Monday 8 July 2013

a baker's dozen.


Last Thursday I ventured up to Harrogate where I attended a cookery course at the Betty's Cookery School! Mama Wynn had previously been to a Christmas course and had waxed lyrically about how great it was and so I decided to join her on 'Bread making for Beginners'. 

For any of you who aren't familiar with Betty's, they are a family owned company located in North & West Yorkshire, originally set up by Frederick Belmont, a Swiss confectioner, in 1919. Betty's cafés, which are located in York, Harrogate, Ilkley and North Allerton, have always been a favourite place of mine to visit for tea and lunch and I always make sure that I take anybody who is visiting me to experience the delightfully quaint atmosphere and delicacies.

As well as being a café and a bakery, Betty's also have a cookery school, where you too can learn the secrets behind the infamous Swiss sticks, Yorkshire cobbles and a mouth-watering plethora of cakes.
As soon as we arrived at the cookery school, we were given freshly baked croissants and Betty's tea to kick start our carbolicious day. 



We were given a demonstration by the Betty's Bakers, Mark & Michael, complete with scientific explanations of why we leave the yeast to ferment and the reasons behind 'proving' the dough. 

My Yorkshire Cobble dough ready to be kneaded into shape!
Over the course of the day we made a Yorkshire Cobble which is a white flour loaf, decorated so that it looks like the cobbled streets of York (see below), a Swiss Stick, a Swiss Fitness loaf (with a variety of seeds) and some mixed white/wholemeal rolls. 

We came home with a few more than a baker's dozen!

We had a beautiful lunch made for us and it was a truly lovely day. I would thoroughly recommend the course as a gift for somebody or just as something different to do if you get a free day in the week.

You can peruse the programme of courses and book here: http://www.bettyscookeryschool.co.uk

I think sometimes, due to the hustle and bustle of daily life, we forget about simple pleasures like making a loaf of bread. It also tastes a darn sight better than a shop-bought sliced loaf!

I'm a Cobble convert that's for sure!

I hope you've all had a productive start to this glorious week,
Catch you soon,

Ess Double You x


No comments:

Post a Comment