From Crop to Crust 2011

From Crop to Crust was organised by SPAB (Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings) Mills Section and the Traditional Cornmillers Guild andheld on Saturday 16 April 2011 at NFU Mutual HQ, Tiddington, Stratford-upon-Avon.

Introduction

More and more people are waking up and not just smelling the coffee, but the welcoming scent of proper bread made with wholesome local ingredients: hand-crafted bread made with stone-ground flour from a traditional mill.

This event brings together farmers, traditional millers, bakers, campaigners and people who simply care about the food they eat, for a day of discussion, debate and learning from the past to look towards the future.  There will be plenty of time to chat with exhibitors and fellow attendees over morning coffee, lunch and afternoon tea.

This might well be the best opportunity you will have this year to meet in one place so many people who are working to support the rise of Real Bread.

• The speakers
• The workshops
• The exhibitors
• Tickets and more information
• Mills and Flour Centre Stage in Stratford

Read the media release on the SPAB website.

The speakers

• Jonathan Cook: Swaffham Prior windmill, the Traditional Cornmillers Guild, SPAB Mills Section.
• Lionel Green: Little Crakehall watermill
• Nick Jones: Little Salkeld watermill, the Traditional Cornmillers’ Guild.
• Ana Jones: Little Salkeld watermill.
• Dan Lepard: The Guardian, author of The Handmade Loaf.
• John Letts: the Oxford Bread Group.
• Geraldine Mathieson: Lincolnshire Mills Group, SPAB Mills Section.
• Howard Roberts: Hammonds End Farm, St Albans.
• James Waterfield: Maud Foster Windmill, SPAB Mills Section.
• Chris Young, the Real Bread Campaign.

The workshops

• The Farmer’s Tale led by Howard Roberts and John Letts
• The Miller’s Tale led by Nick Jones and James Waterfield
• The Baker’s Tale led by Dan Lepard and Ana Jones
• The Customer’s Tale led by Geraldine Mathieson and Chris Young
• The Future of the Traditional Mill

The exhibitors

• Bakery Bits www.bakerybits.co.uk
• The Brockwell Bake www.brockwell-bake.org.uk
• Mills Archive Trust www.millarchive.com
• Mrs Mathieson’s Marvellous Mill Marketing Machine
• The National Trust www.nationaltrust.org.uk
• NFU Mutual
• Real Bread Campaign www.realbreadcampaign.org
• Redbournbury Mill www.redbournmill.co.uk
• The School of Artisan Food www.schoolofartisanfood.org
• SPAB Mills Section www.spab.org.uk/spab-mills
• Traditional Cornmillers Guild www.tcmg.org.uk
• Virtuous Bread www.virtuousbread.com

Tickets and more information

SPAB Mills Section

www.spab.org.uk/spab-mills/courses-and-events

37 Spital Square, London E1 6DY

Phone: 0207 456 0909

NB As this event is being organised by SPAB Mills Section, the Real Bread Campaign is unable to assist with any queries.

Mills and Flour Centre Stage in Stratford

by John Letts, The Oxford Bread Group

The recent surge of interest in bread and breadmaking is highlighted at a special conference being held in Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon, on 16th April 2011. Far from "Eating the bitter bread of banishment." (Shakespeare, Richard 11,Act iii. Scene 1.), the British are now leading a resurgence of interest in good bread, once again centre stage, with the media spotlight clearly focused on finding out more about what makes for a great British loaf.

Everyone seems to be getting back to baking again. Artisan and community owned bakeries are popping up; there are programmes featuring celebrity chefs and bakers making bread on television most weeks; more and more people are making their own bread by hand or using breadmachines; and there are lots of courses and workshops to show people how. So it’s not surprising that there is a lot more interest in flour,  mills, and milling, and, that, of course, leads on to an interest in grains, and cereals, and farming.

This conference, entitled From Crop to Crust, makes those links from farmer, to miller, to baker, to consumer, and will demonstrate that Britain’s traditional wind and watermills are uniquely placed to contribute to and perhaps lead in an exciting transformation of our countryside. Policy makers are well aware that food and farming will have to change if the challenges, opportunities and pleasures of modern life are to be met effectively in 21st century Britain. This conference proposes that Britain’s traditional mills are in a pivotal position to help change rural life and the quality and value of our most essential staple food, bread.

Nick Jones, Chairman of  the Traditional Cornmillers Guild, explains: 'Put simply, grain needs milling and bakers need a range of flours to produce the specialist, tasty and nutritious breads that are in increasing demand. They appreciate the specialist stoneground flours, many milled from local, home grown, and organic grain, that our mills provide.'

But this conference is also about how traditional mills can help sustainable rural communities by sourcing more food locally, developing specialist varieties and breeds, maintaining biodiversity, ensuring best fit to local soil and climate, and making maximum possible use of renewable energy.

www.oxfordbreadgroup.co.uk