At the end of the day I am not a professional baker. I don’t own a bakery and certainly do not claim to be an expert in the world of bread or baking. However, I have taught myself to make a reasonable sourdough loaf over the years and this process has led me to all sorts of opportunities along the way.
Two weeks ago my patient husband and children helped to pack up my baking equipment and we hit the road, destined for Home Farm. Amanda and I had been planning and emailing for months and finally the day arrived for us to launch our inaugural Introduction to Sourdough workshop.
Home Farm is a beautiful location and Amanda and her husband Gerard had spent a lot of time ensuring that every tiny detail was taken care of. As the bakers gathered the cheerful kitchen came alive with warmth and productivity and just a tiny bit of flour on the floor and the benchtops.
The focus of the day was firmly on local and homemade food and an opportunity to share the simple things in life. Gerard milled some wheat that went straight into a sturdy loaf and Amanda made some luscious cultured butter with truffle salt that went straight onto our freshly baked bread.
Our group of happy bakers patiently listened as I did my best to share some bread making skills and techniques that I have learnt over the years.
Lunch reminded me of sitting down with nine old friends, although in reality I had only just met most of our participants. Conversation flowed easily between this diverse group of interesting women. We probably could have chatted all afternoon at the table as we enjoyed Amanda’s soup, butter and home preserved cherries and quinces all made with care and love. Oh, and of course bread and a glass of locally made prosecco . But, there were loaves to be shaped and a honey tasting session by Jude from The Feel Good Farm to enjoy.
Everyone who attended our workshop contributed to our day generously, thank you all for your kind contributions.
Bread will not change the world and bread will not fix the big issues. Bread will however bring people together and it is a starting point for conversations and friendships. Thank you to everyone who believes in bread and who attended and supported our workshop.
Happy Sunday, friends x
Thank you to Jennifer Precians for the second and fourth photo in this post.
Lenore
Sounds fabulous. I have tried making my own sourdough starter many times but never get it right. If there is ever a chance you have another workshop I would love to attend. I’m sure there are many others too.
Jane S
Thank you Lenore. Where do you live? Not that I need your actual address…let me know approximately! I am planning on doing more workshops.
Francesca
What a lovely day, Jane. Bread, honey, preserves- all the good things that make life worthwhile. I believe bread can change the world. Once you start making sourdough, you become more attuned to the issues facing the food industry in Australia, and from there, you become more active and vocal. Water, climate change, grain availability during drought, chemical use, are all big issues that have an effect on our daily bread.
Jane S
Thank you Francesca, I know you understand!
Kate B
What a wonderful opportunity to try something new, make friends and eat local produce from another place Jane. Congratulations!
Jane S
Thank you Kate x
Anne
It sounds a wonderful day Jane; I’m glad it went well. It looks a beautiful space to do the workshop and makes me think we should pretty up our barn a bit to make it more IG worthy!
Jane S
Thank you Anne. Luckily for me Amanda’s property and house is very IG worthy!
KATE M
So pleased to read, and see, that it went swimmingly. Did you ever doubt? The day looks like it was a wonderful celebration of baking and sharing.
Jane S
I actually did doubt myself and my ability to explain myself. Something I continue to work on!
Amanda
Such a joy to have this day with you and our bakers Jane. Thank you for making the road trip to Home Farm and so generously sharing your skill and experience with us all. We may not be able to change the world overnight but gathering together, sharing a meal and learning from each other isn’t a bad start!
Jane S
It is such a lovely memory to have Amanda. Thank you for all of your hard work and behind the scenes effort. x
Liz Davidson
Bread, the staff of life! What a celebration of creativity, sustainable living, simple joys, good food, wine, conversation, glorious vistas- we were indeed blessed by all these and the possibilities of creating for ourselves.
Great Inspiration thank you!
Well Worth the trip up the mountains in the dark!
Jane S
Thank you for your support Liz, it was so lovely to meet you!
ewe beauty
Beautifully written Jane, I’m sure you derived much pleasure from the outing ,well…. adventure really… and had the chance to get away from the drought and dust to be with like- minded friends! and now icing on the cake is the wonderful widespread rain at last …………. I can hear many sighs of sheer relief … your posts always bring me joy 🙂
Jane S
Thank you Trish x
Vicki Davidson
Such a special day spent with like minded people. I was so inspired with bread making and cooking when I got back to Sydney. I cooked the apple cinnamon cake and a big bowl of soup using potato and veggies from the Home Farm Garden.
Jane S
Thank you for your support Vicki, it was lovely to meet you. I could do with some potato soup right now!
Liz Posmyk
Jane, you’re amazing!
Jane S
Thank you Liz, lovely to hear from you. x