A baking event for World Aids Day, 1st December, in Tooting, London

It’s not often that I’m out in the big ol’ world, just baking, but for certain days it seems the right thing. So for World Aids Day on December 1st I’ll be doing just that: for one evening at the Wandsworth Oasis charity bookshop at 17, Trinity Road, Tooting, South London. It’s a small charity in my area of south London, helping local people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS, and having lost many very close friends over the years to this illness I thought I’d make a start by doing more to help them.

On Thursday December 1st, at 7:30 pm  I’ll be talking about baking and writing: about working in kitchens and how to survive in them without losing your mind, and how changing paths in life will invite new opportunities and ideas in. There will be sweet things I’ve baked for you to try, and everyone who buys a ticket – £25 per person – gets a signed copy of my book as well.

Space is very limited – hey, it’s a charity shop with only so much standing room - but equally it will be intimate with lots of time to ask David (my partner and the editor of Short & Sweet) or me questions, meet other people and help a charity that does brilliant work every day of the year.

To find out more and buy a ticket, call at the shop or contact:
Gill Perkins
Chief Executive
Wandsworth Oasis Trading Company Limited
via their website, at http://wandsworthoasis.org
or tel: 07970 349740

The event details:
when: December 1st 2011
where: Wandsworth Oasis, 17 Trinity Road, Tooting, SW17 7SD
time: 7:30pm – 9:30pm
venue telephone: 020 8682 9813

Baking this Saturday 5th November in Oswestry, Shropshire

I’ll be holding two baking demonstrations this Saturday 5th November in Oswestry, Shropshire, one at 11am on breadmaking (everything from the simplest to the most complex loaves) and one at 3pm cake baking (yes, we’ll talk about Bonfire parkin) and icing. Really looking forward to this day. The Walls Restaurant where we’ll get together this Saturday is a beautiful old former school house built in the early 1800s (somewhat bizarrely, the rock band Marillion recorded an album there in 1998), and Booka Bookshop who’s bright idea it was to host the day, is one of those modern independent booksellers that inspire me.

The tickets for each event are £15 per demonstration, including refreshments and £5 off the price of my new book “Short & Sweet”, a mammoth compendium on baking.
For tickets call Booka Bookshop on 01691 662244 or email mail@bookabookshop.co.uk
The demonstrations will be held at:
The Walls Restaurant,
Welsh Walls,
Oswestry,
Shropshire
SY11 1AW.

Ideally, come along to both sessions to get an intense top-up for your baking skills and understanding:

11am: Breadmaking – from easy breads to sourdough
In the morning I’ll start with explaining how you can easily customise a basic simple bread recipe – the sort that turns out crisp and light with a soft crumb, using everyday flour and little else – into something more elaborate using more unusual flours from mills like Little Salkeld, as well as how to add ingredients like onions, olives or herbs. Then we’ll look at different ways to get the crumb open and aerated, and I’ll explain how sourdough can help you achieve that. They’ll be lots of time for questions and do bring along you bread if you want help with it, or just reassurance. The morning is equally suited to absolute beginners as well as more experienced bakers, so bring along your questions as I’m sure we’ll answer or know where to look.

3pm: Cakemaking – soft cakes and delicious icing
Baking cakes that combine good looks with a soft moist crumb and a well-risen shape is a little tricky, but with a few secrets you’ll easily improve your favourite recipes and become more confident with your cake baking. I’ll explain how tweaks to the basic ingredients can dramatically improve the moistness and shape of your cakes made from your own recipes, and explain how different cake mixing techniques can be varied to, say, make a cake that slices better or keeps longer (yes, even the technique you use to mix the cake affects how long it keeps). I’ll explain about different ingredients affect the way icing performs, and look at how chocolate cakes can be both soft and rich with flavour. Again, suitable for beginners as well as more experienced cake bakers.