Located under the railway arches near Broadway Market in East London, the E5 Bakehouse is daily producing some of the best bread in the city, including their famous Hackney Wild sourdough. All of their breads are made entirely by hand, by a small
Located under the railway arches near Broadway Market in east London, the E5 Bakehouse is daily producing some of the best bread in the city, including their famous Hackney Wild sourdough. All of their breads are made entirely by hand, by a small group of dedicated bakers, while owner Ben Mckinnon also runs courses to teach traditional bread-making methods to everyone from novices to experts.
Having studied at the School of Artisan Food in Nottinghamshire, and worked in a bakery in Morocco, Mckinnon started E5 just over a year ago in Clapton, borrowing time with a local pizza restaurant’s wood oven and selling loaves to local shops. “The reason I wanted to get into bread is I'd been working in sustainability for a long time,” Mckinnon tells us, “but I wasn't doing anything in my life to make a positive change. This was a chance to do something.” A few months ago, he moved the now burgeoning operation to its new home.
Held in the E5’s expansive baking kitchen, during the day-long course you learn how to make Hackney Wild, ciabatta, bagels and seeded wholemeal, all out of organic, locally-milled flour and fresh sourdough yeast. Sourdough is notoriously tricky to work with, and Mckinnon guides you through the process of using live culture to make high quality, healthy breads at home. “Many people’s wheat and yeast intolerances are a result of them eating standard supermarket bread which is not digestible,” Mckinnon explains. “With sourdough you're using a natural balance of yeast, so you won't have a negative reaction. Also you get much more flavour, and it's like maintaining a piece of history.”
Mckinnon’s goal is to teach students not to be nervous about bread-making. “We want people to come away with an understanding of how flexible sourdough can be. It's quite a tactile thing to work with, and I hope our relaxed attitude comes across.”
On St. Andrews terrace near The Circus in Bath, Richard Bertinet has been holding bread-making courses at his cooking school for over six years. Originally from Brittany, Bertinet is now one of the UK’s most well-respected bread makers.
“I remember going to my local bakery every morning,” he tells us of his early interest in bread. “I was fascinated to see the baker at the back. The smell, of course, but also how he was in charge of the oven.” Deciding that baking was what he wanted to do, Bertinet forfeited his teenage weekends in order to rise early and work at a local bakery. Then after several years travelling and working in kitchens, he eventually returned to his first love, and established The Bertinet Kitchen.
In his introduction to bread-making course, Bertinet starts students off at the very beginning, with an explanation of why what most of what we call bread isn’t actually bread, before moving on to share near-forgotten techniques for preparing dough without kneading it – all the while correcting your posture and stance. “I spend a lot of time with people to make sure their arms and legs are in the right place,” he tells us. “We know what people struggle with, and we’re teaching them from scratch. We push people and you can see them change right away, they get confidence. We teach them how to trust the bread.”
During the day long introductory course the class makes fougasse and a flamiche aux poireaux (leek pie) out of basic white dough, and then pecorino and olive breadsticks and foccaccia with rock salt and rosemary out of olive oil dough. At the end of the day the class breaks bread, enjoying lunch and wine, and taking home the spoils. Bertinet also holds a five day advanced course where he teaches French breads, Italian breads, slowdoughs and sourdoughs.
As with Mckinnon, Bertinet is on a mission to show people why good bread is a fundamental part of eating well. “You want people to understand why this is important,” he says. “It makes you think, and this is knowledge you can pass on to your children and your friends.” For his on-going efforts, Bertinet was the BBC’s Food Champion of the year in 2010, while his sourdough won the Soil Association Organic Food Awards’ Best Product 2010 and 2011.
Before heading back to London after the Bertinet course, we stopped in at Gascoyne Place, a beautifully renovated pub serving quality seasonal British food, and excellent ales and British wines. Run by a musician and architect, it is an antidote to the glut of chain restaurants in Bath.
Ananda and Neil took the E5 Bakehouse bread-making course on Saturday July 2, and the Bertinet introductory course on Tuesday July 12.
Text by Ananda Pellerin
Ananda Pellerin is a London-based writer and Neil Wissink is a visual artist also based in London. More from The Hunger here, and contact The Hunger here.
