Riot Rye - Bread Making Course
I attended the level 1 bread making course at Riotrye recently. Riotrye is based in the Eco Village, Cloughjordan, Co.Tipperary and is run by Joe Fitzmaurice and Julie Lockett. They specialise in baking sourdough and the emphasis is on natural products, organic flour and sustainability. To involve you in the whole process and to get you thinking about sourdough you're encouraged to make your own starter about a week before you attend. The course ran from the civilised hours of 11am to 6pm, not a drill instructor in sight, and is aimed at the home baker. So jar of starter tucked under the arm I entered the bakehouse. My fellow enthusiasts trickled in and soon the eight of us were sat at our baking stations. People were from a variety of backgrounds and attended for a plethora of reasons. The first hour or so Joe introduced us to the differences between grains such as wheat and rye, he explained the importance of soil management and the link between the farmer and the f