Us British love our bread, choosing to eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner if we could.
To celebrate the creation and quality of this popular food staple, we must all embrace and support the annual celebration that is Real Bread Week.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Real Bread Week is an opportunity for lovers of this doughy creation to celebrate their local and independent bakeries.
Running from the 24th February to the 4th March, this annual celebration also makes the perfect excuse to roll up your sleeves and get experimental in the kitchen while attempting to bake your own loaf of bread.
By taking the time out during the Real Bread Week to thank bakers who dedicate their lives to creating this important substance, let them know how thankful you really are.
Whilst thanking bakers, whether they work in a small independent bakery or in the bakery of your local supermarket, dedicate a small amount of your time to learn the art of baking bread.
One of the biggest aims of the Real Bread Week is to educate and to influence people to take up this dying art. No longer are people being taught by their mothers or grandmothers the importance of allowing the dough to rise, or the quantity of yeast that should be added to the mixture.
From people choosing to step outside of their comfort zone and get baking bread at home, they may just realise how simple and therapeutic it is to knead and roll the dough, with no need to purchase expensive equipment advertised in stores.
For those that choose to bake their own bread at home, this could be for a number of reasons. They may be wanting to cut costs and avoid the price tag that comes when purchasing bread in a store, reduce the number of artificial additives that are added to the bread.
For celiacs wanting to eat a normal diet and yet are unable to eat a sandwich, creating their own gluten-free version at home is a great way for them to still enjoy their favourite sandwiches without being hit with the high cost that comes when purchasing gluten free alternatives in supermarkets.
The Real Bread Week should be used as an opportunity to celebrate and support those small, independently run bakeries near you that you might have neglected in recent years. It is often forgotten but the smaller, family-run businesses are the heart and soul of your local town or village. By taking the time to celebrate all that they do, you can pay your respects to all the hard work they put in, working to put loaves of warm fresh bread on the shelves before you have even woken up.
If you wish to celebrate this year’s Real Bread Week, along with supporting your local bakery, we have a handful of recipes to get you inspired to get baking this year.
From cooking up a loaf in your favourite Chasseur dish to creating the yummy sourdough that you have been dreaming to one day bake.
