The Staff of Life

No, not the pub.

After years of hearing people talk about how great automatic breadmakers are and not believing them, I finally acquired one and have to admit that I was wrong - they are fantastic.

I've been gradually working through the recipe book and the best so far was an olive bread with oregano.

Now I'm starting to get a bit more adventurous and the quest is on to find a viable method for Polish Sourdough. Until I tasted this bread, from a Polish bakery in north London, I assumed that all the best bread in the world was French. Not so - the Poles make the best bread in the world.

Given that there are now so many Poles in Nottingham, I wonder if we will soon be getting a Polish bakery.

Anyway, I'm trying to create the "starter" in my office. I'm keeping it in a plant incubator since the house is too cold. It's definitely alive and there is an intersting fermentation smell and some bubbles. So I'm probably going to go for my first loaf in the morning.