While our first trial brew develops into the fantastic beer we know it will be, we turn our focus back to keeping up the supplies of our wonder ingredient, Chalk Hills delicious bloomer loaves.  Now we’re scaling up for a larger brew the volume needed is on the up so we’ve treated ourselves to a shiny new crumbing machine.

Elaine gets to grips with the new crumber

Taking pride of place in the corner of Chalk Hills Bakery it’s small but very powerful, and rather noisy. The peace and quiet of the baker’s working day is definitely interrupted when the brewers are in!

The other slight challenge is that being in a bakery you

I love the smell of crumbs in the morning

are surrounded by temptation. We tend to arrive post the morning bread rush when the bakers themselves have headed off back to bed (I love the idea of baking but I’m not sure I’d be well suited to the rather unsociable hours). But this is when Chalk Hills turn their attention to the naughty stuff – treats of every description are either in production or stacked there begging to be eaten. Ginger bread men, cakes, pastries and some of the largest meringues you’ll ever see – its like Willy Wonka has branched out into the cafe business.  Sorry – I’m getting distracted, back to the deafening roar of the crumber… even that is mildly intoxicating…. the smell of fresh bread crumbs mixed with the rich smell of the malt sacks we are reusing just makes me want a beer. My waistline doesn’t stand a chance.

Even crumbs have to wear a seatbelt

The Food Waste Feel Good Factor

It feels great to be doing something productive with such beautifully crafted bread that would otherwise go unsold. Doing our little bit for the growing problem of food waste in our society is a good thing. The end product won’t only taste good but also do good.

It’s amazing how much bread our monster crumber can get through in a couple of hours. With a spot of sunshine today this particular batch gets to enjoy the fresh spring air while being taken to storage. Nothing but the best treatment for our star ingredient.

Beer that’s better bred! (I really need to start making a note of all these potential tag lines…)