One week on

I can't believe it's been just one week since I made the move from city to country and office to bakery. The past seven days have been a whirlwind of activity getting the last bits of equipment in (often easier said than done) and checking in with the plumbers and electricians as they get us ready for action.

Our lovely Tom Chandley oven

And our mighty fine mixer

We also had our first flour delivery from Shipton Mill.

This gave me my first experience of a baker's own rise in the morning.

Cycling to the unit in the pitch black was quite an eerie experience, but a lovely starry sky shone overhead which helped to calm my nerves.

Luckily that morning I got to go back to bed. No such luck from now on.





After a good day's sweeping, scrubbing and mopping on Friday, Peter Cooks Bread was starting to take shape. Yesterday saw us get in and do a first couple of test bakes.

Today was assigned a day of rest, and we couldn't have picked a better one. Clear blue skies, lovely warm sunshine and a local farmers market to go and check out. I set out on my bike slightly wary of the hilly country lanes I was going to face after a long winter of wet and windy short commutes on the flat city roads. However, thankfully my legs held up well. It felt so good to be back in the saddle careening round the winding country lanes with the sun on my back. I can't wait for the spring bloom to set in and fill the bare bushes and trees that currently line the lanes.

My destination was the Teme Valley Market, held once a month outside The Talbot in Knightwick. It's in a lovely setting by the river Teme and was packed to the rafters with folk wandering round with wicker baskets and hessian bags, which by the time they left were bulging with the wonderful local produce on offer.

They were overlooked by lots of others who were soaking up the sun with a pint of Real Ale. I couldn't resist a sneaky half before getting back on the bike for the journey home. Not to mention the tasty looking sticky prune and date mini-loaf cake tucked away in my pannier.

So, all in all, so far so good. Herefordshire has given me a very warm welcome and I'm starting to feel right at home. Tomorrow sees us back in the bakery for some more Real Bread baking action as we finalise our initial bread range and get some samples ready for delivery.