A couple of days’ before Easter, I did some filming for Waitrose TV. Along with the brilliant crew from Parkinson Productions, I made three short films showing how to make gluten-free and dairy-free bread, cake and pie.
It was a fantastic experience. I’ve never been on a film shoot before and, even though they told me that it was a fairly small production compared to some, it seemed seriously impressive to me. They were 13 crew in total – the Director, Producer, 3 Cameramen, 1 Soundman, 2 Home Economists, 1 Make-up Artist, 3 Assistants and myself. We had a beautiful venue in Hertfordshire and the entire day was fascinating.
I always thought that filming meant lots of takes. But they did just one run on each piece to camera, with extra filming of my hands doing things and an additional recording of me talking through the recipes. The attention to detail was incredible. At various stages the main Cameraman even covered himself in a black blanket to ensure that he didn’t cause any reflection on the work surfaces.
We chose a bread recipe because I wanted to show the techniques I use to make bread. I use more liquid than most people and whisk the mixture with a metal whisk. I don’t knead the bread or leave it to prove. And when the mixture’s in the tin, I run a wet spoon over the top to help make the top smooth. All of these methods are unusual – but they work really well for gluten-free bread. You get a lovely rise to the bread, with a great crunchy crust. And for this recipe, I toasted seeds to add flavour.
The recipe is up on the Waitrose website. Click now to watch my Gluten-Free Toasted Seed Bread recipe – and I hope you enjoy it!
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