Sustain / Real Bread Campaign / Archive / News archive
2009
Breadcrumbs 2009
Back issues of Breadcrumbs, the monthly e-newsletter from the Real Bread Campaign
As this page is an archive of back issues, please note that some of the infomation and links it contains might no longer be current or correct.
December 2009
Hi,
Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat…and so am I. Ah well, back to lightly buttered toast in January and it’ll all come back off again soon enough.
It's great to watch each week as the number of the 1,300 or so supporters on our mailing list who become campaign members just shoots up and up.
To cheer you up in the intra-Christmas/New Year limbo, the December 27th edition (and extended version on the 28th) of BBC Radio 4’s Food Programme will be a Real Bread bonanza, featuring the likes of The Handmade Bakery, The Northumberland Bakery, Bee Wilson and Rose Prince, all talking Real Bread.
Stuck for a last minute idea for a Christmas gift that’ll keep on giving? How about treating someone a year’s membership of the campaign? Details of this, our skirmish with the ASA and more below.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
Chris Young
Project Officer
Real Bread Campaign
Advertising
Over the past few months, the Advertising Standards Authority has been mulling over the Real Bread Campaign’s complaint that we believed a Hovis rolls ad to be misleading. You can read the full complaint, the ASA response and our press release on the ruling at: https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/hovis_advertising/
Members
Christmas gift
If you fill out the form and pay online by lunchtime this Friday, we will drop the recipient an email to let them know they’re one of the gang and that their membership card will be on its way in January. Yule be glad you did – see what I did ther…never mind.
If you are signing up on behalf of someone else, please remember to complete the ‘count me in!’ form with the recipient’s details and put GIFT in the organisation field at: https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/signup/
(Of course, the details on the payment screen must be the cardholder’s)
Special offer
Hurry - the early bird offer on the membership fee for organisations will end this Friday, 18th December. After that, the fee for organisations will be £50 per year.
Recipe
Members can click here for Andrew Whitley’s seasonal recipe for Real Christmas Bread
Membership discounts
The latest discount is one to spoil yourself and/or someone special. The Artisan Bread School is offering a discount of €150 when two people book places together on the May 2010 5-day bread making course in Tuscany. For this and other exclusive offers, visit: https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/membership_discounts
Your news
Just putting the finishing touches to issue two of True Loaf, heading your way in January. We still have a bit of space for news snippets, so if you'd like to share with other members what you've been up to or what you're planning, any awards you've won and what not, please email a few lines to us ASAP.
Volunteer needed
After putting in sterling service to the cause, Katie Holtby and Stephanie Maslin-Monk have returned to their civilian lives. Thanks to you both for all of your hard work.
This means that we are in need of a volunteer to work alongside the project officer (i.e me) in developing, running and promoting the campaign.
If you could spare a day or more a week to spend here at Real Bread HQ in London and are interested in finding our more, click here for full details:https://www.sustainweb.org/jobs/
Bread Heroes
This month, I chatted to organic cereal grower, stone miller and campaign working party member Andrew Wilkinson of Gilchesters.
You can also read our first anniversary interview with campaign co-founder, Andrew Whitley, which I forgot to mention in last month’s Breadcrumbs – sorry, Andrew. https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/bread_heroes/
Current campaign activity
Bread making in schools
We’re still on the lookout for a teacher or teaching assistant who is familiar with the KS2 curriculum to help develop our Lessons in Loaf bread making in schools programme. No need to come to the office - you can help from the comfort of your own home or office. If you can spare time and are interested in making a contribution towards developing this exciting national scheme, please get in touch.
Bakers’ support
Professional Real Bread bakers – we will be looking at the possibility of creating a Real Bread apprenticeship scheme, network or directory. If you would be interested in looking at the possibility of taking on apprentices or have experience of being/employing an apprentice that you’d be happy to share with others, please drop me a line.
Barking Bread
We've been asked by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham to help out with feeding families workshops for parents in the area. If you are interested in being involved in this scheme by passing on Real Bread making skills, please let me know.
Folic acid
Whilst we are drawing up our position on mandatory flour fortification, our friends at the Traditional Cornmillers Guild are petitioning Gordon Brown on the issue: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/folic-acid-mills/.
Local Food
Interested in selling to farm shops?
The Farm & More Trade Show on Wednesday 27 January is the only national trade show specifically for farm shops, farmers’ markets and other farm-diversified businesses.
The event is organised by FARMA, the national association of farm retailers, who are keen to attract exhibitors in keeping with their ethos of artisan and local food production. Whether you mill British flour or bake your own bread, if you are keen to extend your reach into the independent sector, Farm & More could be for you.
For more details please call 0845 45 88 420 or email laura@farma.org.uk quoting the Real Bread Campaign for the most competitive rates. For more about Farm & More visit http://www.farmandmore.org.uk/
Virtual Bread
So many paid up members and so few of you have visited The Real Baker-e. C’mon this forum in which you can ask questions, share ideas and information and otherwise make contact with your fellow members all around the country is one of the great benefits of joining. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/realbreadcampaign/
End crust
Legend has it that panettone, the popular Italian Christmas Real Bread, was named after some bloke called Tony. The story goes that it was originally called pan de Toni, or Toni’s bread.
November 2009
Where did the last four weeks go? Answers on a postcard or back of a sealed down envelope, please.
A big hello (is there such thing as a small hello?) to those of you who are new to Breadcrumbs or that I met for the first time at The Rise of Real Bread on Saturday. An even bigger hello (this is getting silly now) to those of you who have shown your continuing support for the cause by becoming a member.
Oh, and happy birthday to us – 21st November marks one year since the official launch of the Real Bread Campaign.
Happy baking,
Chris Young
Project Officer
Real Bread Campaign
New for members
Recipe
Members can click here for a Mexican pan de muerto recipe from MasterChef 2005 winner, Times food writer, cookbook author and Wahaca restaurants co-founder, Thomasina Miers.
Membership discounts
We haven’t managed to badger as many people as we’d like this month about new special offers for our members but one who has come forward is Andrew Auld of the loaf in Derbyshire – thanks, Andrew. Click here for details of this and all other current offers: https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/membership_discounts
New Real Bread leaflets
Sustain’s designer, Becky Joynt, has done a fantastic job on the new Real Bread Campaign leaflet, which now includes a membership sign up form. If you’d like to help us spread the word by displaying a handful at your baker, mill, shop, stall, event, course, centre, please get in touch.
Current campaign activity
Transparent labelling
You can read our submission to the FSA (Food Standards Agency) consultation on the UK implementation of new EU food enzyme labelling legislation here: https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/bread_labelling/
Bread making in schools
Currently, we’re working on a pack of resources for teachers and pupils to support our Lessons in Loaf bread making in schools programme, a small scale pilot of which will begin in the new year. If you are a teacher or teaching assistant familiar with the curriculum at KS2 and are able to help create these, please let us know. We’re also keen to hear from animators, photographers and videographers who are be able to help to produce the visual elements.
Bakers’ support
Thanks to the Real Bread bakers that answered our survey. Members of the working party are now starting to create resources that aim to meet the needs that came up. If you feel you have knowledge, experience and time (always the tricky bit) and would like to help with this ongoing project, let me know.
The survey and a workshop at The Rise of Real Bread also indicated a demand for some sort of Real Bread apprenticeship/internship scheme. We will also be considering how this could work.
Children's Food Campaign: action against product placement
The government is trying to sneak through a consultation on product placement. If it goes through, it will expose children (and adults) to marketing in a subliminal form - think big brand white sliced in soap operas and fizzy drinks on the desks of talent show judges. For details and a simple way to register your response, go to the site of one of our sister campaigns: https://www.sustainweb.org/childrensfoodcampaign/action/
Recent events
The Rise of Real Bread
Saturday 14th November saw almost certainly the largest gathering of those who truly care about the state of bread in Britain for many years. Thank you to the 150+ of your who joined speakers (Andrew Whitley, Colin Tudge, William Black, Dan & Johanna McTiernan, Felicity Lawrence, Martin Wolfe, Bee Wilson, John Letts, Simon Staddon, Rob Alderson, Matthew Rawlings, Jade Bashford and chair Sheila Dillon) at St Anne’s College, Oxford.
We are also beyond grateful to Ruth West, Amanda Cooper and the rest of the LandShare CIC team for organising the day.
If you weren’t fortunate enough to grab a ticket at this twice sold out (even having relocated to a larger venue, demand outstripped supply) event, you’ll be able to get a taste in January’s issue of True Loaf.
Festival of Interdependence
Thank you so much to Real Bread Campaign member Paul Barker of Cinnamon Square in Rickmansworth for running the Real Bread making sessions at the new economics foundation’s Festival of Interdependence. Thanks also to Katie Holtby, another campaign member, who gave up her Saturday as well to chat to everyone who came along and ensure things ran smoothly.
Camden
As part of the launch of the Good Food for Camden healthy eating strategy, on 10th October I spent a day at Kentish Town City Farm with fellow Sustainers Jackie Schneider, Christine Haigh and Rosie Blackburn, teaching kids to bake Real Bread. A full report of this will also appear in the next issue of True Loaf.
Wanted
We often get asked ‘what can I do to help the cause of Real Bread?’ Aside from the obvious – bake it, buy it and eat it – are you able to give support in kind with any of the following:
Photographers, animators and videographers
Imagery that will help share Real Bread skills and spread the campaign’s messages.
Printers
Membership gift certificates and cards; t-shirts; bread bags; badges; stickers
Journalists, bloggers and other writers
We’re always interested in articles for True Loaf, our website and in your own publications/websites/blogspots.
Bakers, millers, retailers, educators
If you’d like to chat about a Real Bread members’ offer that works for your business, please drop us a line. Details will go up on the website, in the next issue of Breadcrumbs, which now goes out to over 1,200 bread heads around the UK and I will give a mention to our 1,200 followers on Twitter.
If the answer to any of these is ‘you betcha’ (or even ‘erm, maybe’) please get in touch.
Forthcoming events
Baking for a New Food Culture (30th November-4th December)
From 30th November 30th - 4th December, Andrew Whitley and Sheila Dillon will be teaming up again for a week of discussion and hands-on bread making lessons at Schumacher College. You can find (and add) details of Real Bread related events here:
https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/events/
Virtual Bread
So many of you have become members but only a fraction have stopped by The Real Baker-e. Please do take a mo to do so, where members can take advantage of the opportunity to share ideas and information, ask each other questions etc.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/realbreadcampaign/
End crust
“How can a nation call itself great if its bread tastes like Kleenex?” Julia Child
October 2009
Hello,
Me again. Don’t these monthly issues of Breadcrumbs seem to come round so quickly?
The Real Bread Campaign membership scheme is off to a great start with dozens of organisations and individuals signing up in just the first few weeks. If you are one of them, thank you.
If you receive Breadcrumbs but have not yet joined us as a member, we’d love to have you along. As an official member of this national movement, you’ll be helping to strengthen our voice. In return, you will become part of a mutually supportive national network, we send you free stuff (the very slinky True Loaf magazine) and are busy arranging more tasty events and discounts for you, too.
Chris Young
Project Officer
Real Bread Campaign
News
Membership discounts
In addition to the dozen offers we had arranged before the launch, Real Bread Campaign members can now take advantage of 20% discounts on courses with Bread Matters and The School of Artisan Food. You can find full details at:
https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/membership_discounts/
Stick one on ‘em
A few months back, The Real Food Festival and we launched a petition urging the manufacturers of wrapped, sliced loaves to come clean by removing undeclared processing aids from their products and list them in the meantime. To date, around half of you on our mailing list have signed. If you haven’t, please do.
https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/bread_labelling/#1
Bakers support
One of the main outcomes of the campaign is to create resources for those baking Real Bread professionally or wanting to do so. To give us a better idea of the need out there, we’ve asked all bakers who have products on our Real Bread Finder to answer our survey. If you are one and haven’t yet, we’ve extended the survey until next Wednesday, 21st.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=TTgD3zDYYT7sgUXQU_2bIMxg_3d_3d
Silly Loaf Songs
If you wish that the word tweet still only meant only the noise a bird makes, look away now. As part of our membership launch, we gave the opportunity for people to win a year’s subscription, simply by sending us their favourite bread punning song titles on Twitter. You can see our baker’s dozen of finalists at:
https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/campaign_news/
The Brockwell Bake
On 20th September, Real Bread Campaign working party members Jon Cook (Traditional Cornmillers Guild), Graham Cotton (Cotton’s Craft Bakery), Emmanuel Hadjiandreou (Judges Bakery) John Letts (Oxford Bread Group) and I joined other expert bakers, millers and baking enthusiasts from far and wide for a fantastic day of Real Bread. Read about it, here: https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/blog/#brockwell
Baking Industry Awards
Well done to Real Bread working party member Tom and his gang at Hobbs House Bakery for picking up an Artisanal Bread Product of the Year gong at the Baking Industry Awards for their Organic Wild White. Well done also to The Bread Factory, which received the Craft Business Award.
Transparent labelling
We’ve been working on a response to an FSA consultation on the UK implementation of new EU food enzyme legislation, which though improved, still leaves the loophole that allows processing aids to go undeclared on labels. If you want to put forward your own dissatisfaction at this, please visit the FSA website: http://www.food.gov.uk/consultations/consulteng/2009/eepcregsonadditivesenzymeseng
About half of you have signed our petition to The Federation of Bakers to take the voluntary steps of phasing out processing aids and to declare them in the meantime. If you have not done so already, please visit: https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/bread_labelling/#petition
Forthcoming events
National Baking Week (19-24 October)
What better to Bake and Share than Real Bread? By the time you read this, our recipe for Real Bread rolls should be on their website, along with all sorts of other events and home baking tips.
The Bigger Picture (24th October)
As part of the new economics foundation’s Festival of Interdependence, Real Bread Campaign working party member, Paul Barker of Cinnamon Square in Rickmansworth, will be running a free, hands-on Real Bread workshop. You will leave with not only your own delicious loaf of Real Bread but the skills to bake many more at home. I’ll be along as well to chat about the campaign’s aims, its work and how people can join the fight.
Rise of Real Bread (14th November)
Places for this November event are limited and selling fast. Join chair Sheila Dillon (BBC Radio 4) and expert speakers including Felicity Lawrence (The Guardian), John Letts (Oxford Bread Group), Andrew Whitley (Bread Matters), Bee Wilson (Sunday Telegraph) and Martin Wolfe (The Organic Research Centre) for an enjoyable and informative day of discussion and saffron buns.
Baking for a New Food Culture (30th November-4th December)
This November, join Real Bread Campaign co-founder, Andrew Whitley of Bread Matters, at Schumacher College for a week of exploring the state of bread in Britain and hands-on Real Bread workshops.
You can find (and add) full details of Real Bread events in our online calendar:
https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/events/
Virtual bread
In addition to Breadcrumbs, The Real Baker-e and our website, you can find frequent Real Bread Campaign bits and bobs at:
Twitter - http://twitter.com/RealBread
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=36538579230&ref=mf
End crust
Special 60% off Real Bread Campaign membership for organisations
Are you on our Real Bread Finder but not yet a member of the campaign? Want to join our growing network of like-minded bakers, millers, growers, educators and others who care about the state of bread in Britain? Bakeries and other organisations joining now pay only £20 for the first year, a saving of 60%
The Real Baker-e
Don’t forget that in addition to receiving issues of True Loaf, our exclusive members’ magazine, when you join us, you receive an invitation to join the discussion with the rest of the Real Bread Campaign network at The Real Baker-e. Please drop by and get involved in the conversation.
Membership cards
Sorry – the whole process has been ensnared by the postal strikes. Will post them out as soon as they arrive.
Well, stick a fork in me, I’m done.
September 2009
After a busy few months pulling things together, it's here: the Real Bread Campaign membership scheme launches today.
**NEW** Join the Real Bread Campaign
In whatever ways you already support the cause of Real Bread or would like to, this is your chance to join other professional and home bakers, millers, farmers, shopkeepers, educators, researchers, campaigners and passionate punters around the country in the national movement that is fighting for Real Bread that is better for us, better for our communities and better for the planet.
As well as being able to say that you are a member of the Real Bread Campaign, you will receive:
Four issues of True Loaf, our exclusive quarterly membership magazine
Access to the members' area of the website, with additional content
The Real Baker-e online forum for members to share supportive advice, ideas and information
Invitations to courses and networking events
Membership card, offering a range of discounts
Here are a few examples of the exclusive Real Bread Campaign member offers we've secured so far. You will receive details of how to claim when you join.
Bakeries
Artisan Bread Organic (mail order) - 10% of bakers box (assorted organic breads)
Cinnamon Square (Rickmansworth) - 10% discount on selected loaves
Cotton's Craft Bakery (Southampton) - 12.5% discount (and a further 5% off advance orders)
GAIL's (London bakeries) - FREE eco bag (worth £5), giving 10% discount on future bread purchases
The Old Farmhouse Bakery (Steventon) - Bakers Dozen loyalty card (buy 12 loaves get one FREE)
Tigh Fuine (Fort William) - Bakers Dozen loyalty card (buy 12 400g white/malthouse loaves in a month and get one FREE)
Winterborne Bakery (Winterborne Kingston) - Bakers Dozen loyalty card (buy 12 large loaves and get one FREE)
Bread making courses and more
Bordeaux Quay (Bristol) - 20% per person off bread making course when two people book together
Wild Yeast Bakery (Newnham on Severn) - 10% off one day bread making
The Agaphile (Grayshott) - £10 per person discount on bread making class when two or more people book together
Local Action on Food (Nationwide) - 50% off annual membership
London Food Link (Londonwide) - 50% off annual membership
For more details and to join, visit: https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/membership/
**WIN!**
A year's free membership. Simply Tweet your favourite #sillyloafsongs to @RealBread on Twitter. Click here for details and rules:
https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/campaign_news/
Coming Soon
Whether or not you were able to join us on the delicious bread trail around Ludlow (they are a lucky lot) over the weekend, there are plenty of other events around the country coming soon, including:
Brockwell Bake 20th September
A highlight of the Lambeth Urban Green Fair, The Brockwell Bake will feature baking competitions for both home and professional bakers. Entries will be judged by an expert panel of millers and bakers headed by John Downes, "the godfather of the renaissance of sourdough baking in Australia".
Other essential ingredients of this packed afternoon include:
- Baking activities for kids with mobile wood-fired oven provided by Paul's Bakery of Melton Mowbray.
- The Bread Barter Picnic - bring your home baked bread and other goodies to swap and share with others
- An introduction to historic windmills from the Traditional Corn Millers' Guild, who'll also be selling a range of flours in aid of charity
- The whats, whys and hows of the industrial abuse of our daily bread
- A panel discussion around the Real Bread Campaign
The Rise of Real Bread 14th November
Tickets go on sale this Thursday (17th) for this informative and enjoyable exploration of how we can make Britain's battered bread better.
Chaired by BBC Radio 4 Food Programme presenter Sheila Dillon, the list of speakers now confirmed includes:
- Felicity Lawrence - special correspondent for The Guardian, author of Not on the Label and Eat Your Heart Out
- John Letts and Sally Lane - The Oxford Bread Group
- Colin Tudge - writer and biologist, author of Feeding People is Easy
- Andrew Whitley - author of Bread Matters and co-founder The Real Bread Campaign
- Bee Wilson - food writer, historian and Sunday Telegraph food columnist
- Martin Wolfe - Research Director, The Organic Research Centre
- Rob Alderson - Unicorn Grocery
- William Black - Food writer, anthropologist and founder of The Natural Bread Company
- Dan and Johanna McTiernan - The Handmade Bakery
- Jade Bashford - Soil Association
The Bigger Picture 24th October
The culmination of a series of events organised by the New Economics Foundation, The Bigger Picture will feature a free hands-on Real Bread making class. Join master baker (and Bread Hero) Paul Barker of Cinnamon Square on London's South Bank for some top tips on how to bake a better loaf.
For further details of these and more or to add your own event, go to https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/events/
** NEW** Real Bread Recipes
To celebrate our launch, we've added a whole range of recipes for members. The highlight is a sweet dough from Real Bread Campaign ambassador, Richard Bertinet https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/recipes/
Real Bread in a virtual world
In addition to Breadcrumbs, The Real Baker-e and our always changing website, you can find frequent updates and musings from the Real Bread Campaign at:
Twitter - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=36538579230&ref=mf
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=36538579230&ref=mf
Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/realbreadcampaign/
End crust
Please drop us a line if:
You support the work of the Real Bread Campaign and have a bakery, mill or event at which you'd be happy to display our leaflets
You have created a Real Bread recipe that you'd like to share with others - our favourites will go on the website
You know details of any clay/cob bread oven building courses
Happy baking!
August 2009
Sad to read that rain is stopping play for so many farmers who are trying to harvest their bread making wheat. Let's just hope the weather cheers up very soon.
**NEW** Events calendar
A new section of the website with details of Real Bread related events around the country. Highlights so far include:
The Festival Loaf 12th September
As part of The Ludlow Food festival, The Festival Loaf features include a Bread Trail around the town's bakeries and an introduction to the Real Bread Campaign. Professional bakers and and enthusiastic amateurs are invited to put their best bakery efforts to the test in a friendly competition. The ultimate Champion loaf will win a tour of the historic Shipton Mill at Tetbury and a night's stay at a local hotel courtesy of Shipton Mill.
Brockwell Bake 20th September
Activities include a competition for professional and home baked loaves, demos, illustrated talks and discussions and a "bread barter picnic" to share your home-baked bread with others.
The Rise of Real Bread 14th November
A one-day conference, hosted by LandShare (CIC) to celebrate the first anniversary of The Real Bread Campaign and the Oxford Bread Group
We’ll announce full details in next month’s Breadcrumbs but chaired by BBC Radio 4 Food Programme presenter Sheila Dillon, conference speakers confirmed so far include:
- Felicity Lawrence - special correspondent for The Guardian, author of Not on the Label and Eat Your Heart Out
- John Letts - The Oxford Bread Group
- Colin Tudge - writer and biologist, author of Feeding People is Easy
- Andrew Whitley - author of Bread Matters and co-founder of the Real Bread Campaign
- Bee Wilson - food writer, historian and Sunday Telegraph food columnist
- Martin Wolfe - Research Director, The Organic Research Centre
For the full calendar and to add your own events, please go to https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/events/
** NEW** Real Bread Recipe
Those who truly love Real Bread don’t waste a crumb. This month’s recipe is another celebration of stale slices https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/recipes/
Coming soon
Want to add your voice to a national movement for the improvement of bread in Britain? Why else would you be here. Full details of how you can join the Real Bread Campaign membership scheme are imminent and subscribers to Breadcrumbs will be the first to know.
Local Loaves For Lammas
It’s over for another year but you can read more about the day or share any photos of your own event here:
https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/local_loaves_lammas/
Bread Heroes
The two we have in the pipeline for this feature went all shy on us but it will be back next month
https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/bread_heroes/
BBC2’s Mary Queen of Shops needs you!
This BBC2 show is still on the look out for a High Street bakery to take part. If you’re not doing quite as well as you’d like and fancy expert advice from retail guru Mary Portas, click here for details https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/blog/#02jun09
The Real Bread Campaign would like to meet...
Do you work for a supermarket bakery? Want to give us the lowdown on what goes on behind the scenes? Get in touch!
Are you involved in any sort of co-operative that bakes bread, perhaps for a community café or have found another neat little way of making Real Bread accessible to more people? You know where to find us
Do you teach domestic or professional Real Bread making skills? Drop us a line if you want to be listed on our courses page https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/real_bread_campaign_bread_making_courses/
Real Bread in a virtual world
In addition to our constantly evolving website, more frequent updates and musings from the Real Bread Campaign can be found out on the intermesh at:
Twitter - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=36538579230&ref=mf
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=36538579230&ref=mf
End crust
Village SOS has a pot of cash to divide between the six villages that come up with the best plan to revive their communities. Anyone fancy setting up a community supported bakery? http://www.bbc.co.uk/villagesos/
Happy Baking!
July 2009
How’s your summer going? Sunny? Soggy? Bit of both?
**NEW** Local Loaves for Lammas
We had an inkling that the desire to celebrate this ancient harvest festival hadn’t gone away and we were right. See https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/local_loaves_lammas/ to see who is joining in the fun.
We’ll be posting updates until the day itself on 1st August, so if you are planning something, please let us know.
**NEW** Real Bread Ambassador
Author of the award-winning ‘Dough’ and ‘Crust,’ owner of the eponymous cookery school and bakery in Bath and a face not unfamiliar to viewers of Saturday morning foodie TV, Richard Bertinet truly is a big baguette of the Real Bread world. With keeping it real his mission in life, we’re very excited to welcome Richard as an ambassador for the campaign.
**NEW** Companions
Speaking of new friends (see what I did there? You can hardly spot the join), we’ve just added a page to share with you links to other people and organisations working in the cause of Real Bread. It’s very much work in progress but please see https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/companions/ to see the roll-call so far and please send to us your suggestions for further additions.
**NEW** FAQs
Having become a hotline for all sorts of questions on matters of loaf and death (**sigh**) we’ve decided to start an online bank of them. See https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/faq/ and keep ‘em coming.
**NEW** Bread Heroes
Following years of working on the chemically-enhanced ‘dark side’ of baking, Paul Barker saw the light and moved over to Real Bread. See https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/bread_heroes/ to read his inspirational tale of how his bakery and breadmaking school, Cinnamon Square, brought things back to basics.
** NEW** Real Bread Recipe
One for the more dedicated bakers amongst you, Real Bread Campaign co-founder Andrew Whitley shares with us his own special Lammas loaf (see https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/recipes/).
**NEW** The new boy
After six and a bit months of fully sustainable volunteer power, the Big Lottery Fund’s Local Food scheme has now enabled the Real Bread Campaign to install a shiny new (well, recycled) Project Officer.
Beating off stiff competition from around the UK, Chris Young will build on his voluntary work here at Sustain to further develop the campaign and co-ordinate the fight against the massed ranks of sliced white.
BBC2’s Mary Queen of Shops needs you!
Well, if you’re an independent baker she might do. If you are one such and are interested in finding out more about being featured, please see http://realbreadcampaign.blogspot.com/ for details.
The usual
If you’re fortunate enough to have a bakery making Real Bread and they’re missing from our Real Bread Finder (see https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/bakery_finder/), please let them know about us and us about them
Do you work for a supermarket bakery? Want to give us the lowdown on what goes on behind the scenes? Get in touch!
Are you involved in any sort of co-operative that bakes bread, perhaps for a community café or have found another neat little way of making Real Bread accessible to more people? You know where to find us
If you haven’t done so already, there’s still time to sign our petition (see https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/bread_labelling/) to The Federation of Bakers to come clean on the issue of unlabelled processing aids
Real Bread in a virtual world
In addition to our constantly evolving website, more frequent updates and musings can be found out on the intermesh at:
Twitter - http://twitter.com/realbread
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=36538579230&ref=mf
Blogger - http://realbreadcampaign.blogspot.com/
End crust
In Finland, a traditional housewarming gift is rye bread and some salt.
See you next month - don’t forget your Local Loaves for Lammas…
June 2009
We know it's only been a couple of weeks since the last Breadcrumbs but having been sworn to secrecy until now, we have some fantastic news.
**NEW** The Real Bread Campaign has won the lottery (sort of)
The Real Bread Campaign's bid for a grant from the Big Lottery Fund's Local Food scheme has been successful!
This means that having run thus far on volunteer power, the campaign is now able to appoint a full time member of staff to co-ordinate things here at RBC HQ. Visit to https://www.sustainweb.org/jobs/ read the project officer job ad on the Sustain website.
**NEW** Local Loaves for Lammas
On 1st August, the Real Bread Campaign is calling on cereal growers, millers, bakers and everyone else who loves Real Bread to take part in the celebration of Lammas. To find more about how you can join in with this ancient harvest festival where you live visit https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/campaign_news/.
** NEW** Bread Heroes
Our roving Bread Heroes eye doesn't just have bakers in its sight. Flavour of the month for June is a collective that is working on a truly local loaf. To read our chat with John Letts of the Oxford Bread Group visit https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/campaign_news/.
** NEW** Real Bread Recipe
The RBC team didn't just spend its time at the Real Food Festival spreading the good word about Real Bread and mooching around for free samples of fine produce, oh no. We found time to do some first rate schmoozing, too.
Keeping the campaign cosmopolitan, the first fruit of our selfless toil is this Italian recipe from Irish chef, writer and farmers' market champion, Clodagh McKenna - https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/recipes/.
Stick One on 'em!
We Since last we wrote, The Federation of Bakers and their three biggest member companies have all updated their websites in response to the media coverage generated by the work of the Real Bread Campaign on the issue of unlabelled processing aids.
Interestingly, being somewhat preoccupied with assertions and reassurances of suitability for vegetarians, none of the statements even mentions processing aids, let alone denies that they are using them. So, two months down the line, we can say two things: wrapped bread is made using nothing of animal origin, unless stated on the label but production might still have involved unspecified hidden processing aids.
Befriend a baker
A common question we get asked is: 'how can I help the Real Bread Campaign?' Well, if you are lucky enough to have an independent bakery near you, pop in and say 'hi.' In our experience, most bakers don't bite (not too hard, at least) and are happy to tell you everything you want to know about their breads, how they made them and with what.
If they are making bread without the use of anything artificial, then whilst you are buying a loaf or two (which is pretty much the best way to support the cause, by the way) please suggest they swing by at http://www.realbreadcampaign.org/ and add their goodies to our Real Bread Finder.
The Real Bread Campaign Kneads You!
Sorry. If I get cast out of RBC towers and forced to write dreadful punning headlines for the sports pages of a tabloid, I only have myself to blame.
Anyway, my point was we want to hear from people who are already getting Real Bread into their local communities.
Do you teach breadmaking in a school?
Have you managed to get the canteen to serve Real Bread instead of some dubious fluff?
Are you involved in any sort of co-operative that bakes bread, perhaps for a community café or have found another neat little way of making Real Bread accessible to more people?
Are you growing grain to be made into bread locally?
Oui? Then drop us a line.
Real Bread in a virtual world
For further information on the Real Bread Campaign, please visit our website.
More frequent updates and musings can be found at the following places:
End crust
Just Just something to think about when next reading the ingredients panels of certain wrapped breads: the 1951 Royal Army Service Catering Corps Training pamphlet No. 3: Breadmaking describes the addition of soya to flour as 'gross adulteration with foreign matter...'
May 2009
Spring is sprung, the grass is rizz, I wonders where the birdies is?
But enough of that. We’ve had a great month here at RBC HQ (as only I’m calling it). Highlights include the launch of Stick one One Em! our bread labelling transparency campaign and our Facebook group membership shooting up from 16 to over 130 in just the past few weeks.
**NEW** Stick One on ‘em!
By law, food producers are allowed to use a whole cocktail of enzymes and other processing aids in the manufacture of their products without declaring so on the label. Last month, we joined up with the Real Food Festival to pen a nice letter to the Big Bakers asking if their members do this. To date, they have failed to deny the practice in any of their replies or statements.
We therefore launched a petition calling on the big bakers to own up and clean up, which got off to a fantastic start at the festival with 400 signatures in just one weekend.
Please visit the Bread Labelling page for more details of the petition and sticker campaign and our Facebook group page for links to some of the media debate we have generated around the issue.
**NEW** Bread Heroes
This month, we visit The Handmade Bakery, pioneers of a creative solution to the lack of a local bakery in Marsden, West Yorkshire. Click here to read our chat with Dan McTiernan, co-founder of The Handmade Bakery.
** NEW** Real Bread Recipe
Though we have plenty of recipes up our collective sleeve, we don’t want to spoil you by letting them out all at once. This month, our recipe comes from Chris Young at RBC HQ. Championing his home county, he’s given us his version of Staffordshire oatcakes.
Real Bread, real local (with apologies for the appalling grammar)
As always, if you know where to get Real Bread but can’t see it on our Real Bread Finder, have a chat with the baker or retailer and let them know that putting their details on our website is free.
We’d also love to hear from you if you know of anywhere that home bakers can obtain fresh yeast.
Companions
We are always looking to champion and learn from those who are already working towards our aims of increasing the production and consumption of Real Bread in their area.
If you teach breadmaking in a school, are involved in any sort of community baking scheme or are baking bread using grain you have grown yourself, please drop us a line.
Real Bread Campaign elsewhere in cyberspace
In addition to the info our own website, the Real Bread Campaign puts more frequent news, event details and general ramblings out into the ether in the following places:
End crust
And yet again we’ve managed another edition of Breadcrumbs without a single bread-related pun. Huzzah.
It won’t last...
Happy baking and munching!
April 2009
Sorry we’ve been quiet of late but we’ve been rather busy on our bid for Lottery funding to boost the campaign. We’ll let you know how we get on but in the meantime, here’s what else we’ve been up to.
**NEW** Bread Heroes
This month, we’re launching a new feature on the site called Bread Heroes to celebrate those splendid people and organisations who are championing Real Bread.
Our inaugural Bread Hero is Gail’s bakery in London. Click here to read our interview with Emma King, General Manager of GAIL’s.
**NEW** Learn to bake Real Bread
There’s nothing better than the smell and taste of warm Real Bread, fresh from the oven…
So, whether you are a complete novice or just want to brush up on your skills, take a look at our new (we did say that we’ve been busy) Baking Classes page.
**NEW** Real Bread Recipes
We’ve also added a page for Real Bread Recipies. to the website. Like rising dough (excuse the simile) this will grow over time but to start you off, we have a simple recession-buster for your bread machine.
Real Bread at the Real Food Festival
If you’re able to get to London between 8th and 10th of May, then please join us at the Real Food Festival at Earl’s Court 1. The treats in store for Real Bread lovers include a fun and informative tasting with Real Bread Campaign co-founder Andrew Whitley and bread making sessions with Barny Haughton of Bordeaux Quay.
Real Bread near you
As always, if you know where to get Real Bread locally but can’t see it on our Real Bread Finder, don’t keep it a secret – have a chat with the baker or retailer, suggesting that they visit the site to sign up for free.
The first issue of Breadcrumbs was published in April 2009. For older news, please visit our campaign news page.
Real Bread Campaign: The Real Bread Campaign finds and shares ways to make bread better for us, better for our communities and better for the planet. Whether your interest is local food, community-focussed small enterprises, honest labelling, therapeutic baking, or simply tasty toast, everyone is invited to become a Campaign supporter.
