A couple of months ago I was pondering my Bread making skills
and make it every week
But I felt like I wanted to push things up a notch
After a little bit of a web trawl I was amazed and delighted to discover that
Chad Robertson from Tartine in San Francisco
Chad Robertson in cork!!! teaching a workshop that I can attend!!
I have been a massive fan of
Tartine for some years and have dabbled in his country bread
although I must admit I found the prospect of starters and leavens a little intimidating
I literally felt like a 5 year old waiting for Christmas
And finally the day came last week
Firstly this was my first visit to Ballymaloe
and most certainly will not be my last
The Weather was not on my side but I still managed a stroll around the impressive gardens
Now that is a herb garden !! (below)
I ate dinner at Ballymaloe house on the first night
(the cookery school is about 2 miles away)
Local, fresh, they make their own butter and cheese and of course bread
and grow their own vegetables
Each day the menu is designed around what is fresh and available
Mackerel to start
and then slices of sirloin with spinach and Ballymaloe potatoes
Heaven...
The following morning after eating a delicious breakfast
Day 1 began
Darina introduces Chad
Chad talks us through the process as Richard his right hand man
gets busy mixing the doughs
I would say the message of the morning was pay attention to your environment
Your starter and leaven are living things
they react to room temperature drafts etc
be aware of what is going on with your dough
Chad is an intuitive baker
and talked more about look, feel, smell
than measurements and scales
I am not going to post the recipe for the bread as if you are familiar with Tartine
then you have the book
and if you are not and you want to make the best bread of your life then buy it
The recipe in the book is 38 pages long
and I will not do it the injustice of writing a synopsis
Chad talked about the autolysse (initial resting of the dough)
and the resting and turning of the dough
and the hydration (water percentage)
This dough is WET!
after resting and turning for about 3 hours
and leaving for a bench rest
Richard and Chad got to the shaping
Chad shaping the dough
Chad makes it look very easy ......
In the afternoon the discussion was about Chad's new book (available end of November)
and how his travels to
Denmark and Sweden had influenced his baking
He is looking at darker breads
and using a lot of sprouted grains
I look forward to getting it
Richard cuts the Rugbrod for tasting
Me the groupie with Chad and Richard
The real highlight came though on the second day
when we actually got to go into the kitchen with Chad and Richard and mix a dough
What an honour
and Richard and Chad were so gracious and patient
as the attendees ranged from the experienced chef
like Skye Gyngell to the complete novice
Me and Skye
At 2 o'clock I left Ballymaloe
with 2 doughs in plastic bags nestled around a 2 litre of cold milk
to try and stall the fermentation process while i drove home
then when i got home, 4 hours later, I tipped them into bread baskets
left them for 2 hours and baked
and without a doubt the BEST bread I have ever made
a light crust
a chewy centre
complex flavour
This bread has no equal
So Thank you Richard and Chad
It was a privilege
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