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If there is one pairing which typifies the link between good base ingredients and a great tasting product then flour and bread must be it. The ingredient/product relationship just doesn't come more basic than that. And Gilchesters Organics hit the jackpot:Quality, Taste and Ethics.
Flour producers Gilchesters Organics, based at their Northumberland mill, harvest and mill a selection of heritage grains grown on their organic farm. Their flour is truely local from start to finish, with no foreig/non-local grain added to bulk up the yield. This is Northumberland's first and only organic flour mill. The choice of tall straw wheat varieties means that the crops stand stable in the variable Northumberland weather, out-performaing so many of the modern hybrids. I was introduced to Gilchesters at the Real Food Festival in Earls Court (May 2009) and they very kindly gave me a packet of their beautiful light brown Farmhouse flour. Being a real bread fanatic, I got to baking as soon as I got home. The results are truly wonderful. Better than anything I've produced with a supermarket bought industrial flour. The flour rose well, producing a well aired light crumb underneath a crisp golden crust. Personally I'm hooked, and will be ordering a batch to sustain my weekly baking habit. |
