An Epic Hands on Baking workshop rediscovering the breads of ancient Rome through different doughs that we will make using spelt flour.
In the historic city of Colchester (called Camulodunum by the Romans : the first and largest Roman city and even, for a short time, the capital of Britain) Giovanni will run an Ancient Roman Breads Making workshop at The Commons Community Kitchen and Cafe in Colchester.
£65.50 per person, including hot drinks, refreshments, and recipes.
Spelt was the most used cereal in ancient Rome, until the appearance of wheat ( soft and hard wheat ) more productive and easily cultivated. Bread was the basis of the ancient Roman diet from the 2nd century BC, that is, from when the use of yeast became widespread, which allowed the processing of ground spelt not only to cook puls, that is, spelt soup, but also to knead loaves and focaccias of various types, and bake them in the oven.
During this hands on baking workshop we will take a virtual journey, going back in time and kneading from scratch 3 types of dough with different shapes :
Panis Picenus : made with Millet flour, Grapes juice , honey and Poppy seeds
Panis Farreus : the ancient bread, made with spelt flour, milk, honey, oil, candied fruit and black pepper.
Catone Libum : an ancient focaccia dough made with Spelt flour, yogurt, olive oil, mixed herbs, bay leaves and ricotta cheese.
Suitable for all abilities, hot drinks refreshments and recipes will be included..
Eventbrite link to book and find more information
The Culinary Adventures of a Travelling Baker
Born in Naples, Giovanni is the fourth-generation baker in his family, which owns a bakery in Pollena Trocchia in the Vesuvius National Park, near Naples. It was there where he was taught by his grandmother Maria from an early age. After graduating at 18 from the cookery academy of Pollena Trocchia, he started to work full time in his family bakery until he was 22 when he began traveling the world, baking along the way. Now living in England for almost 10 years, Giovanni works as a baking teacher and teaches various categories of courses in different venues across Essex, Suffolk and London.