THE Pugmill Bakehouse at The Farnham Pottery has opened its doors with a new series of workshops and meet ups for people to come and explore the art of home cooking and baking, and the craft behind it, restoring wood fired production to the site for the first time in decades.

To reintroduce the tradition of producing bread as part of communal baking the Pugmill is launching a Bread Club, as well as hosting a series of one and two-day bread workshops by master baker Emmanuel Hadjiandreou.

Kay Richardson, founder of the bakehouse, said: “As with any craft we respect our ingredients and ourselves. Cooking in a wood-fired oven may encourage you to slow down, breathe deeply and appreciate the beauty of your surroundings. You may find yourself grateful for things you cannot control.”

The workshops are hands-on and small, so bakers will get to stretch the dough, prepare the lunch and experience the live fire and curling smoke while the oven gets ready to bake. Everyone is welcome and will be greeted warmly in comfortable, natural and inspiring surroundings.

Good food takes time to prepare and The Pugmill Bakehouse is inspired by traditional values and good old-fashioned hospitality. Here people will discuss recipes, prepare and cook, and enjoy a healthy, wholesome meal with people who share the same passion for baking and slow food.

For although bread is the cornerstone of baking they aren’t limited in their oven - pies, pastries and other dishes will all be baked to be shared with the same properties of handmade, mindful, communal and slow left in.

The bakehouse has been created as part of the wider restoration of the Farnham Pottery, and is a new communal space designed as a homely and unpretentious place. Linked by the love of craft and handmade artisan products it now sits in the heart of the pottery’s creative community

The Bread Club will be hosted on the first Friday of the month from Friday, June 3.

For Kay, this has been a long journey: “I first approached the pottery owners, Guy and Elaine Hains, with a vision for the bakehouse in 2012. Sharing in a wood-fired community oven was common in Europe for centuries, and they were often the focal point for the community.

“I have been lucky to work with several communities with their own communal kitchens at their heart, and through our shared commitment to a well crafted restoration, an amazing space has developed here in Farnham. As a culinary pyromaniac with a passion for communal cooking and slow food, opening the bakehouse has finally turned my dream into a reality.”