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Winner 2008 Hepburn Regional Tourism Association Tourism Awards - Food & Hospitality Category |
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About Red Beard
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Red Beard the legendWhen visiting Red Beard, children (and curious adults) might notice the little door above our Scotch oven with the sign ‘Red Beard lives here’. Here is Red Beard’s story: Five bakers have worked here over the last 120 years and every one has baked luscious golden loaves in the big Scotch oven. When asked how they magically transform flour, salt and water into beautiful bread, bakers often speak of an oven spirit that helps them through the long nights of hard work. Our oven spirit is called Red Beard. He tells us when our wort* is rich and ripe, how wet to make the dough, when the dough has risen to just the right height, and when the bread is baked to perfection. He kindles the fire, spreads the heat evenly through the oven and wafts the smell of fresh bread around the town. Red Beard is no taller than a loaf of bread standing on its end and he has an enormous fiery beard surrounding his wizened face. He lives in a secret little room above the big Scotch oven – can you find his door?! Early each morning when we have gone to bed and the townsfolk are asleep, Red Beard opens his door, throws out a rope and climbs down to inspect the fresh bread. When he sees the loaves cooling on the wire racks, his beard crackles with excitement. His knobbly fingers tap the crusty base of each loaf - a drumming sound reveals a perfect spongy texture inside. With extraordinary strength for size, Red Beard rips a loaf in half, breaking the thick crust and inhaling the rich sourdough aroma. He devours the whole loaf in less time than it takes us to bake it. There’s always a loaf of bread missing in the morning and that’s why there are 13 loaves to a baker’s dozen, 12 for his family and one for the oven spirit - Red Beard. . |
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