I attended the Natural Bread Making workshop in November and it was fantastic. I'd been experimenting with making sourdough for a while, and when I say experimenting, I mean mostly getting it wrong. I had read lots and lots of conflicting information on the intranet, as you do, and my wee head was all confused.
But happily, all my questions were answered at the workshop and I can now go forth and make baked natural bread goodies safe in the knowledge that firstly, I'm not going to poison myself with bad mould, and secondly, my loaves will rise. Oh and thirdly, the results are delicious!
The Two Mamas delivered the workshop in a friendly, informal style, but came across as real experts. They took us through making a basic loaf step by step, and baked a loaf while we were there of what our end result should look and taste like. They'd also brought with them a basket of baked treats - delicious rolled sweet breads with jam, chocolate, fruit - really inspirational ideas of what we could bake.
We were given a starter of our very own to take home, and it's a really strong one. Mine had bubbled over in it's wee jar by the next day, so I fed it and put it in a bigger jar, and it bubbled over that too - a great sign that it's ready to go and make amazing bread. Along with our take home starter, we were also given a lovely pack with a nice bag, a wooden spoon, and a very useful instruction booklet, as well as the tub of dough that we'd prepared that we were to bake the next day. And it worked perfectly - I was so delighted with my perfect loaf!
The Two Mamas mentioned some future workshops they have planned - pizza bases and breadsticks, focaccia and such like. I cannot wait - I think I will be at every single one. I would highly recommend a course with the Two Mamas if you want to learn about natural bread making, and it would also make a lovely gift. read more