With the return of everyone’s favourite television show and Paul Hollywood’s face to our screens, it’s hard not to constantly have cake, pastries or some kind of baked goods on the brain and so we were delighted when Liverpool based independent bakery, Rough Handmade invited us down to not only sample some of their amazing sweet treats but to even try our ha d at making them ourselves. We were excited to say the least.
For those that don’t know, Rough Handmade is a local Liverpool bakery that sells delicious sweet and savoury signature pastries, freshly made croissants and really good coffee. They have recently set up shop in our iconic Albert Dock, a large shop with an open kitchen, bare brick and bench style seating. Their small but carefully created menu is guaranteed to catch the eye of anyone, with dulce de leche croissants and pizza pastries being just two of their indulgent offerings. They also sell a fantastic range of bread baked in house, including a brilliantly nutty walnut loaf that really is a taste sensation.
We arrived at the shop to be greeted with the amazing smell of something baking, and were asked if we wanted a coffee. Strong start. After being introduced to everyone (and tasting a dreamy cinnamon roll), we were handed our aprons and set to work. To save time (and probably a fair few disasters) the pastry had been pre-made by the guys at Rough Handmade. We then took rolling pins, rolled it out into a rectangle and spread on greek yoghurt – to retain moisture.
After this we were told to fill it with ‘whatever we wanted’ and were presented with bowls of white chocolate chunks, dark chocolate sticks, milk chocolate shavings, nuts, apple, cinnamon and raisins. There was no question that my filling was going to be chocolate and a few nuts thrown in for good measure. It was then rolled up and cut into sections, ready to be proved. We then hand rolled croissants, glazed them with egg wash and stuck them in the prover as well. Whilst our goods were being prepared for the oven, we got to enjoy the bakery’s beautiful interior, chat with coffee and indulge in dulce de leche croissants. Tell me a better way to spend a Wednesday evening.
Once our pastries were proved, put in the oven and brought out smelling all kinds of delicious, I couldn’t contain my excitement. Our pastries had gone from small, round and slightly anaemic looking to huge, puffy, golden and well, lets face it, extremely instagrammable. Then, it was time for the taste test. The inside was still warm, the chocolate was melted and the pastry was everything it should be; buttery and flakey.
A huge thank you to the guys at Rough Handmade for showing us exactly how good, honest baking is done. Next time you’re passing , hop in for a latte and pastry. You know you want to.
Visit Rough Hand Made Facebook page
Laura Nicholson
