The owner of E5 Bakehouse on a vintage Danish bread slicer, cheese from “the dark knights of cholesterol” and an invaluable baking resource
OBJECTS
Raadvad bread slicer »
“I bought this on eBay from someone in Denmark. Raadvad is a Danish brand – this one is probably 50 years old. The beauty of it is how thinly it slices the bread.” – Ben
Beehives
“I was delivering bread on my bike in Clapton a few years ago and I saw a rasta guy with a bee smoker. I asked him what it was. It turned out he had hives down on Walthamstow nature reserve. He started taking me there and I ended up taking a frame out of his hive. Now I have two hives of my own. The honey is delicious. My bees produce just enough to keep me going. Most beekeepers would treat their hives with chemicals but I’m being a bit of a hippy and leaving them to do what they want to do. But I am feeding them with sugar this spring, because this is when their population rapidly increases.”
Wood-fired oven
Ben still has the first wood-fired oven he ever built in his back garden. “It not actually a very good oven but I’m quite fond of it as a sculpture.”
Wooden cutlery holder
“I’m very proud of this. I got it from my grandma when she passed away. No one else wanted it so I nabbed it, and the cutlery as well.”
INGREDIENTS
Smoked trout
“I buy this from a couple of nice guys in the Sunday market in the schoolyard off Chatsworth Road. They’re pals with the people up in Scotland who farm the trout and smoke it themselves using woodchip from old whiskey casks.”
Bread
From E5 of course. When we visit, Ben has Gilchester buns, a wholemeal miche and a loaf of walnut rugbrød, which was inspired by a recent trip to Denmark – “a whole gang of us went to Copenhagen to see what we could learn”.
Cheese
Ben buys a ripe gorgonzola from O Toma O Morte on Chatworth Road market – they call themselves “the dark knights of cholesterol”.
Yoghurt
Delicious yoghurt from Hurdlebrook Farm in Somerset – a dollop of it goes into Ben’s frittata.
BOOKS
Bread, Jeffrey Hamelman »
Invaluable baking resource from an American master baker. “We draw on this book a lot at E5.” – Ben
The River Café Cook Book, Rose Gray, Ruth Rogers »
“One of my favourite cookbooks.”
The Eagle Cookbook, David Eyre »
The Eagle in Farringdon started the gastropub trend in the early 90s and is still one of the best. “I really like this book.”
The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan »
“I’ve been reading this recently – it captures a lot of the perversions within the modern food system.”
Parsons Bread Book: A celebration of the art of baking bread and the great bakers of New York City, Parsons School of Designy »
“A friend gave this to me. It’s quite a unique little book.”