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news

Aug 27
0

News of changes in the business!

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Time for news of changes in the business! Various technical changes have happened with the website recently but ongoing site problems mean editing is currently suspended.

So, what will you see when we have the solution and can edit again? A number of changes have taken place over the past few months. Plans for the year have been set aside as COVID-19 has had a serious impact on training and community project opportunities. Also, even before the ‘lock-down’ was introduced in England, the Bread Bike service in St Martin’s Square was suspended by Planet Leicester Bakers because of safety concerns. All public speaking engagements have been cancelled for the rest of the year. No training or community projects are in the diary.

Images from the WI talk at Hinckley Canalside

The last WI talk and demonstration before COVID-19 ‘lock-down’ was a great success at Hinckley Canalside

Moving forward…

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Mar 24
0

Beat the Brick! Skype Bread Baking Together sessions now on offer

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PLEASE NOTE: OFFER ENDED 13 MAY 2020. PLEASE LOOK OUT FOR NEWS OF CURRENT ONLINE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

Over the past few years many people have shared memories of themselves or their mums trying to bake bread during the national crisis that was the 1970’s Bread Strikes.

Karen's mum Betty remembered the Bread Strikes and baking a brick. Karen learnt to bake through the Sharing Bread project in 2015 and shared her skills with Betty, who was delighted with the success!

Karen’s mum Betty remembered the Bread Strikes and baking a brick. Karen learnt to bake through the Sharing Bread project in 2015 and shared her skills with Betty, who was delighted with the success!

Turning out a ‘bread brick’ has been the common refrain. Well, with many having bought bread flour of late, maybe for the first time, Planet Leicester Bakers is determined to not see a repeat of this history. Instead, wouldn’t it be great if, after this disaster has passed, we were inspired by our efforts to continue baking our bread for life, shunning the rubbish bread we’ve been eating for years?

So, how can you make sure you Beat the Brick?

If you have a device with Skype on you could get in touch and book a Bread Baking Together session with me in your (and my) kitchen. We can work out what to bake from what is in your cupboard and give it a go. This is ideal for people who are stuck at home because of the pandemic and perhaps would also welcome a bit of company while they bake. So you can be a beginner or more experienced. Either way, let’s get baking together. It’s great for relaxation and reducing anxiety, which in turn will strengthen your immune system. In the meantime, read on for a simple recipe if you want to give it a go now. You can hear me on Ben Jackson’s BBC Radio Leicester show at 10.20am this morning (24th March) talking about the recipe, the Bread Baking Together and the loveliness of making bread at a time of crisis…

 

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Feb 24
0

Real Bread Week 2020 – News featuring Planet Leicester Bakers

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We are delighted to be celebrating Real Bread Week 2020. This week Planet Leicester Bakers is featured on the Real Bread Campaign website. The focus this year is the many real bread bakers around the country who are using good bread to do good things. And I’m delighted that Planet Leicester Bakers has been asked to share the work being done here!

This isn’t the only news for this year’s celebration though.

Planet Leicester Bakers featuring on the Real Bread Campaign website

Planet Leicester Bakers and Baking a Difference featuring on the Sustain/Real Bread Week page

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Dec 03
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Bread Bike: Great Hit in Bakery’s 5th Anniversary Year

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As we free-wheel towards Christmas, the Bread Bike initiative has proven a great hit in this momentous anniversary year for Planet Leicester Bakers.

Launched in the summer to mark the business’s fifth year of trading and community activity, the Bread Bike success represents all that is great about this community micro-business. Every fortnight new special bread treats and Surprise Bike Buns are baked in the micro-bakery in Thurmaston. They are then pedaled into Leicester City Centre to St Martin’s Square.

Bread Bike in action

The Bread Bike’s first week in action, offering Amalfi Lemon and Poppy Seed loaves

St Martin’s Square is the location for a number of reasons. This includes the ethos of many of the small businesses based there. Fair Trade, environmentally friendly no plastic wares and a fellow Slow Food supporter are natural bedfellows for Planet Leicester Bakers. (Read about the business’s core values here). The support of  business staff and owners has made it a wise and heart-warming choice as well. It is great to begin to feel a physical part of Leicester’s wonderful small and micro business community. Read More

Aug 22
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Challenging Stigma and Judgement with Bread: ‘Sharing Bread+’ Launches in Leicester

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Sharing Bread+ is an exciting new community project from charity group Reaching People in partnership with Planet Leicester Bakers. Using bread to create safe space for debate, the project seeks to challenge stigma and judgement. It will encourage people to come together to find ways to strengthen relations and build togetherness within communities and also between each other.

Read more to see the full media release!

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Jul 19
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Baking a Difference: A Grand Finale. And a Bread Bike!

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Delivery of the year long Baking a Difference project drew to a wonderful close at Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College. Three young women and a staff member were invited to take part in bread making in the school kitchen. They absolutely loved it!

Project partners Learning for the Fourth Age are always keen to bring in new volunteers to the charity’s work. Giving the young women a taste of bread making was a good way to introduce them to the innovative approaches the charity adopts. Bread making with Planet Leicester Bakers also has the benefit of building confidence and encouraging enjoyment in real food. Comments from the young women certainly attested to that!

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Apr 24
0

Bunnies have been Baking a Difference

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Bunnies have been the order of the day for Care Home residents in the run up to Easter. Using a lovely French sweet dough from Bath-based baker Richard Bertinet, the residents have shaped balls of dough and dough ropes for outlines. The shape’s structure offers a lovely ‘sharing bread’ for all residents in the homes to enjoy.

bread shaped as a bunny

Care home residents have loved shaping and decorating bread for Easter

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Apr 02
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Sharing Bread at the Patient Information Forum, London

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Attendees at the Patient Information Forum event last week warmly welcomed the concept of using bread to engage people around health.  The event, ‘Reaching and Engaging Hard to Reach Groups in the Provision of Health Information’, was a fascinating day of presentations from health communications professionals. The focus was particularly people and communities that are perhaps easier to ignore and I was delighted to be asked to attend and present with Jenny Hand, CEO of Reaching People.

Michelle presenting at the PIF health event

Presenting at the Patient Information Forum event, The Royal College of Anaesthetists, London. Photo credit: PIF

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Aug 14
0

‘Outstanding’: Funder’s Verdict on Latest Project

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Planet Leicester Bakers is delighted with the response of ‘outstanding’ from funders Time to Change Leicester to our latest community project. The idea for Leicester Bread Clubs was first promoted in edition 3 of Planet Leicester News in  2017. The project report (available as a PDF here) details the first Leicester Bread Clubs project, which has been developed and delivered in partnership with Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust.

The funders were delighted with the report as well, feeling that it was ‘incredibly comprehensive’ and ‘a great mix of statistics and stories that captured the impact the project has had for service users’. The media release gives a flavour of the success of the project: Read More