Get ready for Real Bread Week which runs from 20th-28th February. Sustain run the Real Bread Campaign to focus and brighten the spotlight on their key work of encouraging and helping people to:

• Buy Real Bread from local, independent bakeries
• Bake their own Real Bread

In their words…It’s time to kick the additive-laden industrial loaf habit and support YOUR neighbourhood’s Real Bread bakery!

The pandemic has certainly brought the Henley community together and none more so than our local producers and this includes local Henley bakers and bakeries. Many having switched from buying their bread in the supermarket to prefering the bread baked down the road locally. Bonds between bakers and their communities have been strengthened, and the place of independent bakeries at the heart of the local communities has been reinforced.

With Real Bread Week approaching we spoke to Tom Tuite Dalton aka The Boston Road Baker for his thoughts on the importance of eating ‘proper’ bread and why people have ‘gone local’.

How are things currently? The Boston Road Bakery, which specialises in sourdough bread and pizzas, has now been in operation for just over a year. This may seem a short space of time but don’t be fooled – you do not need a 50-year history or an industrial bakery to make a decent loaf – flour, water, salt, basic equipment and dedication ought to suffice, in my view.

My inspiration to start a micro bakery came from my discovery of Bertinet’s sourdough bread and subsequent addiction to it back in 2016 – alongside sitting-behind-a-desk fatigue! I then discovered that Richard Bertinet himself taught bread-making in Bath and signed up to learn for myself. 

Of all the breads we learnt to make, the sourdough white/ spelt one was my favourite, and it is BRB’s best-selling loaf today. I make my loaves in different shapes to cater for customer preferences and because variety is the spice of life. My particular preference is for the long, wicker-basket-moulded loaf shape. But those with small children might prefer a round loaf which will have less chewy crust.

Also popular are my sourdough wholemeal, sourdough cereals & seeds, and sourdough rye loaves. I use Shipton Mill organic flours where possible.

What’s so great about real bread? Better digestion and better nutrition as well as more flavour. Don’t be fooled by so-called ‘artisan’ loaves turning up on supermarket shelves: always read the label. True artisan bakers don’t use additives of any kind. 

A purist like myself would argue that bakers’ yeast is also an unnecessary additive (albeit perfectly harmless). It surprised me when I learnt on my course that bakers’ yeast as was only introduced in the 1800’s as a means of speeding up production – ie for convenience and for increased profit, not to improve the flavour of the bread. Indeed, when bakers’ yeast was first discovered, it was well known that this form of bread making decreased bread’s nutritional value, and was rejected and considered a risk to public health. But once the industrial revolution came along, bakers’ yeast came back into full flow, and sourdough bread took a back seat, being less easy to make in bulk.

Sourdough bread is the oldest yeasted bread we know. Dating back thousands of years. So, sourdough bread has stood the test of time, and was around when we didn’t apparently suffer from all sorts of food intolerances, allergies, etc. More and more people are beginning to get this as social media helps spread the word and the dominance of TV ads declines

Why do you think that there has been a resugence during the pandemic? Working from home means more time to shop locally and make your own sandwiches -I think the benefits of sourdough bread are real – both for gut-health and taste. The pandemic has encouraged many people to shop locally in artisan markets who had never done so before and to discover such bread. While social media channels like instagram have enabled users to share in this discovery as well as how to make it, if they so desire. Those with more time working from home can buy a loaf for the week, and rather than grab a ready-made sandwich off the shelf, make their own delicious fillings. For some customers the smell and warmth of a fresh-baked sourdough loaf arriving on their doorstep, is one of the high-points of their gastronomic week!

You can pick up a Boston Road Baker loaf from Lower Shiplake Corner Shop, The Henley Larder, Hambleden Village Stores and Spoon Deli.

Loaves are available for collection, and local delivery on Tuesdays and Fridays, via a minimum 4-week subscription. Sourdough pizzas are available for collection on the same days between 5 and 7pm – more info at thebostonroadbaker.com

Other local bakers and bakeries:

• Boseley Patch – Marlow Road
• Geo Cafe – RG Bread – Friday Street
• Patisserie Franco Belge – Duke Street
• Phenology – Harpsden
• Lawlors the Bakers (soon to re-open) – Duke Street