You may not be aware but I am a very competitive person and I love a challenge. So imagine the excitement when I received an email from PR agency, asking whether I could write a review on sourdough bread from the award winning bakery GRADZ. Easy answer, ‘Yes of course!’, especially after reading the hand crafted breads were the creation of two master bakers, Gabriel Romuald and Agnes DamaZ, overall winners of the 2016 Tiptree World Bread Awards
What was the challenge, I hear you ask???? The number of loaves!!!!! I recognised sadly that I was going to need a little help finishing it.
Delivery was straight to the door. My brother had the task of waiting for the bread to arrive. I could not wait to get home from work, especially after he sent me pictures of my bread box
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| Bread wonderland |
How many flavours of Sourdough are there?
Just by looking at the packaging, I knew these loaves were going to be special. The history of Gradz is written on the back of all packages . Make sure you give it a read when you buy a loaf because the story really sums up what the company is about. The Gradz bakery website also details the nutritional content of each the loaves and description of all of the different recipes.
I never knew there were soo many different varieties of Sourdough. GRADZ bakery offers Spirulina and Pumpkin Seeds, Amaranth, Oats and Flax, Rye, Rye and Honey, Cherry Buns, Gluten Free etc. Soo many different flavours and textures
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| Crafted in London with love |
Whilst staring at all that bread, I remembered thinking I needed to share this with my NHS colleagues at Viapath. Everyone one I asked that night said ‘ yeah, please bring some butter’ , with the exception of Elisha and Cristina that asked for cheese and ham sourced from Borough Market. So I packed my bags with some bread and headed into Borough Market (cough) I meant work. I got cheese from Alsop and Walker (tasted divine) and melt in your mouth Iberico ham from Brindisa.
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| A bag filled with bread |
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| Finest cheese |
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| Brindisa Iberica ham |
Bring bread and they will come
Usually I go to morning tea alone but during this week, I made some new friends courtesy of Gradz. Everyday we would gather at morning tea to break bread . The loaves were opened, butter was spread
and cheese was handed out, sometimes no accompaniments were needed. Some of the loaves tasted so good, you could eat it all by itself. Everyone would describe their favourite with others rushing to taste different ones.
What’s your favourite Gradz recipe number
Each of the loaves are numbered, and each number represents a recipe from Agnes’s Great Grandfather.
Recipe Number 14 was the first to be demolished: the Oats and Flax sourdough bread was soft tasty with a lovely texture. This bread had flavour and quite a few agreed that they would definitely buy this loaf. Even with just a thin layer of butter this bread was delicious.
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| My first set of foodie |
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| I made new lunch friends |
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| Working lunch |
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| Official bread tasters |
The Spirulina and Pumpkin Seed bread (Recipe No 12 ) stands out from the pack due to its bright green colour. It was also a tasty bread with some of the depth and flavour of a good sourdough. The texture wassoft and flavours complex. Another very good moreish loaf Gradz bakery. A colleague took some home and was surprised when her kid said ” mummy, the smell of that toasted bread is lovely “. He finished it all apparently and that doesn’tsurprise me at all. This Spirulina and Pumpkin Seed bread won an award at the world bread awards. Its definitely that good.
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Recipe 24:dark bread with sunflower seeds is a gluten free bread that was rated highly. The bread does not crumble and dry out like some other gluten free breads. The pumpkin seeds are a nice addition that add flavour and texture. There was a comment or two about the number of seeds, however the gluten free eaters really liked this bread
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| Dark bread with sunflower seeds |
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Recipe Number 20, is the one that I still dream about and if you only try one thing from GRADZ bakery this is it, there were screams of disappointed when it was finished. it’s a plaited sweet bun
with sour cherry and crumble topping, yes I will say that again a sour cherry and crumble topping. Number 20 is delicious and moreish, you need to have another one on standby because it is not for sharing. Slightly toasted, this bread will pair well with butter and tea.
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Recipe Number 19 was the 100% Rye and Honey Sourdough bread .This bread was dense and flavorful with hints of honey. Many agreed that this sourdough would go well with soups.
Sunday Funday
Recipe Number 17: This is for you brunch lovers, I love making eggs on Sunday and what better way to kick of the weekend than having fried eggs with toasted Amaranth slices (No 17)
Why you should buy this
To be honest, I hardly buy bread and would much rather toast a bagel until now. I never thought I would enjoy bread so much, all the loaves I tried tasted wholesome, fresh and delicious, as if they were freshly baked that morning. There is so much choice, sourdough does not need to be hard or tough or something you treat yourself to once in a while. You can enjoy fresh soft tasty delicious bread at home. I definitelty recommend Gradz bakery’s award winning sourdough bread
Ocado now offers bread from Gradz bakery, so make sure you check out the site for all their offerings.
