Help write an A to Bread of keeping it REAL

We want to help YOU to throw the spotlight on Real Bread traditions from YOUR culinary cultural heritage, wherever in the world its (and your) roots lie.

We’re particularly keen to help celebrate Real Bread that people might not necessarily think of as Real Bread, and that doesn’t get as much of the (social) media glare as, for example, panettone, Tartine-style sourdough loaves, baguettes etc.

How it works

The idea is simple: you write a short line on a type of Real Bread, bread making technique or specialised bit of baking kit associated with your heritage/identity.

We’ll then compile an A to Z and post a few entries on social media from the list on each of the ten days of Real Bread Week (18-26 February 2023).

For example…

I is for injera: sometimes spelled/transliterated as enjera. Pancake-like sourdough flatbread from Ethipia, Eritrea and Sudan. Typically made from an overnight fermented batter of teff flour, which is cooked on a hotplate. See also Somali anjero/canjero.

T is for tandoor: a mud, clay or brick oven, historically fired by wood or charcoal, for cooking flatbreads and many other foods. With roots having been traced to Indus Valley Civilisation up to 5000 years ago, versions of the tandoor are used, and known by related names, in culinary traditions originating across Western Asia to Southern Asia. 

Yudane: a Japanese method of mixing it with boiling water. This gelatinises starch granules in the flour, resulting in soft, fluffy textured bread. Similar to (and perhaps inspired by) the Chinese tangzhong method, which involves boiling flour and liquid together.

Hopefully we’ll end up with more than one entry for some letters.

We’d also be happy to publish longer articles about, and your own recipes from, Real Bread from your culinary cultural heritage. Please email us if you might be interested in either.

What is Real Bread?

Our definition of Real Bread simply means no chemical raising agents or other additives. It can be made by the sourdough process, but doesn’t have to be – baker’s yeast and unleavened flatbreads fall within our definition.

See also

• Get Ready for YOUR Real Bread Week
• Celebrating YOUR Real Bread heritage
• YOUR words in print
• Not all Real Bread looks like this
• Not All Real Bread is White