A Day in the Life of a lluvia Loaf 

Have you ever sat back to enjoy a loaf of freshly made bread and wondered about how this loaf came to life? Chances are no. 

Although most consumers assume that a loaf is factory made, factory cut, where everything works like clock-work, it really is not so, at least at lluvia

Yes, we are a commercial bakery. A home-grown commercial bakery. Its almost like Mom from your home kitchen, suddenly multiplied many-fold, and became this large bakery that makes 200 loaves of bread a day. All the processes we follow are meticulous. All our products are small batch-made, our recipes are just multiples of 10 at the most. 

Now why do we operate this way? Its to preserve the essence of the home-made, hand-made recipes we began with. Its to seal in the warmth and love that emanates from a home kitchen, its to feed you with distant memories of lingering tastes. 

We start with a gentle mixing of our key ingredients - 100% whole wheat, salt , yeast and water. That's it. No Oil, No Sugar. We now have a healthy , robust , bubbling dough in a matter of an hour. Since we woke up the dough pretty early , we let it rest by gently putting it away in a quiet place. 

We go on to do our other duties - cutting , chopping, prepping for our focaccias and pizzas, and savoury breads and pinwheels and quiche. Once the dough has had its beauty sleep , its energised enough to get back on the job, rising to the occasion ,moulding itself into loaves of your dreams. Soft , tender , whole wheat loaves coming out of a constantly burning gas oven ( We do not beleieve in using too much electricity , as we prefer to be on the environment's side). The loaves have no added gluten , nor softeners, nor modifiers or anything that doesn't belong in this kitchen of 'love'. Its just pure hard work and good ingredients that do the trick. 


Once out of the oven , the loaf gets a cool down, like the last legs of any exercise routine. So another 1 or 2 hours in the cool down phase, beautiful 'crumb' formed , soft baby -bottom crust and our loaves are ready to be sliced , packed and sent away to their 'forever' homes. 

We request you to take good care of our loaves when they are in your care. Keep them wrapped in the butter paper that we supply them in . Keep them cool and out of trouble in your refrigerator. Treat them gently, top them with home-made gourmet toppings and jams as they deserve. Savour every moment that the poor loaf has laboured in love to reach your home to satisfy your cravings. 

Sit back, appreciate and enjoy!

A Basic tart shell - really simple!!!

Simple, easy - to- bake tarts


At LLUVIA we do make tarts, but our passion to bake healthy , wholesome breads , occupies our time so much that we thought we could share the most requested menu item - TARTS.
Here's a quick simple recipe for a basic tart shell
Ingredients:
125 gms COLD butter
250 gms whole wheat flour
1 tsp powdered sugar/salt
1 Tbsp cold water
Method:

Clear up a little space on your kitchen counter. Do this when you are not doing any other cooking in the kitchen, as the temperature of other food cooking , heats up your space and will give you mediocre results on the tart.
Take the butter out of the fridge, cut into small bits with a knife. Add all the flout at once and using your finger tips, make the mixture resemble breadcrumbs. this means gently crumbling the flour and butter together. Once done, add the salt / sugar, cold water and just mix together until the dough holds together. You could also knead the dough gently a few times.Wrap the dough in a cling wrap or clean towel. Place in the refrigerator for about 40 minutes. ( If you dont have the time , then use the freezer for a quick 20 minute freeze.
Now get your rolling pin and knife ready, tart cups or muffin tray, all set. Lightly dust your counter top and roll out the dough gently to a 1/2 inch thickness. Cut a circle larger than you r tart cup size. Line the tart cup with the cut out dough and gently press down to acwuire the shape of the tart/ muffin cup.
Continue till all the dough is used up. This yields about 25 tart shells.Prick them gently with a fork , to prevent bubbling while baking.
Preheat your oven to 200C. Place the tart shells on a tray and bake until golden brown. These baked shells can be stored in your freezer in an airtight container, until needed.
Herbed Croutons


1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves, finely diced
2 cups of cubed LLUVIA BAKERY’s Whole Wheat bread / Garlic Baguette/ Plain Baguette
Salt and Pepper to taste
Herb mix* of your choice
Preheat oven to 200C /350F
Heat a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add olive oil and garlic and continue cooking just until garlic is heated through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add herb mix
Place bread cubes in a medium bowl. Pour oil – herb mixture and toss until bread cubes are evenly coated.
Transfer cubes to a baking sheet and spread evenly. Season to taste with a little salt and pepper.
Bake on the center rack of the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until croutons are golden brown. Let cool and enjoy.
If you want to speed up the baking process, you could set your oven to TOP HEAT, but make sure you watch your batch of croutons closely to prevent them from burning.
*To Make Homemade Herb Mix:
Buy assorted herbs (oregano, basil , thyme) and dry them in your oven
at 180C for about ½ hour and then powder the same.
This mix is really useful to use on baked potatoes, in soups and in pasta
Bruschetta with LLUVIA Bakery's Garlic Baguette

Ingredients:

LLUVIA BAKERY's GARLIC BAGUETTE

4 ripe tomatoes - chopped fine

1 medium onion - chopped fine

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional - olives chopped, garlic cloves chopped, fresh coriander chopped, finely chopped green chillies, grated cheese

Mix together chopped tomatoes, onions, salt,pepper and any optional ingredients that you are using. Preheat your oven at 200C for about 10 mins, you can use only top heat or use the grill option.

Slice LLUVIA Bakery's Garlic Baguette horizontally in half. Keeping both pieces together, slice on the diagonal into 6-7 slices.

Place a generous amount of tomato mixture on each slice. You can optionally top each slice with grated cheese. Place under the grill for about 10- 15 mins until the bread has turned golden brown and the cheese has melted.

Happy snacking!
I usually serve this with soup or salad as a main meal, but its a great starter for parties and so easy to make with LLUVIA's fresh baked bread!

"MY" Cup of Tea


Tea should be taken in solitude. ~C.S. Lewis.
I'm definitely not sharing mine!
Orange chocolate chip cookies, Banana bread and a steaming cup of tea! Put your feet up and enjoy a moment of solitude....