Lucy Corkhill

By Lucy Corkhill

16th April 2013

Bread is a bit of a national staple. Since 10,000 BC, bread has been part of man’s diet, starting with a basic flatbread. Without doubt, the best bread is a home-made loaf fresh from the oven. No bread-knife required, just tear, slather with real butter, and share with friends and family. National Bread Week, running from 16th to 22nd April, celebrates our love affair with the loaf.

Lucy Corkhill

By Lucy Corkhill

16th April 2013

Lucy Corkhill

By Lucy Corkhill

16th April 2013

There are many bakeries fighting against the homogenised loaves found on supermarket shelves. Support your local bakery to make sure real bread remains part of our lives and doesn’t get wiped out. The Real Bread Campaign was co-founded by Sustain and Andrew Whitley of Bread Matters with the aim of reinstating the lost art of making bread to Britain. You can find a local baker making real bread on their website. Check out our little round up of delicious bakeries with sustainability at their heart:

1. Flour Power City Bakery is one of London’s best loved organic bakeries. You can find their delicious bread, pastries and cakes across the capital from street stalls and farmers’ markets to Michelin starred restaurants.

2. The Phoenix Bakery in Dorset is the brainchild of world class baker Aidan Chapman and his wife Lisa. Employing only the sponge dough method of baking and using only organic flour, the Phoenix produce has low salt and yeast content and offers a selection of wheat free, yeast free products. Many of the used ingredients are sourced locally such as fruit and vegetables from Pear Tree Cottage in Weymouth and organic flour from Cann mills in Shaftesbury.

3. The Grange Bakery in Cumbria is owned by Julia Sayburn and Paul Hughes who for 13 years ran the award winning Howbarrow Farm organic box scheme. A chance encounter led them to buy the bakery in 2007 when it was about to close after nearly 100 years of bread production in the town. The secret to their very tasty bread is an 80 year old Edwardian gas fired trap oven, its brick lining providing all round, strong, deep heat to bake bread perfectly.

4. The Steamie Bakehouse in Dunfermline is a social enterprise owned and run by Matthew Roberts and Zillah Scott. They began baking our own bread over ten years ago when the baker stopped coming to their town market. They use natural leavens and long, cool fermentation processes, considering that the longer time taken is well worth it for the flavour, texture and keeping quality, as well as the health and nutritional benefits. And you can join their Bread Club!

5. Bread Connections in Cheshire is a newly created bakery specialising in traditional sourdough bread and embracing baking traditions from all over the world. They use flours from British organic millers and source the highest quality fruits, nuts and seeds, plus local herbs whenever available. They use slow fermentation in all their products to develop strong flavours, produce beautiful, crusty loaves, and enhance the nutritional value of their produce. Check out their courses suitable for beginners and more seasoned bread makers. http://www.breadconnections.co.uk

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