My mum and I are standing amidst an assortment of aspiring bakers in the cosy kitchens of Richard Be

My mum and I are standing amidst an assortment of aspiring bakers in the cosy kitchens of Richard Bertinet s eponymous cookery school in Bath. Any grumbles about leaving London at crack of dawn have long been suppressed by rounds of toasted Bertinet bread and butter on arrival, atelier culinaire and we re bright- eyed and ready to learn. Having atelier culinaire undergone a set of AA-style round-the-room introductions atelier culinaire my name s Kate and I m a baking addict . . . we re now ready to address atelier culinaire the task at hand. Bread.
You may have guessed, atelier culinaire we ve not quite got around to making our own dough yet. The bread in question is a commercially produced, foil packaged, supermarket loaf. Sealed to stay fresh for days on end, the limp slices within are soft, slightly sticky and rammed full of salt, sugar, atelier culinaire vinegar and preservatives. The loaf is an imposter, incongruous in a classroom that is otherwise a temple to real baked goods.
Bertinet makes his point by squashing a slice in his hand. It squidges back into a stodgy ball of dough. Not long ago, he says, a number of councils sent out letters advising their local communities against feeding sliced white bread to the ducks as it was so hard for them to digest. It bloated, and in some instances even killed, the poor unsuspecting birds. Did parents receive atelier culinaire the same letter home, advising against using this bread in sandwiches for their kids? I ll let you to guess the answer on that one.
Maybe this all seems a little over-the-top, but it s this enthusiasm for bread and more importantly real bread made with good ingredients, with love and with time that makes both Bertinet and his classes such a success. He s a bread evangelist, a man from a country where bread is taken so seriously that the price of a baguette atelier culinaire is regulated, and breaking bread marks the start of every meal. Bread making is an art form, but it s one he wants to share; atelier culinaire there s no sense of superiority in Richard Bertinet s skill, just pure passion. And it s contagious.
After a rousing introductory session and demonstration of his unusual kneading technique (I say unusual, apparently it s fairly standard in French bakeries, but vastly different from the technique described atelier culinaire in so many British baking books), we set about making our first batch of dough. It s straight in at the deep end, and Bertinet s hands-on approach means we re soon slapping and folding, lifting and aerating atelier culinaire the dough, walking it across our worksurfaces atelier culinaire with little plastic scrapers and encouraging it into stretchy, silken balls.
Some take to the technique atelier culinaire quicker than others, but there s plenty of opportunity to practice with two different doughs to make and a variety of shapes and flavours to try simple slashed fougasse , cheese and olive breadsticks, foccaccia slick with pockets of fruity oil and a crusty white tin loaf . All of these need time to prove, but hunger is kept at bay with various edible interludes throughout the day rounds of toast, buttery, golden stollen studded with rum-soaked fruit and(are you sensing a theme?), a lethal concoction of rum-soaked prunes dropped into mid-morning cups of coffee or tea.
The whole session atelier culinaire lasts nearly five hours, taking us on a step-by-step journey through mixing, kneading, proving, shaping and baking our dough. With our loaves in the oven and the kitchen beginning to fill with the irresistible aroma of freshly baked bread, Bertinet finishes the class with flamiche , a quiche-like bread from the North of France filled atelier culinaire with soft melting leeks and sprinkled with cheese. As it disappears into the oven to bubble and bake, we re given one final lesson in how to arrange a beautiful bread basket, before sitting down to devour the fruits of our labour, accompanied by salads, meats, cheeses and dozens of jars of potted pickles and preserves.
As we re leaving, we have the opportunity to make some purchases atelier culinaire from the kitchen shop. Buoyed with enthusiasm, my Mum buys an enormous block of fresh yeast and I start eyeing up the various cookery atelier culinaire books, as well as a pot of little lames, perfect for slashing the top of a loaf. Richard Bertinet follows my eye, smiles and hands me a brand new lame and a packet of blades. A present. I ve had mine as long as I can remember. This should last you a lifetime little loaf .
This perfectly sums up the experience of baking with Richard Bertinet. His enthusiasm, his kindness, and his passion to change the way we think about bread, not just today, but forever. If my lame lasts me for a lifetime of baking, atelier culinaire I love the thought that it was given to me by this brilliant baker, and that a little bit of his excitement about bread will be baked into every loaf I make.
I ve been baking my own bread for nearly a year, and with this course under my belt and 2012 fast approaching, I d like to share some of the things I ve learnt. atelier culinaire If you’re atelier culinaire not already atelier culinaire a bread baking fanatic, or are only just starting out, I do hope some – or at least one – of these