Loafing around

WHETHER IT’S A GEM YOU STUMBLE ACROSS ON HOLIDAY, OR A HALLOWED PART OF YOUR DAILY COMMUTE, FINDING A GREAT LOCAL BAKERY IS A PLEASURE THAT’S ON THE RISE AGAIN. HERE’S A BATCH TO GET YOUR TUM RUMBLING

Earth’s Crust

CASTLE DOUGLAS, DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY Tom van Rooyen and his wife Pavlina started in a converted garage in 2011, developing a name for themselves with an earthy, crusty sourdough that flew off the shelves at farmers’ markets. They opened up the current shop and café in 2016. The van Rooyens believe the quality of their local produce is a key to their success: fruit from their neighbours’ gardens finds its way into wicked patisserie. 36–38 St Andrews Street, Castle Douglas; earthscrustbakery.co.uk

Baker’s Table at Talgarth Mill

TALGARTH, BRECON The café and bakery at the Talgarth Mill complex are part of a community initiative. Every loaf produced here uses wholemeal flour from the Talgarth watermill, a restored 18th-century mill that grinds three or four days a week. A variety of flours and breadmaking kits are available to buy. Watch the mill in action, or head straight to the café for bara brith, scones and cakes. Its bestselling loaf is a white and rye mix known as bara havard. Talgarth Mill, The Square, Talgarth, Brecon; talgarthmill.com

Baker Tom’s

FALMOUTH, CORNWALL

The Baker Tom story started over ten years ago, with two loaves pedalled on Tom Hazzeldine’s bike over to the local farm shop where he worked. Before long he opened a small shop in Truro (now closed) and now has four bakeries. There’s something pleasingly unpretentious about their evolving selection, which includes everyday pleasures such as a white tin loaf or flapjack. Its saffron buns – a Cornish speciality – are suitably golden and distinctively spiced. 10c Church Street, Falmouth, Cornwall; bakertom.co.uk

Baltic Bakehouse

LIVERPOOL

Bread is the big story at Baltic, started in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle by Brenda Henley, her daughter Grace and son Sam, gifted bakers all. A second branch at Allerton Road boasts a restaurant and café. Baltic Wild, an oft-praised sourdough loaf, is a chewy, tangy revelation. Pastries and croissants are the reason many a commuter takes the Baltic route to work (see lemon cruffin, a croissant-muffin cross, above). And then there are the much-lauded doughnuts… Baltic Triangle, 46 Bridgewater St, Liverpool; balticbakehouse.co.uk

Bread Source

AYLSHAM, NORFOLK

Steve Winter does nothing by halves. In his quest to create truly local loaves, he seeks out slow-growing wheat from Norfolk farmers, which is delivered to his own stone mill for grinding, before being set on the long, slowproving and fermenting journey to create exceptionally tasty bread. The densely satisfying sourdough is a daily bestseller, but weekend shoppers make a beeline for the granola loaf, with its sweet and sticky fruit and nut crust. 13 Red Lion Street, Aylsham, Norfolk; bread-source.co.uk

Violet

LONDON Although well known to east Londoners and Guardian readers (owner Claire Ptak had a column in the paper), Violet reached another level of fame when it was announced that the bakery would be providing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding cake ( lemon and elderflower). Its two-storey, white-painted premises are small and unassuming, your eye instantly drawn to the tidy rows of pristine cupcakes in ever-changing flavours. The namesake violet cupcake is a delicate must-try. 47 Wilton Way, Dalston, London; violetcakes.com »

Flint Owl Bakery

LEWES, EAST SUSSEX The back-to-basics philosophy at the heart of this bakery and café means bread that’s made using stoneground organic flour, little or no yeast and a long fermentation period. Even the water comes from the nearby Glynde spring. One of Flint Owl’s strengths is its inventiveness: fig, almond and marmalade tart, for example, or salted caramel bundt. Even its sourdough comes in many guises. 209 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex; flintowlbakery.com

E5 Bakehouse

LONDON What started as one man’s (Ben Mackinnon) passion project has grown into one of the most respected artisan bakeries in London, complete with a grocery shop and a café. Sourdough rules here, as do organic principles. The signature Hackney Wild loaf uses a blend of heritage and modern white wheat and rye flour. Other popular loaves are the baguette, spelt loaf and the deliciously moist walnut rugbrød (rye bread), which uses soaked rye berries mixed with walnuts and linseeds. Arch 395, Mentmore Terrace, London Fields, London; e5bakehouse.com

Hobbs House Bakery

CHIPPING SODBURY, BRISTOL The moist, chewy-crusted loaves that scent this glorious bakery are created from a sourdough starter that’s been tended by the Herbert family for 63 years. Their relatives founded the original bakery that spawned this, the first branch, and five siblings further afield. Bestselling loaves include the floury Sherston white and the crunchy seeded sourdough ( pictured on opening page). Cake-wise, brownies in a variety of flavours attract a great deal of attention. 39 High Street, Chipping Sodbury, Bristol; hobbshousebakery.co.uk

Pollen Bakery

MANCHESTER

Things can get pretty frenetic at weekends at this bakery/ café, but there’s usually space to be found at the long tables to enjoy excellent coffee and pastries. Opt for melt-in-the-mouth croissants, cinnamon brioche buns or Saturday speciality, the cruffin (see Baltic Bakehouse). This is still a business with bread at the core, though: the dark-crusted sourdough loaves turned out by owners Hannah Calvert and Chris Kelly are magnificent. Cotton Field Wharf, 8 New Union St, Manchester; pollenbakery.com

Haxby Bakehouse

YORK

Philip Clayton’s awardwinning bread is 100% Yorkshire. Much of his flour is milled up the road by Yorkshire Organic Millers. Clayton left a career in retail management a decade ago, when, despairing at the lack of good breads available for his family, he learned to make his own, then set up shop. As well as the bestselling pain au

levain (sourdough), he produces fermented yeasted loaves, brioches, croissants and delicious focaccia. 8 Ryedale Court, Haxby, York; haxbybakehouse.co.uk

Popty’r Dref

DOLGELLAU, GWYNEDD

Dolgellau’s reputation as the beating heart of artisanal produce in North Wales took a bit of a knock when the town’s beloved 160-year-old bakery closed down in 2011. Fortunately, ‘Popty’ popped up again a couple of years later: it was so much missed that Meinir Jones and her team renovated the shop and rebuilt its fan base. The Popty thing has always been honeybuns – ‘hynibyns’ ( pictured). The original bakery was famous for them, and Jones uses its recipe. Smithfield Street, Dolgellau, Gwynedd