DAY 1: Fresh Bread

Honestly you can’t beat fresh bread and everyone knows it.

Buttered with jam,
or dipped in olive oil and dukkha,
or topped with quality cheeses and cured meats…
(We love platters)
or maybe just a hint of tahini and a sprinkling of sesame seeds…
or maybe just smother a slice in lemon honey (try Chelsea’s super fast version soon!)
or fresh bacon butties (everybody knows that fresh bread doesn’t actually hold these together so well, but it’s kind of the point. When the bread smushes up into a kind of dough ball and the chips or the bacon poke through, they’re ooooooh sooo good).

We all have a favourite way of eating it before it even starts to stale.

Photo and food styling: Catherene Wilson Photography @catherenewilson

Try a fougasse platter this weekend

If you’re hosting this weekend and need it to be easy but beautiful;
buy a fougasse or two;
grab your favourite dips and hors d’oeuvres…
don’t forget the aperitifs.
You’re done!

You’re also good to go with just a good olive oil and some fresh tomatoes.

It’s bread; it’s up to you!

Our fougasses are hand-made, so each one is unique. That means originality points for how you choose to fit it out. Have fun!

a different fougasse on marble

Tag us on Instagram if you want to share your success.

kuputaka / glossary

There are some great books out there these days celebrating food in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Some of the authors write from a place of connection and have made a special point of including pertinent Māori words - or kupu (along with a kuputaka or glossary for reference). These kupu often include explanations of important Māori concepts, without which some discussions become really difficult!

Some Māori words don’t need translation here in New Zealand, where Te Reo Māori is one of our 3 national languages, but not everyone who eats in Aotearoa was raised in Aotearoa. We have a complex audience of diners and we want to make these kupu and concepts readily accessible.

If you’re eating our bread, you might like to know (and click through to Te Aka Māori Dictionary for the pronunciation of):

parāoa: bread, flour, dough

kai: 1. (verb) to eat, consume, feed (oneself), partake, devour. 2. (verb) to drink - used for any liquid other than water. 3. (noun) food, meal.

toutou: (verb) to dip frequently into (a liquid). (eg when you’re eating soup, you can use your bread to toutou)

rēwana: bread made with potato yeast, leaven, yeast - a substance added to dough to make it ferment and rise. (Note also rēwena)

rēwena: 1. (loan) (verb) to ferment, cause bread to rise. 2. (loan) (noun) bread made with potato yeast, yeast, leaven - substance added to dough to make it ferment and rise.

reka: 1. (verb) to be pleasant, pleasing, agreeable. 2. (modifier) sweet, tasty, palatable. 3. (noun) sweetness, tastiness, flavour.

awhi: to embrace, hug, cuddle, cherish.

pātaka: storehouse raised upon posts, pantry, larder.

whare: house, building, residence, dwelling, shed, hut, habitation.

wharekai: dining hall, refectory, cafe, restaurant.

ringawera: kitchen worker, kitchen hand.

mokopuna: grandchildren, grandchild - child or grandchild of a son, daughter, nephew, niece, etc.; descendant

kaitiaki: trustee, minder, guard, custodian, guardian, caregiver, keeper, steward.

āwhina: 1. (verb) to assist, help, support, benefit. 2. (modifier) assisting, aiding, helping, benefitting. 3. (noun) assistance, aid, help, benefit. 4. a sister of mercy in the Rātana faith.

whānau: extended family, family group, a familiar term of address to a number of people - the primary economic unit of traditional Māori society. In the modern context the term is sometimes used to include friends who may not have any kinship ties to other members.

whanaunga: relative, relation, kin, blood relation.

whanaungatanga: relationship, kinship, sense of family connection - a relationship through shared experiences and working together which provides people with a sense of belonging. It develops as a result of kinship rights and obligations, which also serve to strengthen each member of the kin group. It also extends to others to whom one develops a close familial, friendship or reciprocal relationship.

whakawhanaungatanga: process of establishing relationships, relating well to others.

whakapapa: 1. (verb) to lie flat, lay flat. 2. (verb) to place in layers, lay one upon another, stack flat. 3. (verb) to recite in proper order (e.g. genealogies, legends, months), recite genealogies. 4. (noun) genealogy, genealogical table, lineage, descent - reciting whakapapa was, and is, an important skill and reflected the importance of genealogies in Māori society in terms of leadership, land and fishing rights, kinship and status. It is central to all Māori institutions. There are different terms for the types of whakapapa and the different ways of reciting them including: tāhū (recite a direct line of ancestry through only the senior line); whakamoe (recite a genealogy including males and their spouses); taotahi (recite genealogy in a single line of descent); hikohiko (recite genealogy in a selective way by not following a single line of descent); ure tārewa (male line of descent through the first-born male in each generation).

mauri: (noun) life principle, life force, vital essence, special nature, a material symbol of a life principle, source of emotions - the essential quality and vitality of a being or entity. Also used for a physical object, individual, ecosystem or social group in which this essence is located.

manaakitanga: (noun) hospitality, kindness, generosity, support - the process of showing respect, generosity and care for others.

inoi: 1. (verb) to beg, pray, request, appeal. 2. (noun) prayer.

Let us know which ones we’ve missed!

The price of wheat

water colour wheat stalk with dollar signs in the grain

Bing AI image generator prompt = “water colour wheat stalk with dollar signs in the grain”

The price of flour went up again recently, in an overnight price hike from one of the major milling companies. So,
Do you know where your wheat comes from?
Do you know what the flour you buy in the supermarket has in it?
…how it’s been treated?
…what’s been removed from it?
…how that impacts its nutritional profile?
…Do you know the politics of wheat?
It’s a complex space, but one worth thinking about (there is wheat flour everywhere as any coeliac will tell you!). Stuff.co.nz got into this from the cost of transport angle recently. It makes for an interesting read if you are following the politics of food in your own backyard:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/132365343/cheaper-to-import-wheat-from-australia-than-within-nz-growers-say

The climate and growing conditions in Australia are also a factor impacting the price of Australian wheat, because Australian quality is generally more consistent - not better, but consistency is a plus in milling; Consistent wheat means consistent in terms of how much gluten is in it (it’s protein count or ‘strength’), etc, and this consistency is key to the recipe the flour is used for to make our baked goods. It makes the Millers job easier when the Miller’s business is to supply huge numbers of bakers and other flour users who rely on fixed recipes and premixed baking production plans to achieve their own consistent product (which impacts how you staff for skill and food licensing because of nip labels and packaging etc… a whole list of minor to major impacts that become a string of business decisions).

2023 is a good year to start thinking about food miles, food security and the politics of food. If you haven’t already gotten curious, things are really only just heating up, so jump in!

#FlourToThePeople
#KnowYourFarmer
#KnowYourMiller
#KnowYourBaker

Marty's grain

Good sourdough relies on good grain…. here is Marty from Minchin’s Milling talking about his (it’s why our breads have such great flavour). If the milling process is a mystery to you, or if you just want to know your farmer, have a look!

Your grain makes Level 4 taste better, Marty @MinchinsMilling !

#awkwardphotosbyAucklandersinCanterburyfields

#watchoutforelectricfences

#eatNZgrains

#freshlymilled

#knowyourfarmer #knowyourmiller #knowyourbaker

#yougetthepicture #flourtothepeople

Bread care

First few days: Not in the fridge! Unsliced is best.

Keep it on the counter wrapped in a cloth (clean teatowel works!). You can use a slightly damp one if you want to overnight, then pop it in a hot oven for five minutes or so to refresh it. You’ll find what works for you with your oven quick enough.

Avoid keeping it next to windows or in direct sunlight.

After days 1-3 ish: Sliced into the freezer works great!

As do toast and croutons (soups and salads!),
bruschetta (where do I even start and do you seriously have enough bread left over to feast out properly?!),
breadcrumbs (amazing meatballs and crumbed fish and chicken or schnitzel and all the other delicious crumbed dishes…)

You can freeze bread fresh and whole (even better). Then just refresh it in a standard oven 10-15 minutes (you know your oven and how crispy you like it!). This works so well, you might not even notice the difference! Only thing is… how much freezer space do you have???

Note: sourdough lasts longer than unfermented bread because the acidity of the starter inhibits bacteria and molds.
(The exception being those packaged ‘breads’ you buy that don’t go moldy after two years forgotten in the back of your cupboard; what the heck are those things made with???? Nothing grows on them!!!!)

As for croissants, pastries and baguettes: eat immediately if possible! There’s a reason French bakeries usually do small batches of these throughout the day.

To refresh these, though, just pop them in the oven for a few minutes (not too long!).

Want to know more? Try: https://www.theperfectloaf.com/the-best-way-to-store-bread/