For many people, baking (especially with wholegrain flour) can seem intimidating. But with a few basic techniques taught in a relaxed and fun environment, our Fun With Flour cooking class showed how easy it is to make nutritious, home-baked goods from scratch. Together, we made a variety of soda breads, hand-shaped pasta, and individual apple frangipane tarts; proving that great results don’t always require fancy tools or complicated recipes – and that even beginners can get creative when tooled with the right basic knowledge.
We also discussed The Guardian’s recent feature on Denmark’s wholegrain revolution, highlighting how small daily changes—like using more wholegrain flour—can make a big impact on health and wellness. Here in the UK, around one in five people don’t eat any wholegrain at all. That’s a missed opportunity: wholegrains not only reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes, they also help us feel fuller for longer—which reduces the risk of obesity.
Denmark have significantly improved public health by encouraging everyday use of wholegrain flour, demonstrating how small changes to daily habits can have long-lasting effects. Inspired by this, we encouraged everyone to keep making and using wholegrain goods at home.
A loaf of wholegrain soda bread with rosemary
Starting Off With Soda Bread
We began with a simple Irish soda bread, using different flour blends to demonstrate just how adaptable the recipe can be. The class were shocked to find out that they could make a loaf of bread without yeast, kneading or proving. We made a version with toasted fennel seeds sprinkled on top (a firm favourite with the group!), a half-white, half-brown blend, and a hearty three-quarter brown version too. It was a great opportunity to chat with the group about how small changes—like switching in some wholemeal flour—can make a big difference to both the flavour and the nutritional value of the bread.
Participants tried each other’s breads, compared textures, and chatted about how they might adapt the recipe at home. The verdict? Soda bread is easy, satisfying and best served with slabs of butter and a sticky orange marmalade.
Two happy pasta makers
The Magic of Handmade Pasta
Next, we turned our attention to fresh pasta, made the traditional way by hand with a mix of whole eggs and yolks to give it a rich golden colour and silky texture. We opted to use whole eggs rather than just the yolk to avoid wasting the whites. We shaped pappardelle, a wide ribbon pasta traditionally found in Tuscany, and tagliatelle, a classic of Emilia-Romagna. The sauces we put together were simple but rich in flavour: mushrooms with butter, parmesan and black pepper for one; roasted red pepper and tomato for the other.
The most fun was had kneading and rolling, with the radio humming in the background while the class got stuck into a guessing game: how many different pasta shapes are there? “Six” came one confident answer. “No, twelve?” guessed another. When Carlo revealed the truth—over 350 and counting—the class were shocked!
And Finally, Frangipane Tarts
Of course we had to finish with something sweet. Our final recipe was a frangipane tart—a French-inspired treat made with almond flour and seasonal apples. Everyone made their own individual tart: blind-baked the pastry cases, filled them with rich velvety mixture, topped with thinly sliced apples, then baked them until they were golden.
Frangipane tarts – picture taken by a participant
A Shared Meal
We ended the sessions like we always do – by sharing a meal together. Everyone tucked into their handmade lunch: warm, doughy soda bread followed big bowls of steaming hot pasta tossed with mushrooms and plenty of good parmesan. For dessert we shared slices of the golden crumbed frangipane tart, the sweet almonds paired perfectly tart granny smith apples. The kitchen went quiet as the class happily devoured the results of their hard work.
Each person went home with half a loaf of their own bread, a portion of tagliatelle with red pepper and tomato sauce, and their individual tartlet. Based on the grins and murmurs of “I’m not sharing this,” we’d say they left full, happy, and inspired to bake at home!
A huge thank you to Mratunjay (MJ)—one of our amazing volunteers—for lending a hand and helping make the day run smoothly.
The Fun With Flour class was a huge success, and we’re already looking forward to more sessions in the future. Whether you’re a novice baker, a pasta enthusiast, or just curious about what flour can do, we’d love to welcome you into our kitchen. Book your session here.
