Baking Ingredients

[silverbrow]

I'm new to this game so be soft with me - but there is something I want to have a quick rant about.

I've decided to spread my culinary wings and try some real baking. Having read the eGCI thread and buying Dan Lepard's book I setout to buy my ingredients. I live in London, work in the City and know most of the good food shops - yet could I buy decent strong white flour (just about), could I buy rye flour (no way). Wherever I tried no luck, that includes: various Fresh n' Wilds; Selfridges; Waitrose; La Fromagerie and the list goes on. Given that bread is a staple it is utterly bizarre that it's so hard to buy the things that you need to make it.

Second grumble, I've also tried buying an oven thermometer, again no luck and I've tried Prices on Shaftesbury Avenue, John Lewis, Selfridges.

Am I going wrong somewhere, are there hidden shops that I don't know about?

Why is it that you can buy frozen food any time day or night, but try to do a bit of home baking and you're stumped? What have food shops in the UK come to?

rant over

[fisherman]

i refuse to believe you're short of such things in london! in the middle of nowhere, where we live, yes, but not in the smoke. its one thing i really miss about having a house in london, the fact that when we were there we could find whatever ingredient we wanted.

john lewis defintely sell oven thermometers, thats where mine came from.

[Matthew Grant]

I'd be surprised if you couldn't get an Oven thermometer in Selfridges or John Lewis. I think you may even be able to find them in some of the larger supermarkets. You may struggle to get speciality flours but plain strong white flour is absolutely everywhere, even my small local co-op carries strong bread flour and I believe they also have Rye flour. I think you may have struggled to find these items because of the time of year.

[Suzi Edwards]

Welcome to the eGullet forums. Don't apologise for ranting. I'd never post anything if we weren't allowed to rant!

Here's a link to oven thermometers on the Divertimenti website. I searched John Lewis as well but they didn't seem to have them online. I often find their website can be a bit out of date though.

You might try the "Special Selection" part of Satanburies for the flour. I am fairly sure they stock it. Matthew's right, it's more likely to be the time of year that's the problem but I'm also not sure La Fromagerie is the first place I would think of to buy flour ;-)

I've used Dove's Farm organic rye flour in the past Here's a link to places that stock their products.

[sandra]

Pages on Shaftesbury Avenue will definitely have oven thermometers, I bought two there a few weeks ago, they are on the left, as you walk in the door, behind the bookcase, there is an entire display of oven, fridge, digital, candy, etc... thermometers...

As for the flours, Waitrose alsways seems to have a good selection, including extra strong Canadian flour, wholemeal, etc...

Also, here is a website that can send you flours... Goodness Direct

good luck with the baking

[MobyP]

It's hard to find a very good thermometer in this town...

I was in Sally Clarke's the other day (Notting Hill/Kensington), and they were selling the same organic flours which they use to bake with (although in rather large quantities). If I were a baker...

[Suzi Edwards]

I was in Sally Clarke's the other day (Notting Hill/Kensington), and they were selling the same organic flours which they use to bake with (although in rather large quantities). If I were a baker...

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That can be your new year's resolution Moby. Just wait until I've finished detoxing before you get really good.

[culinary bear]

If I could find rye flour in Liverpool, that great big bloody enormous culinary desert, then I'm sure it's to be found in London. Try healthfood shops.

[hornet]

Planet Organic stock Shipton Mill flour as well as some others.

Robert Dyas have oven thermometers.

[silverbrow]

Thanks for the various bits of help on that. To clarify, neither Selfridges or John Lewis had oven thermometers nor did the Shaftesbury Avenue specialty shops. It might just be the time of year. I'll try Divertimenti again, but I'm pretty sure that when I went in there was nothing.

I eventually tracked down Rye Flour to the Fresh & Wild in Covent Garden. The one in Old St was pretty useless.

[nicola]

I bought an oven thermometer in Peter Jones about three weeks ago so you could try there (if you call they will tell you whether they have them in stock to save a wasted journey - phone no. is 7730 3434)

[Charlie O]

Many health food shops often stock rye flour - including some branches of Holland and Barret. The size of the packs are usually smaller than those you'll find in supermarkets but should be enough for most of Dan Lepard's recipes.

[esthergalan]

I've been doing the rounds like you looking for thermometers, and believe it or not Amazon.co.uk has the largest selection I've seen so far. Unfortunately, even the best kitchen shops, even Divertimenti, are woefully inadequate when it comes to nuts and bolts kitchen equipment. A good website to browse is also www.silvernutmeg.com. I've bought a lot from them. As to flour - so far Fresh & Wild in Notting Hill has had the best selection I've found so far, but I haven't really looked into it in depth. As you've got Dan Lepard's book, why don't you e-mail him via his website www.danlepard.co.uk, and ask him if he has any recommendations about where to by flour in London or on the internet. Apparently he is a very approachable guy.

As to books - Have you got Elizabeth David's "English Bread and Yeast Cookery?" It is very good.

Now that you're going pro, can we look foward to reading about your adventures with natural starters here on e-gullet?

[silverbrow]

Thanks for that. Far from going pro, just trying out something new. Not quite up to the standard to post the results here yet

[danlepard]

Hello asilverfish,

I live in London, and for special flours I use Flour Direct (from Shipton Mill, listed at the back of The Handmade Loaf, under stockists). Contact Jo King at Shipton Mills on + 44 (0)1666 505050 (or email enquiries@shipton-mill.com) and she will be able to sort out a price list for you. I do like the range of white wheat and wholemeal flour available at Waitrose. Try the Marlebone High Street branch - I used to go there frequently when setting up Levant and Locanda Locatelli for the odd bit of flour.

regards

Dan

[magnolia]

ASilver - don't worry about the rant...I've lived in London for eight years and I'm amazed at what I have been unable to find, for love or money (has *anyone* in this country heard of windowscreens? hello, there are more insects in England per square inch than the Amazon !) But there are lots of good reasons to live here too, so I guess it all balances out...

Some other places for you to try...

Hansens Kitchen & Bakery Equipment on Fulham Road: 73516933

Lakeland Limited (online and some shops around the country -

http://www.lakelandlimited.com/

And of course if you make it to Paris, you have Dehillerin which has everything you can imagine.

There's also a terrific French mail order company which ships abroad if you are really desperate http://www.culinarion.com/

[slacker]

Hello asilverfish,

I live in London, and for special flours I use Flour Direct (from Shipton Mill, listed at the back of The Handmade Loaf, under stockists). Contact Jo King at Shipton Mills on + 44 (0)1666 505050 (or email enquiries@shipton-mill.com) and she will be able to sort out a price list for you. I do like the range of white wheat and wholemeal flour available at Waitrose. Try the Marlebone High Street branch - I used to go there frequently when setting up Levant and Locanda Locatelli for the odd bit of flour.

regards

Dan

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