There’s no bread without butter: learn how to make your own

“Sour dough isn’t sour,” said chef Corvin Pietersen, aka Broodkop, with a wry smile as he kicked off his Broodkop baking class on a recent Saturday morning in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. His “den”, a spotless kitchen 12 floors up, the backdrop of glass behind him offering a window on the city, is alluring.

He oozes passion about his subject; his drive is to educate people about sour dough. One is immediately struck by the simplicity of his kitchen — a fridge, oven and a mere smattering of equipment and ingredients. The secret to his craft is laid bare. There's nothing complicated nor expensive about it. He demonstrates it's all about hands — the touch and feel of the dough, instinct and patience, of which he has bucket loads. There's a big helping of spirituality to his craft. “Let us not forget the humility that comes from a humble loaf, he said. Let us not forget the culture of bread.”  It's an apt quote from his brilliant, newly published cookbook, Broodkop, Our Daily Bread.

During the dark days of Covid-19 the world became obsessed with sourdough bread-baking due to the shortage of commercial yeast. The centuries-old method of making bread was resurrected, but mastering it, as many discovered, wasn’t as simple as the ingredients. On that Saturday, we'd come together to learn more. The class of seven, all bread lovers, hung onto his every word. To kick off, he gingerly lifted the cover on his precious, vast, bubbling mass of sour dough starter, affectionately known as Koppe. The very essence of every loaf, it is the naturally fermented yeast that kicks off the process, giving the bread that beautiful sponginess.

What is a starter? It is a live, fermented culture of flour and water which, as it ferments,  harnesses the natural yeasts in the air to start the natural fermentation in making bread. Highly valued, the mass requires nurturing and feeding, the slow fermentation making the finished product digestible, unlike commercial bread produced quickly using commercial yeast and many additives to speed up the process.

As we handle our mounds, we learn the Broodkop dough we make is a sticky, high-hydration variety. Under the expert's guidance, stretch, fold and nurture it. It's all about patience, lots of it. Pietersen's anthology is peppered with terms such as fermentation, volume, shaping, folding, pleating, hydrations, gluten, gluten strands, and gluten window and scoring.

Broodkop bread is a unique blend using four flours: for the white, he swears by the Champagne Valley artisanal brand grown and milled in the Drakensberg, an all-purpose, strong flour;  red sorghum, which offers a hint of spiciness and the beautiful hue; wholewheat; and, of course, a helping of Koppe, the essential starter which is made with rye flour. 

To fill the time when the dough is doing essential proving, a delectable brunch is provided — vast helpings of scrambled egg, sausage, tomato, an interesting breakfast-style salad and, you guessed it, lots of freshly made sour dough with real butter to slather on. It's so good, it needs nothing else.

The goal? You leave the class with an incredible loaf of hot bread straight out of the oven, a bucket load of information and inspiration and, to get you started at home, a large packet of the excellent Champagne Valley flour. 

More information and bookings: thatfoodguy.com.

To order some of this excellent bread: orders@broodkop.com

Follow Broodkop on Instagram: #broodkop_sa

MAKE SOME BUTTER FOR THAT BREAD

Few food combinations are as divinely satisfying as a slather of rich butter on fresh bread. In fact, It seems almost criminal not to enjoy a homemade slice without the stuff. Or, worse, with a cheaper alternative.

Being a baker, I was intrigued when I came across a butter workshop offered by HomeGrowers, a garden shop in Linksfield, Johannesburg.

I booked a class for two at R220 per person. This included a bag with a tub in which to store your butter at home and a muslin cloth, 500ml fresh cream for whipping into butter at home, instructions, coffee throughout the workshop and a taste of the butters at the end of the demonstration (spoiler alert: they were fantastic).

The workshop was presented by Cassian Davis, vegetarian, gardener, lover of plants and owner of HomeGrowers, who saw the potential in moving beyond selling plants and garden tools to take his passion into the kitchen. He now teaches people how to use the produce they grow to create beautiful, tasty food.

Other regular classes include making chilli oil, hot sauces, pickles, cream cheese and mozzarella. Even workshops on medicinal mushrooms, growing potatoes and managing a worm farm.

The butter workshops usually last between 90 minutes and two hours. During this time Davis demonstrates the process of taking cream (fresh and long life) and turning it into butter. He also walks you through the best tools to use and the process of infusing butter.

The workshop is short yet informative and you leave feeling confident enough to attempt making your own. As you’ll discover, the process is not overly complicated or drawn out. My bet is that with the current cost of good-quality butter, you’ll soon be whipping up and enjoying batch upon batch at home.

The next butter class takes place on March 25.

For more information and bookings: Visit the  HomeGrowers Facebook page or website.