Regional & Seasonal: Blair Atholl Mill and Bakery

on one of the few areas of flatland in the midst of the heather-covered Grampian Mountains sits Blair Atholl, a small town in Perthshire. Visitors are drawn here throughout the year, with the promise of beautiful walks along rivers and through woodland. The castle, with its tall white turrets, proves a popular attraction. Set in this picturesque landscape, with sheep grazing idly on hills, and located over the railway, away from the bustle of the main tourist area, is Blair Atholl Watermill and Bakery. The burr stone watermill is one of only 11 still operational in Scotland and water has been turning through its wheel since the 1590s. The mill worked until 1929, but was forced to cease production with the arrival of new industrial mills. It was used as storage until 1977, when John Ridley, an enterprising local man, began restoring it. He enlisted the help of Mr W S Sharp, a former miller’s assistant, who had served his apprenticeship at Blair Atholl mill 50 years earlier and was able to sketch the original mechanism from memory. John worked the mill until 1993, then passed it on to James and Mary Bruce, parents of Kirsty Cohen, now one of the current owners. For Kirsty and her husband, Rami, it was a significant shift from their previous life. “We had a cattle farm in Israel and were settled there,” explains Rami. “Then Kirsty’s dad became ill, and we came home to help, initially only for a year. This turned into two, and we both enjoyed it so much, we decided to stay.” The watermill also has a small tea room, which is situated on the old kiln drying floor. A tea garden, modelled in a cottage garden style, offers a place to enjoy the outdoors and relax next to the lade, the channel that carries the mill water, where dippers gather. Initially, the tearoom fare focused on cakes and scones. Today, it also offers light lunches created from local ingredients. “The tea room has always been busy, but we are constantly asking for feedback to make sure we offer what the customers want,” says Rami. “We would be asked if we baked bread, and when we said ‘no’, I could tell we were disappointing people.” So, 12 years ago, with no experience, Rami turned his hand to making bread, attending a course, but mainly teaching himself. He now bakes seven days a week. “We offer dozens of varieties, including conventional white bread with olive oil, plain and flavoured sourdough, oatmeal, malted, spelt, seeded rye, poppy seed and wholemeal. “More and more people are turning away from supermarket

breads, with all the additives and preservatives, to sample bread made the old way.” Rami quickly learned stone grinding from his father-in-law, who was taught by John Ridley. A traditional form of milling, it helps retain the nutritional benefits of grains as well as giving a nutty flavour. The wheat used in the flour is organic and sourced from a farmer in Fife. The mill produces coarse wholemeal, wholemeal and bread flour, pinhead, which is the roughest oatmeal apart from wholegrain, and also coarse, medium and fine oatmeal. “We sell the flour in the mill, online and at local farmers’ markets. The bread is available from the tea room too. Increasing our flour sales is the area of the business I’m concentrating on this year,” explains Rami. If the watermill is fully functional, it can mill 250kg of grain a day. “If the river is low, then we can’t mill,” he says. “I accept this, as I like to work with nature. Usually if we wait a day or two, it will rain again, and we’ll be up and running.” The mill is maintained by Rami, a task that he finds a challenge, but an interesting one. He does much of the milling himself, but there are additional staff for when he is busy baking. Another member of staff helps to bake, and Kirsty

The loaves at Blair Atholl Mill and Bakery are made from grain ground by hand the traditional way