A heady but pleasant whiff of freshly baked bread wafts enticingly from the clutch of units on an industrial estate in north London. Potato and rosemary are a classic pairing but you could substitute the rosemary for another spice such as thyme (which is what I tried for my first few attempts seen below), or omit it entirely for a cleaner, more potato forward flavor. Speaking of rosemary, I find not all rosemary plants produce the samelevel of potency in their leaves. Some plants, like mine, are quite pungent and strong while others are simply not. Start with the recommended 1% rosemary and scale up/down to suit your taste after youtry thefirst bake. As with my previous polenta sourdough with rosemary, I like to keep the spice light so it doesn’t obscurethe other flavors throughout. I hope we continue to grow up and learn. We have almost one million transactions a month now. That’s a level of responsibility I never thought I would have. I have a glimpse from talking to world class bakers on what the next 10 to 15 years in baking could look like and it’s exciting. There’s some smart people wanting to make better bread. With Johnson’s help Gail’s may have reached 60 cafes, but Molnar deliberately resisted the turbo-charged growth seen by other brands in the sector. “I actually slowed down when people were speeding up. I said the money had to go on food not rent. You were seeing incredible competition for prime spaces that would have meant I’d have had to cut corners.” Dump the dough onto the counter and slap and fold the dough (French fold) for about 3-4 minutes, just until the dough starts to show signs of a smooth surface. The dough should be fairly strong.

Bake the loaves at 450°F (232°C) for 20 minutes with steam, then remove the steaming pans from inside the oven. Then, bake for an additional 30-35 minutes or until done. The interior of this bread stays superbly moist and tender for days after baking. I enjoy this type of bread heavily toasted as the entire interior becomes crispyin a way that you'll only find in highly hydrated loaves or porridge bread—fantastic. The crumb does become softer, creamier, and slightly tighter as the percentage of potato increases,butthanks to thisstarchy addition,thetender texture of the crumb is what makes this bread stand out. TasteSelling bread from a 30-year-old source is a potential food standards nightmare, and measures are in place to ensure a whole day’s batch can be pulled if anything goes wrong. “We had a big issue trying to explain to food safety how this culture has been alive for so long, but we didn’t want them to stop craft bakers making something that’s safe.” Minimum life based on 'use-by' date of product. Average life based on last week's deliveries. Life guarantee shown based on delivery tomorrow with the Life guarantee starting the following day. In a large mixing bowl, combine warm water, flour, sourdough starter, and salt with your hands, a wooden spoon, or dough whisk.

Split the dough in half down the middle with a bench scraper. Try to be careful not to break any of the bubbles. Once the oven is preheated, roast the potatoes on the baking sheet for 45 minutes to 1 hour, rotating and flipping them halfway. Test the potatoes at 45 minutes to see if they are done by inserting a knife into the center. The knife should slide easily and not encounter any tough spots.

We bake nearly 30 types of bread every day – which keeps our eight different sourdough starters busy. Below are some of our favourites. The most accurate way to get the best loaves of bread each time is to measure your ingredients with a kitchen scale.

Mix flour and water (reserve 100g water for the mix, later) in a bowl until all dry bits are hydrated. Cover the bowl and store it somewhere warm near the levain for 1 hour. 4. Mix – 12:30 p.m. The group – which sells everything from potato and rosemary sourdough to brioche loaves – has brought restaurant-quality baking to the masses, and it has got no plans to slow down. Fragrant with fresh rosemary and nigella seeds, the baked, mashed potatoes we add to this bread make it surprisingly light and help it keep brilliantly for days. If you do have any to use up, it can’t be beat when it comes to making croutons or stuffing. In the bakeries we make a 500g loaf, but Ocado also sell it in 250g, 400g and a whopping 1kg version. We’re calling it Waste Bread which some people think might sound a bit odd but we think this is being honest and clear with our customers” says Roy Levy, Gail’s head baker and head of development. “It’s re-using leftover but edible bread from our own supply chain which means we know exactly what is in it and where it has come from.” One-third of the new sourdough is made of stale bread. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian Behind closed doors, final production tests are underway on what Gail’s Bakery – an artisan sourdough specialist – considers to be one its most exciting and game-changing new products in its 27-year history.But the project didn’t last. “It started and ended on a high,” says Molnar. “I admire people who successfully run restaurants over many years, it’s tough. The restaurant was an experiment but it wasn’t something I had the time or energy to focus on in the end, so it was better to focus on something we knew how to do.”