When we first opened the Pocket Bakery in 2010, all our bread dough was mixed by hand. The idea was that we would sell loaves from our front door on Saturday mornings. Even in the early days the quantity of bread made needed more space for mixing than the average domestic bowl. Instead, we put all the ingredients into a shallow, flat-bottomed vat.
I was inspired to use this vessel by a programme I heard many years ago on Radio 4, in which a group of Welsh women demonstrated how to make the magnificent Bara brith. This intensely fruity, dense loaf ranks alongside Lincolnshire Plum bread among the best tea breads made in the British Isles.
The Welsh bakers in the recording were making a large batch,...