RAYMOND BLANC’s SEASONS BAKERY
Bread of heaven
If your seeking inspiration or looking to up your game in your own kitchen, then look no further than
Raymond Blanc’s Cookery School. There are a range of courses available — so why not accept the
challenge. CHARLES FORD did just that and attended the bread-baking course with course tutor and
master baker, DAN DEGUSTIBUS.
A
winter’

s day and the scent of freshly baked Le Manoir has a magnificent Cookery School yeast and fresh yeast are both used extensively,
bread wafts across the land on the early inspired by Raymond Blanc’s values, with a kitchen of course, but there’s also an ancient way of
morning air. Yes, over several years, the you could only dream of—superbly fitted out by ‘growing your own yeast’ when flour mixed
bread baking revolution has been happening, Smallbone of Devizes, Britains leading bespoke with water will gradually, over six or seven days,
with artisan bakeries starting up, and more and cabinet maker. But I feel daunted when I arrive, start to ferment. This is due to tiny amounts of
more of us baking bread regularly in our own and perhaps the seven other ‘student bakers’ yeast already present in the flour and also due
kitchens, as we turn away from supermarket do too, for we sit sipping coffee and talking in to airborne yeast particles. After feeding the
sliced white... there had to be a better option. lowered tones. Then our course tutor arrives, T- mixture with small amount of flour and water
There is—bake your own bread! shirt and jeans, catching us up immediately in the (50/50) the starter comes alive with bubbles.
After a few years of baking bread, with a warmth of his enthusiasm, and we’re off! Off to And it is this active starter that’s used to produce
long line of flat disasters and just a few modest deconstruct bread, forget everything we think we sourdough bread with that distinctively pleasant
successes; a mix of perseverance and expert know, and get back to basics. sour aftertaste, known by names such as pain
advice was what I needed. So when the chance The ingredients that can make a great loaf of au levain.
came to attend the Raymond Blanc Cookery bread are almost elemental in their simplicity: But it’s a slow process — it needs time,
School, with none other than master baker Dan flour, water and salt! But aren’t we missing as we learn from the baker’s three T’s: time,
Degustibus heading up the course, I jumped at something? What about yeast! temperature and texture. A bread dough made
the opportunity. It’s true that yeast, both quick-action dried with the wild yeast starter has a great flavour
www.raymondblanc.com RAYMOND BLANC’s SEASONS 69
RBS10_CookeryS 65-68.vp.kj.indd 69 1/12/08 9:19:10 am
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