Front page · Eddie’s Bakehouse
Up at four, and the hair shows it: Eddie bakes for the whole town
Sourdough, baguettes, plaited loaves, bagels and cinnamon buns, all into a deck oven with a puff of steam. Eddie would like a partner, and someone else to do the early mornings.
Orders come in by phone and through the letterbox: bread baskets for the Pizzeria, a loaf for a wedding breakfast, buns for the café, bagels for the school fete. Every bake has its own knack.
A sourdough starts as a shaggy lump. Knead it by pushing it away from you with your finger: the dough stretches, springs back, folds over and turns, and with every push it gets smoother and springier. Then circle your finger round it to round it up tight. It proves in a moment in Eddie's warm corner and comes out floured in rings from the basket. Score it with one quick swipe for each cut: a cross, a curve, three slashes or a grid. A quick, sure swipe cuts cleanest, and the cuts open right up in the oven. Some orders want a flour star or heart dusted on through a stencil before it's scored: it stays white as the crust goes golden.
A baguette is kneaded too, rolled back and forth till it is long, then slashed with quick swipes across. A plaited loaf is plaited by swiping the outside strand over the middle, right then left. Bagels are curled into rings, boiled and flipped as they float, and seeded. Cinnamon buns are spread, rolled up and chopped into slices, baked in a tin and drizzled with icing.
Everything goes into the big deck oven. Tap Steam! as the door shuts for a crackly crust, and take it out when it is golden. Then it is bagged or boxed and off it goes.
