This week we say hello to, yep you guessed it, another one of our bakers and members, Abi, who will also be taking over our instagram this week to share some lockdown life!
Just before we hand over to Abi we would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has donated to our ‘Loaves For Leeds’ fundraiser. We have been totally overwhelmed and overjoyed by your incredibly generous response, which saw us hit our initial target in less than six hours! We will be keeping the fundraiser open for the time being even though we also reached our extended target in a matter of days (seriously you are all amazing!) and all donations will allow us to continue the charity bake, now in its third week, for as long as we are able! We will also be posting updates on how its all going over there so please do feel free to pop over even if you’d just like to read about how its all going: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/loaves-for-leeds
“Hello, I’m one of the Bakers at Leeds Bread Coop and I absolutely love making stuff. Anything that requires the use of my head, heart and hands. My Mum used to say I was fidgety, but as an adult we call it being crafty. I can easily while away a day doing a bit of knitting, making a birthday card, re-potting houseplants, that sort of thing. But what better to craft than something I can eat! I started baking as a kid from a beaten-up old Be-Ro book we had and from there I just got really into making cakes and buns and anything where the first step was to “cream the butter and sugar together”. Total sweet tooth.
So it was quite a surprise to me when I got hooked on sourdough. I had baked bread before, the yeasted kind, and thought nothing special of it; it was my sister that was the bread face, after all. Maybe it was because my first few attempts, more than I care to admit, were rubbish. All of the weird, grotesque, raw, burnt forms that dough can take, I’ve produced it. But there’s nothing like failing a bit less each time that makes me keep trying. I can do it now, of course. I can do it in my sleep. Actually I do dream about it, but I guess that’s what happens when you make hundreds of loaves a day for the past 5 years.
Anyway, I’ve spent the last 3 years working at LBC and have had the opportunity to work with some fantastic, conscientious, lovely people who not only work hard in creating a fair and democratic workplace but also recognise the responsibility of our business within the community. Being a member, I’m able to contribute to all aspects of the business. Literally each person has the chance to be heard and people’s input is genuinely valued in not only what we do but how we do it. I am grateful to be part of this group of individuals, and together we make some really big decisions which can be scary and difficult, especially right now, but I trust that we will collectively make the right decision. This place does more than just make bread, and I am eager to get back to it! But in the meantime, I’ll be sharing some of the bits and bobs that keep me occupied me at home.”
