20 September 2023
This is the weekly newsletter from Loaf in Stirchley, keeping you abreast of our bakery and cookery school, and other news we think you might be interested in.
This week we still need your apples for the mince pie mix! 🍎🍏 We also baked with the Desem starter for the first time...
Scroll down for this week’s lunch menu and cookery school spaces.
🍞 Pre-order your bread and pastries 🥐
We’ll have plenty on the shelves all week, with lunches served from noon on weekdays.
Our opening hours are:
Wed - Fri: 12-6
Saturday: 8-1
🍎🍏 Where have all the apples gone?
Last year we were overwhelmed with apples donated to us for the mince pie mix so this year caution ruled. And we don't have enough!
It seems apple trees tend to go in two year cycles when left to their own devices and south Birmingham is in rest year. Who knew?
If you still have some apples we can have we'll be making the mix on Monday so need them by Saturday afternoon. We're throwing caution to the wind and saying bring as many as you can! Any extra will go to Edward the local cider maker (who is also in desperate need).
If you have loads but can't bring them in, we might be able to pick them up. Email info@loaf.coop
Cookery school coming up
We'll be releasing the November dates by the end of the week. To be notified as soon as they're available add yourself to the relevant alert list here.
Here's what's on the calendar for the next ten days.
Saturday's Bread: Back to Basics has sold out, but there are places on Tuesday 24 October.
Next Tuesday 26 September is the Dosa evening class with Haseen Muthalali where you'll make fantastic street food from Kerala in the south west of India.
During this three hour workshop chef Haseen will teach you the secrets of this speciality – the right consistency of fermented ground rice for the dosa mixture, the secret flavours of the Kerala sambar, Potato masala filling, a wonderful tomato and tamarind chutney plus a fresh coconut, mint and coriander chutney and of course the cooking techniques for the perfect dosa.
We interviewed Haseen last year about growing up in Kerala and the dishes he teaches.
You can see all the upcoming classes on our calendar and at the end of this newsletter.
Week three of baking with Desem
This month, for Sourdough September, we're experimenting with a new style of starter - Desem. This week Neil baked for the first time with the nascent starter.
"Here's a couple of loaves I baked with it. 100% wholemeal flour following the guidelines and recipes in Tara Jensen's book Flour Power. Very dense but very tasty, the starter itself is probably still maturing. This week I'm trying out adapting the recipe a bit and working out how to scale it up to produce bigger batches."
Lunches this week
Wednesday
- Tarka daal with sourdough (Ve)
Thursday
- Salad Box – Roasted fig and butternut squash with leaf, kale and red cabbage salad, pickled onions, toasted seeds and nuts with focaccia (Ve) optional Feta (V)
Friday
- Curry: New potato, cashew, spinach and chickpea curry with sourdough (Ve)
- Salt beef on challah bun
Wed – Sat:
- Sausage rolls
- Vegetable rolls (V)
Wed - Fri
- Sourdough pizza: Artichoke, Caper, Chilli, Basil, Green Olive & Mozzarella (V)
- Ham and cheese croissant
- Pine nut pesto and cheese croissant (V)
Lunches are made fresh weekdays for 12 noon.
Our menu for the week — with ingredients and allergens — is on the website.
Cookery school classes
The following classes have spaces as of this newsletter being posted.
Loaf’s all-day classes:
- Bread — Back to Basics: Tue 24 Oct
- Simply Sourdough: Returns in November
- Sweet Breads and Viennoiserie: Sat 14 Oct
- Baking with Heritage Grains Returns in November
- Wholegrain Baking with Tom Baker: Sat 28 Oct
Loaf’s evening classes:
- Handmade Pasta: Returns in November
Haseen’s evening classes:
Lap’s all-day classes:
- Sausage & Charcuterie: Sat 4 Nov
- Seafood Masterclass: Sat 7 Oct
Lap’s evening classes:
- Thai: Returns in November
- Sushi: Thu 21 Sep
- Ramen: Thu 4 Oct
- Dumplings: Returns in November
- Knife Skills: Returns in November
Classes for November will be released soon. You can sign up to alert lists for specific classes here.
Thanks for all your continued support. See you next week!
Team Loaf: Neil, Nancy, Dave, Martha, Molly, Pete, Dorit, Ian, Rach & Sarah
Website: loaf.coop
Socials: Instagram / Mastodon / Twitter / Facebook