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At the beginning of May 2003, I was asked by a journalist, Leslie Plummer, at The Guardian (a UK daily newspaper) if I might like to contribute names for a list celebrating baking in this country. Fine bakers, good, excellent, and some simply ok. Together, they make up a strong collective that represents the rather special effort every baker makes daily. The list below is meant to be a starting point, and hopefully with contributions from readers, can become embracing and precise. Let me know of any bakeries that should be included, or if there are any mistakes that need changing.

However, please remember that bakers, chefs and small businesses can change opening times and any other details, at any time. Before you set off looking for good bread and bakeries, I strongly advise you to phone and check opening times, addresses, or any other details you need. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained here in this guide to bakeries, neither myself nor anyone connected with this site can accept responsibility for any errors it may contain.

When I call or visit a bakery, or when you do, we expect good service. If you don't get it, let me know immediately and I'll look into it.

Also, to help the home baker or aspiring artisan, the following code has been added, telling you if the bakery sells (telephone first to see if your need to order in advance):
fresh yeast; leaven; flour; small equipment; or books

 

London

New British

Every so often you get a marked step change in the accepted qualities found in a made thing. Not a simple better or worse, but complex changes that sets a different set of characteristics for producers to aim for. Well, that change has come again. Beautiful dark crusted leaven-crafted loaves from Jon Rolfe and his team at The Flour Station, sold at Fresh & Wild (Notting Hill) and both the Borough and Covent Garden sites of Neal's Yard Dairy. Their wheatgerm leaven bread has a blistered crust, and a clear pronounced tang to the open textured, earthy brown toned crumb. The aeration is a little regular, but exceptionally good - similar to Jason Warwick's award winning sourdough at the Brassiere Bread Company in Sydney. Taste is crisply sour and vinous. The Flour Station (wholesale enquiries, tel 020 72235656) 22 Gwynne Rd, London SW11 3UW

The Celtic Baker (organic), West Hendon, London NW9
(020 8202 2586)

Probably the first honestly organic bakery in London was Neals Yard Bakery. It is difficult to over-praise the effect this mini-village (complete with bakery, dairy, flour mill, apothecary, and a café) founded by the late Nick Saunders in the latter half of the 1970s, had in charging up the wholefood movement in Britain, and from the start the Yard became marked as a hub for every citizen who cared about animal welfare and sustainable food production in Britain. Baker John Loffler has been working the dough there for 20 years, starting just 3 years after it opened. "Our Covent Garden site is getting a much needed face lift", John tells me. "So we're moving our production down south of the river to Twickenham". So how are the breads after nearly a quarter of a century of non-stop baking? "All our breads are still 100% organic", he says, " and still mainly wholewheat based. Recently we have introduced a range of artisan breads, and we also do a variety of organic pastries and cakes, many wheat free and dairy free". For stockists and a list of their full range, call 020 8744 1992 or email john@nealsyardbakery.co.uk.

& Clarke's, 122 Kensington Church Street, London W8 0207 229 2190
www.sallyclarke.com

Baker and Spice, 75 Salusbury Road London NW6 (020 7604 3636)

Old Post Office Bakery, 76 Landor Road, London SW9 (020 7326 4408)
or go to www.oldpostofficebakery.co.uk

The bread at Born and Bread Organic Bakery, is now in the hands of Amar Chibane, who continues to produce excellent bread from their Llopis woodfired oven. For wholesale details telephone 020 8693 1222 , or retail at the East Dulwich Deli, 15-17 Lordship Lane, London SE22 8EW, 020 8693 2525

Based in based in Tottenham, London N17, Flourish Bakery & Patisserie sells direct through London farmers markets at Whetstone, Pimlico and Notting Hill. It also supplies several high-profile outlets (for details 020 8801 9696; www.flourishbakery.com)

Manuel Monade has finally settled at the relaunched Hoxton bakery run by Flour Power City, and it's founder baker Matt Jones says it's looking good. "Manuel has just got the sourdough baguette perfect, and has introduced a 100% rye soudough dotted with sour cherries and flavoured with carraway. He's this river of creativity". The Hoxton breads are supplied at their market stalls, but identified as coming from the inner city bakery. The business is getting back to it's roots after a short spell selling online. "I can't believe that';s the way people want to buy bread. Surely they want their local baker?" They supplying the likes of Fresh & Wild and Neal's Yard Dairy -- 228 Hoxton Street, London N1 ( 020 8691 2288) and 19 Vale Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent (01892 547 456) and through stalls at Tunbridge Wells and Henley-on-Thames farmers markets, and Borough Market, London SE1

I have a soft spot for this bakery. Euphorium started 8 or so years ago, simply as a restaurant (I even worked a few days in the kitchen when it started, chaos and madness). But the owner had the idea to set up a small bakery, and after he left and the restaurant closed, all that's left is the bakery. Now, chef/head baker Jan Hanzl runs the brigade there, helped by pastry chef Philiphe Hamel, and bakers Grenaël Rouyer and Gregory Labaille. "I started bread baking back home in Czechoslovakia", says Jan, "in Vimperk, close to the German border, about 150 km from Munich. My father still has a bakery there, specialising in wholegrain rye and wholemeal wheaten breads. Here we're always trying to bring in new recipes, as we find them. We're not trying to be French, or German, or Italian". The front window of the bakery is filled with a bread grid, baskets stuffed with freshly baked crusty loaves, and there is a bid selection of viennoiserie with rather excellent criossants. "We have a wholegrain Scandinavian bread that’s very popular", says Jan. "Its lasts very well, and tastes very good". He's right there.
Euphorium Bakery, 202 Upper Street, London N1 1RQ 020 7704 6905, also at 26a Chapel Market, N1; and 45 South End Road, Hampstead

Across the street from the Almeida Theatre, but right bang on the Islington Ramblas down the Highbury end, the bakery/diner/restaurant Ottolenghi is a clean cool space in which to sit and feast on breads, including a sourdough, stirato, focaccia and aplle and oatmeal loaves, together with cakes, medditeranean inspired salads, meats and cool drinks. Licenced, so you can drink a little wine with your bread. Baker Mariusz Uszakiewicz looks after the breads, Jim Webb orchestrates the bakery arena, and head chef Etti Mordo cooks up a mountain of delectable main course dishes. Sit where you like during the day, then half the tables are bookable in the evening.
Ottolenghi, 287 Upper Street, Islington, 020 7288 1454

Marcus Miller, at Millers Bespoke Bakery, in Battersea
(for wholesale enquiries, tel 020 7720 1234)

Exeter Street Bakery supplies Alastair Little’s food store Tavola in Notting Hill - for other stockists, tel: 020 89927748)

Dan Schickentanz is a baker who works hard to promote good bread in the UK. His company, De Gustibus, was one of the first to sell a full flavoured, naturally leavened loaf in the UK. Based in Oxford, he has 3 stores in London:
St. Pauls, 53/55 Carter Lane, London EC4V 5AE
Tel 020 7236 0056
Marylebone, 53 Blandford Street, London W1H 3AF, Tel 020 7486 6608
Borough Market, 4 Southwark Street, London SE1 1TQ
Tel 020 7407 3625
www.degustibus.co.uk

French

Just inside the door of Aubaine, on the left-hand side, is a wall devoted to bread. And it's all rather good. Baguettes are lined up, with good open cuts and a decent bubbly texture, made from fine flour (and I suspect the work of Minoterie Viron here). The Walnut and Rye has a brittle and slightly crumbly crust but so choc-full of rye flour and a coarse paste of walnuts that it wins on big flavour alone - though it might become an impenetrable brick when stale. Beautiful packaging, a bright array of coloured patisserie. But simple and very sweetly done. Aubaine Restaurant, Boulangerie and Patisserie, 262 Brompton Road, London SW3 2AS, Tel 020 7052 0100, www.aubaine.co.uk

Sketch have a very elegant tea room which has a tiny selection of bread - a classic baguette, a chestnut loaf and the strangely titled 'Italian Bread' - a soft pain de mie type loaf. But hey, they have perfect croissants and good filter coffee. 9 Conduit Street, Mayfair London W1S 2XG (0870 777 4488 )

Bagatelle, Marco Pierre White’s long favoured bakery, for baguettes, at 44 Harrington Road, London SW7 (020 7581 1551) www.bagatelle-boutique.co.uk

The bakery of the late Lionel Poilane, sells its signature pain au levain, baked on the premises in a wood-fired oven. Look out for the sweet Pain d'épices (a honey cake with rye flour), and grey moist sea-salt from Brittany, on sale together with their own flour from France. Poilane, 49 Elizabeth Street, London SW1 (020 7808 4910) www.poilane.fr

The French bakery chain Paul have branches in London, Covent Garden, 29 Bedford Street, London WC2 020 7836 3304, or Marylebone, 115 Marylebone High Street, London W1 020 7224 5615. The also have a very good website, with a page in English, at www.paul.fr

Maison Blanc, Marylebone, London and other branches:
Marylebone, 7 Thayer Street London, W1 3JH
Tel: 020 7224 0228 Fax: 020 7224 0232 www.maisonblanc.co.uk

Lebanese

Excellent pitta bread can be brought from the small bakery that sits in Greenfields, 25 Crawford St, London W1H 1PL (020 7723 2510). Baked fresh during the day

 

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