7 November 2023
This is the weekly-ish 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 hosted the nascent West Midlands Grain Network for a morning of baking and chatting.
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
West Midlands Grain Network meets at Loaf
One of the slow-burn projects we've been involved with over the last few years has been the establishment of a Grain Network for the West Midlands. If you look on the UK Grain Network map there's a fair amount of activity in the south east and west, a bit in the north, and a gaping void here in the middle. We're part of a group of people looking to change that.
A grain network is a collection of growers, millers and bakers looking to create an alternative economy on a more human scale. We're keen to know where our flour comes from, that it has been grown in a way that restores the soil, and harvested and milled by people who are paid a fair wage. We also want to be part of a network that shares what it knows so we can learn from the experience of each other.
On Monday we hosted the first meet up of bakers from the West Midlands Grain Network, with Neil representing Loaf. It was a day for artisan bakers interested in integrating local grains in what they bake, and to understand how they behave on a simple scale for flavour, texture and hydration.
Three varieties of locally-grown wheat – April Bearded, Orange Devon and Ölands – were tested and baked into bread, biscuits and tortillas, giving an opportunity to compare and contrast how the different flours responded in the different recipes. And of course we gave everyone a tour of Loaf's facilities.
It was a lot of fun and we're looking forward to more similar meet-ups in the future.
Christmas stock is arriving
We've begun to receive our big Christmas orders from our local suppliers, with a daunting amount of jam and honey already on the shelves. If you're the sort of person who likes to get your gift buying squared away well in advance, or if you have a particular favourite that you want to stock up on (I see you, Chilli Jam fans), you know where to come.
We also have a merch order in with the printers for some new totes, tea towels and aprons with badges also on their way. Look out for them later in the month!
Lunches this week
Wednesday
- Tarka daal with sourdough (Ve)
Thursday
- Soup: Celeriac soup with hazelnut dukkah topping + sea salt focaccia (Ve)
Friday
- Curry: Roasted mushroom, kale + lentil with sourdough (Ve)
- Salt beef on challah bun
Wed – Sat:
- Sausage rolls
- Vegetable rolls (V)
Wed - Fri
- Sourdough pizza: caramelised leeks, cherry tomatoes, pine nuts, blue cheese, mozzarella (V)
- Ham and cheese croissant
- Tomato, spinach 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 are coming up. Those crossed out are sold out.
Loaf’s all-day classes:
- Bread — Back to Basics:
Sat 18 Nov,Tue 28 Nov - Simply Sourdough:
Sat 11 Nov - Sweet Breads and Viennoiserie: Sat 25 Nov
- Baking with Heritage Grains Returns in 2024
- Wholegrain Baking with Tom Baker: Returns in 2024
Loaf’s evening classes:
- Handmade Pasta: Returns in 2024
Haseen’s evening classes:
Lap’s all-day classes:
- Sausage & Charcuterie: Returns in 2024
- Seafood Masterclass: Sat 2 Dec
Lap’s evening classes:
- Thai: Returns in 2024
- Sushi: Returns in 2024
- Ramen: Tue 21 Nov
- Dumplings: Returns in 2024
- Knife Skills: Returns in 2024
Classes for 2024 will be released in December. You can sign up to alert lists for specific classes here.
Thanks for all your continued support. See you next week!
Team Loaf: Rach, Sarah, Dave, Martha, Ian, Dorit, Pete, Neil & Molly
Website: loaf.coop
Socials: Instagram / Mastodon / Threads / Twitter / Facebook