I am very particular about what I put into my bread, since for many years now, I have been suspicious about unnatural ingredients that are pumped into our everyday foods. Supermarket loaves are big offenders, often containing a cocktail of synthetic additives that could be contributory to allergies and food intolerance conditions . Bread made in this way (called the ‘Chorleywood Process’), is often and risen inside of an hour – making it very quick and profitable to mass produce.
Most of my loaves contain just 3 ingredients – flour, water and salt and are genuine long-fermented sourdough made with my own natural sourdough levain (which is just fermented flour and water). I only add commercial yeast (fresh) in my baguettes and rolls, as I prefer them this way instead of sourdough. I use Extra Virgin Olive oil only use oil in my focaccias and soft rolls and sometimes other natural ingredients such as fruits, vegetables and seeds that a prepare myself, in some of my sourdough loaves. Each and every loaf I make can take anywhere between 12 -72 hours to produce (less time in summer!) and this is one of the main reasons why my bread is easier to digest than the cheap chuff that is more widely available.
Baking Real Bread for Luton, surrounding North Hertfordshire Villages and Bedfordshire