A family reunion on a baking break.

In 2017, school teacher Alec Waldeck Jr joined us for a fabulous weekend of baking sourdough breads and some memorable hot cross buns. Last week, he brought his mum and dad all the way from South Africa to join us! In fact, the family are on a once-in-a-lifetime, five-week tour of Europe, but we were very delighted that they chose to start the experience down here in Devon.

On the first day, we were joined by lovely Sue from South Brent, diving right into sourdough and rye breads. It was one of those magical classes where strangers hit it off right away, and we were all in stitches before the first cup of coffee. Then Alec Sr., 79, who used to bake his own bread at night to help cope with insomnia, revealed a startling appetite for raw dough, which made us laugh even as we valiantly struggled to guard what we were kneading…

After a well-earned nap, we all enjoyed a three-course supper of Flowery Quails Egg Salad, Salmon Parcels with Samphire, Asparagus & New Potatoes, and Chocolate Mousse with Hazelnut Petit Fours for dessert. And some lovely wine!

Day two was Viennoiserie, just for the Waldecks. This is a very full day, and we were amazed at how well everyone coped with all the rolling, folding, turning, shaping and…. well, a little bit more dough-nibbling, alongside mandatory quality control of the creme patissiere, the almond paste and the chocolate.

If you’d like to join us on a residential baking break, just drop us a line!