Home baking in Lockdown
The launch of my new website has coincided with the rather unprecedented Coronavirus pandemic. The coronavirus lockdown has brought out the bakers into the kitchen all over the country. After many years of watching ‘The Great British Bake Off’ and all our favourite baking celebrities we have decided that this is a good time to have a go ourselves. Many households with children including mine have enjoyed baking our favourites and trying something new.
As a baker it was rather alarming going to the supermarket and seeing empty shelves where the flour would normally sit. What on earth was going on? What is everyone baking I thought? There still seemed to be enough butter and a few eggs.
We seemed to be making American pancakes most mornings for a brunch treat layering up with bacon, or bananas and whatever else we had in the kitchen and not forgetting a finishing drizzle of golden or maple syrup, yummy.
Easter was approaching and it was clear from the headlines that lockdown was coming. The school holidays were only a couple of weeks away. Many people saw this as the idea opportunity to have time in the kitchen practicing that recipe, the one they looked at but never had time for.
Then there were people like my husband who was self-isolating at his friend’s house having returned from Italy and decided to have a go at baking a loaf of bread. Due to the success of this bake he is now hooked and on Easter weekend we had our own ‘Bake Off’ in the kitchen baking hot cross buns!
There is something rather therapeutic about kneading dough. Time to take in what’s happening around us, a chance to forget everything as our hands stretch the soft pliable dough and slowing us down as we wait for it to prove!
As the bakeries, restaurants and large catering companies close down the consumer demand rises. Now the issue is that most of the flour is transported and delivered in large quantities. Bags are usually 25kg or 16kg or in large tankers. There is only a small portion, 4% in fact that is sold through shops and supermarkets. Normally the equivalent to two million 1.5kg bags would be bought by consumers a week.
Since the Coronavirus outbreak both regular bulk buyers and consumers have purchased much more than normal and depleted existing stocks. In response the millers are working round the clock to meet demand. They are working 7day weeks and 24hrs to try and get flour back on the shelves. So, keep a look out in the supermarket and hopefully those bags of flour should be returning soon so you can crack on with that recipe!
The Facts!
There are 30 flour milling companies in the UK operating 51 mills.
In 2017/18 in the UK four millers used over 5 million tonnes of wheat to produce just over 4 tonnes of flour.
We produce roughly 84% of the flour here in the UK and the rest is imported from France, Germany, the US and Canada. This ensures that the type of flour needed is supplied creating a better quality.
If you do manage to get hold of any bread flour then this is a great easy recipe to start with to make a loaf of bread on the BBC website.