On the 14th October I left chilly London to go to Tuscany for 10 days. We had rented out Villa Boccella in Ponte Moriano, just 10K from the walled city of Lucca. The sun was shining from a blue sky when we arrived to [...]]]> New Baking Course in Tuscany from the 8th-13th April

On the 14th October I left chilly London to go to Tuscany for 10 days. We had rented out Villa Boccella in Ponte Moriano, just 10K from the walled city of Lucca. The sun was shining from a blue sky when we arrived to the villa. We had a couple of days before the students arrived.

We spent these days getting to know the wood fired oven as well as doing loads of food shopping. We made friends with the local butcher and green grocer and we made a trip to a small local mill. The mill was run by an elderly man – probably in his late 70′s. It was like stepping back in time, no big roller mills in sight! Instead there were a lot of smaller wood barrels; not quite sure about the workings of these, but nevertheless it was very fascinating. We left the mill with large bags full of wheat and spelt flour, of course it was all locally and organically grown.

My husband and dad had volunteered to be in charge of the wood fired oven. I was a bit daunted by this, since I only ever bake in a domestic oven at the Baking Lab. But the guys quickly got a hang of how to light the fire in the oven and also – very importantly – how to control the temperature of the oven. We spent the first days test baking breads and pizzas. The pizzas were some of the best I’ve ever tasted. The combination of the sourdough crust and the slightly charred bottom made for a perfect combination. We managed to get the ovens so hot, so it only took minutes to bake the pizzas. It was crucial that the crust was nice and thin and that the topping was kept simple – no Hawaii pizza to be found.

After a relaxing weekend, with test bakes in the wood fired ovens, and a big “Supermarket Sweep” inspired grocery trip we were ready to welcoming the students to Villa Boccella on the Sunday evening. Students came from all over, we had people arriving from Denmark, Norway, UK, Russia and even India. So it was a truly international group that was gathered around antipasti and prosecco in the Piano Room of the Villa on the Sunday night.

After breakfast on the Monday morning we met at the kitchen in the Dependence where we were going to make some spelt bread and some lavender bread. The kitchen in the Dependence is built to accommodate large groups of students, and it is well equipped with anything you could need for baking.   Some students had been baking for years, but others were complete novices. After a couple of hours of turning a sticky and wet dough into silky smooth doughs – something many of them doubted was possible without the addition of more flour. We left the doughs to prove for one last time in proving baskets before they were going in to the wood fired oven. Over the 5 days that the course ran we covered many types of breads such as Foccacia, Ciabatta, Baguette, Pain Rustic and Sourdough bread as well as Italian cookies like Cantuccini and Pignoli.

Whilst the doughs were proving we had time to enjoy a short break in the Tuscan sun:

Before the breads go in to the oven, they are slashed on the top to control the expansion during the bake. It can be a bit tricky to get this right, but by the end of the week the students had got the hang of it. 

After the baking course we all sat down to a scrumptious lunch that Lone and Lene had prepared for us. Most of the days the weather was so warm that we could sit outside the Dependence and eat the lunch.

Villa Boccella also produce their own olive oil and their own wine. We used the olive oil in our cooking. It made for a particularly tasty addition to the Rosemary Focciacia. During one of the less intense afternoons, David, the caretaker at Villa Boccella as well as the wine maker, gave us an introduction to wine making. We tried the new wines that had just been pressed, I can now really appreciate why wine has to mature…We also tried some of the wine from the previous season, which was very lovely and very drinkable!

The week in Villa Boccella was just magical. The villa is the perfect place for exploring the world of breads, meeting like-minded people, enjoying the food and wine that Italians are so famous for and just relaxing and taking in the views of the Tuscan hills. I am well beyond excited to say that we will be repeating this Italian Baking Adventure in April 2012. The new course will run from the 8th-13th April and you can find more details about it here. 

Arriverderci Villa Boccella!

On the 5th November we held the launch party for the Baking Lab. For the 6 weeks leading up to the party, we had worked hard on getting the space ready. With help from some incredible friends and our great builders we managed to meet all of our deadlines. The ovens were installed [...]]]>

On the 5th November we held the launch party for the Baking Lab. For the 6 weeks leading up to the party, we had worked hard on getting the space ready. With help from some incredible friends and our great builders we managed to meet all of our deadlines. The ovens were installed the day the party, which added a bit of stress, but in the end it all worked out. People started arriving just after 2 in the afternoon. The last people left at 9.30 in the evening! My parents came over from Denmark to see the space and also to help with baking and preparing for the party. So with  support from parents, boyfriend and friends we pulled off a great party at the Lab.

I started baking for the party on Friday morning. I made various Sourdough breads, Foccacia, Ciabatta and pretzels. For the sweet tooth there were two types of tarts: one with chocolate and almond ganace, and another, more traditional lemon tart. I also made some chocolate whoopie pies with a vanilla filling, carrot cake with a lime icing and finally the lemon drizzle that never lets  me down.

People made their way around the big table to taste the various creations and the feedback was very positive.

There was a mix of family, friends, students and potential. Some that I haven’t seen for over a year came to celebrate the opening of the space, which was just wonderful.

We finished the night with some bottles of Cava and in the background we could hear the firework from Guy Fawkes.

A big thank you to everybody who helped me transform the Baking Lab from an empty shell to a beautiful teaching kitchen. I’ve now been teaching there for 2 weeks, and I absolutely love spending time there.

I would also like thank everybody who came to the party and helped getting the Baking Lab off to a good start!

If you haven’t already seen the Baking Lab – come to a class or even stop by for a coffee and a chat.

A remarkably humble baked good has recently attained celebrity status. It’s not French. It’s not covered in gold foil. And it certainly doesn’t take years of training to perfect. Soda [...]]]>

Amy is a food writer and has a great blog where she writes about food – both recipes and restaurants she has tried: www.tastingpages.blogspot.com

Tasty wholemeal Soda Bread

A remarkably humble baked good has recently attained celebrity status. It’s not French. It’s not covered in gold foil. And it certainly doesn’t take years of training to perfect. Soda bread has become a media darling, simply for being a quick and trustworthy loaf that the beginner baker can accomplish.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Nigel Slater, Lorraine Pascale, and Nigella Lawson have all baked soda bread on their TV programmes in the last year. There are two cookery trends that have helped push soda bread into the spotlight – home bread baking and ‘simple’ recipes.