Celebrating Birthdays
It’s been Aidan’s birthday! A great excuse to sit down with our co-founder and head baker, share a slice of celebratory toast and find out what he’s looking forward to this summer.
What’s your perfect birthday breakfast?
I love having a summer birthday. If I could eat every meal outside, I would, so I’ll be starting the day in the garden with roasted Lancashire tomatoes on sourdough toast.
So much toast, so little time! Which Lovingly loaf will you be toasting?
Northumberland Rye. It’s our newest loaf and I’m eating it with everything. We’ve put a lot of love and practice into perfecting this German style rye bread – not least because we want to honour the amazing rye flour we get from our friends at Gilchesters Organics in Northumberland.
Rye is it so good?
Rye is the superfood of cereals, an ancient grain naturally packed with antioxidants that can help the body protect and repair itself. But, even more importantly, it tastes fantastic, with a caramel maltiness that lingers long after chewing. It keeps really well, too. Catherine and I always have a Northumberland Rye miche on the go at home. It keeps us in butties and toast for a week.
Will the living be easy this summer?
I don’t know about easy! It’s certainly going to be busy – and great fun. I’m raring to get out and about in the new Lovingly Artisan Bread Truck: one of the first stops will be Rheged near Penrith, where our Kendal Farmers’ Market crew is setting up shop for the day (22 July). This community of growers and makers is a constant source of inspiration: working with them to make each Kendal Farmers’ Market more fabulous than the last (on the last Friday of every month) always lifts our spirits and gets our ideas flowing.
Any thoughts of putting your feet up?
Hell no! Retirement is not in my vocabulary. When you love what you do, you feel like you’ve just begun. I’ve created two new loaves in the first half of this year – Northumberland Rye and Dark Chocolate Malt with Orange (which is so decadent and delicious that I’m having it as my birthday cake). I’m always waiting for the next new ingredient or heritage grain to come along and inspire me. The world of bakery excites me more with every passing birthday.
