THE RISE & RISE OF BAKING

For a long time, my understanding of flour comprised four types: plain, wholemeal, bread and self-raising. Then, lockdown hit. Suddenly, an ingredient I’d taken for granted was the most sought-after staple. ‘People went on a journey,’ says John Lister, founder and CEO of Shipton Mill in Gloucestershire, which saw a phenomenal increase in sales right across its range of flours as we all baked banana bread and sourdough and our confidence grew.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH BENEFITS

Standard wheat is dependent on pesticides and fertilisers as it’s been bred with a shortened stem that cannot grow tall enough to shade out weeds and has lost the protective husk for its kernels. The shallow roots also make arable soils more prone to flooding, and the