Italian breads at Bertinet

On March 20, 2014 by battenburgbelle

Yesterday was day three and we were all beginning to get a bit tired. But there’s no pussy footing around with Richard in charge, he expects us to work hard. Olive oil doughs are a lot wetter than the French and white doughs we’ve been getting used to. It’s the same basic technique, but the dough feels very different. Fortunately the hard work was worth it…

Focaccia

Possibly the best focaccia ever

By the end of the day we had produced:

a beautiful focaccia with olives, wild garlic, poached garlic and rosemary

many cute ciabattas – these were exquisite

gorgeous little rolls filled with pancetta and pine nuts, others with ham and slow dried tomatoes

great pizzas – it was just like a kids’ party, Richard showed us how to make the bases and then let us loose with the toppings. I went for tomato, salami, and olives

some lovely grissini – we went a bit off-brief, so there were various shapes and sizes, but it’s really hard to make them all the same length, believe me

An Italian feast An Italian feast

Obviously lunch was a massive carb-fest, with a little smoked salmon and cherry tomato pasta dish for good measure. But it was impossible to stop eating – it was all so delicious.

Luckily Grandma and Grandpa Battenburg came to join me in Bath for a couple of days, so they helped me consume a selection of breads and cheeses last night in my great little Airbnb apartment just round the corner from the cookery school. We bought a bit of salad from Waitrose for the sake of appearances.

Watch this space for news of brown breads, sweet dough and the other delights of day 4. I have to go out for a drink with my new baker friends now…

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