We’re always looking for new local foodstuffs that go well with our bread, and were quite impressed with these chilli jams from Bear Eats who use them in the dishes they sell at food markets around town. The Tomato Chilli and Pineapple Chilli both have a sweet and fiery kick, and are a great accompaniment to a slab of sourdough and cheese. Give them a go and let us know what you think!
It’s been a while since the awesome Pip launched a new hot sauce and this looks like a good’un. Made in collaboration with Attic Brew Co up the road, Brewed is her first fermented hot sauce, made with “fruity pepper, spicy chilli and sweet onion. The process of fermentation produces acidity that cuts through the spice, whilst drawing out unusual flavours from the ingredients”.
A gaggle of bottles of Brewed arrived this week so be sure and check them out.
Pip’s Hot Sauce is one of the indie food-makers who started at Stirchley Market and we’re honoured to call Pip a good friend of Loaf. So when she said she was looking for raffle prizes to raise money for a dear friend with brain cancer, we said yes, of course.
The range of prizes in this raffle is quite something, from meals to artworks to a one-off crystal skull hot sauce — a real testament to Pip’s importance in our community. We’ve put a £140 cookery school voucher in there too. She’s given so much over the years and it’s an honour to give something back.
Raffle tickets are £2.50 each, and you can of course buy more than one. Please help and spread the word.
Most of the bees looked after by Rea Valley Apiary live, as the name implies, along the River Rea, which includes Stirchley so if you have a garden there’s a good chance there’s nectar from there in one of those jars. This produces a their polyfloral Local Honey — a mix of whatever flowers are in bloom when the bees are active — and its flavour is a reflection of our area.
But there are areas where one particular flower will dominate, and beekeepers will often take a colony to forage and produce a monofloral honey with a distinctive colour and flavour. Rea Valley took some of their bees out of the city for a change of scene and we’ve taken delivery of two of the subsequent monoflorals. Borage Honey from borage fields in Stratford and Heather Honey from moors in the Peak District. Enjoy!
We’re always looking to stock new local spreads and condiments so we were delighted when a new honey supplier got in touch. Quinton Meadows Honey is run by George and Sue Jackson whose hives are based in Quinton, on the edge of Birmingham. Their bees collect nectar from the Quinton Meadows Nature Reserve, Woodgate Valley Park, the local allotments and urban gardens — all of which provides a mix of rural and urban blossom.
George likes to think of their honey as ‘one year in a jar’, as the honey is harvested just once in August, creating a unique amalgam of all the flora in the area.
Sue gave us a sample jar to try and we loved it, so we’re delighted to add it to the shelves.
George with his hives
A peel is a wooden board with a handle used to quickly and safely take bread out of the oven. It’s effectively a large spatula, as demonstrated by Neil in this video:
Our new supplier of peels is Dale Hipkiss, a local artist and woodworker, who hand-makes them in his studio in Stirchley. You may know Dale from Artefact, where he works, and as part of the duo Hipkiss and Graney.
The peels have been tested and approved by our bakers and are now on sale for £18 each. If you’re struggling to get your sourdough off the stone, come in and buy one!
It’s almost Easter and we’re in the throes of Hot Cross bun season, it comes round quicker and quicker each year!
As you may already know, we’re offering our Earl Grey flavoured HCB’s right up until Easter, available everyday in our shop.
We’re ramping up the numbers as we get closer to the long weekend, so make sure to take advantage as there’re only 7 baking days til they’re gone! #RIPHCB
We will be taking pre-orders for Good Friday and Saturday (14th & 15th April), just pop into the shop and place and pre-pay for your order.
Please note that we will be closed after Easter for some general maintenance, dates and times are as follows:
Good Friday 14th April – 12-6.30pm (pre-order collection)
Saturday 15th April – 8.15am-1pm (last day for pre-order collection)
Easter Sunday 16th April – CLOSED
Easter Monday 17th April – CLOSED
Tuesday 18th – Friday 21st April – CLOSED
Saturday 22nd April – 8.15am-1pm – open as normal
We started out with our Revolutionary Rye, way back when Tom first started Loaf back in 2009 and it has graced our shelves ever since!
Our recipe was based on Andrew Whitley’s Russian Rye, ours is 100% rye sourdough, topped with toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds.
Why is it revolutionary? (Everybody wants to know!) Mainly because back when Tom started, no one was making a rye sourdough up here in the Midlands at least! Not only that, but he figured given its Russian roots, he’d pay tribute to their revolutionary history…
If you didn’t already know, Rye is a type of grain, low in gluten, high in fibre, protein and most importantly flavour.
Over the years, we’ve played around with rye specials such as the Borodinsky and Volkornbrot, but this year we’ve decided to feature them more frequently, because rye is great, and ‘rye’ not right?
Our Borodinsky is made with a rye starter and flour, malt extract, molasses and caraway seeds for a surprisingly refreshing flavour despite its density! Find it in the shop on TUESDAYS
Our Volkornbrot, is made with a rye starter and flour, chock-full of sunflower seeds, and kibbled rye for lots of texture! Find it in the shop on THURSDAYS
Will you be trying it? Let us know! Tweet or Tag us – we’d love to see how you’re enjoying it!
BAO HOUSE PART II
If you came to the last BAO House Pop Up at Loaf, waited in that incredibly long line and were rewarded with food, you’ll be excited to hear we’re doing it again. If you came to the last BAO House Pop Up at Loaf, waited in that incredibly long line and didn’t get food because we ran out, you’ll be excited to hear we’re doing it again – with more BAO, extra sides…. but you should still get here earlier.
September 22nd is the date for your diaries.
No bookings/pre orders/reservations.
BYOB
All food is to take out, but you can sit in if you’d like – we have seating.
Cash or Card payments taken.
#BaoHouseTwo
Well the weather may be no good for proving sourdough, but it’s perfect for ice cream!
We’re chuffed to be stocking CREAMED POPS, a brand spanking new Birmingham based, small-batch artisan ice cream lolly brand! We rally behind our fellow Brummie food brands, so we just had to have them!
All natural ingredients, no artificial preservatives and fresh produce, combined to create a super delicious treat! Their ‘pops’ are fast frozen, meaning their ice cream stays silky smooth, creamy and icicle-free.
We’re currently stocking: Cinnamon Toast, Raspberry Cheesecake, Salted Caramel, Carrot Halva, Pure Origin Chocolate and fast-favourite Vietnamese Coffee.
What flavour will you choose?!
Impress your friends at your next dinner or BBQ by doing your own Butchery! The question is: Chicken or Lamb?
Local Master Butcher Steve Rossiter, who runs Birmingham’s first organic butchers – Rossiters – in Bournville, leads our Butchery courses here at Loaf Cookery School (we also buy all of our meat for the Bakery/Shop lunches from him too!)
In the Perfect Poultry course, Steve will teach you how to joint, spatchcock, and butterfly your own chicken and poussin.
As well as learning the simple secrets to the perfect chicken stock, we’ll be making chorizo-stuffed chicken breast wrapped in streaky bacon, spatchcocked poussin with lemon and garlic (wild garlic when in season), Raz al Hanout tagine chicken, and chicken liver salad.
We sit down to feast on the fruits of our labour towards the end of the evening, so save plenty of room!
In the Nose to Tail: Lamb course, he’ll take you on a guided tour around a whole organic lamb carcass, explaining the provenance of the animal, the classic butchers cuts, the quality of the meat, and typical dishes cooked from each joint.
Steve will then demonstrate how to respectfully take apart a whole side of lamb, before handing over his saws and cleavers to us to take apart the other side, under his expert guidance.
You’ll learn how to bone out, roll and stuff various joints, read
y for the oven. Always finishing with a sit down dinner of delicious slow-cooked lamb – usually chump chops with butter beans and salsa verde, plus lamb curry with rice and raita.
At the end of the course you’ll also take home your oven-ready boned and rolled roasting joint to cook at home!
*These are the last two courses available until Autumn, so don’t delay! Book today!*
Hey! Here’s our menu for the week!
Good morning!
Here’s this weeks lunch menu!
We look forward to seeing you!
Good Monday Morning!
Christmas feels very much upon us!
We’re open as usual on Tuesday 23rd – 12noon-6:30pm. We’ll have some delicious roast beef & cucumber relish baguettes, or pear, stilton & walnut butter baguettes for lunch.
Then Christmas Eve, we’ll be open 8.15-12noon. No lunches, but plenty of bread to see you through christmas time!
Next door in the cookery school, Curds and Whey will be selling their gorgeous cheeses. (Cash only for cheese please!)
Remember if you have ordered stollen and mince pies, to come and collect on your allocated days!
And if you need a reminder of our opening hours over the next couple of weeks, click HERE.
We hope to see you this week, but if we don’t… have a lovely Christmas and New Year!
Sarah x
Stirchley Just Got Tastier!
At Loaf this week there has been a hive of activity. We have done a complete refit of the shop and are introducing some new editions – including weekday takeaway lunches, and a small selection of cookery equipment, specialist cookery ingredients and local produce to buy. We’ll also be selling our usual selection of speciality bread and cakes . Thanks to a fantastic team of staff and volunteers the new & improved Loaf Bakery Shop re-opens tomorrow – Saturday 26th April 2014. Particular thanks goes to Tom, Sarah, Nancy, Andy, Jordan, Mike, Alasdair, Russ, Walter and Jane for all your hard work. You’re amazing!
Below you’ll find out what’s new, discover our new opening hours and salivate at this week’s takeaway lunch menu – changing every week. We hope you like the look of the new shop too, with much of our furniture made from reclaimed palettes and recycled materials….
New Loaf Bakery Shop Opens – Saturday 26 April 2014
So here’s what we’ve got on offer. Pop in to discover what’s new….
New Opening Hours
Tuesday – Friday: 12 – 6.30pm
Saturday: 8.15am – 1pm
Tuesdays – Fridays: Takeaway lunches, from 12noon
Weekday Takeaway Lunch Menu
Tuesday 29 April to Friday 2 May 2014, from 12 noon
Tuesday – Daal with sourdough; Baked ham & mature cheese croissant.
Wednesday – Herb & mushroom Frittata with green salad; Baked ham & mature cheese croissant.
Thursday – Rosso Pomodoro Soup with sourdough; Baked ham & mature cheese croissant.
Friday – Spinach, artichoke & chilli goats cheese pizza; Spicy ‘Nduja sausage, mozzarella & parmesan pizza.
We will also have brewed coffee and loose leaf teas to takeaway.
Pick up a Loyalty Card
We like to reward our regular customers with the Loaf Loyalty Card, to enable you to collect ‘Loaf’ stamps and redeem a free loaf of bread!
You’ll get your last loaf in a baker’s dozen on us
when you buy 12 loaves, you’ll get the 13th free!*
Ask at the till. Subject to terms and conditions – details on the card*.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
The Loaf Team