Pedyr’s Bake House, Polperro, Cornwall
Bread | Issue 6 | Winter 2021
“I run my own artisan bakery and also run live cookery demonstrations for DeliVita, using its wood-fired ovens and developing recipes and methods.
“The wood-fired oven really harks back to the original way of baking from centuries ago, so, as a modern baker, it is really exciting to go back to the very beginning of how it began and bring it into modern life.
“When it comes to bread, the best thing is the crust; the sound you get when you tear a chunk off. The flavour, aroma, colour and texture all come from a great crust.
“Some people like a soft burger bap like brioche to accompany their BBQ meats, others a crusty ciabatta or baguette. Just make sure the bread is able to carry and enhance the flavour of a great barbecue.
“The best pairings depend on the dishes being cooked. The majority of our outdoor food revolves around the Mediterranean style of cooking, so I would recommend breads from these countries and regions.
“Grilled meat usually wants bread that can carry the flavours and also soak up the juices, so I’d choose a heavier bread – brioche, baguettes or flatbread – while fish and lighter dishes want lighter breads, such as grissini, focaccia or fougasse.
“The ultimate pizza dough wants a little olive oil included in the dough, for flavour and to help the elasticity, and a smaller amount of yeast and plenty of time to ferment and to develop the flavour and texture. You want to handle it as little as possible when shaping into pizzas and the most important thing is, the hotter, the better for oven temperature.
“DeliVita handcrafts its own Dough to Go range of artisan Italian pizza dough. From traditional dough, through to sourdough, turmeric dough and even charcoal dough the range guarantees authentic, restaurant quality pizzas.
“The right bread, home-made or bought can completely transform a meal. Not only is the flavour far superior, but the versatility of good bread is unmatched.
“For instance, instead of soft finger rolls for hotdogs, why not choose a tiger bread, or crusty baguette? Or instead of baps, why not try brioche, flatbreads or focaccia to go with burgers or kebabs?
“In terms of flour, that depends on the bread you want to make. For example, for French baguettes, I would only use a Type 55 French flour as it has been milled finer than standard baker’s flour. For pizzas or grissini (breadsticks), I would only use a Type 0 Italian flour, as this is even finer and has a strong gluten content – to cope with a long kneading process and the long fermentation that goes with making a pizza dough.
“As for yeast, fresh yeast will always be superior to dried yeast as it is a live product, so will give you better final results, while dried yeast is good for long-term storage.
“If you want just one tip for dough, it is time. Time is key to making great bread, the longer you can give it, the better the final results will be.”
Peter Foster