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ing the state to step in to secure supplies and c
ontrol prices. Hungry citizens have a tendency to rise up against their oppressors. In the Roman empire, wheat, and later bread, was the world’s first unit of social welfare with up to 200,000 citizens, the plebs frumentaria, receiving subsidised bread courtesy of Emperor Augustus, who in his largesse also threw in the odd circus. Your ration was called a ‘dole’, a word that has proved very durable. Closer to home, Henry III’s Assize of Bread & Ale entered the mediaeval statute books in 1266, and stayed there for another 500 years. It might be one of the world’s first pieces of consumer protection legislation, regulating the price, weight and quality of locally sold bread. It standardised the exact weight of a bushel of wheat, a unit of measurement which (like the equally archaic oil by the barrel) is still in use. Also, to prevent unscrupulous bakers skimping on the weight of individual loaves, the assize required them to bake extra for any shortfall, hence the 13th loaf in a ‘baker’s dozen’. More recently, some 3,000 Irish farmers are to receive financial support from the government’s 2023 tillage incentive scheme, a set of inducements to grow more cereal crops like wheat, oats, rye, barley and maize to mitigate the risks to food supply as a consequence of the war in Ukraine. These appear to have been greeted favourably, unlike the authoritarian tillage measures imposed by De Valera’s government during The Emergency which were all stick, no carrot. Supply shocks, inflationary crises, force majeure, pestilence, drought, acts of god, all have conspired throughout history to thwart the supply of cheap bread that society demands, and a century from now, assuming we are still here, historians will plot our current angst into the long continuum of bread as human fuel. What they’ll be eating is anyone’s guess, but taking their long view, they might argue that today’s hyper industrialised sliced pan was a direct descendant of Panis Quadratus, the bread baked by slaves in the hundreds of communal ovens dotted across ancient Rome. Meanwhile, back in the mundane Orwell Road A new local restaurant in Rathgar 8 Orwell Road is the latest restaurant creation by Marc and Conor present at the baked goods aisle, here’s the answer to the political banana skin. Last January just before the war, you could pick up an 800gm sliced pan in the German discounter down our way for 79 cents. That’s so ludicrously cheap it’s impressive, a finished product that costs less than the organic flour that goes into one of my loaves, and that’s before I spend 48 hours mixing, proofing, shaping it by hand, firing up the fridge to cold ferment it and the oven to bake it, then putting it in a bag so you can take it home. The same sliced pan today will set you back 99 cents, a 20% increase consistent with the figures cited earlier. The price of a sourdough loaf from me has remained constant over the same period at 5, and I’m in no doubt that in the grand scheme of things, it is less profitable than that supermarket loaf. My intended destination in this contribution was to contextualise that price differential between the ‘cheap’ bread made in factories and the ‘expensive’ bread made in my home bakery, but as always with this simplest of foods, the answers can be evasive, for me at least. I will reflect on that in the hope I’ll be asked back here before too long with a view, however utopian, on how we get to the promised land of better bread that everyone that wants it can afford. That is the fervent desire of the bakers I know. Bread Man Walking is Gerry Godley’s microbakery serving sourdough, brioche and pastries to Dublin 8 and nearby every Saturday from 12 to 3pm. Pre-order by DM @bread_man_walking Bereen. Together with Chef Dan Hannigan, they have created a modern Irish restaurant, offering casual fine dining, with one aim – everything must be delicious. Orwell Road aspires to use as many local, Irish producers and ingredients as possible. Only sourcing from further afield when an Irish alternative is not available. Conor Bereen designed Orwell Road as a contemporary local restaurant. As with sister restaurant Charlotte Quay, the result is a bright, crisp, fresh space with lots of comfort and warmth. The glass panelled frontage inspired various design elements throughout the interior with the sea green Venetian plastered walls adding depth and texture. This is a space that lends itself well to convivial eating, and while stylish and elegant, the focus is on what’s important – the food! Orwell Road 8 Orwell Road, Dublin 6, DO6 H2Y5 www.orwellroad.com • E: info@orwellroad.com +353 1 621 3524 • instagram.com/orwellroad/ Opening Hours: Tuesday 5-10PM Wednesday 5-10PM Thursday 5-10PM Friday 12-3PM/5-10PM Saturday 12-3PM/5-10PM Sunday 4-9PM 35