About
A working bakehouse, since 2012.
Everything here was made here. The ovens start at 4am so the shelves are full by seven. Nothing is par-baked, nothing arrives frozen.
Since 2012
Ovens on at 4am. Doors at 7am. Nothing par-baked, nothing frozen, nothing brought in.
The story
It starts with a jar of flour and water.
The sourdough starter behind the counter has been fed every single day since the bakehouse opened in 2012, through Christmas, through the week the ovens broke, through every closure that has ever happened here. Somebody feeds it even on the one day a week we do not open.
The 4am start exists because of it. A proper sourdough needs hours nobody sees, and the only way to have it ready by 7am is to be the person nobody sees doing it.
Straight talk
What we do not do.
Plain rules, so you know what you are buying.
No par-baked bread
Every loaf is baked here, start to finish.
No bake-off from frozen
Nothing arrives frozen to be warmed up.
No bought-in bakes
Nothing brought in from another bakery. Everything here was made here.
No baking to a target
We bake to what we can sell fresh, so by mid-afternoon the shelves are bare.
The bakers
The people nobody sees at 4am.
No names on the live site yet, so these are labelled slots. demo
Head baker
Name, and how they got here.
Demo slot
Pastry
Name, and a line about the laminating.
Demo slot
Counter
Name, and a line about the counter.
Demo slot
The flour
Which mill, which grains.
The live site does not say where the flour comes from. This is a slot for the mill, the grains and any local growers. demo
To fill in
- MillName and town.
- GrainsWheat, rye, spelt: what goes in which loaf.
- GrowersAnyone local worth a mention.
Asked daily
Questions we get every day.
Most days, yes. We bake to what we can sell fresh rather than to a target, which is why there is nothing left by mid-afternoon.
Demo answer for the bakehouse to confirm: please ask before you order. It is one flour-dusty kitchen, so we cannot promise a gluten-free product.
Yes, on a standing weekly order. Ring the bakehouse rather than using the form.