We use only the best of organic flour for all our home made breads; it is mixed, kneaded and formed by hand in the traditional manner and baked each day on the premises. We do not pretend to be the pinnacle of the baking world; but we certainly provide one of the healthiest of loaves to be found. We use real and unadulterated ingredients and whilst we do add nuts, seeds and even berries at times, we do not rely on animal enzymes and commercialised bakers yeast for our success. Instead we take the long way round and utilise live yeast, barms and sour doughs, together with 12 and 24 hour risings, to produce breads that have a genuine character, structure and a body to them. It is the product of a real love for artisan bread and not only tastes great but is good for you.
As Andrew Whitely, one of our ultimate food heroes so aptly puts it: "Bread Matters", especially when faced with the mass produced merchandise of the modern baking industry.
"From the clammy sides of your chilled wedge sandwich to the flabby roll astride every franchised burger, the stuff is there, with a soft, squishy texture that lasts for many days until the preservatives can hold back the mould no longer. If bread forms a ball on the roof of your mouth as you chew, thank the Chorleywood Bread Process - but don't dwell on what it will shortly be doing to your guts."
The Chorleywood Process is responsible for over 80% of the bread produced in Britain; it involves highly mechanised systems of production that require massive amounts of commercial yeast, and all sorts of enzymes, additives and forcing agents to produce the cheapest and quickest bread in Europe. The resulting bread has become a chemical concoction with enormous amounts of gluten to retain its "springy and fresh" feel; it is hardly the stuff of life and the country has been voting with its stomach to the extent that we now eat less bread per capita than any other country in Europe.
Suffice to say our baking is very much in opposition to the prevailing tendencies with bread, and indeed with our pastries, pies, and desserts as well. We make all our pastries from scratch in the traditional manner, and form and bake our pies by hand. The Argyll slab of pie is one of our all-time favourites in the dining room, especially when it's accompanied with scoops of home made ice-cream.
We make as much as possible on the premises in a very non-industrial environment, often utilising our 1920's Aga for genuine all day simmering. We make all our marmalades, chutneys and sauces on-site, and cook all of our dishes, desserts and pastries from scratch. We uphold a profound honesty in our ingredients that seeks to help anyone suffering from the allergies and reactions to modern conglomerated processed foods. As such, we are concertedly against GM products, and wholeheartedly seek to promote the biodiversity of food and agriculture in all its forms.
Our scones, shortbreads, amoretto biscuits, and all sorts of cookies are also renowned on the island.
