May 2, 2012 - 7:36am
Hello! From England
First thing to say - this is a great site with some good advice that I really should start following if my bread is going to improve!
I've been baking my own bread off and on for about a year now with mixed results - my sourdough can be a complete triumph or end up looking dreadful, I never get it looking like most of the pics you see of how it could (should?) look.
However, no matter how inconsistant my results are, my bread tastes better than anything I've ever bought from a shop - I live in Wolverhampton (Google it) a "proper" bakery would never get off the ground here. So it's home baked or sliced white.
I look forward to asking for, and hopefully receiving, advice here.
Cheers. Wanderer
Hello, Wanderer. Welcome to TFL! :) I agree, this is such a wonderful community with wonderfully friendly and generously helpful people from all over the world, I'm sure you'll enjoy popping in to share your experiences in baking and get useful information from others.
There're also quite a few UK-based TFLers (including myself, just outside London) on the board, so you can get UK-specific info and advices from you fellow UK bakers (both pros and amateurs), too. As far as I'm aware there're at least 2 or 3 TFLers based in West Midland, too. We also had a get-together earlier this year (link). It went very well and everyone enjoyed, so we're hoping we have another one sometime in the near future. Hope you'll be able to join us then. ;)
Looking forward to sharing your baking experiences.
Hi Wanderer.
I'm from the UK too, in surrey. Welcome to the best bread based forum.
Michael
I'm in Surrey too!
Wanderer, keep at it - practice makes perfect, or, at least, better.
Isn't that wonderful that we are such a worldwide community of people who are passionate about bread?
I started baking my own bread from the same reasons you did, moving from "bread paradise" to " wonderbread hell".
Happy baking,
Karin (from Maine, originally from Hamburg)
hi
yoyu are right. this is a wonderful site to belong to. I live next doorto you in Birmingham,Maybe we can try to meet and share some bread stories. Help is always available on here and there is always someone who can help. sem me a pm and we can get to know each other.
have a good day
albert
hi
yoyu are right. this is a wonderful site to belong to. I live next doorto you in Birmingham,Maybe we can try to meet and share some bread stories. Help is always available on here and there is always someone who can help. sem me a pm and we can get to know each other.
have a good day
albert
Hi Wanderer
Welcome to TFL. It is a great site, with lots of advice available and many experienced bakers to help you. I live not far from you, just up the A41 in Shropshire, so we are close enough for me to give you some of my SD starters when I pass through to visit former colleagues in Dudley :). It does mean that I fully understand your comments about Wolverhampton ;) I just prefer to pass though it - but you do have a nice large Waitrose and they will stock some decent bread fours.
I hope you enjoy the site as much as I do and find the advice useful in your bread baking hobby.
Best Wishes
Richard
Hi Richard,
Thanks for the SD starter offer I may just take you up on that - I've got a couple of my own on the go but one can naver have too many, I say.
Waitrose is about 5 minutes from where I live and they do have a good selection of flours, including an oak smoked one (not sure I fancy that), so I am a regular there.
Cheers.
Mick
Hello Mick
I visit that branch occasionally for the Lescure butter that they stock - that would be great for your brioche, it really is good cooking butter - but I usually get it taken from Wolverhampton to the Newport (Shropshire) branch which is nearer to me because that branch is too small to stock it routinely.
I think that you are very brave toi make brioche cinnamon rolls - brioche is a bread that I want to make (along with croissants) but haven't dared to try as yet. I generally make sourdough breads from a variety of flours including 4 grain from Little Salkeld Watermill near Penrith (carriage charges are huge but I am passing in July so I will visit again) and spelt from Shipton Mill. Maybe we could arrange to share orders if we want similar ingredients and thereby save carriage charges.
Happy Baking
Richard
Thanks for all the welcome messages. I'm sure even I can follow the advice on here.
Got to go now - brioche cinnamon rolls ready to come out, and white sourdough nearly ready to go in. I love saturday mornings!
Cheers.
Mick