London: E5 Bakehouse

I wish I could tell you more about E5 Bakehouse and its bakers but both the shop and the lab were so busy when we arrived that I didn’t dare interrupt by asking questions. We were welcome warmly though and when he heard I was a bread blogger, Jean Kearn, the French barista (a talented musician as I later learned) took me to the back for a quick hello.

The bakers were shaping the multigrain, working a mile a minute. We exchanged smiles and greetings. But there was no time for more. Next time I am in London, I’ll make sure to call ahead. Meanwhile this video I found on E5’s website will give you a glimpse of the bakery. I suppose the gleaming new Austrian mill I saw in the next room (the mill house) was acquired after the clip was shot since it isn’t mentioned.

I would love to talk to the miller (see here for info on the flours and grains). There were samples in a basket on the counter and I had a taste of the new country loaf, made with wheat milled in-house. It had a terrifically wild and rustic flavor and I fell in love all over again!

I had left a card with my email address and a few hours later I heard from Alexandre Bettler (in the blue shirt on the picture). Alexandre is French and his dream is to open a bakery in London. Towards that goal, he already operates in Clapton Today Bread, a micro-bakery where he does one bake a week with a focus on organic rye breads. The bread is delivered by bike locally both to shops and to subscribers. Yet another bakery to put on the list for the next visit…