We wanted to do something a little bit different for our October recipe card so decided to celebrate the exceptional beer from our friends at the Otter Brewery. For this recipe Scott adapted one of his French country loaves, made using a Pain de Campagne flour for real character, to incorporate Otter Head which at 5.8% last month won ‘Best South West Speciality’ at the Great Taste Awards.

After a quick phone call to the brewery’s co-founder, Scott soon found himself in Mary Ann’s charming kitchen not just making the bread but also lunch for the 25 strong team up there! As a keen cook, gardener, brewer and mother of four, Mary Ann turned out to be the perfect cooking partner as they discussed everything from brewer's yeast to the virtues of different flour types.

To begin Scott and Mary Ann made a number of individual steamed suet puddings using shin of Devon beef and Otter Head. This was infused with the mild flavour of an uncut chilli and it was quite amazing to taste just how well the beer and puddings complimented each other. The second part of the morning was spent making several loaves, again using Otter Head, but with the constant distraction of the beautiful views from Mary Ann’s kitchen window all the way down the Exe valley.

Apart from the excellent beer it is the strong family ethos at the brewery that really sets Otter apart from other breweries. As surrogate mother to all 25 employees Mary Ann takes great pride in cooking lunch each day so that the whole team have the chance to sit down, relax and eat something wholesome, nutrious and seasonal together. With the freshly made bread and steaming suet puddings at the heart of the meal it turned out to be the perfect September morning.