Louis Bromfield, American novelist 

Ralph:

At the begining, bread making was just an experiment; something I was trying at home out of curiosity.In a strange way it had more to do with our smallholding and where our food comes from, than my feelings about bread in general. In fact I was a little nervous about baking with ueast. It seemed more lile whitchcraft than cooking.

Sometimes the results were pure magic, other times not so much. But what I quickly realised was that even the less successful loaves had a textrue and taste far superior to bought commercial bread. The home baked loaf quickly became a treat for the whole family. I do not know when we stopped thinking of it this way and started to consider real home baked bread to be the norm, but at the same time, bread regained its rightful position as a true staple at the heart of the family table.

It was from here only natural that the bread making should come to the Ednam House Kitchen.

                  " I understand the big food companies are developing a tearless onion. I think they can do it -

                                                       after all, they've already given us tasteless bread!"       Robert Orben

What started out as a bit of fun has turned into a passion.Home made bread made with simple, basic ingredients - no additives, no preservatives, no "improvers"; handmade using traditional methods and time. Bread with taste and texture as it should be. The modern mass produced loaf simply does not compare.

It was obvious that we should bring this bread making experience to the hotel's kitchens and today we are really proud of our unique range of breads : White & Granary loaves and rolls, Beer & Oatmeal Bloomer, White Sourdough with Rye, Sunflower small and large bloomer  and buttery Brioche.

                "Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods;

                                                 and good bread with  fresh butter is the greatest of feast"   James Beard

The daily routine starts at 5am in the kitchen, when Greg our baking assistant makes the dough; from mixing all the ingredients, to kneeding, resting, proving, folding, shaping & baking. The first baking batch is ready at 7.30am in time for breakfast in our restaurant. By 10am, all the baking is done and ready for our delicatessen. 

We have a regular following of customers who will come into the deli as soon as the doors open, just to get a very freshly baked loaf, straight from the oven and temptingly warm. As well as the bread, the hotel kitchens also provides all the mouthwatering pastries for the deli.