GAIL's Potato and Rosemary Sourdough Loaf, 650g

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Feed a sourdough starter 4-12 hours before starting the bread, ensuring it is active and bubbly. The active starter should be able to pass the float test. Take a small dollop of starter and place it in room temperature water. If it floats it is ready to make flour. I hope we continue to grow up and learn. We have almost one million transactions a month now. That’s a level of responsibility I never thought I would have. I have a glimpse from talking to world class bakers on what the next 10 to 15 years in baking could look like and it’s exciting. There’s some smart people wanting to make better bread.

Behind closed doors, final production tests are underway on what Gail’s Bakery – an artisan sourdough specialist – considers to be one its most exciting and game-changing new products in its 27-year history. After five years supplying chefs, the team saw a gap in the market to bring high-quality bread out of high-end restaurants and into neighbourhood cafes. Molnar and Avidan bought half the company and in 2005 opened the first Gail’s in Hampstead, north London with Mejia giving them her blessing to use her name. “She just said: you’d better do a good job.”The group – which sells everything from potato and rosemary sourdough to brioche loaves – has brought restaurant-quality baking to the masses, and it has got no plans to slow down. Going forward, Gail’s is looking to grow, initially within its south east heartland, though its wholesale arm has a bakery in Manchester which could support openings in the north of England. As it reaches its 15th birthday, what could the company look like at 30?

On Thursday the first 100 loaves of”waste bread” – baked in the early hours – will go on sale in 10 selected branches of Gail’s Bakery, before being rolled out across the rest of its 43-strong chain in London and the south-east. Roughly one-third of each baked 750g loaf consists of leftover bread and the chain calculates that the 100 loaves being baked daily will save approximately 10kg of bread being wasted per day. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise until doubled in a warm place.This is called bulk ferment. Tom Molnar jokes that he is turning into a ‘bread philosopher’. It was a personal quest to bring Londoners a good loaf that led the affable American to co-found the Gail’s bakery chain in 2005 and he, and many of the brand’s original bakers, are still on that mission.I hope this sourdough bread with roasted potato and rosemary, with its deep, rich flavor and surprisingly light texture, helps you form new food-memory connections for you and whomever you share your loaves with. Perhaps now my Dad's desire for potato bread is satiated, at least until I develop my next recipe. Dump the dough onto the counter and slap and fold the dough (French fold) for about 3-4 minutes, just until the dough starts to show signs of a smooth surface. The dough should be fairly strong.