I was wondering about Parsons too. I have some kept in the freezer for when my weekly Rye Bakery loaf runs out. To me it doesn't necessarily taste like "real" sourdough but it's much nicer to eat that the fake sourdough from co-op, tesco, etc (they are really not nice!!) Another awesome article Hugh, thanks :) Rye Bakery are going to do some tours and tastings at their growing site for the Somerset Food Trail, can't wait to visit!
If we were to do tiers, Rye would be up there, supermarket down there, and Parsons somewhere in the middle perhaps. Helps that they have such lovely staff too.
I sometimes wonder how supermarkets are allowed to get away with calling what they sell 'bread'. I sincerely believe it's one of the primary foods making people ill on a mass scale.
I got into bread-making several years ago when I learned to make pizza dough from a Jamie Oliver book. From there I progressed to making loaves and rolls, and while I'll never be a master baker, I now make bread on a weekly basis. Sadly I don't have the time for sourdough, but Matthews Cotswold flour and Saf Levure dried yeast are excellent ingredients and make for a tasty, healthy loaf.
For me, bread-making is a hobby with the side-benefit that what I bake tastes so much better than supermarket bread and it's far healthier too. I do fear that inflation is going to push more people towards ever poorer-quality foods as they struggle to make ends meet.
It wouldn't surprise me either, Tim. But I suspect, even if it was called not bread but 'Hovis' best' or 'Warbuton white', it wouldn't make much difference.
I've been to Matthews' mill – they're great. And are sourcing their grain from farmers wanting to have a positive effect on the environment around them.
No doubt it's becoming harder for people to dedicate more time and money to their food. But, as to the low hanging fruit, I still see those who do have the means to be more invested in better food either struggle or just aren't that interested.
Thank you Tim for this great in-depth overview about what goes into the price of a well-made bread. I was amazed to read that processing aids do not need to be declared. Do you know if anything has changed since this article came out? On a different note, but relevant to the price of a product: what are your thoughts on the price of coffee? It seems the cost is similar in many places but not necessarily relates to the provenance of the coffee - and especially not to the milk that is used which seems many times overlooked. Love to hear your thoughts.
I really don’t think anything has changed, as that would be big news indeed. The best place to find out any developments would be at https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/
I would have a much better perception of the price of coffee if I drank it! It’s probably one of the few common foods I’ve never covered. It’s an interesting point though that the provenance of the milk for coffee is pretty much never talked about or enquired about. It’s one of those commodity products like wheat that, when processed or integrated into something else, tends to get lost in people’s thinking or on their list of priorities
Thank you, Hugh, for the reply and the very helpful resource of The Real Bread project! I really like the sound of what I have seen so far on their page.
I appreciate your feedback on the coffee as well - and yes, I guess it depends if one drinks it :) I agree though that it easily escapes one’s mind what the quality of the milk is when mixed with something else. I started asking coffee shops about what milk they use and some do have an awareness whereas others use whatever the supermarket shelves offer It does change the taste of the coffee and I think it also alters the quality of the overall product; and I wonder why mixing a low key ingredient with a quality one especially at roasters. It also makes me wonder and think: many people have moved to alternatives because milk intolerance - is it the milk as such or the amount of processing that goes into it?
I hadn't thought of that but then again it should stand to reason like in any other food capacity that the fewer ingredients there are in a food item, the more noticeable their quality...
I was wondering about Parsons too. I have some kept in the freezer for when my weekly Rye Bakery loaf runs out. To me it doesn't necessarily taste like "real" sourdough but it's much nicer to eat that the fake sourdough from co-op, tesco, etc (they are really not nice!!) Another awesome article Hugh, thanks :) Rye Bakery are going to do some tours and tastings at their growing site for the Somerset Food Trail, can't wait to visit!
If we were to do tiers, Rye would be up there, supermarket down there, and Parsons somewhere in the middle perhaps. Helps that they have such lovely staff too.
I sometimes wonder how supermarkets are allowed to get away with calling what they sell 'bread'. I sincerely believe it's one of the primary foods making people ill on a mass scale.
I got into bread-making several years ago when I learned to make pizza dough from a Jamie Oliver book. From there I progressed to making loaves and rolls, and while I'll never be a master baker, I now make bread on a weekly basis. Sadly I don't have the time for sourdough, but Matthews Cotswold flour and Saf Levure dried yeast are excellent ingredients and make for a tasty, healthy loaf.
For me, bread-making is a hobby with the side-benefit that what I bake tastes so much better than supermarket bread and it's far healthier too. I do fear that inflation is going to push more people towards ever poorer-quality foods as they struggle to make ends meet.
It wouldn't surprise me either, Tim. But I suspect, even if it was called not bread but 'Hovis' best' or 'Warbuton white', it wouldn't make much difference.
I've been to Matthews' mill – they're great. And are sourcing their grain from farmers wanting to have a positive effect on the environment around them.
No doubt it's becoming harder for people to dedicate more time and money to their food. But, as to the low hanging fruit, I still see those who do have the means to be more invested in better food either struggle or just aren't that interested.
Thank you Tim for this great in-depth overview about what goes into the price of a well-made bread. I was amazed to read that processing aids do not need to be declared. Do you know if anything has changed since this article came out? On a different note, but relevant to the price of a product: what are your thoughts on the price of coffee? It seems the cost is similar in many places but not necessarily relates to the provenance of the coffee - and especially not to the milk that is used which seems many times overlooked. Love to hear your thoughts.
I really don’t think anything has changed, as that would be big news indeed. The best place to find out any developments would be at https://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/
I would have a much better perception of the price of coffee if I drank it! It’s probably one of the few common foods I’ve never covered. It’s an interesting point though that the provenance of the milk for coffee is pretty much never talked about or enquired about. It’s one of those commodity products like wheat that, when processed or integrated into something else, tends to get lost in people’s thinking or on their list of priorities
Thank you, Hugh, for the reply and the very helpful resource of The Real Bread project! I really like the sound of what I have seen so far on their page.
I appreciate your feedback on the coffee as well - and yes, I guess it depends if one drinks it :) I agree though that it easily escapes one’s mind what the quality of the milk is when mixed with something else. I started asking coffee shops about what milk they use and some do have an awareness whereas others use whatever the supermarket shelves offer It does change the taste of the coffee and I think it also alters the quality of the overall product; and I wonder why mixing a low key ingredient with a quality one especially at roasters. It also makes me wonder and think: many people have moved to alternatives because milk intolerance - is it the milk as such or the amount of processing that goes into it?
I hadn't thought of that but then again it should stand to reason like in any other food capacity that the fewer ingredients there are in a food item, the more noticeable their quality...