“I Didn’t Expect Other People To Enjoy My Bread!’”

The first time Lucie Steel took her home-made loaves to a village market, she expected to bring them all back home with her – but they were such a success that she now has a busy bakery in the heart of the foodie village Pangbourne, in Berkshire.

“I was raised to make my own bread, but only discovered how magical it could be in my 40s when I learned how to make sourdough using a flour and water ‘starter’ instead of yeast,” says Lucie, 56. “It couldn’t have come at a better time in my life. My mother had recently died of Parkinson’s and, realising how short life is, I’d given up my job as manager of a veterinary practice to do part-time jobs that fitted around my (then) six-year-old son Ralph’s school day. I didn’t want to look back and regret not having had more time with him.

“I had the time to bake, and started selling at three monthly markets, but our little kitchen soon felt smaller than ever. So, using £13,000 left to me by Mum, I had a shipping container installed in our garden and fitted out as a professional bakery.

“As well as the markets, I started selling my bread to a café and a couple of private catering companies. My aim was to earn around £1,000 a month – and, by also teaching others to make bread, I was soon managing that.

“Three years ago, I outgrew the container and moved into wonderful premises opposite an award-winning cheese shop in Pangbourne. I now have a team of people working with me and we’ve become famous locally for our seven seed sourdough (my own recipe), frangipanes, quiches, croissants, and pains au chocolat.

“Ironically, having giving up one very busy job, I am now working harder than ever – but I love what I do, and that makes it all worthwhile.”