Emma Kay - A History of British Baking

A History of British Baking

From Blood Bread to Bake-Off

Emma Kay

First published in Great Britain in 2020 by

Pen & Sword History

An imprint of

Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Yorkshire Philadelphia

Copyright Emma Kay 2020

ISBN 978 1 52675 748 7

eISBN 978 1 52675 749 4

Mobi ISBN 978 1 52675 750 0

The right of Emma Kay to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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My history in baking

I have to admit, its funny to be asked my opinion or feelings on the baking industry, because in my head Im still a new boy, still learning the ropes as it were.

But in the twenty or so years Ive been baking, Ive picked up a few things.

Thats why this book is an amazingly interesting read from cover to cover, written in the same passion and dedication to detail you need to be an actual baker, maybe Emma Kay has missed her calling in life.

Parts of this book really transfixed me, the history of baking is very close to my heart, as it has a depth of information on types, styles and methods; it really held my attention.

It looks at how bread really affected people and their own lives, how through new ideas bread shaped the word GREAT in GREAT BRITAIN.

This book is a must for anyone who finds history or baking fascinating. It looks at the true history of the daily loaf and analyses it in a way never done before. It shows just how the bread industry affected all aspects of the social scale, it will definitely help the reader to understand why the craft baking industry is so complex well done Emma.

On top of that, as a baker myself, I loved the comments from other bakers, their view on the industry we love.

And this is my view:

1996 was the year I started full-time work in our small family bakery, which my dad had started from scratch.

My family (Swifts) had been baking since 1863, so as bakers we have a good understanding of what to do and why, our own history has been passed on to me from a very close relationship with my grandad who baked through the Second World War as a field-baker in Africa.

It was soon apparent to me that after sixteen years of living in the bakery, a few things had rubbed off on me; I was able to do things in my first year which were well beyond my experience.

As time rolled on and I got more involved in the baking and the running of our own little bakery, it became very obvious that I was part of an amazing industry, a small spoke in a much bigger wheel.

Now baking is not for everyone, well commercial baking anyway; we can all love baking at home and watch a certain TV programme, but in a small family bakery the hours are long (like, sixteen hours a day long), the job is hot, uncomfortable and very physical; add to that the pressure of making money into the equation and it becomes mentally challenging, and sometimes those are the biggest factors.

You have to push yourself all the time and in every way in baking, because at the end of the day the only thing that matters is the loaf; that one thing, big or small we as bakers strive for, that perfect loaf of bread.

Now all along this journey, I knew I was from baking stock, the stories from my family passed down to me were never too far away from my thoughts. The fact that so many bakers throughout time who had come before me, they took up the challenge of baking the daily bread, some had been successful and some lost their lives doing so, they also had a story to tell which was so fascinating to me.

In 2015 somehow I got a chance to tell that story.

I was one of the four bakers picked to experience working life as a Victorian Baker in the hit BBC2 series Victorian Bakers.

Victorian Bakers (VB) was one of the highlights of my life so far, I got to meet amazing people, especially Duncan Glendinning and John Foster.

They are from opposite ends of the industry, but have the same passion for bread.

The biggest thing that VB showed me and all who work on the show, was that the internal and external focuses that put pressure upon bakers and the industry are as prevalent today as they were back then.

Ok, so today we dont kill bakers or customers with adulteration, but if you look closely at some working practices that go on, some craft bakers say its just as bad.

There are also added pressures on the industry, not just the speed in which consumerism changes and in what direction it takes, but at the moment within the industry there is a movement which could see the craft side lost for ever.

But dont fear bread lovers, its not all bad! The industry grows year on year offering new ideas and opportunities, not only for customers, but bakers alike.

To summarise, I love being a baker, I love my industry and the rich history it has.

Its now in a stronger position to go forward, but we must learn from the past; we need to help and nurture new bakers, to grow new ideas within our walls, to protect our values which we hold dear, or we will find the past will bite us back and we might lose what is most dear to us.

GIVE US TODAY OUR DAILY BREAD

This book is a must for anyone who loves baking, bread, and its history.

John Swift

T his is the part of the book which always concerns me the most as I am cautious of trying not to leave anyone out. I spoke to many people, including those working in the baking trade while writing this book, but special thanks goes to Richard Marshall, Marshalls Bakery, Pewsey, Wiltshire; Caroline Walsh from Archipelago Bakery, Edinburgh; Edward Clark of Pastonacre, Cley next the Sea, Holt, Norfolk; Heidi Wall, Boutique Brownies, Chelmsford, Essex; Alison McTaggart, Bread On A Bike, Cambridge; Vitor Santos, The Celtic Bakers, London; Geoffrey Permain and Tony Greenwood. Thanks also to Henry Herbert of Hobbs House Bakery, Gloucestershire, and to John Swift of Swifts Bakery for agreeing to support this book. You are all baking legends.

I would like to thank Amy Yeates at The Federation of Bakers for taking time to answer my questions, along with Roy Clare for his lovely input, and Carolyn Findell for entrusting me with her familys very special collection. Also worth a big mention for providing useful images are John Graves on behalf of Chesham Society, and Curator of Chertsey Museum, Emma Warren.