Hello

Been a long time between email updates and although I have been fermenting a lot of bread and blogging a lot over at mertonbakery.com I have not been sharing anything via email.

Here are three recent highlights:

• Visiting Charlecote Mill (it was incredible)

• rolling dough in things (including corn chips)

• roasted garlic and rosemary focaccia (to die for)

Hello from a very sunny morning in Coventry.

I think there are three things in my life in which I have reached a much-more-than-average level of skill: tennis, dancing and baking bread. At least, these are three activities that I chose to pursue directly, unlike editing text that is a big part of my proper job that I kind of fell into and that I guess I am now very good at.

But of these three things — I was a champion junior tennis player and a professional dancer (technically I still am, although very middle-aged) — it’s fermenting sourdough bread that has sneaked up on me the most. I started making bread out of frustration with the loaves I was able to buy here in the UK and then, very gradually, my skill and curiosity increased.

Fermenting sourdough is both a craft and a science. You can certainly get pretty heady with it: the calculations of hydration, quantities, scaling, and keeping spreadsheets of temperatures and results, etc. There’s quite a big part of my brain that is drawn to the science and technical aspects of fermenting sourdough.

Hello

It has been a while since I sent an update. Things have been a bit busy although I’ve been baking a lot of bread and also posting to the blog.

Here are some posts that might interest you:

• introducing you to an ancient wheat grain called Khorosan.

• I have been making a home blend mix of flours (etc) and this post describes my thinking.

• and in a bella bruciatura I write about baking the bread until it is nice and dark.

Hi there.

They say that beer is liquid bread and this week I’m scalding some rye flour in stout beer to create Merton Stout sourdough. They’ll be on sale at COGS on Saturday from 09:45am.

I hope you all have a safe holiday and thanks for reading.

Simon

Hello sourdough fiends.

Here’s a link to a short blog post about smoked sprouted rye grain bread which will be for sale at COGS of Coventry tomorrow (Saturday 14 December 2024) from 09:45am. This bread is out there but so so good. And, as usual, there will be a bunch of Merton Simple loaves as well

Have a fantastic weekend.

x Simon

Hello

I’ve been baking a lot this week – so much so that I haven’t had much time to write but will post about those experiments next week.

I’ll be selling Merton Wholemeal+Sunflower loaves at COGS tomorrow 7 December as well as a bunch of Merton Simples.

The loaves tend to go pretty quickly so I suggest getting there close to 10am if you can.

hi friends

Just a couple of posts this week:

1. Experimenting with sourdough focaccia (olive, lemon and thyme).

2. Making some 70% wholemeal loaves for COGS on Saturday (tomorrow). Also some Merton Simple. Message Rachel on her COGS Instagram if you’d like to reserve a loaf.

Thanks for reading.

Good morning

Three new posts this week on mertonbakery.com:

1. On glutenin and gliadin (my two favourite proteins)

2. The freshly baked bullshit in UK supermarkets

3. Introducing Merton Blend (on sale at COGS this Saturday)

Thanks for reading.

hello friends of Merton Bakery

Three posts:

1. Sharing baking skills and experiences in an open kitchen

2. Looking at the holes (alveoli) in sourdough

3. Give your bread a squeeze to see how good it is.

Excited to be back baking this week and will have a bunch of loaves at COGS of Coventry from 09:45am on Saturday 2 November.

Hello friend

Four new blog posts this week at Merton Bakery:

• a photo of a couple of sourdough starters

• a film from the 1940s showing some old timey harvesting

• last week’s pizza in teglia at COGS

• upcoming baking schedule

Until next time.

Hello all

This week on the Merton Bakery blog:

• an emmer whole grain flour variation that includes polenta and walnuts (for sale at COGS this week)

• finally Merton is on social

I’m away for some travel from Sunday so my carb lab experiments will slow down for a bit.

Hello

This week I’ve blogged about about using emmer flour, spelt flour and baking for this weekend’s Harvest Festival at Coventry Cathedral.

Cheers, yeasty hands Ellis.

P.S. I don’t know what wild goat grass is either.

Hello

This week at mertonbakery.com:

• Tara Jensen on making bread and making ourselves

• An experiment in pushing fermentation but getting frisbees

• Coming up at COGS this Saturday 7 September

Have a beautiful weekend.

hello

I’ve got some sourdough workshops coming up in autumn (intermediate) and in the new year (beginners). Let me know if you’re interested. I also tried out a sourdough discard granola which is so so tasty.

This coming week I’ll be doing some tests with flour freshly milled from Coventry’s local Charlecote Mill so I’ll let you know how that goes. I’ve also been reading a lot of sourdough recipes so have so many ideas for new adventures.

Lastly, no bread on Saturday 31 August at COGS as I have an inescapable appointment in London which seriously interferes with dough fermentation.

A brief post to let you know what I’m baking this week (24 August) for sale at COGS: Merton Simple, Merton Sunflower and Sesame and Merton Spelt. It’s the first time these last two loaves will be for sale.

x Simon

Hi there

A couple of new sourdough experiments this week:

• on working with rye flour: walnut and rye

• sunflower and sesame seeds added to Merton Blend

x Simon “there’s flour everywhere in my kitchen” Ellis

Hello

I’ve taken a bit of a break from blogging as work got a little hectic. Four posts for you this week (one from a couple of weeks ago)

• a message for Merton bread eaters in Coventry: upcoming dates and an apology

• on why I bake bread the way I do: craft knowledge

• on having a carbohydrate laboratory: carb lab

• and something about hand-sifting flour

As you can tell from that first post, I’m moving around quite a bit in the coming weeks but I’ll update the site occasionally (probably with more photos of Italian bread!)

Hello

Three updates from Merton Bakery:

• aspects of working with flour: when flour meets water

• seeing very old bread in Pompeii

• would it work in a sourdough loaf? a cannellini experiment

Thanks for reading.

Hello

This week from Merton Bakery:

• I am back baking for COGS this Saturday June 15th

See you then.

Hello

Two posts from the past couple of weeks:

• the rise in popularity of bonci bread

• a spreadsheet which helps you with percentages and schedule

More soon.

Hello

One post this week:

• shaping sourdough loaves: folded

More soon.

Hello

Two posts this week:

• the meaning of the process and how we make things matter

• trying something new while I am away: dried starter

More next week.

Hello

Three posts from this week:

• wet and wetter: experimenting with ciabatta and Roman-style pizza in teglia

• the structure of a botanical and sesame loaf

• I am going away for a month so won’t be back at COGS till Saturday June 15th: gone fishing

Hello

Three posts this week:

• Lactobacillus and the bakers of Saint-Vith

• I’m baking bread for Earlsdon festival, which is on Monday 6 May

• a normal delivery of my bread is available at COGS this Saturday 4 May

Hoping to see you on the two dates mentioned.

Hello

Here’s the latest from the Merton bakery website:

• Sarah Black on the colouring of the crust

• Unfortunately, I won’t be baking bread for COGS this Saturday 27 April due to being away.

More next week.

Happy Friday!

Two new posts this week:

• Why is the crust of a loaf of bread called the ear?

• THIS SATURDAY (20 April 2024), I will be selling my bread in the bombed out Coventry Cathedral. More information here: https://www.mertonbakery.com/blog/spring-festival.

Hoping to see you tomorrow

Hello

Two new posts this week:

• sourdough bread and 6000 years of history

• photos from the autumn harvest festival (September 2023)

More next week.

Hello

Two posts this week from "quite possibly the Universe's smallest bakery":

• more scalding, this time with rye flour

• a post about steam and dutch ovens

Until next time.

Hello

Here's the latest from Merton Bakery:

• about scalding flour and what it does (and introducing the Merton semolina scald)

• no delivery Saturday 23rd and instead the bread will be at COGS today (Friday 22nd March)

Thanks for reading and more next week.

Hello

Here's the latest from Merton Bakery:

• introducing the Merton Rye 15, for sale on Saturday at COGs of Coventry

• some advice for sourdough bakers from Addie Roberts

Thanks for reading and more next week.

Hello

I finally feel ready to sell the Merton semolina and sesame loaf at COGS tomorrow, Saturday 9 March. It has been a tricky loaf to create because semolina flour absorbs so much water. I also add olive oil to the dough which makes the crumb incredibly light and soft but also adds to the wetness of the dough. Like so much sourdough, it's a delicate balance between hydration and strength (or structure).

The dough is fermenting right now and here's a photo to give you a sense of the beautiful golden brown colour of the bread.

Hello

I'll be delivering a new bread to COGS on Saturday morning: Merton rice and rye. The details are here with plenty of photos to whet your appetite. This bread is outrageously more-ish as my bread-testing colleagues at work can confirm.

Until next week, and thanks for reading.

Simon

Hello

Here's the latest from Merton Bakery:

• sourdough workshops for beginners

• a communal oven in Italy

Thanks for reading.

Hello

Here's the latest from Merton Bakery:

• experimenting with a wholemeal and sunflower seed loaf

• more on what it costs to produce a loaf of Merton Simple

Thanks for reading.