OUR DAILY BREAD Sourdough

OUR DAILY BREAD

Lincoln-based Sourdough bread baker Emma Vines and her ilk maintain an almost messianic devotion to real bread. Little wonder, as her products prove that the best things in life really do come to those who wait...

Words: Rob Davis.

“IT’S THE BAKERS’ TATTOO,” says Emma. She’s referring is a series of deck oven burn marks up and down her arm which she and her tribe of self-confessed bread nerds have come to regard as somewhat of an occupational hazard for an artisan baker.

Emma is also wearing a t-shirt which reads ‘Sourdough Slinger’ meaning she self-identifies with Wayne Caddy, the baker to whom sourdough disciples pledge an almost messianic devotion.

If you’re from the North, like Emma, your baking alma mater is Worksop’s School of Artisan Food. Southerners, meanwhile, tend to graduate from The National Bakery School at London’s South Bank University.

Dr Emma Vine is the most fascination person in the world. Her doctorate is in psychology, although it might as well be in the field of artisan baking, for her knowledge is encyclopaedic.

Emma arrived in Lincolnshire with her family when her father was commissioned to oversee the civil engineering of John Adams Way in Boston from 1977 to 1981. Emma left her teaching career with various universities – Hallam, Loughborough et al – to open her own bakery on Lincoln’s Steep Hill in October 2018.

Thank goodness she did, say all of her customers. Emma and her team can barely keep up with demand, such is the popularity of her range of artisan bread.

In total, Emma has around 35 lines in production at any time, and in addition

to retailing to consumers from her shop just opposite The Jew’s House restaurant, she supplies a number of restaurants and coffee shops around the city.

“Sourdough breads - the products in which we specialise - are distinct from mass-market bread and are even distinct from bread baked by producers you’d probably class as artisan bakeries,” says Emma. “But supermarket loaves and all industrially processed bread is made from scratch in a dizzying two and a half to three hours.”

“In-store bakeries spend perhaps an hour longer producing their bread and even craft bakeries – whatever they are, for the term is a bit woolly – spend just five hours or so baking each batch of bread.”

“By contrast, we spend a minimum of 24 hours - but up to 72 hours - producing our sourdough loaves. The sourdough process is slower and much less industrialised by its nature. Sourdough aficionados eschew flour improvers and dough conditioners that

conventional bakers use to make their production more consistent, more reliable. We use a bespoke in-house blend of flours to achieve the intended texture and flavour of our bread, alongside our all-important sourdough cultures.”

“Sourdough cultures are an alternative to commercial natural yeasts. Made of flour and water, they contain lactic acid bacteria and they ferment to make bread rise in lieu of commercial yeast. And unlike yeast, which is simply used once, sourdough cultures are ‘grown’ and fed daily to increase in volume and are used successively. They’re nurtured, like children.”

Sourdough cultures can be created with different profiles, from younger, gentler and more lactic cultures to those which are more acetic - for bread with stronger flavours - depending on the product to be created.

At Vine’s Bakery Emma and the team curate two different cultures, and they even have names: Riley and Frenchy - her house Levain. Her House Sourdough is a workhorse bread using wheat and rye flour with levain culture for a gentle flavour (more lactic and less acidic) the bakery also produces a Deli Rye, Dark Rye and a London Loaf.

The latter is long-fermented and firm, “Like bread used to be,” says Emma. It holds hot or wet sandwich fillers well and it neatly proves one of the main principles of baking bread using sourdough; time equals flavour.

Sourdough bread’s longer production time also ensures it is highly digestible, as well as more flavoursome. Gluten is the protein which gives bakery products their structure and it is replaced by other sugar and fat in gluten-free products. True gluten intolerance does exist, but it is a rarer occurrence than its notoriety – and those who wish to sell gluten-free products - suggests.

“It’s analogous to a friend who says they have the flu when actually they have a bad cold. If you’re truly suffering from flu – or from gluten intolerance - you really know

about it. It’s nasty, and those with gluten intolerance (as opposed to those who are merely gluten-avoidant) have to be incredibly careful.”

“Often people are not intolerant to gluten per se, but from the speedy industrial processes in mass produced bread, which prevents the protein being sufficiently ripened.”

“If you believe you’re gluten intolerant you should seek medical advice, but if you find yourself bloated after consuming bread, a sourdough bread may prove more digestible.”

“I work alongside two other bakers and we prepare dough for our bread by working three or four days in advance... so the loaf you purchase today has been several days in the making.”

Emma shows us the three-tier deck oven – the source of her ‘tattoos’ - which injects steam into the oven cavity during the bake to balance heat and moisture.”

“It’s a more consistent, accurate heat than any domestic oven with upper and lower baking stones controlled independently.”

Her three industrial fridges have retarded the dough’s development, holding the previous days’ batches at a precise 2°c; the accuracy of the bakery’s processes is very well-controlled.

“It’s a more complicated, and more timeconsuming than other bakery operations, but there’s a reason we invest the time and effort. I’ve been so thrilled with the way the people of Lincoln have taken to our products.”

“They report that our bread is of a quality unlike they’ve ever experienced, which is incredibly rewarding for a bakery which goes to great pains to really show our customers just how good bread can be.” n

Find Our More: Emma’s Vine’s Bakery is based at 61 Steep Hill, Lincoln LN2 1LR. Call 07703 159052 or see www.vinesbakery.co.uk.

The Next Big Thing in Drinks... Rum is set to be just as fashionable as gin in 2021

Like most things, alcohol is subject to changing fashions, and in recent years, Aperol, Prosecco and artisan gins have all enjoyed a summer boom as those drinks have all found themselves in vogue. Rum will be next big thing in to reach bars, and ahead of the trend is Lincoln’s Unconventional Distillery Co., established by Sam Owen. Pioneer is the distillery’s premium handcrafted English rum which has been created with elderflower, citrus, pepper and other botanicals, £20 / 40cl / 35% ABV. unconventionaldistillery.co.uk.

The Wine Cellar

Wine of the Month

Sparkling Brut Rosé, Ovens Farm, Louth, Lincolnshire £156, six 75cl bottles

For the third month running we’re awarding Oven’s Farm our Wine of the Month title. This time it’s for the Louth vineyard’s sparkling rosé offering, a perfect late summer or early autumn tipple. An attractive rose gold colour, this delicious sparkling wine has delightful aromas of strawberries and cream, with a light floral, spicy hint of dried hibiscus. Its palate has vibrant fruit – raspberry, redcurrant and strawberry, with a soft textured, creamy mousse. Crisp and clean to the finish. n Available from www.ovens farmvineyard.com or by calling 07919 320290.

ALL THE LEAVES ARE BROWN, AND THE SKY IS GREY, SO THIS MONTH WE’RE HEADING TO CALIFORNIA’S NAPA VALLEY FOR SOME CALIFORNIA DREAMING, AND ENJOYING ARTISAN RUM

CALIFORNIA DREAMING: A trio of transatlantic treats from Napa Valley...

1. Rodney Strong’s Chalk Hill Chardonnay enjoys great complexity with apple, spices and melon. Ideal with autumn dishes which utilise cheese and seafood. £24.99 / 75cl / 13.5% ABV.

2. This cotton-candy coloured rosé from California is ideal with fish and poultry dishes, with apple and strawberry hues. A cheerful tipple to enjoy in the garden in the event of late summer sunshine. £10.50 / 75cl / 11% ABV.

3. Sound like it comes from Cornwall’s Poldark country, but in fact Trefethen Merlot is produced in the Napa Valley. Rich, bold and robust. £34.99 / 75cl / 14.4% ABV.

Dolce Far Niente! A great gin for those ‘doing nothing’ moments!

The sister product to Malfy’s Con Arancia and Con Limone (orange and lemon) gins, this ace Italian gin is built around the awesomeness of Sicilian pink grapefruit, and features a hint of rhubarb too. This works especially well in a Gin Fizz, but it also makes a marvellous Martini, too! Tangy pink grapefruit at the fore, balanced well by peppery juniper and a touch of thyme. Distilled by the Vergnano family for ‘Dolce far niente’ the sweet art of doing nothing in Italy! n £25.59 / 70cl / 40% ABV

n Our featured wines are available from the best local independent wine merchants, supermarkets and online, prices are RRP and may vary from those stated.