Bread Ahead Cookery School

I am fortunate enough to live in a bustling international city a melting pot of cultures and experiences on the doorstep so never a dull moment. One of my favourite haunts is Borough Market which lies in the shadow of Southwark Cathedral nestled in the city and always buzzing with activity.

In this inspiring culinary atmosphere Matt Jones and Justin Gellatly work in the early hours to produce their much acclaimed Sourdough Loaves, unique doughnuts and an array of mouthwatering delicacies. Matt and Justin are both professional chefs as well as bakers and overlooked by Southwark Cathedral they champion English Baking. The intention is to bring delicious and nutritious breads to people who love good food and flock to Borough Market. They are really about Sourdough – a white – a brown – a raisin and a multigrain. Also a range of Italian style breads a good baguette and Justin’s famous doughnuts which are well worth a trip to Borough Market just for a single bite.

So if you have ever wondered what  HRH Kate and William had for breakfast on the morning after ‘that’ wedding the answer is that Justin created sourdough rolls and amazing butter buns for them to have with their bacon sandwiches on that special morning!

Matt Jones is the pioneer behind this gem of a bakery and it is also home to the Bread Ahead Bakery School which offers a great selection of baking experiences to give you the confidence and courage to be adventurous at home.

You must first wind your way through Borough Market which is tricky as there is so much fantastic and inspiring produce being laid out that your mind is racing as to what you could possibly produce and have an excuse to purchase the glorious seasonal vegetables, fruit, fish meat and never ending culinary produce. Aidan Chapman is ready and waiting as you arrive at the Cookery School and as you settle in with your coffee he gives you the low down on the importance of proving the bread over a proper amount of time and the introduction to creating your ‘mother’. This is the sourdough starter yeast which you will learn to most importantly respect and then nuture and feed to keep in your fridge to continue to reproduce your traditional loaves at home. The original sourdough starter for the bakery here was blessed in Southwark Cathedral.

We were an international group of all ages and all with a great passion for good food. Aidan is a great teacher making the process look easy and we managed to create a good number of baked goods as he uses the time in a practical manner so as dough is proving we did not waste any time while Aidan enlightened us with further goodies to then be able to produce again at home. He is patient as we bombarded him with questions and tales of our failed attempts at home all wanting an explanation as to ‘what went wrong’.

During our lunch break we were able to wander around Borough Market and visit the German shop which also sold all the rye flours we needed to repeat our newly gained skills at home and the market itself is full of inspiration. It was a fantastic days work mastering new skills. To see the full range of courses offered by Bread Ahead please visit their website and be amazed. http://www.breadahead.com/courses