Spring Grain Gathering at E5 Bakehouse
Regional / non-commodity grain network meetup
On Monday 27 March 2023 (2-6.30pm) The South East Grain Alliance, East Anglia Grain Alliance and E5 Bakehouse are holding this annual event for people involved and interested in non-commodity grains.
The meeting will start with a discussion of baking with ‘heritage’* wheat alone, without any modern dwarfed varieties. This will include considering subjective and objective reasons that bakers might choose to do so and methods of working with ‘heritage’ wheat flour.
Andrew Forbes of the Brockwell Bake Association will outline possible advantages in terms of digestibility, nutrition and flavour, as well as looking at two heritage wheats with higher quality gluten. Laurence Carroll of Dozen Bakery in Norwich will share his experience of making Real Bread without any modern wheat varieties – with samples to taste.
During a break, there will be a chance to take part in a ‘heritage’ spring wheat blind tasting, including Ölands grown in different ways, locations and seasons.
Bakers, millers and farmers will then be invited to report on new projects they are working on, including:
- Graison Gill on launching the forthcoming Bakery by Natoora (and mill) in Bermondsey.
- Oscar Harding of Duchess Farms on taking over Gilchesters milling operation.
- Anna Higham about her plans with Paris Barghchi for Quince, their new bakery in Islington.
- Rebecca Spaven and Oliver Costello of Toad Bakery in Camberwell look back on their first year.
Small amounts of all the wheats being tasted will be available for small, experimental/non-commercial sowing.
Advance booking essential. The event is free to attend but the organisers will welcome donations towards the costs of running it.
*Heritage wheat is a disputed term. People working in this field have differing opinions on what the criteria should be for a wheat to be called heritage, rather than modern. Calling for a legal definition of heritage wheat is included in the Real Bread Campaign’s Honest Crust Act proposals of updated and improved composition, labelling and marketing legislation.
See also
- Photos from the 2022 Spring Gathering
- A gathering of grainiacs (UK Grain Lab 2022)
- Why queue for YQ?
- Grassroots grain Britain
- Landrace for life
- South East Grain Alliance meeting
- An adaptive approach to wheat breeding, growing, processing and baking
- Capital grains (UK Grain Lab 2019)
- A new Welsh grain economy
- New mill for next step in relocalising Scotland’s grain chain
- Local grain guide
Published 21 Mar 2023
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