Cardiff based food blog
After my recent delivery from the One Mile Bakery (see my review for more details) I was excited to be invited to the first ever bread making class run at Elisabeth’s house in Pontcanna. After the success of the deliveries and having met Elisabeth, I was certain the classes were going to be great and I wasn’t disappointed.
I arrived to some familiar faces which made the day extra fun as I was baking with fab food bloggers Nicki (Cardiffbites), Bev (Eats for Wales) and Mark (Corpulent Capers). Elisabeth welcomed us and showed her into her kitchen where she quickly busied herself making us tea.
Four bloggers ready to start baking
The day was jam-packed with lunch included and although we made a lot of different bread, it was still relaxed and we managed to get time to chat and gossip. Elisabeth is an excellent teacher and her passion for bread shone through with plenty of sniffing, prodding and an unrivaled knowledge.
The class we attended An Introduction to Baking Bread and was designed to show us the key stages of baking and to allow us to understand the different types of bread as well as the key techniques involved. We made four loaves in the time we were there. Elisabeth started off by talking us through different flours. I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never paid a great deal of attention to what type of flour I use which is probably why in the past my bread has been nothing to shout about but from now on, this will be a consideration.
Elisabeth explained the benefits of spelt flour for people who have problems digesting bread (i.e. me) so when we got to choose the flour for our first loaf, I naturally went for spelt. We all used different flour but followed the same process. It was much quicker and much easier than I expected and I felt that I really learnt a lot.
We learnt how to make a well in our flour in order to add the yeast and the water and how it should look when it has been left the rest.
After 15 minutes came the kneading before resting it. Elisabeth gave us lots of tips on how we know when the dough had been kneaded enough and timings. My loaf turned out much better than I had expected and I will definitely make this easy little number again at home.
While making the first loaf, waiting for the yeast to do its magic, we had a taste test to compare some well-known supermarket bread to Elisabeth’s loaf.There was obviously no contest but having looked at the ingredients in the shop bought bread, no wonder I can’t eat bread without getting ill! Vinegar? Not to mention the E numbers.
With the first loaf ‘resting’ it was time for some of Elisabeth’s apricot bread. Even without butter this was lovely (although of course I added lashings of butter!).
The second loaf was a simple rye variety. This one was even easier as it didn’t need kneading. Rye is apparently easier to digest than a wheat loaf as it has different gluten structures. It also has a stronger flavour so works well with spices. I chose to add some cumin and ground coriander which gave it a very unusual flavour but delicious!
The star of the show for me was the ridiculously yummy bacon, red onion and balsamic bread. I was dying to try this when it came out of the oven and as soon as I got home, this was the one I broke into. It was delicious, even if I do say so myself!
Last of all we made a round Pain de Campagne. This was a winner in my house and looked very professional thanks to Elisabeth’s floured circular bowls and some serious slashing! This was one of my favourites and I was amazed that we could make something that looked so professional in an Introduction to Baking Bread.
The class was so much fun and the setting was lovely. I felt so relaxed baking in Elisabeth’s kitchen. It felt like we were learning from a friend rather than from a teacher. For a nosy person like me, baking in the home is the best place for something like this. Not only does it make it more personal and informal but I got to have a peek at someone elses house! What a beautiful house it is too!
I highly recommend this class and would love to try out some of the other classes on offer. There are a list of classes on the One Mile Bakery website and for the amount of time and the amount of bread I went home with, not to mention Elisabeth’s excellent teaching, I think it is value for money and a great day out.
I try no end of good food thanks to Your Last Mouthful and it is not unusual for me to have a delivery of some kind of delicious produce, but I have never been delivered bread before and I am yet to come across a concept as brilliant as One Mile Bakery.
The brain-child of Elisabeth Mahoney, One Mile Bakery was born after two years of preparation and stems from a genuine passion for good, simple food made with local or homegrown, quality ingredients. The concept is simple, The One Mile Bakery delivers handmade bread, soups and preserves within a one-mile radius of its kitchen in Cardiff. Everything is made using seasonal produce and traditionally milled organic flour, and delivered to local addresses in Pontcanna, Llandaff and Canton on foot or by bike.
Elisabeth arrived at my door with a rustic basket housing two loaves of bread, a jar of jam and a large container of soup, all bearing the One Mile Bakery logo. As we chatted and unpacked the goods, Elisabeth explained that instead of buying individual items, customers pay for a monthly subscription and receive a weekly delivery providing they are in the one mile proximity of her kitchen. There are many subscriptions to choose from but I was trying the bread, soup and jam subscription at £23.50 per month. This would mean a delivery of two loaves of bread and a container of soup per week and a jar of jam with the first batch of the month.
Now you should know that bread and butter is my weakness. I suffer from IBS so as I rule I avoid bread and try not to buy it but looking at the loaves on my kitchen table, this was going to be worth the pain!
Each week, customers receive a different type of loaf and soup depending on the produce available. My delivery consisted of Harira Soup, a Rye, Wheat and White Sourdough and a Multi-seeded and Honey Loaf with a jar Rhubarb, Strawberry, Vanilla and Elderflower Jam.
I’m ashamed to say that the minute Elisabeth walked out of the door I tucked into the bread. Starting with the sourdough, I covered it in lashings of butter and sank into my armchair while I drifted into my bread and butter heaven. The sourdough was beautifully soft inside with a lovely crunchy crust. The contrast between the bread and the crust was just right and I throughly enjoyed it. This lasted very well too. I still have some left 5 days later and it is still delicious toasted.
With dinner simmering away on the hob, I intended to just have a small piece of the Multi-seeded and Honey Loaf with some of the jam. Ten minutes later I had eaten half the loaf! I can honestly say this is some of the nicest bread I have ever tasted. It was just so deliciously soft and sweet. It had a real dense, spongy texture with a beautiful soft crust. I could eat it without butter and if you knew the extent of my bread and butter addiction that is saying something!
Not only was the bread delicious but it didn’t actually make me ill. Elisabeth said that it because everything is natural and fermented for such a long time, it is easier to break down and digest. You don’t know how happy this makes me.
Not to be out done by the bread, the jam was also fantastic. I do love jam but it’s something I never really get around to finishing but on this occasion, it is nearly gone. This is definitely not your average strawberry jam. Strawberry was the dominant flavour in my jar but there were clear and complimentary undertones of rhubarb and vanilla. I’m afraid the elderflower was a bit lost but it was still beautiful nonetheless.
For me, the best thing about the jam was the texture. It was very thick and quite jelly-like which I really enjoyed although Mr V said that he would have prefered it to be softer. He didn’t dispute the delicious flavour though.
I managed to control myself and save the soup for lunch the next day. The container of soup provided two very generous helpings. If you’re not a big eater, I think it would have done three days with bread. The Harira soup came with herbs and lemon and some rose harissa that could be added according to taste. Packed full of noodles, chick peas and lentils, this was a very filling chunky soup, perfect on a rainy day.
I haven’t got a bad word to say about One Mile Bakery. The food is fantastic, the price is right and the concept is brilliant. The only problem is, I don’t live within the one mile radius. My house is on the market though and this could well become a deciding factor when choosing our new house!
Even though I totally buy into this concept, I think that what really sold it to me and would keep me coming back for more if I lived in the area is Elisabeth. One of the great things about having my website and blog is that I get to meet people who are so passionate about what they do and it is just so inspiring. One Mile Bakery has only been up and running a few weeks and already Elisabeth has been inundated with orders and I fully believe that it is not all about the food (although it is fantastic). For me the personal touch and the love that goes into something like this is just so important and Elisabeth certainly has this.
Elisabeth told me stories about her childhood and how she enjoyed cooking with her Mum who grew everything herself and the love for Italian food she developed from a childhood friend. Many of Elisabeth’s recipes have been handed down from her Mum and I love this as it is something that is so often lost these days as people stop cooking for themselves. Elisabeth has been able to take her Mum’s recipes and others that she has found along the way and tweak them to make them her own, creating simple but beautiful food.
Elisabeth doesn’t believe she is very creative when it comes to cooking but recognises the importance of good quality ingredients and wants people to experience the food she loves. Her creatively comes through with her business model. Creative or not, she certainly knows her stuff. Elisabeth is a food and travel writer when she isn’t baking and has even been a food critic in her time. With an extensive career in food, this seems like a logical step and one that I hope continues to develop as Elisabeth has lots of ideas for extending the product range and for cookery classes. I wish her every success.
My Last Mouthful was: The multi-seeded and Honey Loaf
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Your Last Mouthful 