Loaf feast no miracle

The inviting aroma of freshly baked bread wafted throughout ASB Showgrounds at this weekend’s Auckland Food Show, enticing thousands of visitors to the Loaf & Weston Milling Baking Theatre.

A fully-functioning bakery created by Loaf Handcrafted Breads owner Sean Armstrong was a huge attraction for the multitude of foodies at the four-day food-fest.

According to Food Show organisers, the Loaf & Weston Milling Baking Theatre was one of the show’s highlights. Director of the Baking Theatre, Sean Armstrong, agrees.

“The theatre really drew the crowds and the celebrity chefs certainly lorded over proceedings with their imaginative use of breads – I’m sure people just didn’t realise how creative cooks can be using breads as a key recipe ingredient.”

The big plus for Armstrong was that people walked away from the show educated about how bread could be better used in cooking and informed about how the best breads are made.

“Bread is a staple that’s been around so long because of its popularity but I think we tend to take it for granted – many people just don’t realise how versatile it can be.

“There’s no miracle involved. What we tried to get across at the show is that handcrafted breads can be interesting and delicious and an important ingredient in cooking,” Armstrong says.

The Loaf & Weston Milling Baking Theatre continuously churned out a wide range of baked goods including ciabattas, Turkish pides, croissants and more. The fascinating and venerable baking process was presented to audiences from the first custom-made live bakery site to appear at the show.

Some of New Zealand’s best-known chefs, including Al Brown (Logan Brown) and Sid Sahrawat (Sidart) also presented intimate cooking demonstrations of how they use breads in their own top restaurants, offering expert tips along the way.