Farine

Crazy for Bread

Boulangerie Baguette et Chocolat in West Austin, Texas

Pain choco

A bit(e) of France in the heart of Texas! There is no better way to describe Baguette et Chocolat. First there is the name of course. Lovely to my ears as, growing up in Paris, I had baguette and chocolate for goûter (afternoon snack) every day when I got home from school. To this day it remains one of my favorite treats (recipe: take a long-ish piece of crisp yet airy baguette, do NOT slice it open, push an elongated bar of dark chocolate (four squares should do it)into the crumb until the whole chocolate is engulfed), then close your eyes and bite. Tell me if that doesn’t beat most pastries any day of the week!) [Read more…]

York: Haxby Bakehouse

Haxby Bakehouse

Last May was my first time ever in Yorkshire and I fell in love. Hard. Of course it helped that we were there during a long spell of uninterrupted sunshine and that having been an avid fan of the Brontë sisters’ novels and the James Herriot veterinary stories all my life, I knew in my bones before I even got there that I would fall under the spell.

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London: a visit to E5 Bakehouse

Bakers at work

E5 Bakehouse is located in Hackney, East London, under railway arches near the London Fields station. As it was raining when we got there, I didn’t stop to take an outside picture but if you are curious, there are a few on the bakery’s website or you can google “E5 Bakehouse images.” Alternatively you can look up my 2015 post.

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Grain Gathering 2017

Photo reproduced with @sarahminnick_’s kind permission

This year’s was the seventh Grain Gathering (GG) (well, technically the fourth as it was called the Kneading Conference West for the first three years). Every year, in the weeks preceding the event I find myself dragging my feet and wondering why on earth I decided to make the trip and whether or not this GG would the last one for me. And, every year, once I am there I get swept up in the excitement and energy and I just love it. [Read more…]