This letter was sent out to all campaign members. I thought I should reprint it here:
As this week (7-13 May) is Real
Bread Maker Week, we at the Real Bread Campaign have penned this open letter to
all of Britain's doughmongers.
Whether making a loaf for yourself
and family, baking as a professional, or sharing bread recipes and skills with
other people now or later in the year, we have some questions that you might
like to ponder:
Is there any need to use
fast-acting / instant yeast?
Dried active yeast (usually sold in
cylindrical tins) is much cheaper than sachets, widely available, just as
convenient - even in bread machines if added with the water, will keep in the
fridge for months, and, unlike most brands of the instant stuff, contains no
artificial additives. Or you could get your mitts on the fresh stuff.
Do I really need to add sugar?
Flour contains more than enough
food to keep yeast thriving. So unless you're making a sweet bread try leaving
out the empty calories of sugar, honey, syrup or whatnot.
Does I really need to add oil or
fat?
Delicious, moist Real Bread is not
reliant on either, so unless you're making an enriched bread (such as a buttery
milk loaf, or focaccia drizzled with olive oil) then these are just more
unnecessary empty calories.
Could a no-knead recipe be what I
need?
Homebakers: If you feel kneading is
too much work, takes too much of your time or that you're just not up to it,
then try a no-knead Real Bread recipe. These effortless doughs are given more
water and more time (theirs, not yours) allowing you to just mix, leave and
bake.
Professionals: not exactly
no-knead, but you might like to experiment with an autolyse method…
Could I use less salt?
Homebakers: when baking Real Bread
try using not much more than a teaspoon (6g) per 500g of flour.
Professionals: the Food Standards
Agency's target is 1% or less by loaf weight.
If I'm using any artificial additives,
do I know exactly why?
Homebakers: before throwing a pinch
of ascorbic acid (or flour with it added already) into dough, please ask
yourself why and find out how it works. You can only make great loaves of what
we call Real Bread without it.
Professionals: if using artificial
additives they are making you miss an opportunity to offer your customers what
the Campaign calls Real Bread. Might ditching them open the doors to you
increasing your skills as a baker even further?
Could I slow things down?
Homebakers: the more time dough has
to `ripen' the more flavour it develops, but extra dough time is not your time,
freeing you to go off and do something else. Rather than rushing dough by
putting it somewhere warm to rise, using large amounts of yeast or adding
sugar, make it fit in with your schedule by slowing things down instead. Using
a recipe with less yeast and letting dough rise somewhere cooler can allow you
to leave it unattended for hours – or even overnight in a fridge.
Professionals: try retarding your
dough. Some bakeries find overnight proving even helps them change shift
patterns to more sociable hours…
Could I use locally-milled
stoneground flour?
Stoneground flour (wholemeal or
sieved to make it lighter) not only tastes great but also contains more of
wheat's natural goodness. And if you're lucky enough to have a locally-owned
mill nearby, you'll be helping the local economy, too. Even better if it's
locally-grown grain milled by an eco-friendly wind or water mill!
Is sourdough the way forward?
As well as boosting flavour, the
`friendly bacteria' (sorry for using such a yuck marketing phrase) in genuine
sourdough have a natural preservative effect – without unnecessary additives or
extra salt. There is also a growing number of very interesting scientific
studies reporting all sorts of health benefits of sourdough bread making –
though the Campaign would like to see much, much more being invested into
research.
You can find more information on
these thoughts and more, as well as recipes, courses, events, competitions,
discounts and other offers, places to buy Real Bread, and links to a whole
world of bready matters at realbreadcampaign.org
Happy baking from The Real Bread
Campaign!
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