Mum and I recently went to a sourdough masterclass with Dan Lepard (him off the Guardian). It was a super day, kicked off by some amazing parsley and cheese scones for brekkie made by the staff at the Cookery School. Dan was just full of enthusiasm and chat, on his feet for the whole day and answering all our daft questions. We learned lots of handy tips, like storing nuggets of leaven in the freezer to wake 24 hours before being needed (see piccy below) and got much needed practice kneading and shaping dough. We also took home a goodie bag stuffed with different flours as well as the lovely sourdough loaves and focaccia we made on the day. (Although I think the true credit for my bread goes to Dan’s partner David who seamlessly managed everything behind the scenes, coaxing the best out of our bread and the ovens.) We were well fuelled with tea and coffee throughout and lunch was a gorgeously simple spread of cheeses and pate with various breads baked by the man himself the night before. There’s another class on 27th November – highly recommended.
Obviously I wasn’t leaving without a couple of cookbooks, and these walnut rolls are from The Handmade Loaf’s recipe for walnut bread. White, rye and wholemeal flours are combined with rye leaven and some yeast, whole walnuts and a paste made from walnuts, honey and butter. Mr. R&R and I had these warm for lunch today with speck and fegatini di pollo – that Italian topping for crostini made with chicken livers and sage. Delish.
6 Comments on "A sourdough class with Dan Lepard and walnut rolls"
The envy! Sounds awesome and must have smelt like actual heaven all day.
Yeah, just went back for seconds with pea and ham soup and some soft french cheese on the side…
Is it wrong to love food this much?
Hi Zoe, glad the class went down so well, am quite embarrassed to be singled out for praise (but in a nice way, I wouldn’t want to take the attention from Dan, but it’s nice to be noticed).
Great looking walnut bread rolls, I’ve been eating some white baguette-dough rolls which Dan made here, with those finely pointed, slightly blackened ends he talked about during the shaping session. Very Plaza Athenee!
Am sure that every attention-worthy baking guru needs an attention-to-details guy in the background! It was a lovely day – and those charred baguettes did sound amazing. Hopefully I’ll try that technique out soon…
Am sure that every attention-worthy baking guru needs an attention-to-details guy in the background! It was a lovely day – and those charred baguettes did sound amazing. Hopefully I’ll try that technique out soon…
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