Hairy Bikers back in the saddle

Aug 17 2008 by Ken Oxley, Sunday Sun

THE North’s favourite hirsute chefs make a welcome return to our screens this week, and this time they’re staying closer to home.

Past programmes have seen The Hairy Bikers — better known as Dave Myers and Si King — travelling around exotic countries on their motorbikes in search of local delicacies, but this series sees them gallivanting around the UK.

Dave, of Prudhoe, Northumberland, said: “We did a Hairy Bikers Come Home as a winter special, and that got nearly three-and-a-half million viewers.

“After that we thought — as did lots of other people — it would be a really good idea to do a series in this country for a change.”

The pair covered more than 6000 miles on their motorbikes while filming the four-part series, which starts tomorrow by putting bread under the microscope.

Tune in to that and you’ll see Si and Dave bake the perfect classic brown loaf, as well as more adventurous Newcastle Brown Ale and cheese bread, and a naan bread to accompany the curry they rustle up on the shores of a lake. Si, of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, says baking bread can instill strong values . . . as well as helping out financially during the credit crunch.

He said: “I think at the moment people are interested in trying to save a few quid where they can too, so it’s about shifting your choice.

“Instead of going out shopping on a Saturday for bread and whatever, get some flour in and stay at home, get the kids involved and have a laugh.

“There’s nothing better than that, and who doesn’t love the smell of fresh bread or cookies wafting through the house?

“It’s about the values that it can instill too.

“My mam, my gran and aunties baked all the time, and it always made the people around them feel cared for.

“I’ve got three sons, and my wife Jane bakes for them now.

“She says baking is like getting one of those hand-knitted sweaters when you were younger.

“They made you look cared for and looked after, and baking is the food equivalent of that.”

UTHE HAIRY BAKERS, Monday BBC2 8.30pm