We recently had an excellent visit to University College Birmingham (UCB - which was formerly known as the College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies) which does outstanding work in both Higher and Further Education. The quality of the courses is very high and the UCB is well found in material respects and has an exciting vision for the future.
During our visit, the Lady Mayoress and I were very interested today to learn of the revival of the Birmingham Close Notched Cottage Loaf!
The loaf, which was very popular in the late 19th and the first half of the 20th Century has been re-launched by UCB. This is a great service to the people of the city! We can vouch for this personally as we took a loaf back to the Lord Mayor’s Parlour and the staff greatly enjoyed the fresh baked Brummie bread!
The recipe was re-discovered by one of the College’s Bakery lecturers when they were looking to expand the range of breads the students make. There are other regional loves (for example the Evesham ‘Bomber’) but our focus here is the Birmingham loaf. It has more ‘notches’ which give a far nicer crust and a nicer shape as it is more stable in the oven. The inside is light and delicious.
Cottage loaves originated with farming families and were made from two lumps of dough to save space in small ovens. The dough would be made using locally sourced flour, perhaps from Sarehole Mill in Hall Green or Berkswell Windmill or even Avoncroft near Bromsgrove. Birmingham flour was renowned for its taste and flavour.
You can buy the loaves in the shop at UCB in the city centre and we are hoping to have a stall at the Lord Mayor’s Show at the end of May. I can send you the recipe if you would like to have a go at making one. Just email me as Lord.Mayor@birmingham.gov.uk
During our visit, the Lady Mayoress and I were very interested today to learn of the revival of the Birmingham Close Notched Cottage Loaf!The loaf, which was very popular in the late 19th and the first half of the 20th Century has been re-launched by UCB. This is a great service to the people of the city! We can vouch for this personally as we took a loaf back to the Lord Mayor’s Parlour and the staff greatly enjoyed the fresh baked Brummie bread!
The recipe was re-discovered by one of the College’s Bakery lecturers when they were looking to expand the range of breads the students make. There are other regional loves (for example the Evesham ‘Bomber’) but our focus here is the Birmingham loaf. It has more ‘notches’ which give a far nicer crust and a nicer shape as it is more stable in the oven. The inside is light and delicious.
Cottage loaves originated with farming families and were made from two lumps of dough to save space in small ovens. The dough would be made using locally sourced flour, perhaps from Sarehole Mill in Hall Green or Berkswell Windmill or even Avoncroft near Bromsgrove. Birmingham flour was renowned for its taste and flavour.
You can buy the loaves in the shop at UCB in the city centre and we are hoping to have a stall at the Lord Mayor’s Show at the end of May. I can send you the recipe if you would like to have a go at making one. Just email me as Lord.Mayor@birmingham.gov.uk
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