very good disabled access all through the venue. - As promised, for the people who are arriving in Oxford by public transport, we will sort out the transportation between the station and the venue, if needed.

3) It will a day-time gathering,  starting around 10:30 am and finishing around 3 - 3:30 pm.

4) The cost will be less than ₤25.- per head, hopefully nearer to ₤20.-, all inclusive.   (We may ask you to pay a small deposit later to secure the booking with the venue)

 

So now we need to know from you to make a formal booking at the venue are.....

1)  Are you still interested in joining us?

2)  Is any of those dates good for you?

Also, if any of you needs an overnight accommodation, the venue may be able to provide very good B & B service in their newly-built rooms at a special rate for us, too, so please let me know if you're interested.

 

Please let me know ASAP, or  by 25th October (tue) at latest,  either on here or via PM/email.


Thank you very much, and look forward to hearing from you.  And if anyone who wants to join us but hasn't contacted us yet, you're still very welcome, too!

lumos

 

 

ETA (20th Oct) : Just noticed this morning there had been some problem on this site with email notification service for new posts. (the probelem has been fixed now)  So, it's possible some of you haven't seen UPDATE NO.4 above when I asked if February was OK with any of you.  If you've missed the post and if February is not convenient, please contact me ASAP. Thanks!

 

Salilah's picture
Salilah

Yes still interested

Yes any of these dates currently work OK for me

cheers!

S

TonyI's picture
TonyI

Lumos,

                 any of those dates are fine for me.

Take care

Tony

freerk's picture
freerk

1) Yes, still interested

2) All of the dates are good for me.

Freerk

lumos's picture
lumos

Thanks!

Let me know when you decide how you're travelling to the venue (I mean, AFTER you arrived in UK, that is, with goose fat...:p) and whether you need an accommodation.

 

lumos's picture
lumos

For all public transport users

Please check for a possible engineering work on any of those Saturdays above on the public transport service you're planning to use to get to the venue.  If there's any major work is planned which will make your journey very difficult, please let me know ASAP.

Thanks!

candis's picture
candis

StartSelection:0000000199 EndSelection:0000000521
I’ll be there whenever, but the 11th and 18th would be better. Yours, candis
PS can’t wait to hear about the mystery venue.


On 20/10/2011 06:16, "floydm@thefreshloaf

lumos's picture
lumos

Thanks, Candis. :)

Will assure you the venue won't be in a middle of barren field 15 min from Oxford station, with us sitting on the wet grass under grey sky,  huddling each other for warmth. :p

candis's picture
candis

I just hoped you were coming to my barren field, 15 minutes from Oxford, so I'd have someone to huddle with.

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

Hello lumos & Daisy_A

At the moment I have no arrangements for any of those days. I may be able to offer a lift to Albert26 and others around/on route if they need it (I live between Telford & Stafford) and are willing to risk my driving :o .

Best Wishes
Richard

bertie26's picture
bertie26

hello richard

 i would like a lift with you and share the journey, never mind the driving i am properly schooled since using minibus taxis in the 3rd world. I can meet you wherever ir is convenient for you. bye albert.

Nici's picture
Nici

Thank you Lumos, but sadly I will not be able to make it; but will look forward to hearing all about it.  regards  Nici

tanyclogwyn's picture
tanyclogwyn

Thanks Lumos for all your hard work.  I look forward to either 4th or 11th, but on 18th will be in Sri Lanka - not much sourdough there!

I'll be coming from near Banbury and can easily pick up Candis ;-). Any others?

Best wishes

Tom

lumos's picture
lumos

Thanks, Tom! Look forward to meeting you, too!  I'll definitely keep in mind your schedule. Sri Lanka is a bit too far away to move the venue. :p

 

For the participants from Oxford area

As for travelling arrangement, will you please hold on for a while?  I'm going to sort out the chauffering service for the people who're arriving in Oxford by public transport when we definitely know who are coming and where from, and probably I'll need to ask for the cooperation from the people who live in/near Oxford area.  Until I get all the information, I won't know how many cars I'll need, so I'd like to keep that part of  option as open as possible, if I may.  (just FYI, I have upto 10-11 people who are travelling by public transport at the moment)

Sorry for possible inconveniences, but since you're in the better position (I mean, location) than other people coming from other areas, your cooperation will be really appreciated to make the life of those people travelling from a far as easy as possible, both time-wise and cost-wise.

Thanks!

bluesaturn's picture
bluesaturn

Would anybody cycle with me from Oxford train station to the venue? I would arrive there by train from Reading. Those 15min are "car minutes" or how much is the distance in km, please?

cfmuirhead's picture
cfmuirhead

To bluesaturn and Lumos

Not knowing the exact location of the venue, except that it is north of Oxford, it would be possible for anyone coming from South of Oxford by train to stop at Charlbury, the station just after Oxford.  I could pick up on my way to the venue.  Similarly, anyone coming from the North could also stop before Oxford, at Charlbury.  I think someone may also be coming from Banbury, another good train stop on the way to Oxford.  Hope this helps.

 

lumos's picture
lumos

It is not north of Oxford. It's more or less 4 miles/6 km  south-west from the station. 

At this moment, it'd help us  if you could just let us know 1) whereabout you live, and 2) if you're happy to volunteer chauffering service.    We don't know how many people are arriving in Oxford at what sort of time, so it'll be easier if we start sorting out the arrangement once we know all those information.

Thanks.

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

Hi

I guess that I will have to pass by/through Oxford to get to a venue that is south west of the city. So, provided I use a "sensible" car, I could squeeze 2 or 3 more passengers in (in addition to Albert), if the timing is convenient.

cfmuirhead's picture
cfmuirhead

Sorry i got it wrong.  

lumos's picture
lumos

No worry. Thanks for your offer, anyway. :)

lumos's picture
lumos

Any preference for the date at all?

Thanks.

 

p.s. @bluesaturn - Pls check inbox for 2 pm. thx.

Zeb's picture
Zeb

Can I join in? Very flexible dates times venues etc.

love Zeb

lumos's picture
lumos

Hi, Zeb!

So glad you've find this!  Of course, you're most welcome!

Will PM you with the details and a few things I need to ask. ;)

lumos

lumos's picture
lumos

Urgent message to - 

Freerk   Thanks! 

Geraint   Thanks!

mwilson   Thanks!

lousyreeds1 

 

 Please PM me ASAP. Thanks!

 

lumos

 

lumos's picture
lumos

To pembrokeshire boy   Thanks!

Please check you inbox. Two messages are waiting for you. Thanks!

lumos

lumos's picture
lumos

To KateKat - Please PM me ASAP. Thanks!

 

To Geraint  - Sorry, another message! :p   Thanks!

lumos's picture
lumos

To tanyclogwyn (Tom)

Please PM me, very ASAP!

lumos

lumos's picture
lumos

To bluesaturn

An important message is waiting in you PM.   (no, it's not from me, this time! ;)

Thanks!

lumos's picture
lumos

 I'm afraid this is a very long post....but with lots of important information and some requests from the organizers.  So please don't fall a sleep and read until the end, and acknowledge by post/pm/email.

Thanks!


******************************************************************************************************

Before I tell you the finalized details of the event, I need to say this first.

After this Friday, this thread will go un-sticky.  Many thanks for Floyd for letting us keep this sticky for such a long time and please accept my sincere apologies to other TFLers for having to put up with this thread, which is nothing to do with many of you, occupying the top space on the top page.. especially its very unsightly and frantic ‘content type’ corrections for countless times lately…by me. Sorry!!

******************************************************************************************************

 

Now, for the participants! :)

Thank you very much for your enthusiastic responses to our UK & Beyond TFLers’ Get-Together.  And thank you, also, for your patience in waiting this long until we can finally  announce the event details.  The number of total participants, at the moment, is 27 (24 TFL members plus 3 non-members). This is much more than we had expected and we both feel so honoured and chuffed to find so many people are interested.  Thank you!

 

So, at last, these are the important details we’ve been all waiting for……

Date : Saturday, 18th February 2012

 

Time : 10:30 am to 3:30 pm  (Please aim to arrive at the venue before 10:15 am. The venue will be open from 10:00 am)

*for public transport travelers and Oxford area participants, please see [Note 1] below

 

Venue : The Bear and The Ragged Staff, Cumnor, Oxfordshire

 …..er....well, I can assure you that you won’t be served by a bear nor ragged staff. :p  The pub is well-known in the area.  Both their food and service have received excellent reviews in pub/restaurants guides. They are also experienced in catering for functions. It has very good disabled access/facilities and the proprietor kindly offered to let us use an extra area next to our function room. The function room has its own bar.

 

Address – 28 Appleton Road, Cumnor, Oxford OX2 9QH   = just off A420, 15 minutes drive from Oxford train station  *[Note 2] below

Map (link)

The Bear website

  (If any of you needs overnight accommodation they have a few newly-built rooms for B & B on the site. If you’re interested, let me know.)

 

Cost : Will finalize the exact cost very soon when we agree about finer details of the terms with the proprietor. But it will be between L.20- and L.25.-, hopefully nearer to L.20.-, all inclusive, except for alcoholic drinks.*(see below)

  What’s included in the price

    - Exclusive use of the room

    - Free parking

    - A two course lunch which includes platters to compliment our breads and desserts made by The Bear’s chef, plus teas and coffees

    *Alchololic Drinks are not included in the price, but there is a bar area in our room, so you can buy your own drinks without having to leave the room.

 

Deposit : We’ll ask you to pay a small deposit soon.  We hope to give further details soon.

 

 **************************************************************************************************************

 

A Brief Outline of the Event :  

   (Please make sure to arrive at the venue before 10:15 – 10:20 am to allow time to a brief and simple registration before we start our event at 10:30 am.)

     AM – Introduction and a ‘Show & Tell’ session by each baker.

    LUNCH – Food prepared by the venue to accompany our breads.

    PM‘Bread Brainstorming!’ :  More details to follow.  

    Afternoon Tea/Coffee


 ******************************************************************************************************************

Obligation as Participants : Bring ONE loaf of bread for “Show and Tell”  (Just ONE, please. Didn’t expect there’ll be so many participants –Thank you, all! :) - There won’t be enough space to put more than one loaf each from each participant!)  I may ask you to tell me what bread you’re bringing later, nearer the time, so that I can prepare the labels to place alongside the bread.

 

Voluntary Request : When Daisy told me this, I though it was just a light joke, but apparently it’s not…. The proprietor of the venue is a frequent holiday maker in Wales and a big fan of Bara Brith.  Part of the deal to give us a very good price is for us to bring him good homemade Bara Brith (or tea loaves similar to it).  So if any of you have any good Bara Brith/tea loaf recipes  you can bake yourself, please do bring them with your obligatory loaf of bread.

   The proprietor has been very welcoming and extremely accommodating about our ‘special needs’ (like, ‘No, we don’t want to eat your bread or any bready food you prepare, thank you very much’ and he even offered to provide  bread boards and bread knives for us even before we asked…. so Daisy told me. ), and is very interested in having the ‘Bread Group’ (his word) on his premises.  So it’d be wonderful if many of you can respond to his request and save him from craving good Bara Brith!

 

*********************************************************************************************************************

*Note 1 – You may think this is too early to talk about such a thing, but one can get a cheap deal from a train/coach company if you book well in ahead, so please bear with me for the people who’re travelling by public transport.

 For public transport travellers : Please aim to arrive at Oxford train station by 10:00 am or earlier to meet our team of kind, voluntary chauffeurs to be transferred to the venue. (There is a small car park to the left of the station as you come out from the station building for pick-ups/drop-offs)  If you’re arriving by a coach, the coach stop in the town centre is about 5 minutes on foot.

For Oxford-area participants : We need voluntary chauffeurs to give a lift to public transport travellers (anything between 6 – 10 people at the moment).  So far, I’ve received kind offers of help from two drivers, but we will need one or two more volunteers. If you’re willing to help us, please PM me with number of passenger you can carry in your car. Thank you.

 

  *Note 2 – Daisy visited the pub to meet the proprietor and to look over the venue before we made the final decision, and reported back that she was very impressed.  However she also told me her husband had to drive around the area twice until they finally found the place. I’m thinking of visiting the pub in a few weeks time (with Daisy, again) to have a look myself and discuss the finer arrangement with the proprietor.  I’ll drive around the surrounding area to see if there’re any good ‘landmarks’ pointing to the venue and will post what I found, possibly with some photos. So watch this space!

 

 

Lastly….. Very Important Information and Plea

As I said above, this thread will go un-sticky after this Friday

Since Daisy and I have started organizing this event, it’s proved quite difficult to get in touch with some of you, when needed, and to make sure no one missed any important update/information when posted. I suspect it’ll be even more difficult to do so after the thread go un-sticky on Friday.

So what I’d like to ask you for you to give me your email address, so that I can get in touch with you and can notify you more easily of future updates. It will reduce the chances of you missing important notices.  I'll make your email address will not be shown to other people. (Will use BCC when sending a message to multiple adressess)

Many of you have already kindly given me your address, but if you haven’t please PM me after you read this.  I will make sure your email address will not be disclosed to other members when I communicate with you.   (Warning : The security system of this site automatically garble email address typed in on the site. So when you give me your address, please do like these… for example; “QQQQ at WWWWW dot co dot uk”  “GGGGG <at>HHHH<dot><com>”  etc…. Doesn’t have to be exactly like these, obviously, but you get the idea. ;)

 If you can reveal your real name when you give me your address, that’d be great, too.  I need to make name labels with your username and real name so that we can wear them on the day. With a few of you, I don’t even know if you’re male or female! :p

 As usual, if you have any enquiry, request or any change in what you’ve told me (like travelling arrangement or possible cancellation –Hope not!- etc.),  please contact me, anytime.

 If you could please acknowledge that you’ve read this post by a post on this thread or PM/email, it’d be really appreciated.


 Thank you!

 

lumos and Daisy, The first UK & Beyond TFLers Get-Together Delivery Service

 

lumos's picture
lumos

I added the link to this thread in my profile page.

To find the location of this thread easily after this becomes unsticky from tomorrow,

please see my profile page (by clicking my username in any of my posts). You'll find the link under 'Site URL'

Thanks.

lumos's picture
lumos

Adriana

bertie26   Thanks!

bluesaturn   Thanks! 

Freerk   Thanks!

lousyreeds1


 ☆Please check your inbox and contact me ASAP.  Thank you.☆

 

bertie26's picture
bertie26

Hi Lumos

How are you. Sorry that you  had to remind me. I thought I had given you the details. 

My name is albert

 my email xxxxxxxx@xxxxx

thank you

bye

albert

lumos's picture
lumos

Hi, Albert

Thanks....but unfortunately the site's security system automatically garble email address posted on the forum.  Can you PM me  with you address again using the method I wrote in the update post, please.  Sorry to trouble you. Thanks!

rocketbike's picture
rocketbike

Translates as:

albertsmith1958 AT yahoo DOT co DOT uk

lumos's picture
lumos

Oh, thanks!  How do you do that?

 

ETA : don't worry, rocketbike. Found out how to do it. ;)

 

lumos's picture
lumos

Sorry, repeated message.....

Adriana

lousyreeds1

Can you please check your PM inbox and contact me ASAP.

Thank you.

lumos

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

It was GREAT. 

So lovely to meet so many keen bread bakers and to hear about everyones' experiences - as well as tasting so all the lovely breads and Bara Brith (so much bara brith that Mark the landlord will be eating it for a year)!

Thanks so much to lumos and Daisy_A for arranging it - your efforts were appreciated by everyone that I spoke with (and that was EVERYONE)!

No doubt someone (lumos?) will post pictures and details later.

Best Wishes to everyone who attended, I hope that you all got home safely.

Richard (Ruralidle)

bluesaturn's picture
bluesaturn

Dear all,

it was very nice meeting you. I enjoyed a lovely afternoon and very good bread. Lumos and Daisy, thank you for your hard work organizing everything so smoothly. 

Blue :-)

candis's picture
candis

It was the greatest fun. I am so grateful to Lumos and Daisy for everything they did, and to all of you for being so charming and informative. I'll really have to take it all seriously now. Wish I'd written down all your pseudonyms down! Let's please meet again, soon. with very best wishes, candis

lumos's picture
lumos

Will send you (and all the participants) the list of real & usernames of the participants and their bread by email. :)

bluesaturn's picture
bluesaturn

I think it would be great to stay in touch. Maybe in some small sub-UK forum of the TFL?

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

Hi Blue

That sounds like an idea worth pursuing with Floyd.

ananda's picture
ananda

Hello everybody,

I really enjoyed the get-together today.   Superbly organised by lumos and Daisy_A, and wonderfully hosted by Mark at the Bear.

Excellent to spend time with those I have already met, and to meet new bread friends from many walks in life.

Best wishes

Andy

lumos's picture
lumos

Thank you, each every one of you, for being such a wonderful companion during the truly  great time we had yesterday!  It was such a pleasure to meet many of you for the first time in the real world at last and so lovely to see some of you again.

As I said yesterday at The Bear, it couldn't have been done without any of you,  and it's been my real previlege that I was allowed to plan and organize this event  because the absolute bestest thing I got from this journey was that I could get to know you as real person rather than just some 'username' on an internet forum and made friends with so many lovely like-minded people.

So thank you very much for having put up with my continuous pestering and pushing by emails/pm/posts during the period leading up to the event, and thank you all for being there on the day.

And lastly, but most importantly, thank you so much, Floyd and all TFL members, for giving us a wonderful community which had initially drawn us in one place which eventually led us  to yesterday's get-together.  Without this forum and community, it was not possible. Thank you all!

I'll try post a report on the forum, hopefully, in a few days time, so watch this space! (Link to a small teaser here )

bestest wishes ever!

lumos

bertie26's picture
bertie26

I want to express my heartfelt thanks to daisy, lumos and everyone you I have met . I think it was wonderful and we should try to do it anually. Well done to us but without daisy and lumos we would have always  board friends

Bye

Albert

TonyI's picture
TonyI

 Can I just add my thanks for an excellent day yesterday and some new real bread making friends!

Here are the links to the sites I mentioned yesterday some of which a number of you are familiar with:

Weekend Bakery www.weekendbakery.com an excellent Dutch site run by the hugely talented Ed and Marieke who also make some lovely lames!

Zeb Bakes www.zebbakes.com the blog of a fellow UK TFLer who is an excellent baker/writer  and a truly generous person

Azelia's Kitchen www.azeliaskitchen.net/blog Azelia (who is Portugese) writes extensively about breadmaking and her blog is an in depth source of information for the home baker.

Fig Jam and Lime Cordial www.figjamandlimecordial.com An Australian blog posted by Celia who as well as being a tour de force in the kitchen, is also a pretty mean baker.

Bakery Bits www.bakerybits.co.uk Patrick's site with all the bits and bobs that we home bakers accumulate over time!

Paneartigiano www.paneartigiano.wordpress.com  And last and certainly least my own small and recent contribution to the written word on home baking.

Thanks once again and I look forward to our future online exchanges

Tony

vincenttalleu's picture
vincenttalleu

Hello everybody, just a quick note to say thank you again to Lumos for organising this get together, that was really cool and I really enjoyed! It's really good to meet people as passionate about bread as I am, as working in a bakery I sometimes feel wrong about enjoying my job so much, now I feel better nothing is wrong with me and I'm not the only crazy one out there :D:D

Thanks Tony for the links, I didn't know about zebbakes, very good one.

Looking forward to the next time. 

Thanks everyone.

Vincent

ps: I've been having all your breads for breakfast last few days, never had such fancy breakfasts before :D

 

lumos's picture
lumos

 ......so if you were hoping to take some of the breads you liked home but found it's all gone, that's where it's all gone!!! :p :p :p 

 

Just FYI, Joanna of zebbakes is one of those four unfortunate people who had to cancel  at last minute.  Let's hope she'll be with us when we get-together next time. :) 

vincenttalleu's picture
vincenttalleu

EHEHEH, your breads keep pretty well, today for breakfast I had:

2 slices of JuergenKrauss's Brighton Pebble

(70% rye+30% Emmer)

3 slices of aran's Spelt and Rye Loaf with Walnuts

2 slices of Salilah's Chestnut Bread


Thanks again ;)

lumos's picture
lumos

Gaaaaahhhh, those are the ones I wanted to bring back home but had all gone!!! ......... You know you're going to to pay for this! :p

 

Well, thank YOU. It was really great that you came. :)

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

Vincent

That's more than 3 days' breakfasts for me - where do you put it all?  Obviously professional bakers work so hard that they use up all those calories :) .

Richard

lumos's picture
lumos

He told me he had 5 different kinds of breads at breakfast on Sunday. I wonder which ones they were...... and no wonder why his bag looked so fat when he was leaving the pub! :D

ananda's picture
ananda

I used to have a similar appetite a few years ago Richard.   My Mum decided I had hollow legs, as I ate so much and remained as skinny as a rake!   It's a bit different these days!

Andy

lumos's picture
lumos

Just munching  the last piece of Vincent's Kefir bread for breakfast at the moment (yes, it's already 10:30 but I'd  been busy!!!), toasted lightly and one slice with butter and the other with butter & Tiptree's Orange and Tangerine Marmalade.  Simply divine.....!

I wonder if he enjoyed your wonderful pumpernickel at breakfast yesterday, Richard, as that's another one that's completely gone by the time I went to get it! :p

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

Hi lumos

You have to blame Albert for that!  He snaffled the cut loaf (and I nicked the other one back so that Rosemary could have it for lunch this week - sorry).  I will try to bake you one for the next time we meet :) .

lumos's picture
lumos

I will try to bake you one for the next time we meet :) .

Are you free this weekend? :p

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

Sorry lumos

I'm expecting the delivery of our wood-fired oven on Saturday :) :) .  That will mean pizzas and artisan-style breads but no pumernickel.

bluesaturn's picture
bluesaturn

Is there any chance the recipe for the Bara Brith that was cut and distributed in the morning can be send around?

That would be great. Thank you.

blue

lumos's picture
lumos

I'll ask Syd if he can share it with us. ;)

lumos's picture
lumos

 So,  we saw,  we came,  we ate!  After months of scheming and planning and organizing (Daisy and I) and enduring and tolerating countless pestering by a pushy organizer via post/pm/emails (the participants), we finally met and got-togather on Saturday, 18th February, 2012 at the beautiful country pub, The Bear and Ragged Staff (link) , in a little village called Cumnor, just outside of Oxford, the City of Dreaming Spires.

  The event was to start from 10:00 am and I had asked the participants to arrive at the venue early enough to allow sufficient time for registration and settling down…. and, except for one who was to join us in the afternoon, everyone did!  Actually, when Daisy and I arrived just before 9:30 to set up the place and prepare thing, seven of them were already there to greet us!   

With those wonderfully punctual participants, all important stars, OUR BREADS, successfully arrived, too, and were displayed on the table in the reception/dining area until the event started.

 

 

  

 The total number of the participants was 20, with 15 bakers and 5 of their guests, after 4 cancellations a few weeks before the BIG DAY.

 

The timetable

 After registering and relaxing over Welcome Tea/Coffee, introducing each other and gently settling down, The Get-Together finally started, firstly with the welcome and greeting from the organizers (that's Daisy and me) .......

 (Daisy, the chair-person, explaining about the schedule with me behind the lens as a rubbish photographer for the day)

 …. followed by the main event of the day, ‘Show & Tell’ sessions, in the beautiful room in the original part of the inn with a big, ancient open fireplace, which, I believe, was used to bake breads in olden days.  (Link to the article on the history of The Bear)  During these sessions each baker presented their bread they brought and told us about the bread-journeys they’d taken and also about themselves. All the stories told were intriguing, inspiring, heart-warming, funny and sometimes quite moving.  One of the most amazing episodes (among many others) was about the journey two starters - one wheat-based, the other rye-based - took with one of the participants’ grandmother who left her homeland in Russia to go and find a new life in the US on The Imperater, the ship that carried a large number of Jewish immigrants to the new land in early 20th century. The descendents of these starters are still under the participant’s care in her home in England today.  So, later at lunch time, all of us were privileged to taste the most beautiful (both the looks and the taste) & tasting Black Rye Bread (her grandmother’s recipe), made with the rye starter with amazing family history and heritage.

 The bread presentaters……

     

     

     

…..and their breads.

 

 

Very well-behaved and attentive audience.  Model students!  :p

 

 

….and Patrycja, Vincent’s beautiful girlfriend, slicing away the breads so neatly for us during the morning session.

She sliced 14 loaves of bread, one after another, to get them ready for the lunch. Thank you, Patrycja! :)

 

And it’s a lunch time!!

 

 

   

 

After delicious sharing platters of charcuterie, cold cuts of meats, mezze and hearty vegetable soup, prepared by The Bear, to accompany our breads, the afternoon session of Bread-Storming started, again, on time and it  proceeded in somewhat more relaxed and convivial atmosphere (and with fuller stomach!).  During the session Daisy, the chairperson, read out the questions/topics already submitted in advance by the participants and everyone contributed to the discussions with keen interest, sharing info/tips and exchanged some opinions.  All through the session, there was a lot of smiles, laughter, nodding and many ‘Aha!’ ::light-bulb:: moments, thanks to generous contributions from the participating pro-bakers (See below) and some very knowledgeable food-obsessed loving non-pro participants.

 During this session, we came under a terrorist attack….by TonyI’s white levain. Its top suddenly popped with a big BANG caused by the built-up gas created by his healthy wild yeast in the container,  and the other of his starter, rye sour, tried to escape from the confinement of his small container….

 

 After almost six hours of very fulfilling (figuratively and literally) day, sadly our first-ever UK TFLers Get-Together was nearing to its end.  We had the last break with more tea/coffee and scrumptious Crème Brulee provided by The Bear before we said farewell to each other, promising we’d meet again soon and this wouldn’t be our last Get-Together.

 Some participants kindly answered to my request of voluntary offering of homemade Bara Brith to Mark, our great host, who was a big fan of the bread….. and this is the bounties he got!   Even Geraint, who unfortunately had to cancel the participation, very kindly sent two large loaves of beautiful Bara Brith, one for us and one for us to share, by post which arrived with immaculate timing when we were having the morning tea/coffee break!

The Sea of Bara Brith

 

 

 Overall, it was fun, inspiring, enlightening and truly enjoyable day, and I can’t thank all the participants enough for being so enthusiastic, supportive and positive about the prospect of the get-together throughout the long preparation period and being so kind, generous, intelligent and charming on the day we finally met. It was all of you who made out first get-together such a success. May our new-found, real-world friendship last for a very long time.

 

 

 

To the people who sadly couldn’t make it this time, please know that you were all greatly missed.  Hopefully we’ll meet next time, hopefully not too far in the future.

  And my heartfelt gratitude to Mark, the proprietor of The Bear and Ragged Staff, and all his not-at-all-ragged staff for being such enthusiastic and accommodating hosts. I'm really glad Daisy found you. ;)

…..and lastly but most importantly,  to Daisy, my dearest and indispensable partner for many months during this long and winding and occasionally confusing and confused journey :p,  NONE of this could have been possible without you. Thank you!!!  xxxxx

 

  ********************************************************************************************************************


The names of the participants and the breads (in alphabetical order of TFL usernames)

ananda (Andy Smith, Bread and Roses) …..  Borodinsky

aran  …..  Spelt and Rye Loaf with Walnuts

bertie26 (Albert, Ubuntu Handmade Bread)  …..  Vetkoek (with curry) & Koeksister (sweet doughnuts), both traditional South African breads 

Bluesaturn  ….. Brioche

Candis ….. Black Rye with Caraway 

Daisy_A …..  Lemon Bread (Sourdough version of Jan Hedh’s recipe)

JuergenKrauss  ….. Brighton Pebble  (70% rye+30% Emmer)

KateKat … WholegrainSourdoughHybrid (made with freshly ground wholemeal flour)

lumos  …..  Cocoa Sourdough with  Cranberry&Walnuts

Pembrokeshire Boy (Syd Aston, Aston's Organic Bakery) ….. Bara Brith

pjaj  …..  Wessex Cobber (with Wessex Mills flour)

Ruralidle (Richard)   …..  Pumpernickel & Altamura loaf

Salilah (Sali) …..  Chestnut Bread

TonyI (Tony)  …..  Challah

vincenttalleu (Vincent Talleu,  recently started working at Aston's Organic Bakery)  …..  Kefir Bread

 

 Our first Group Photo,  with Mark, the landlord (the third from the left)

PiPs's picture
PiPs

Looks like a fabulous day. Congratulations to the organizers of the event ... looks like your hard work paid of dividends.

Thank you for posting this Lumos. Really nice to put faces to names.

Cheers,
Phil

lumos's picture
lumos

Sorry, thought I'd replied but obviously haven't.....

Thanks for your kind words. Yes, it was really fantastic day, thanks to all the amazing participants.  Really wish you lived a tiny bit nearer that you (and your bread!) could've joined us, too.  Seriously! ;)

Salilah's picture
Salilah

Thanks so much again Lumos (and Daisy) for the organisation - and thanks for posting this great report!
It was a great day, very enjoyable, and so much fun to see (and taste) so many different interesting breads

Could I echo another post that suggested we post (where we can) our recipes?
I'll dig out my list for my Chestnut Bread in case anyone wants to try it...
I've certainly had requests from Chris for some of the rye ones (Candis, any chance you could create the recipe for us???)

Fingers crossed this can become an annual event - it'd be worth it!
Best wishes and "hi" to everyone I met

Sali

Zeb's picture
Zeb

Really sorry I couldn't be with you all :( Love the photos and the stories and Tony's exploding levain) Congratulations on organizing what looks like an awesome day. x Joanna

lumos's picture
lumos

Really, really, really wish you were there. :(  Was really looking forward to meeting you.  Maybe next time?

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

Hi lumos

Thank you for posting such a great report, and all those photos!  Fortunately my ugly mug isn't on many of them :) . 

It really was a great day, what with the mix of professional and keen amateur bakers attending, something I will remember for a long time.  It was really good to meet so many online friends in real life and hearing what their motivation for baking is.  It only happened - and was so good - because of the work that you and Daisy_A put in, so thanks again.

Best wishes to all

Ruralidle (Richard)

pjaj's picture
pjaj

Lumos,

A really good write up - thanks.

How about we add the recipes unless they are standard, published ones or trade secrets? Or links to them if available.

Regards,

Peter.

Salilah's picture
Salilah

I haven't done a posting for this, so I'll add it here if that is OK?

Background: in the search for durum flour, I found an online London site (Natoora) and as I wanted free delivery, I needed to spend £80+!  OK it was Christmas...  One thing they offered was Chestnut Flour - I'd seen something I think in one of my italian recipe books (River Cafe?) about a chestnut bread, so I bought a bag...

When the weekend was planned, I thought - wouldn't it be nice to use this?  I searched the forum, and think I found one or two recipes (not sourdough) which gave me a bit of a background. I thought I'd add chopped chestnuts (vacuum packed) as they are nice (!) and I had some left over from Christmas.  Someone else's recipe (sorry, can't remember who?) suggested sage as a flavour to counteract sweetness, so I thought sage might work (and remembering sage & onion stuffing at Christmas which again felt like it "went with" the chestnuts?)

Ingredients:
140g starter (100%) - mine lives in the fridge but seems to be quite lively when it comes out!
300g water
100g chestnut flour (well mixed into the water)
350g white flour (I used Waitrose very strong Red Canadian - I really like it)

Mix and autolyse 30mins + - then add salt (I think I used about 9g)

My method was a few S&F every 30mins or so - to be honest, use your own preferred method?  The dough becomes quite smooth and sweet-smelling, and is lovely to work!

I did an overnight in the fridge at this stage, just due to timing - then add other ingredients, shape and rise.  I found the rise took a lot longer than expected (I guess due to the high %age of chestnut flour?) and I baked probably before it was really ready...

Extra ingredients: 100g chestnuts, roughly chopped; half a pack of sage leaves (about 20 leaves at a guess)

Baked for 30mins at high under La Cloche, then lid removed and another 10-15 mins at around 220 - it browns fast due to the chestnut flour, so don't be fooled?

Mine was frozen for a few days prior to teh session (sent to Birmingham!) and came out fine.  I did another dough on Wed night - one S&F then into fridge - out of fridge on Saturday, shaped Sat night and baked (no additional ingredients) and it came out fine, if a bit flat - I reckon 70 hours bulk fermentation in fridge which was interesting - and again I reckon longer for the final proof, it felt a little flat?

Interestingly, I found after trying this out first time that Bertinet (?) has a recipe for Chestnut Bread in Crust - not a sourdough but might be a good alternative?

My thoughts are to try again with lower %age of chestnut flour, and perhaps higher levels of WW or spelt - its quite a strong taste (nice) but not an everyday eating bread...

Please have a go - I'd love to hear (and see) what you do with this flour!  I've got two half-bags left <grin>

Sali

 

lumos's picture
lumos

Just what I wanted! Thanks, Sali. I was going to ask you for the recipe.   (Need to accumulate L.80- worth of orders before making this, though....:) )

Haven't checked my book yet, but I seem to remember I saw chestnut bread recipe in Richard Bertinet book....maybe the second one. (????)  And  I AM SURE (can't stress enough! :p) you have the book.

 

*************************************************************************************************

 

And as for the recipe of my cocoa sourdough with cranberry and walnuts, if anyone is interested, I've already posted it here (link), so I'll just be lazy and copy & paste the formula, minus orange peel which I didn't put this time. ;)  For the get-together, I made it bigger with 350g total flour instead of 300g in the original recipe.

Cocoa Flavoured Sourdough with Cranberries, Walnuts 

 

INGREDIENTS

Very active S/D (75% hydration)  90g

Strong Flour  210g*(See 'Note1' below)

Plain Flour  60g*(see 'Note1' below)

WW Flour  30g

Instant active dried yeast  0.2g (optional)

Skimmed Milk Powder  1tbls

Cocoa powder  15g

Clear honey  2-3 tsp (or more if you like it sweeter)

Olive Oil  1 tbls

Water  215 – 225g

Salt 6g

 Filling … 70g dried cranberries,  60g chopped walnuts (see Note2, below)

 

METHOD

  1. Feed S/D during 8-12hrs period before you plan to use it.
  2. Mix flours, skimmed milk, cocoa, dried yeast(if using) in a large bowl.
  3. Put S/D, water, honey and olive oil in a separate bowl and mix to loosen S/D.
  4. Pour S/D water mix onto the bowl of flours and mix until no dried bits is left. (Cocoa powder seems to have a tendency to stiffen the dough, so you may want to add a little more water)  
  5. Cover and rest for 40-45 minutes.
  6. Sprinkle salt on the dough and stretch and fold until the salt is well distributed through the dough.
  7. Rest for 45 minutes.
  8. Two more sessions of S & F at 45 minutes intervals.
  9. 30 minutes after the last S & F, put the dough on worktop and spread it  spread into a large rectangle.
  10. Sprinkle 2/3 of the fillings onto 2/3 of the surface of the dough. Letter-fold the dough, firstly the part without the filling then the other part.  Repeat the same process with the remaining fillings.
  11. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
  12. Shape and put in a banetton and cold retard in the fridge for 8 – 16 hours. (See Note3, below)  
  13. Take the dough out of the fridge and leave for 30 minute-1 hr to bring it back to room temperature. (Note: You may need to leave longer if the dough is not fully-proofed during the cold retard)
  14. Bake in a pre-heated pot/pyrex casserole with a lid at 240℃ for 20 minutes. Remove the lid, lower the temperature to 200℃ and bake for another 20-25 minutes.

 

*Note 1 :  If you can get hold of AP flour, you can replace all the white flours (Strong and Plain) with it.

*Note 2 : I usually dry-roast walnuts in a frying pan before I use it to improve the flavour, but it’s optional.

 *Note 3 :  In my original formula, I bulk-fermented in the fridge, then pre-shape → shape → proof at room temperature, which works just fine, too.  But I’ve found cold-retarding after shaped would give me more texture, so this is how I do it lately.  But if you do, prepare yourself for a possible stained banetton from the cranberries!! You are warned. :p

 

bluesaturn's picture
bluesaturn

@Peter: Good idea, I would love to see Syd's Bara Brith recipe :D

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Lumos,

Thanks so much for the report on your  UK gathering. Looks like a huge success :-)  And your post is excellent and fun to read.  Nice to see so many familiar loaves all combined in one place.

One request, if it wouldn't be to much trouble....While all of you who attended were able to put names to faces those of us not so fortunate still have not made the connection.  Can you somehow insert names under the photos in the section where you have so nicely photographed each individual  baker telling their 'bread story' ?  ( The 16 small photos about mid post.) That way we can make the connection too.

Thanks!

And thanks for all of the hard work in organizing ALL of this.  Quite a fete indeed!

Take Care,

Janet

lumos's picture
lumos

Hi Janet,

Thank you so much for the kind words.

Re your request,  I'm afraid I can't do that for two reasons.

1)  Because someone has already 'replied' to it, I can't access the post to edit the content

2) There're some people who're weary of having their faces posted on internet, and they're already generous enogh to allow me to do so for this occasion.  I don't want them to feel even more uncomfortable by putting their name under the photo . 

Really sorry, but hope you'll understand.

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Hi Lumos,

Thanks for the explanation.  I totally understand :-)  Absolutely NO need to apologize!

Take Care,

Janet

Salilah's picture
Salilah

I'm the one before last in a long blueish coat!

S

lumos's picture
lumos

Thanks, Sali.  I think the best way is the people who don't mind just volunteer to tell where they are in the photos and we all  leave the rest of people in peace. 

I'm actually veeeery weary of putting any private info internet  that can lead to my real life identity, but heck, just for this time! ;)  

<hint>  I'm only in one of the photos (the first ever photo of me on internet! ::nervous::) as I was behind the camera in all others. So where am I? :p

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Hi Lumos,

Okay, a challenge like the 'Find Waldo' books that my kids loved growing up... Through a process of elimination while looking through the other photos my guess is that you are the woman seated on the couch on the far left side of the group photo with the lovely long scarf around your neck....

I understand the timidity. The one I have posted here is the only one of me too.

Take Care,

Janet

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook


Hi Salilah,

And nice to meet you at last :-)  By the way,  I love the  striking blue color of your coat!

Take Care,

Janet

lumos's picture
lumos

Her coat was really stunning when you see it in real, much better than the photo. (Blame the photographer! :p)   I was meaning to ask her where she got it.  ;)

Salilah's picture
Salilah

Thanks!!  Just been up to look at teh label, and it says accacia, which doesn't really help!

think it came from somewhere like Anokhi but an independent - sorry can't find an address :-(
I've got a long padded waistcoat from the same fabric which is currently sitting in the mending pile...

S

Juergen Krauss's picture
Juergen Krauss

Lumos, Daisy,

Thank you very much for this great day. Joy of baking meets joy of organising.

Just Great.

And thank you for the writeup.

Here is my baking sheet for the "Brighton Pebble", the star-slashed bread in the photos above.

70% Rye with Emmer
Dough Weight1600

 PercentWeight  
Rye Sour    
Dark Rye28249 Ferment 15 hours
Water22.4199 at 28C
Mature Starter2.825  
     
Dough    
Dark Rye42373 ferment 1h 50min
Wholegrain Emmer30267 at 26C
Water55.6494 shape with wet hands
Salt217.8 rest for 50min
Rye Sour50.4448 at 23C
Yield1801600 bake 10min@240C
    further 25min@200C
ProcedureStartEndAmbient TempDough/Oven Temp
Rye Sour    
Mix    
Fermentataion    
Dough    
Mise En Place    
Mix    
Shape    
Rest    
Bake    
Start    
Set Temp    
Set Temp    
End    
     
HL of Rye Sour80.00   
Mature Starter10.00%   

Happy Baking,

Juergen

 

 

pjaj's picture
pjaj
  • 1500 gr         100%     Wessex Mills Wessex Cobber flour
  • 900 ml           60%     warm water
  • 3 level tsp      1.4%    dried yeast
  • 1 1/2 tsp         0.7%    salt
  • 1 tsp                0.5%    sugar
  • A good glug      ?%      sunflower or rapeseed oil .

I use a Kenwood Chef Major to do all my mixing and kneading.

Put all the dry ingredients in the bowl and mix together, add the oil and stir in.

Add the water and roughly combine with the dry ingredients. I use a 14 inch "spoonula".

Scrape down and kneed with the dough hook for about 8 minutes, stopping to scrape down as required and check that all the dry ingredients have been picked up from the bottom of the bowl. This dough will never pass the windowpane test due to the embeddrd grains, so you just have to kneed till it looks and feels right.

Transfer to an oiled bowl and prove till approximately doubled.

Knock down and divide into two equal portions (you should have a total of about 2,400 - 2,500 gr of dough).

Shape and put each piece into oiled standard 2lb bread pans.

Prove until the dough has just risen to the top of the pan.

Bake at 200 C for about 35-40 minutes -probe thermometer reads 90 C in the centre of the loaf.

De-pan, cool, eat.

This bread freezes and toasts well.

I realise I'm using 1,200 gr of dough per loaf is about 200 gr more than a 2lb pan should take, but it works for me. Maybe it's the grain content that doesn't count? If you feel this is too much, make rolls with the spare dough.

lumos's picture
lumos

Got a message from Mark, the landlord, with some inviting info for you all, too! :)   Copy&pasted below with Mark's permission.

 

Dear ******, (← NOT a swear word. Just disguising my real name! :p)

Many thanks to you and Daisy for choosing us. I enjoyed the proceedings too during the intermittent times that I was able to attend. I am still crunching through Barra Brith and was genuinely bowled over by the kindness of you all in coming up with so many versions of one of my favourite breads!

You will be welcome next year should you decide to bring the group back. I hope to see you all in the meantime, however, if any of the group are wanting to come up to stay in Oxford between now and then, I will be happy to arrange something special for them if they decide to stay with us. I think that you know where to find me.

 Happy to be of service,

 Sincerely,

Mark

 

lumos's picture
lumos

The link to Albert's (bertie26) is added to the name of his bakery, Ubuntu Handmade Bread,  in the report. (Thank you, Floyd!) 

If you haven't read  his profile I sent you just before the get-together, I urge you to have a look at his website. (...and the profile, too)

He's in the process of setting up the community bakery which is expected to start the business in a few months time.  Good luck, Albert! :)

bluesaturn's picture
bluesaturn

Dear all,

my recipe was based on

http://www.der-sauerteig.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5046

If you are interested I can offer translation. Sorry for the not so good performance on that day. :-) I guess the yeast was too active for me.

Have a sunny day!

Blue

bluesaturn's picture
bluesaturn

Dear all,

my recipe was based on

http://www.der-sauerteig.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5046

If you are interested I can offer translation. Sorry for the not so good performance on that day. :-) I guess the yeast was too active for me.

Have a sunny day!

Blue

vincenttalleu's picture
vincenttalleu

I guys, here's roughly the process I followed for my Kefir bread. it's work in progress so will be different everytime I do it for the next few months ;)

monday 10am I add milk to kefir grains. keep at room temp.

wednesday 10am I strain the fermented milk, keep kefir for next time with a bit of milk in fridge. I add spelt flour to the fermented milk, to make a batter. keep room temp

thursday 10am I mix the dough, hydration depends on how liquid is the starter really, I haven't check exactly how much water I used: the dough was quite slack.

around 3pm I shape the loaves and put in floured basket. best would be to keep at 10C until day after, but without temp control room I keep at room temp until they start to move (4-5 hours) then put in fridge.

friday 10-12pm bake if they're ready. The ones I took to the meeting were completely stuck to cloth, so I had to reshape them and proove them again until 9-10pm

baked them home in big pot, preheated in oven max temp 240. 30mn with lid closed, then 45 mn with lid open. (I just turn the lid to let steam out but leave it on top so they don't get toasted by the elements of the oven)

I used to lower the temperature at the end (just like lumos does) but because I bake one loaf after another I'm not bother to reheat the oven so keep it cranked up the whole time, hence the very dark crust, but nobody seemed to mind :D

If anybody gives kefir bread a go, please let me know how it goes, as I don't have time to experiment as much as I'd like to, so I'd be gratefull to get knowledge of your results ;)

Cheers!

Vince

the formula:

92 white flour

8 light rye

68-70 water

2 salt

20 starter (12 kefir / 8 spelt) 

lumos's picture
lumos

::phew::  Relieved to find the ingredients  list at the bottom of the post!  Was beginning to wonder if I'd have to guess the amount for everything! :p  Thanks for posting, Vince. :)

Can yogurt be substitute if you don't have kefir?

bertie26's picture
bertie26

Hi vincent

thanks for the post. I have a question. Sinvce the day we met,I have been looking for kefir seeds in birmingham.Have you any idea where I can buy some seeds to start a culture of my own. 

I am desparate and about to give up trying now.

thanks very much 

albert

bluesaturn's picture
bluesaturn

Dear Albert,

here is a chance to order some grains:

http://www.kefir-heaven.co.uk/

 

vincenttalleu's picture
vincenttalleu

There are few websites of people sharing their kefir. If nobody replies, you can always get some from ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=kefir&_sacat=See-All-Categories

I had to get my water Kefir through ebay. (that's other type of kefir to make fizzy fruit drink)

pjaj's picture
pjaj

For anyone who's interested this is an article in Wikipedia describing Kefir.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kefir

ananda's picture
ananda

Hi All,

The formula for the Borodinsky bread which I brought is here:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/27107/borodinsky-using-auerman-process

The Bara Brith which I actually made in a Panettone case is here, in the middle of a very long post:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/27454/baking-13th-20th-february-2012

For identification, I'm the overly-serious-looking one in the striped shirt; middle row, second from the left in the block of photos of each speaker.

Very best wishes

Andy

lumos's picture
lumos


!!! - Edited :   Amount of sugar in Vetkoek recipe is corrected - !!!



Albert (bertie26) wanted me to post the recipes for his Vetkoek and Koeksisters for him as his computer had some problems which was making it difficult for him to post on the forum.

Vetkoek are easier to make than most people think and are just so delicious as a sweet or savoury dish. Vetkoek is real South African food which I remember as a kid. What you need1 kg white bread flour
30g sugar
1 teaspoon salt
15g fresh  yeast
750g lukewarm water
Oil for fryingThe processMix the flour and salt into a large bowl,add the sugar, and yeast to water and combine it all well.Add the water a little at a time stirring constantly until the dough forms and begins to pull from the sides of the bowl.Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and allow it to rise and reach about double the size. This shouldn’t take longer than about 1 hour (60 minutes.)Heat oil in a pot, not too hot or the vetkoek will not cook through.Wet your hands with a little water and shape pieces of the risen dough into balls that fit into your palm easily.Place in the hot oil and cook until golden and crisp on the outside.Place them on a wire rack to drain thoroughly, this keeps them crisp.Smother them in syrup for a sweet tooth or slit them open and fill with a curried mince.
 Note :  Just in case some of you're wondering, I've asked him if he could share a recipe for that yummy curry sauce with us, too,  when his computer is repaired.  So, patience! :p 
 IngredientsKOEKSISTERS
Ingredients:
500g cake flour (plain flour)
100g self-raising flour (can use ciabatta flour as well)
100g sugar
5g salt
10g ground ginger
5g  ground cinnamon
10g  ground aniseed- (optional)
5mg ground cardamon- (optional)

125ml sunflower oil
1 egg
250ml cold milk
250ml hot water
20ml active dried yeast or 15 gr fresh yeast
5ml sugar
750ml sunflower oil
sugar syrup*
150ml desiccated coconut

Method: Sift flours, sugar and salt into a mixing bowl and stir in spices and naartjie peel. Rub in 125ml oil for form a crumbly mixture. Mix milk and water and dissolve yeast and sugar in half the milk mixture. Add to four with egg and remaining milk mixture. Mix to a soft dough, then set dough aside, covered, to rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Roll dough out to a 5cm thick coil on an oiled surface. Cut off 2cm lengths and shape each into a slightly flattened doughnut shape. Set aside, covered, for 30 minutes to rise again. Heat oil in a saucepan and fry koeksisters for 5 minutes on each side, or until browned. Drain on absorbant paper or in a colander. Boil koeksisters, a few at a time, in sugar syrup for 1 minute, then drain and sprinkle with coconut. Makes 60. SUGAR SYRUP*
Ingredients:
500ml water
250ml sugar
pinch bicorbonate of soda (baking soda in Canada & USA)
10ml butter
1 tsp ground ginger1 tsp ground cinnamon
Method: Bring water and sugar to boil and boil until sugar has dissolved and syrup is slightly thickened. Stir in bicarbonate of soda and butter and use as a dipping syrup for koeksisters, bollas and other recipes. Makes 750ml.



Posted on behalf of Albert (bertie26)


lumos's picture
lumos

Got this from Albert (bertie26) this morning. 

Additional recipe for curry sauce to accompany Vetkoek (above).


Mild curry mince (perfect for vetkoek)You don't rely need a recipe to make curry mince for yourVetkoek; all you need is onion, your favourite spices and minced meat.Serves 4Ingredients
  •  500 grams lean mince
  • 1 large onion or 2 small onions (chopped)
  • 3 cloves fresh garlic*( see note below)
  •  2 green (fresh) chillies*
  • 1 small piece of fresh ginger*
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) mild curry powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons (7 ml) turmeric
  • ¾ teaspoon (4 ml) salt
  • 2 tomatoes chopped 
  • 1 peeled potato (cubed)
  • 2 t oil


Method

* I mix all the above*  in my little hand blender into a paste or use a pestle and mortar
  1. Heat oil and onion and fry until soft in a saucepan.
  2. Add the curry powder and turmeric as well as whole spices if you use any.( you could use coriander seeds, cumin seeds and mustard seeds)
  3. Add garlic, ginger and chilli mix and fry for a minute or so.
  4. Add mince,  and  chopped tomato .
  5. Add cubed potato. Simmer covered for at least ½ hour.
Serve warm with Vetkoek.EnjoyAlbert
Posted on behalf of Albert (bertie26)
candis's picture
candis

decided to make Albert's vetkoeks tonight. started with the curry. ate it all. I think it may be the end of me but it was delicious. greetings to all,candis

lumos's picture
lumos

LOL!!  Hope it's not the end of you yet, but even if it were, what a wonderfully delicious way to go! :D

 

Ruari Gillies's picture
Ruari Gillies

Spelt & Rye loaf with walnuts

 

Sorry for the delayed post but I only recently returned toScotland.  My bread was based on a recipe from Hansjoakim,

http//www.thefreshloaf.com/files/u9564walnut_levain_recipe.jpg

using white spelt and wholegrain spelt in place of the bread and wheat flour he lists.

 

Day 1, evening

 

15g rye sour

100g white spelt

100g water

 

mixed, covered and left at room temperature overnight.

 

Day 2, afternoon

 

275g white spelt flour

45g rye flour

45g wholegrain spelt flour

180g water

130g sourdough

 

25g walnuts, ground fine )

20g honey                        )  mixed to a paste

 

Mix all of the above to a dough and rest covered for 45 minutes.  Add 8g salt and mix, then carefully mix in 70g chopped walnuts (not too small).  Leave in covered bowl 1 hour then stretch and fold briefly and rest for a further hour.  Shape and place in basket.  Place in poly bag and leave in ‘fridge overnight.

 

Day 3, morning

 

After 14 hours retard I allow about 2 hours to bring loaf to room temperature before transferring to baking tray and slashing.  Loaf is baked at 230ºC, with steam for 10 minutes then a further 25 minutes at 200 ºC

lumos's picture
lumos

Thanks for posting this, aran. :)

One question please, if I may.  I've  used Bachedre's stoneground spelt flour, which, I think, is wholegrain. Is  white spelt very different from wholegrain spelt in flavour and how it behaves?  

Ruari Gillies's picture
Ruari Gillies

Hi lumos

I think you are right that Bacheldre spelt flour is wholegrain only.

I would say that white spelt retains a good deal of the characteristic spelt flavour and as I mentioned at our get - together it makes, for me, a most delicious Yorkshire pudding and adds a nutty sweetness to a bechamel sauce.  I particularily like Sharpham Park white spelt as it retains a bit more of the bran than others.

When using whole or white spelt in breads it does of course require less water than standard wheat, in the order perhaps of 15% for whole and 18 - 20% for white.   Because of the shorter protein structure spelt doughs should not be subjected to over-enthusiastic working.

Best wishes

R

lumos's picture
lumos

Thank you, aran.

Perhaps I mentioned this before, but my phobia for spelt-rich dough is stemmed from an article I read years ago about spelt's fragile structure. But I think it's 'bout time I should overcome the fear! :p

Our local Waitrose stocks Sharpham Park's white spelt flour, so I'll try that next time. Would you say white spelt makes lighter texture bread than wholegrain spelt?

Ruari Gillies's picture
Ruari Gillies

As you know, lumos, I am a fan of spelt flour and I am sure you will enjoy using and eating it, so do please bake with it. 

My daily bread is Borodinski, so when making an alternative using my rye sour and spelt flour, I have tended towards a lighter loaf using a high proportion of white spelt rather than wholegrain.  I have yet to make a wholegrain spelt loaf, which must surely be of heavier texture.  That sounds like my next bake, thank you!

R

candis's picture
candis

I'm Kate's opposite...I LOVE kefir but found the bread I made with it looked great but didn't taste of kefir! to me that was a disappointment, to Kate an advantage. If we were all the same, this site would be much shorter. best wishes to all . 

lumos's picture
lumos

Interesting.  I wonder if it's just difference in personal taste or  it could be because of different strains of kefir that could've caused different smell???

So, Candis, you've been drinking/eating kefir everyday?  Have you noticed any difference health-wise?

candis's picture
candis

I always feel healthy. knock on wood again. 

lumos's picture
lumos

Good to hear that! :) .....though I had to look up what 'knock on wood' to find out what it meant. :p 

Reading yours and Kate's posts, I've finally  decided I'm really going to get kefir and start drinking it AND baking Vincent's bread, rather than just 'thinking' about it .....at last!

candis's picture
candis

that would be fun. I live near Woodstock, where are you? 

 

candis's picture
candis

I have tried with organic whole, semi-skimmed and skimmed. semi-skimmed is my default, but I find all delicious! 

lumos's picture
lumos

Thanks, Candis. All the milk you've used were pasturised?  The one Kate was OK with was made with unpasturised, so that could be the key....?   I'm even more intrigued  what you two will find out after exchanging your kefir grains.

Found a few interesting discussions on kefir taste/odour, with slightely different opinions.

http://www.culturesforhealth.com/forum/showthread.php/71-Kefir-odor-and-taste

http://www.healthboards.com/boards/diet-nutrition/498051-kefir-supposed-smell-bad.html

 

Another interesting article on kefir here (link) and some excerpts on the smell/taste from it.

I've had people come to me and ask why their new kefir grains produce kefir that doesnt taste or smell quite right, not bad, just not what they expected. I say give it a bit of time. It could be the grains adjusting to a new routine, new brand of milk, switching from goats milk to cows milk, a different dairy, or the temperature changes in your kitchen over the year. Depending on how well the grains were treated in their past certain cultures may have died off or taken over- kefir grains are made up of multiple organisms from some 4 differen....

......................................................

If you really hate the tartness of kefir you can culture it entirely in the fridge, it will take anywhere from 4-7 days at that temperature but it seems to favor certain strains of yeast and bacteria in the grains that don't leave the kefir as strong and tart. Then after straining mix in a glass with honey or some other fruit syrup, or in a smoothie and you have a very healthy pro-biotic drink. :)