Dear customers,

Can you believe that it's already June and that this week's will be 5 months after the first bake back from Christmas in the week c/o 6 January 2020. I cannot believe how time has flown by!

I've managed a test bake this week which I think is worth sharing so there's a special for Friday/Saturday. Here is the full menu for the week (to avoid disappointment no Pan Marino as I'm still not stocked up with Italian tipo '00 flour but I'll be week after next).

Tuesday: Wild West in standard or large size (same recipe as last week which is a bit different to usual with a 48h matured levain and no rye flour, more tang, more bubbles in the crumb, a bit less colour on the crust). As usual order by Monday 1PM please. 

Friday/Saturday: Pain de Campagne in standard or large size, Rugbrod (half or whole), Black & White sesame, or Special 'Cheddar and caramelised onion bread' £4 for a 550g+ loaf (ie standard size), as per photos below. The special contains a dairy product and is unsuitable for people with milk allergy. Order by Wednesday 5PM. 

Dear Customers

So sorry for not posting last night but here comes the menu just in time hopefully before most of you settle to work and I start my merry round of errands at 915AM. 

No luck on the trial bake (it was challah which has always eluded me and continue to do so) so we are back with our standard menu of:

Friday-Saturday: Wild West in std or large size, Poppy & sesame, Fig & Fennel, Rugbrod
Friday only: My Lincs plum bread.
Order before tomorrow Wednesday 7PM, earlier of you can is always best but want to leave enough time for you all to order as this is coming so late.

On the trial bakes' front, I will continue to do them =until something good comes out. I am not testing new sourdough breads at the moment, just yeasted products, including sweet ones. Some people have already asked to be put on my special distribution email list to buy what might come out of the trials each week. When I have something that is worth selling I send an email with a photo and it's available on a first come first served basis for a standard price of £3 (same payment arrangements as whatever you are on). If you want to be added just let me know.

Have a great week
​Emma

Unfortunately I have had to cancel Tuesday's bake as Monday had something in store for me which I had totally forgotten about when I posted this menu. So no bread on Tuesday this week I'm afraid! 

Full menu to be posted on Monday night for Friday and Saturday. Enjoy your Monday off!

Thanks,
Emma

News this week is that it was an uneventful 7 days which saw the making of 53 loaves of bread by a calmer and more collected baker.  I am also making plans for an exciting future in the bakery (see photos at the bottom of the previous post for spoilers) but still need to hone a few details before revealing it all. Oh and yes West Street Bakehouse is now the proud owner of 2 yes TWO mixers, one planetary Kitchenaid for enriched dough (yesterdays' news) and a spiral mixer Made in Italy for bread (or pizza) dough which arrived on Tuesday, just in time to knead the 13kg of dough for the 20 x 3-grain levains which were on order this week.

Next week we will stick with our old friends:

Tuesday: Pain de Campagne (standard or large), Rugbrod (half or whole) and Lincs Plum Bread. Order by Monday 1PM. If you have never tried the Plum bread before and are a Tuesday customer, now is a good time to try it out as I normally only run it on Fridays. A couple of slices per day will sort you out for breakfast, elevenses or teatime for the rest of the week.

Friday & Saturday: Pain de Campagne (standard or large), Rugbrod (half or whole), Walnut levain, Olive & Rosemary.  Order by Wednesday 5PM.

Housekeeping: please return your bags if you are OK to do that during Covid.

NEW MAILING LIST: I will be running test bakes for new products in the coming weeks (starting with challah, babka, focaccia, etc). When it is worth sharing, I will sell the output of my test bakes on a first come first served basis. If you'd like to be informed when that happens, let me know next time you order and I will add you to a special distribution list. It might be a good opportunity to try new things and influence what comes out of my oven and goes on the menu in the future. 

Dear customers

I hope you are enjoying a restful BH weekend and making the most of the balmy weather which I understand isnt there to last. Now isnt that a surprise?!

I will be taking onboard the lessons learned in the bakery in the past 2 weeks and looking forward to the (hopefully serene) week ahead of me/us. 

Wild West Tuesday with Pain de Campagne (small or large), Rugbrod and yes Pan Marino. Order by Monday 1PM please. 

Friday & Saturday: as Tuesday plus 3–grain levain. Order by Wednesday 5PM. 

No time for specials this week but I hope the double bill of Pan Marino will make up for it and that the return of the Pain de Campagne on Friday will please the Rogers among us (please allow me a private joke aimed at one customer in particular, it'll be your turn at some point I'm sure). 

Have a good week!

Another record breaking week this week (64 loaves) where I discovered where my limits lie and how to recover things from the brink. Nuff said that the Italian breads didnt quite go to plan on Thursday morning (yet everything had started oh so well!...) but hopefully it didnt show in the final results as I had good feedback on the Pan Marinos! Another test to my resilience came on Friday and Saturday when my oven started shutting off mid-bake and good old AGA had to be brought in as an emergency backup. It turned out that the electrical fault was in my power socket and not the oven, so the show can go on! Another bake chalked up to experience and roll on next week!

Wild West Tuesday: Wild West in standard of large size, Rugbrod (full or 'half') either plain, with almonds, or with walnuts (£0.50 per half loaf, if with nuts). 'half' Rugbrod now comes as a loaf in its own right baked in a smaller tin, rather than half a large one. Order by Monday 1PM (same deadline for prepayments please). 

Friday & Saturday: NYDR, B&W sesame, Fig & Fennel and SPECIAL for this week: Fig & Walnut (same as F&F with no fennel and some figs replaced with toasted walnuts, £3.50 per standard loaf). Rugbrod, as Tuesday. Order by Wednesday 5PM (same deadline for prepayments please).

Remember that Friday 8 May is our early Spring May bank holiday and VE day!

Have a good week and stay safe
Emma x