Famous

March 31, 2010 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Imagine how chuffed I was to see my photo of cottage loaves (duly credited) appear in Lucy Jones’ article in the Telegraph UK!

Poor old Princess Anne – I hope she wasn’t too upset by the comparison of her hairstyle to an old style bread – but I guess if it helps to bring cottage loaves back into the public eye, then that can only be a good thing.

One of the theories behind the origin of the cottage loaf was given to me by UK based Peter May, who believes it originated hundreds of years ago when it was illegal to sell underweight bread in England:

The reason for the top (the same reason as for the ‘bakers dozen’ , which means 13) was the extremely severe penalties suffered by bakers who gave short measure. Loaves had to be sold by standard weight, thus to ensure the baker didn’t sell underweight he’d add a small dough ball on top.

Incidentally the bread laws which date from 1266 have been law right up to 2009 when the EU overruled them in the name of so called competition. Loaves had to be a full 800g (2lb) or half 400g (1lb)sizes.

I have baker friends who don’t see the sense in this, because the dough weight could be adjusted with water – why waste the extra flour? But I do think there is some merit in Peter’s argument – the finished weight of a loaf can vary quite a lot depending on baking conditions, and if I was at risk of being flogged for a light loaf, I’d be inclined to add a little to the top as well.

Don’t forget we’re having a cottage loaf bake-off – if or when you’ve baked a loaf, please send me a photo and I’ll upload it here!

Posted in Food & Friends | Tagged cottage loaf, origin of cottage loaves | 19 Comments

19 Responses

on March 31, 2010 at 1:13 am sallybr

Oh, this is soooo cool! Congratulations!!!!!

AWESOME!
on March 31, 2010 at 1:56 am GillthePainter

You’ve been published, how funny.
Congratulations Celia!
on March 31, 2010 at 1:58 am Nancy @ Roving Lemon's Big Adventure

Congratulations! And in such illustrious company too! Not to mention that your bread is the *much* more attractive of the two subjects.
on March 31, 2010 at 4:40 am figjamandlimecordial

Thank you, Gill’s right, it is just too funny… :)

Nancy, don’t be too hard, I’m quite a fan of Princess Anne, plus I think a hairdo that looks like a cottage loaf might not be such a bad thing. After all, it worked for the Bakerlite Girl in Wallace & Gromit – here’s a pic from http://www.wallaceandgromit.com – she’s almost got the same expression on her face as HRH…
on March 31, 2010 at 5:35 am Gillian

Hee hee I knew it was only a matter of time! But your bread is the star of the article. I wonder how many people bought a cottage loaf after seeing your photo …
on March 31, 2010 at 6:49 am Zeb

Yay! Way to go! Next stop the front page…. xx Jo
on March 31, 2010 at 7:02 am cityhippyfarmgirl

That’s a bit exciting! Congratulations :-)
on March 31, 2010 at 7:11 am Simon Food Favourites

congrats! :-)
on March 31, 2010 at 7:12 am figjamandlimecordial

Gillian, I wonder how easy it actually is to buy a cottage loaf these days? I’d be happy if someone actually baked a cottage loaf after the article! :)

Jo, CHFG, Simon, thank you! Though I think it’s simply a testimony to the wide ranging power of Google images!
on March 31, 2010 at 7:15 am spiceandmore

Very cool indeed. And I agree, the cottage loaf definitely comes out the winner in that article!
on March 31, 2010 at 7:39 am rayshine

Congrats! =]
on March 31, 2010 at 10:06 am foodwink

how cool! congrats – I reckon your cottage loaves look better :D
on March 31, 2010 at 2:08 pm figjamandlimecordial

Thanks guys. Poor old Princess Anne. For all you W & G fans out there – Jo sent me something interesting this morning for those of you who’ve watched A Matter of Loaf and Death – check out this 1970s bread ad on YouTube! :)
on March 31, 2010 at 6:28 pm Anna

Wow! I read the article, saw the photo, thought it looked like your cottage loaf but didn’t actually think that it was your cottage loaf!

Funny to see the orginal Bakerlite girl!
on April 1, 2010 at 5:40 am Choclette

Goodness Celia, well done and an excellent photo. Was it really just a random search on google that did this?

What’s scary about that Nimble add on Youtube is that I remember it!
on April 1, 2010 at 6:34 am figjamandlimecordial

Anna, Choclette, thanks! Choclette, I really do think so re google – can’t think how the photo might have come up otherwise.
on April 1, 2010 at 8:35 pm Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella

How fantastic! Congratulations Celia! What a coup :D
on April 2, 2010 at 5:18 am Kitchen Butterfly

Celia…..wow. Talent needs to microphone. I’m pleased for you……just doing what you love!
on May 3, 2010 at 2:04 pm Patrick Collins

You really are famous! Will you remember me?