IT IS HARD to think it has only been three-and-half months since my girlfriend Laura Moore and I packed our bags, turned our backs on our lives and careers in Bath and arrived on Cunnamore pier in West Cork with the idea of setting up The Firehouse Bakery and Bread School. As we stood there waiting to take the short ferry journey to Heir Island, I think it’s fair to say many people thought we were a little crazy.

Giving up successful jobs and heading back to recession-hit Ireland, while most people were headed for the exit door, you can understand their doubts. Things didn’t improve once I told them my intention was to set up a small bakery and bread school on an island a quarter of a mile off the coast with a permanent population of 27. But there is something special about Heir Island. For the past 10 years Laura’s family home has been there, and before that for many years it was her Dad’s party house . . . if only the walls could talk.

I suppose it wasn’t that radical a move for me as I have never been one to take the simple path. It wasn’t that long ago that, having obtained a degree in corporate law, I choose to swap law books for chefs’ knives. Law degree in hand I signed up for a two-year course in professional cookery at Galway Mayo Institute of Technology. Working under Michelin-starred chef Kevin Thornton helped cement the foundations upon which I stand today.

Backpacking my way around the world, on a beach in Fiji my path crossed with Duncan Glendinning, a web designer who was toying with the idea of opening a bakery. After some wining and dining, he had me signed up and we settled on Bath in the UK as a location. Put together on a shoestring budget with everything that we could beg, borrow and steal, The Thoughtful Bread Company was born. It became an award-winning artisan bakery, and together we released our first book Bread Revolution, in March.

But after almost four years, nice as Bath is, it wasn’t home. And if there was going to be a bread revolution in Ireland, I wanted to be at the front of it. The decision was made to return home. Laura and I loaded up our beat-up car and headed for Fishguard.

One of the great things to come from the recession is that people are returning to their butcher and their baker. People are more careful with their money, they expect value, want to know where things are coming from and want to be more self-sufficient. A move away from the reliance on supermarkets is coming.

For far too long we have been subjected to pre-sliced, pre-packed, mass produced excuses for bread. It seems apt that we would make the rebel county home as we aim to establish a “bread revolution” .

Bread at present is need of some serious positive PR. Feeling a little bloated and tired, the finger automatically points to the wheat-based guy in the corner. More and more people are self diagnosing themselves as wheat intolerant, but yet claiming to be fine with spelt. Spelt is wheat. It is simply a more primitive grain, meaning it is softer on your digestive system. In the majority of cases, wheat is not the problem, it is convenience living.

Have a look in your bread bin, that soft pre-sliced mass-produced excuse for bread has a lot to answer for. Believe me, you don’t want to know what goes into making it. Bread in its purest form requires nothing more than flour, salt, water and yeast (wild yeast in the case of sourdough). When made properly there is a bread for everyone, regardless of age, race, religion, or dietary requirement. It is the one food source that is deeply-rooted in every culture.

Bread-making is something that we should all be able to do. It is a skill that, once you acquire it, will be with you for life. But yet many people are afraid of it and find the idea of bread making daunting. At the Firehouse Bread School, we want to take the fear out of bread making and return bread to its place as king of the table.

We opened our doors to our first pupils on June 30th, and we have been fully booked ever since. It has been an amazing few months and if the interest and passion that I have seen is anything to go by, the future is bright.

If you haven’t done so in a while, then dust off that old bread tin, grab yourself some quality flour and get kneading or, better still, come join us at The Firehouse. We will be running family classes, bake and sail weekends and fine dining island-style pop-ups.

Real bread in Ireland is on the rise, so get out there and support your local baker – a taste sensation is waiting for you – the taste of real bread.

See thefirehouse.ie

Tips on Kneading

* Kneading is when we draw out the magic in the flour – this stage is all about gluten development. Gluten is the main protein in flour and, when flour absorbs water, the gluten forms bonds that make it elastic.

* Everyone tends to have their own slightly different technique, but you do need to get your hands really stuck in, and keep at it for 10-12 minutes. Push the dough away with the heel of one hand, then fold it back over towards you, and give it a nifty quarter turn before stretching it again. Some people knead mainly with one hand; others use both. Do whatever’s most comfortable for you.

* When you knead by hand, rather than by machine, you can feel the change in texture. When ready, the dough will become much smoother and more elastic; it will stretch without tearing. As you knead, and the gluten develops, you’ll notice the dough pulling away from the surface more easily.

* A dough scraper is great for gathering the dough back together into a ball when it does stick. If the dough feels a little tight and firm you can adjust the consistency by adding a little more water. Make a well in the centre of your ball of dough and sprinkle in a tablespoon or two, then work it in fully by kneading.

* By kneading it well, your bread will rise better and have a soft, even texture.

Truly versatile white bread dough

Enriched white bread

This is your everyday loaf, the one for the kids’ sandwiches, and smothering with butter and jam. It is also a fantastic all-purpose dough.

Flatten it out using the tips of your fingers until it is about two centimetres in thickness, with the characteristic dimples you would expect. Cover generously in olive oil and the toppings of your choice. Prove for 40 minutes. Give a final drizzle of olive oil and bake at 230 degrees/gas 8 for 15 minutes and you will have a foccacia.

A 200g portion of dough rolled thin produces a 12-inch pizza base. Get yourself a pizza stone or improvise with an up-turned roasting tray. Preheat the oven to its highest setting and cook the pizza direct on the stone/roasting tray.

And if you find yourself with a bit of surplus dough don’t let it go to waste. Roll the dough as thin as possible. Cut it into shards and arrange on a floured baking tray. Bake at 160 degrees/gas 3 for about 10 minutes or until crisp, and you will have crackers better than anything shop-bought.

Makes two small loaves or 12 rolls. You will need two 400g (1lb) loaf tins, or two baking trays, and a handful of ice cubes for steaming the oven

500g strong white flour

1 heaped tsp salt

15g fresh yeast (5g of dried yeast)

300ml lukewarm water

50ml olive oil or rapeseed oil

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Crumble the yeast into the lukewarm water so that it dissolves. Add the water and olive oil to the well and bring the dough together with your hands or with a spatula.

Turn the dough out on to a clean surface and knead for about 10 minutes or until the windowpane effect has been achieved. (When you stretch the dough thinly, it should not tear but be able to stretch so much that you can begin to see light through it.) The dough should be soft and elastic.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to prove for 60 to 90 minutes, until doubled in size.

Turn the proved dough out and knock it back. Divide the dough into two equal portions, then shape it into two loaves and place into two 1lb loaf tins. Cover and allow to prove again for about 60-80 minutes. Your loaf should come to just below the rim of your loaf tin.

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees/gas 7. Place a roasting tray into the base of the oven. When you are ready to bake, place the loaves into the oven and drop the ice cubes into the hot roasting tray, which should release a blast of steam. Bake the loaves for about 25 minutes. Remove from the tins and cook for a further eight minutes. Resist the temptation to get stuck in until the loaf cools.