About - riot rye

Joe & Julie Riot Rye

Joe Fitzmaurice & Julie Lockett are Riot Rye. Joe pioneered the introduction to Dublin of modern sourdough breads. He was raised through whole-food macrobiotics and his parents, Pauline and Joe, founded ‘The Golden Dawn’, a macrobiotic whole-foods centre in Dublin in the 1970s. His sister Lorraine set-up Blazing Salads II, a whole-food/vegetarian restaurant in 1986 and then in 2000, with his other sister Pamela, opened Blazing Salads Food Company, a renowned whole-food/vegetarian delicatessen. Joe joined them straight away and began baking 100% rye, spelt and wheat sourdoughs for the deli. In 2004, the three of them opened Dublin’s first fully certified organic commercial bakery, the award-winning Blazing Salads Bread Company.

That same year, Julie visited Findhorn Foundation Community in Scotland. After her experience there, Julie and Joe decided to join Cloughjordan Eco-village and build a wood-fired bakery: Cloughjordan Wood-fired Bakery. In 2014, they decided to set a new course with their business in response to the continuing demise of true artisan and craft bakeries in Ireland and set up Riot Rye.

Joe is a founding member of Real Bread Ireland www.realbreadireland.org

The Oven

The Riot Rye oven is a heat retaining masonary oven, designed by Alan Scott, a world-renowned pioneer and designer of highly efficient wood-fired ovens.

Riot Rye Oven

Joe discussed his ideas for the bakery with Alan and its location in the eco-village. Alan recommended this particular oven design: the oven measures 120cm x 180cm internally, is lined with masonary bricks and then set in 12cm of refractory concrete. Joe constructed the oven with his friend Mando in 2011.

Riot Rye Wood-Fired Oven

Masonary ovens achieve not just higher temperatures but also better heat retention, radiation and conduction of heat. All these factors result in lighter, airier and crustier bread. Riot Rye source all timber from local, sustainably managed beech and ash woodlands.

Riot Rye Wood-Fired Oven

Awards

2017 All Ireland Restaurant Awards – Best Cookery School

2016 Euro-Toques Food Awards for Joe Fitzmaurice, Riot Rye, Real Bread Ireland – in recognition of excellent quality standards, traditional and artisan production methods, and outstanding contribution to irish food.

Euro-Toques Award