East Anglia The miller's tale

Date Published:

12/09/2008

In 2006 Mike Thurlow won UKTV's Food Heroes for his restoration of Letheringsett Mill. I dropped in to see how things were going and to find out more about the art of milling

The four-storey Lertheringsett Mill was built in 1802 and was the principle mill for the surrounding area and the estate to which it belonged. "At on time this mill would have employed two shifts of 10 men, as well as the miller, and millwright," says Mike. In the Doomsday book there were 580 mills listed in Norfolk, by the 19th century this had dropped to around 80, and now Lertheringsett is the only water mill left still producing flour.

The mill pond, as you'd expect, looks calm, but as Mike explains: "There's enough power from the water wheel to drive four stones," as well as other machinery. At present Mike's got one 150 year-old pair of British stones working; he's also restoring a French set that are over 200 years old, as well as taking delivery of a brand new modern set, made in Holland. This will help him increase his output and expand, as at present he's only just able to meet demand.

Zoe the cat is the mill's mouser

A range of flours including whole wheat and spelt are ground at the mill and dispatched to outlets all over Norfolk. Mike even has businesses as far away as Nottingham coming to collect it. It's also available in local shops and by mail order allowing you and I the opportunity to bake with it. A big part of what Mike does at the mill is education. There's a schools' area upstairs where children are taught the process, but adults often need help too. "I get letters and phone calls from people asking for advice all the time," says Mike. "One American lady came in once and picked up a bag and asked 'what do I do with this'," he laughs.

I ask him if the rise in popularity of bread making machines has helped the home baking boom: "Yes, I've got one myself and use it every day. When they first came out we had every model in here testing our flour in it." It seems bread making machines give us all the joy of freshly baked bread with the 'chuck in, switch on and forget' convenience that fits in with our busy lives. And there are few things in the world to rival the smell of freshly baked bread.

You can watch Mike talk through the process of how the mill works below. If you've any bread making tips, experiences or even disasters why not tell us about them using the 'add a comment' link below too.

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