Better bread, like gran made

Real Bread Week 2021, running until February 28, was launched to encourage more people to buy bread from local, independent bakeries, and to make their own loaves at home.

Rather than simply relying on a quick trip to the supermarket, Rob says sifting flour, kneading dough and taking the time to enjoy the baking process is something that can connect us to our past – and, of course, help us enjoy a tastier bake.

He said: “I love things which connect you to your ancestors, and I think making bread is an incredibly simple domestic task that does exactly that.

“Sourdough bread, as we would call it, was probably invented by the ancient Egyptians, possibly as long as 5,500 years ago, and that’s what we ate until the end of the 19th Century.

“Prior to the invention of dry yeast in the middle of the 19th Century, everyone used a live culture to make bread. It’s just what we did.”

He added with a laugh: “We are fixated on the word ‘sourdough’ these days but, actually, it’s just bread.

“I think there’s something really, really important about connecting to a culinary tradition, which goes back an incredibly long way.

“It’s not a revolution, we’re basically just going back to what our grannies did.”