With Easter upon us it seems like a great time to talk about hot cross buns.
And Simnel cake. And chocolate cakes with mini chocolate eggs plonked on top. And cakes that look like Easter bunnies… you getting my drift?
A quick flick through Instagram using hashtags such as #eastercake or #hotcrossbun will have you speedily turning away from your salad. Chocolate bunnies aside, one common, very simple yet essential ingredient in these seasonal treats is flour – and, as a reasonably okay hobby baker, I can tell you that, not surprisingly, quality really does count. I stopped using cheap flour years ago, but it was a recent tour of a flour mill that confirmed my suspicions: from field to filled-up tummies, a good flour defnitely makes a difference.
Now, I’m not on commission here, but I spent a fabulous day at Wrights Flour Mill and Baking School in Harlow recently and just want to share how much I enjoyed myself as a guest of my art class friend, Lottie.
My day began in a lovely, recently created purpose-built training kitchen. Established as a pizza school, the team have turned their attention to afternoon tea and now offer classes to make light, fluffy scones, shortbreads (I made lemon ones – you have a choice) and a delicious loaf. Easy, peasy, pudding and pie!
Xenia
Xenia, the chef running the class was fantastic, and Helen – who facilitated the session – was warm and welcoming. Well, that wasn’t surprising actually, as she’s married to David Wright, the company’s MD – fifth generation owner of this 150 year old family business! How lovely is that?!
The love and dedication given by its century and a half of workers is engrained in the richness of the mill’s history. Can you even begin to imagine what George Reynolds Wright would think if he saw the transformation of his Victorian mill today? From a milling history on the site that actually dates back to the Domesday Book, via Medieval England and the Tudor kingdom, through periods of horse-drawn wagons to the excitement of the arrival of the lightbulb in 1909…
From wartimes, when the teams of the day supported the nation with essential food supplies, to our own pandemic – when the dedicated team at Wrights battled through without missing a beat to ensure a nation able to survive on the suddenly-indispensable banana bread… (Yes, I made a few loaves of that, with large slabs of chocolate mixed in. And I’m pretty sure I shared pics on social media, of course!)
So, from a wooden mill worthy of featuring in a Constable painting, the business now boasts a magnificent state-of-the-art, multi-million pound facility to mill flour in the most technically advanced environment you can possibly imagine! I was given a fascinating tour of said factory by David Wright, the owner and MD, and – honestly – I could have been on the Starship Enterprise!
Not sure which synonym would be best for humongously enormous – I can’t actually describe the enormity, so best to watch this impressive video. It’s almost five minutes long but totally mesmerising; Watching it on my large screen made me feel like I was on some sort of hold-on-tight ride at Epcot – virtual, of course, but if you go in real life you get cake at the end of the tour!!
You can buy Wrights’ simple cake mixes, bread mixes, pizza flour, speciality blended flour and more, from most major retailers and discerning artisan bakeries.
Or – my recommendation – you can treat yourself and a friend to a wonderful day with these proud and passionate people who can teach you how to bake – before inviting you to enjoy the fruits of your labour. Well, fruit jam, maybe – slathered over your scones. And you get a free apron, perfect to wear whilst you whip up your Easter cakes! Call Helen on 0208 344 6900 to find out more and book your place.
And if you do go, don’t forget to share your pics on social media – Wright’s Flour Mill is on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and X (which everyone still calls Twitter). They’ve also got accounts for the Pizza School, just type in Sonata Pizza School to see some completely scrummy food that YOU could be making yourself!! (Here’s a helpful quick link to the Insta page.)
Whether you’re taking my advice and baking your own hot cross buns, or drowning in melted chocolate eggs, have fabulous Easter and a lovely bank holiday weekend!
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