The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

UK and California TFL bakers meet in person

CAphyl's picture
CAphyl

UK and California TFL bakers meet in person

I had the pleasure of meeting a fellow TFL baker during my trip to the UK from California.  I had noticed last year on TFL that Peter (blueboy2419) baked some impressive breads with beer and mentioned a beer festival that he volunteers at every year in Liverpool, my husband’s home town.  More than a year ago, I found out that we would be in town for the beer festival, as we were going to be in the UK for my niece’s wedding.  Peter gave me information on the festival, and I bought tickets. While I am not a lover of beer, my husband and my brother-in-law are real fans of lagers and ales, and they quite enjoyed the beer.  Peter offered his expert advice, which was helpful, as there were literally hundreds of beers. Peter has used some of the beer and stout featured at the festival in his breads.

The St. George’s Hall Beer Festival is held in the Great Hall of a fabulous historic building.  You can see the photo of Peter and me at the festival hall. It was fun to meet Peter, and he gave me helpful advice for purchasing the right kind of flours for my baking in Liverpool.  My husband’s family are all fans of the Liverpool Football Club (LFC), and Peter is an ardent fan of Everton, their cross town rivals.  Interestingly, the “derby” or annual contest when they play each other was on Saturday (we met Peter on Thursday), so that always is an interesting Reds (LFC) vs. Blues (Everton) conversation! The game was on during the wedding, so many of the chaps were itching to go to see the score. It ended in a tie, 1-1.

While in the UK, I did bake a bit, but had several disasters.  I ended up making rolls out of a classic sourdough loaf I was making, and they turned out OK, as you can see below.

 

Because of all commitments we have had with family and friends, I was making the dough and bread meet my schedule, which did not work, needless to say. I brought my sourdough starter over in checked baggage last year, and I revived it with no problem after several months.

I will have to chronicle some other bakes when I have more internet access.  It was great to meet Peter and bake for my UK family and friends.  Now, it's back to California.  Best,  Phyllis

Comments

Floydm's picture
Floydm

That is super cool, Phyllis. 

CAphyl's picture
CAphyl

Floyd: My husband and brother-in-law enjoyed meeting him as well, as he gave them great beer recommendations.  The detail in the hall was absolutely stunning.  Here is just one carving above one of the entrances. As I am not a beer fan, I appreciated the architecture a lot more than the beer. I did receive a recommendation to try a perry (like cider, but from pears), and I did really enjoy that as we paired our drinks with a plate of wonderful English cheese from the Liverpool Cheese Company. Delicious!  Best,  Phyllis

Kiseger's picture
Kiseger

Looks like a fab trip over here, love your rolls and the beer festival sounds like great fun!  Gotta love TFL for bringing people together, next trip.....come to London.  Look forward to your chronicles, and have a safe trip back!

CAphyl's picture
CAphyl

Kiseger:  I believe we will get to London in the spring, so look forward to meeting you.  It was a very good trip.  We are back in CA now; we brought my brother-in-law, his wife and my sister-in-law with us for a holiday break. Hope I can do a blog on my UK bakes before we leave for San Francisco. Lots of travel lately.  Take care.  Phyllis

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Fresh Lofians anywhere anytime but doing it in a foreign country has to be really special for the 2 of you and then there is beer....always a hit around here and sure to bring a crowd around.  Sounds like fun.

CAphyl's picture
CAphyl

dabrownman:  It was lots of fun, and Peter was very kind.  I've never seen so many kegs of beer.  It sure did draw a crowd. It would be wonderful to meet more of the bakers around the world....Mini Oven in Austria...Khalid in the Middle East and Ziti in Cambodia....now that would be impressive.  Arizona is so close in comparison!  Look forward to your future posts.  Best,  Phyllis

yozzause's picture
yozzause

Two marvelous products from the fermentation process and a great way to bring folk together too.

Nice to hear about your trip to the old country Phyllis, and always fun to bake in  another country with different flours and ingrediants. And its always nice to try beers in other countries too, there is just so many to choose from, so lucky you had an expert to give you a head start.

Did your husbands accent get a boost with other like sounding souls around?

kind regards Derek

CAphyl's picture
CAphyl

Derek:  It does sound a bit stronger in the UK at times, but there is no comparison to the accents of my husband's family.  The Liverpool accent is quite strong.  My husband went away for college, so his accent mellowed early. Members of the family flew back with us from the UK to California last night, so I will be the only American in the house for a bit longer! Thanks for your comments.  Best,  Phyllis