The Blog: General
08/09/2011 - Finalists in Baking Industry Awards
There are no other awards more seriously contested and highly regarded in our field than the Baking Industry Awards.
Every year, applications are welcomed from bakers, confectioners and bakeries around the country, willing to pit themselves against the best of the best.
As a very young company we were a little hesitant to enter and put ourselves up against much longer-established bakeries, but there was no better way for us to measure ourselves against the competition.
After a visit from the judging panel we were delighted to have made the finals, and an invite ensued.
The venue, The Hilton in Park Lane, London, no less, and the date was set for the 7th of September.
Due to a recent bereavement, Duncan Glendinning, founder of The Thoughtful Bread company, was unable to attend as he needed to fill in at the bakery on the night shift. Head baker Patrick Ryan was there to represent.
The product that got us to the finals in the category of Speciality Bread Product of the year was our Slow Grana Padano loaf.
This very special bread was born out of a unique partnership between ourselves and the Slow Food UK organisation. The partnership was born at the BBC Good Food Show Winter '10 when we supplied the Slow Food stand with some of our Great White Sourdough for them to use in there popular taste adventure. As their way of saying thank you, they donated a good portion of the Grana Padano cheese, a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheese of real pedigree. We set about developing a very special loaf as our way of sharing the Slow Food story and a small thank you for their generosity.
The bread is a heady mix of the hard italian cheese, walnuts and honey, made as a sourdough, providing a perfect balance of sweet, savoury with a slight sour undertone from the sourdough.
The event was star-studded with TV presenter Richard Madeley kicking off the proceedings in a glamorous Carnival themed night where no expense was spared.
We sadly did not bring home the trophy on this occasion, but came a close second to Bachmanns Bakery's Rosemary & Raisin loaf. The other finalist in our category was Greenhalgh's Craft Bakery's Sweet Carribiean Brioche Naterre bread.
Find out more:
Baking Industry Awards
Slow Food UK
15/07/2011 - Thoughtful Bread Company scoop GOLD at Great Taste Awards
At this year's Great Taste Awards we were delighted to win the coveted 3 STAR GOLD award for our Wild Garlic Bread.
Here at The Thoughtful Bread Company we love our foraging. What better than to use the fruits of nature's wild larder to produce something a little special.
The Judges had this to say:
"Lovely crusty appearance and good texture. Greenness adds to attractive appearance and the flavour balance is quite superb."
Our bread was later featured on BBC Radio 2's Drivetime show, presented by Simon Mayo, where resident chef Nigel Barden (judging the awards) served up our bread live on air.
The Wild Garlic season is very short, so look out for our loaves when they are on sale, as they don't hang around! We also produce a rather tasty Wild Garlic Pesto. Sort of our locally-sourced variant of the popular pesto, made to our secret recipe.
Other awards included Gold 1 Star for our Great White Sourdough, Spelt Sourdough and Light Rye Sourdough.
Find out more:
Click here to view this year's winners
17/06/2011 - A week in the life working for Thoughtful Bread Co
When Ross (the current bread shop man down in Green Park) flew off on honeymoon, I was lucky enough to help out in the Thoughtful Bread Co’s Green Park Market shop for a couple of weeks.
And what a great two weeks that was! I’d forgotten how much I loved retail (I used to manage a teddy bear shop in another life!) and very soon felt at home with my apron on, surrounded by hundreds of freshly baked loaves...heaven! I’d spent some time with Duncan beforehand so, after getting to know each loaf, set about selling my wares to the good folk of Bath!
I met so many great people, people who really love their food. From rosemary foragers to cheese addicts, everyone was fun and friendly. Thoughtful Bread Co customers are a discerning bunch and rightly so. They love the products and are passionate about taste, ingredients and quality – I guess that’s why they love Thoughtful.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Thoughtful – I love what they stand for and what they do. Good luck with future plans fellas – I hope I can hang out with you again one day.
Neil Whitehead (PR and Thoughtful Bread Co enthusiast)
23/05/2011 - Welcome to our new sales manager!
Hi, I'm Ross Davies and I am the new recruit for the Thoughtful Bread Company. Some of you may recognize me as I have been working next door for PJ's Farm on a Friday and Saturday. I also had a life away from the market which was completely different to this, and I have now taken the BIG step to work for Duncan and his team as I feel I have a lot to offer, I have a true passion for food, love the drive for what Duncan wants to achieve, and I really want to be part of that. I can't wait to get going now, it's an exciting time for The Thoughtful Bread Company and I'm over the moon to be here, so please next time you pass the shop, please come and say 'hello' and buy some real,award-winning, handmade, good for you bread!!31/08/2010 - Thoughtful Bread Company - an Award-winning bakery!
Well, it has been a fruitfull summer. Deciding to enter our breads into the few competitions that present themselves come the summer months was not a decision we took lightly.
As a very young business, still, we wanted to make sure we only enter products we believe were truely award-winning and the thought of having our breads pitted against those made by long-established competiting bakeries had us feeling a mixture of excited and nervous in anticipation.
We are delighted to announce however that we have scooped a real horde of awards!!
From the Great Taste Awards run by the Guild of Fine Foods we scooped Gold for our Cheddar Gorge Vintage Cheese bread and our Irish Soda bread. You can read a full story about this and the great producers we work with to make these award-winning breads by clicking here.
At the Taste of the West awards, we decided to enter six of our breads and each of them won an award, with our Cheddar Gorge Vintage Bread scooping it's second Gold, along with our funky Beetroot Bread, whilst the Potato & Rosemary and our Great White Sourdough Breads scooped Silver and the Rustic Onion and our tasty Wholemeal Multiseed took Bronze.
We also entered a couple of products in the Baking Industry Awards and whilst we didn't win on this occasion we were delighted to reach the later stages of the competition which was encouraging given the might of the other bakeries we were competing against.
On a personal note I was very very proud of my team here at The Thoughtful Bread Company. Until now the awards and recognition we had received had been for the environmental commitment we make day-to-day and for the way we run the business, so to have The Thoughtful Bread Company placed firmly on the map of great Bakeries in Britain is something I am hugely proud of.
As always, we have to extend a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to you, our customers... as without you buying our bread there would be no bakery.
Gosh, this is starting to sound like one of those soppy awards speeches you see on telly, so I'll call it a day for now!
Thank you.
P.S If you ever hear of any awards, bursaries or initiatives we should be entering into or applying for, please do contact me.
Find out more:
http://www.greattasteawards.co.uk/2010/results/results.asp?AwardYear=2010&SearchWord;=thoughtful
http://www.tasteofthewest.co.uk/
16/02/2010 - Starring role for our Brioche in hit play!
It's not often you get a call asking whether we could make up some muffin-like brioches to be used as a prop in a theatrical production so we jumped at the opportunity!
Our delicious Brioche were recently featured in Noel Coward's play "Private Lives" which was shown in Bath's Theatre Royal before the tour moved on to pastures new... With a star cast including "Sex and the City's" Kim Cattrall the play has had very good reviews and at the time of posting this is still touring!
Find out more:
Private Lives the play
23/09/2009 - Successful taster session at Docky
Sharon and Docky (pictured) invited me to bring some bread along to their fantastic delicatessen in Midsomer Norton and offer a sample of the sorts of breads we produce daily to their discerning customers.
The feedback was fantastic, all the bread sold in a short period of time and as a result we are delighted to add Docky's to our small but growing range of places our bread can be found for you to take home other than at our shop in Green Park Station.
Currently plans are to stock our breads on Fridays and Saturdays in time for the weekend, but please pass on any requests and feedback to Sharon and Docky as they are keen to see this develop. As the closest place to our bakery we are delighted to be working with such a fantastic outlet. Sharon and Docky bring a real flair and attention to detail in everything they have to offer and if the fantastically delicious Wiltshire Ham and Dorset Blue Vinney sandwich with beetroot pickle is anything to go by then you are in for a real treat.
If you are in the neighbourhood, pop in! If you are a bread lover and fancy one of our loaves, then all the more reason to visit and please note that they will very happily take orders for bread if you are worried you may miss out.
05/08/2009 - A warm welcome to our new recruit
By Alex Wolstenholme
This evening Karyn, my girlfriend, and I got back from work and tucked into a couple of slices of Thoughtful Bread Co. potato and rosemary bread and butter. Karyn has only just moved into her flat but the aroma of the bread made it feel like home.
I like to think my love for ‘proper bread’ began about six months ago. Karyn and I were walking through Green Park Station when an enthusiastic young man asked if we wanted to try his bread. His name was Duncan and he had recently set up his business making a variety of delicious breads, the thoughtful way. His enthusiasm for his product was infectious and it was clear he had a passion for the bread his company produced. We bought a large vintage cheddar loaf to take home to tear and share with our housemates; it was so tasty that we didn’t get as far as the sharing part because we’d finished it all before we got home!
Many visits to Duncan’s shop later ….and last month I was invited to be an apprentice for the day at the Thoughtful Bread Co. bakery in Radstock. It was then I learnt how much effort goes into producing bread the thoughtful way. I knew that early mornings came with the territory but even before I met Duncan at 5 he had been up an hour, foraging for a selection of interesting ingredients from nettles to herbs. I met Thoughtful’s head baker Patrick at about 5.30 and we immediately set to work on the 48hr sourdoughs which had been proving a little bit longer for that improved taste.
After a few hours of mixing, kneading, rolling and baking I was given a tour of the bakery. With the tour came the answer to my question of ‘what makes the company Thoughtful?’ I was particularly impressed with the fact that, not only does the company use recycled chip fat to power a delivery van, but it pumps the fat from a container on site using the energy from a solar panel at the bakery. As a result the delivery process has very little impact on the environment.
Wednesday is now the day I work at the Thoughtful Bread Co. shop in Green Park Station. Being on the other side of the counter was strange at first but I really enjoy it. Chatting with people and spreading the Thoughtful Co. message, together with the knowledge I am selling bread produced in a careful and ethical way is very satisfying. So if you fancy a nibble of some Irish soda bread or Nettle and Chive, and want to learn more about bread made the ‘Thoughtful Way’ then come and visit the shop – I look forward to seeing you on Wednesdays!
Alex
07/07/2009 - Flavours of the West Success
We had a fantastic time at last weekend's Flavours of the West food festival held at Milsoms Place. Whilst only a stone's throw from where our little bread shop is in Green Park Station it was great to meet a whole new host of Bath Residents who hadn't sampled our varied range of tasty breads. I was also very grateful to our regulars who having not found us at the Farmers' Market as usual came to find us at the festival to stock up.
Whilst I spent most of the time at our bread stall with my glamourous fiancee who was on hand to help out, I did have time for a brief wander around and the range of produce available was out of this world.
Highlights for me was tastings of the different chorizzos made by "Mash" and his team from the newly established Bath Pig Company and working with our friends at Paxton and Whitfield the expert cheesemongers to come up with some rather tasty bread and cheese pairings including our Spelt Walnut & Raisin Sourdough bread with Dorset Blue Vinny and our Rustic Onion Baguette with St Eadburgha a delicious Cotswald Camembert.
20/06/2009 - Love Food Festival @ the Paintworks, Bristol
As a new business I can't say that the prospect of attending our first ever festival wasn't just a little daunting. As always though, Patrick and I rallied, (along with my gorgeous fiancee Julia who is slowly playing a larger and larger part of The Thoughtful Story...) and the results were really exciting.
With a great range of breads on offer as well as our ever-popular mini bread boxes, we also took the opportunity to showcase some of the fantastic local producers we are working with, such as The Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company who produce and supply us with the incredible vintage cheddar cheese for our Cheddar Gorge Bread, and Fussels Fine Foods who grow and press their own rapeseed oil which we now use regularly at the bakery.
Thanks must be extended to Lorna and the team at Love Food who put on a fantastic event showcasing a great range of local producers as well as offering an evening of entertainment too.
With the up and coming "Flavours of the West" festival now firmly in our sights, we are really looking ahead to the coming months to see what it is The Thoughtful Bread Company can get involved in.
Find out more:
Visit the Love Food Festival website for details of next event
Visit the Paintworks website for information about Bristol's Creative Quarter
31/05/2009 - Picking elderflowers on a lazy sunday afternoon
If like us you are just getting to grips with what the nature's wild larder has to offer, then there has got to be no better time to head out than in the afternoon sunshine for some elderflower harvesting.
Elderflower has got to be one of those quintessentially British flowers. There is nothing better than a cold glass of elderflower cordial on a hot summer's day, or (for those who fancy a little more kick) a glass of elderflower champagne or wine.
Although what we are able to do in the bakery kitchen with elderflower is rather limited, we are experimenting with a couple of products which may well find themselves onto our tasting table and in our shop in Green Park Station in Bath in the coming months, so as always, keep popping in to see what we have on.
In the meantime, visit this fantastic page by the Hamiltons at Selfsufficientish.com for some great recipes for cordial, wine and champagne that are very easy to follow: Click here
Find out more:
Visit the Selfsufficientish website for elderflower recipes
27/05/2009 - Nature is all around us
It is so easy to go about our daily lives oblivious to what is all around us: Nature. When arriving at the bakery the other day I was greeted by a beautiful specimen of a birdling. It was obviously distressed or in shock after something, so, approaching it very slowly, I picked it up so it could be taken from harm's way and it seemed perfectly happy sat in my cupped hands.
After a while (and a quick photoshoot!) I sat it in our herb bed when it seemed happy enough. Shortly after, it took off into flight and was away.
At The Thoughtful Bread Company we are trying to do our bit such as having plenty of bird feed about for them to snack on. I am sure we could be doing more however, such as nesting boxes for ladybirds, so if you have any ideas then we would love to hear from you! [email protected]
Find out more:
The RSBP has a handy free online tool for identifying birds
10/05/2009 - A Thoughtful Journey
By Hamish Glendinning
Hello all,
I'm sure most of you have a good idea of what it takes to make a loaf of bread (there were a surprisingly high number of you that make their own, using a breadmaker for example), but being quite a bread-lover myself I realised it takes an enormous amount of care, attention and time, of course! Oh those 4am starts!
I recently came to bath for a short stop but ended up staying just shy of a week, helping out in the bakery as well as the shop. It was an extraordinary experience, whose overall aim was to provide top quality healthy & natural bread with a special touch. Indeed, I have never seen or tasted the varieties of breads on offer elsewhere, and that I believe is a true mark of an up-and-coming new business.
Most of all, I was able to see the benefits of building the business on a sound ecological footing : electricity monitors, biodiesel facility, eco-friendly products such as detergents, as well as reclaimed equipment for the bakery. Though nothing is guaranteed in these uncertain financial times, I am sure that the friendly Thoughtful Bread Company will grow from its current frail beginnings into a firm establishment among Bath's residents.
And know that, even if you make your own bread, or have intolerances of some kind, come on down to the Green Park shop as there could always be something for you. Who knows?
Finally, I leave you with these little words that have now been permanently engraved into my mind : would you like a little taster ?
Best regards to all Bath folk
29/04/2009 - Impromptu clay oven building workshop this monday!
Here at The Thoughtful Bread Company we like to get our hands dirty... Those of you who have been following our progress will know that plans are in place to build a large clay oven at our bakery in which we will be hoping to bake a lot of our bread. Whilst these plans unfold, and with National Bread Week only around the corner, we saw an opportunity to offer Bath's residents (young and old!!) an impromptu clay oven building workshop. If you have ever been intrigued by these ovens, would like to know how they can be built, and maybe even get involved in the process, then we would love to see you!
The details:
When? Monday 4th May, from around 2.30pm
Where? Green Park Station, (where the Farmers' Market usually happens on the Saturdays)
What does it cost? Absolutely nothing, just come on down and get involved, or just watch - it's up to you! There will be our usual selection of breads baked by our baker Patrick available for you to nibble on and treat yourself to should you wish.
Other information: Part of the oven building process will involve treading the clay to condition it. Therefore you'll either need to do like me and roll up your trouser legs, or come along with a good pair of boots or the classic wellies.
This event will suit both adults and children alike, so come on down.
We will be running a follow-up event a few days later on the Friday when you'll be invited back when we fire up the oven to taste some of the goodies Patrick will be preparing for us.
Any questions? Get in touch by email, [email protected]
See you there - Spread the word!
18/04/2009 - A new recruit is drafted in to help shift the last of our loaves!
This saturday was a great one... After a few hours of frantic selling of our tasty breads (which included a come-back of our ever-popular Beetroot bread, as well as some seasonal favourites such as Wild Garlic bread and portions of Wild Garlic butter) I was delighted to see a little chap with an enourmous smile on his face (no change there) arrive with my sister and my gorgeous little niece.
Joshua took a really keen interest in our little bread shop in Green Park Station, and after I'd managed to fold one of our aprons in half, (length-ways) so he was kitted out in our company uniform, he began to help sell the last of our hugely popular Vintage Cheddar Cheese loaves.
With the farmers market all done and dusted, we headed home for a quiet bite to eat and before long we were back out in the woods hunting for some wild garlic for dinner. It was fantastic to see such a young boy take such a keen interest in foraging, and I sometimes think it sad that we have lost that inate trait to hunt and gather like our ancestors used to do. After we'd filled a little bag, (and Joshua had hunted high and low for that last leaf we needed amongst a sea of wild garlic) we headed home to cook dinner. Joshua was as keen to take part in cooking the dinner as he was in collecting the wild garlic, and you could really see the sense of ownership he had developed over "his" wild garlic, which not before long was in the pan along with his bacon. I have never seen a child scoff down his food as quickly as he did, and this reminded me of when I used to plant some baby carrots and some raddishes with my dad, and how we used to dig them up, give them a quick rinse in the water butt, and munch the lot before we even got back to the house.
If you have a young family of your own, and maybe some space to grow something, why not get them involved in a tomato plant growing competition, or plant some raddishes and carrots like I did as a child, and see if they are keener on eating vegetables they have grown themselves! If you do have a go, get in touch with your stories, as we are always keen to hear from you.
~Duncan Glendinning~
09/04/2009 - 1000 loaves, Wild Garlic and an encounter with River Cottage
It's been a very interesting few weeks for The Thoughtful Bread Co. Gaging public reaction, receiving lots of feedback and simply getting ourselves established but to date everything seems to be moving in the right direction so long may it continue.
Back in the bakery progress has been good. With lots of trials and taste testing, The Thoughtful Bread company product range is ever changing. With wild garlic abundantly available at the moment Duncan has been busy off foraging every morning to get me the ingredients i need. Busier than he was expecting i think judging by the popularity of our wild garlic loaf. Sadly though the availability of wild garlic is rapidly approaching the end of its shelf life as wild garlic prepares to flower. But don't despair as one ingredient comes to an end natures larder quickly offers up something new. Keep an eye out for nettles and dandelions soon to be arriving on your bread board. With the approach of summer comes exciting times.
To date we have long surpassed our 1000th loaf, our permanent presence at Green Park is slowly spreading and our breads are starting to pop up on more and more menus throughout Bath. April and May propose some exciting times ahead. So make sure you check out our Green Park based shop as there is going to be plenty of exciting tasters to come.
~Patrick Ryan~
Find out more:
Visit Komedia in Bath for great comedy nights and more
Not eaten at Hugh's River Cottage Canteen yet?
30/03/2009 - Our first Apprentice!!
A very early start and an extremely steep learning curve for our good friend Ed who comes onboard to experience the thrill of the saturday bake-off. Here is his story.
4.00 am
Duncan knocks on the door and I remember that in a moment of madness last night I'd said I wanted to see how he runs his bakery. Ten minutes past four and we're in the freezing van nursing a coffee and whistling through the dark, deserted streets of Bath.
4.45 am
We reach the bakery outside Radstock, dive in from the perishing cold and switch the ovens on. His bakery is instantly impressive, with some huge refrigerators and ovens which we will need to churn out the 200+ loaves for that day. What's incredible though is that he's managed to save all of this professional kit from the skip from closing businesses and the like. Everything, from the hygienic wall panelling and office furniture to the woodshed outside is a complete re-use of materials. Apart from the hand-basin. He had to buy that.
5 am
As we prep the ingredients for the following day's bread, Duncan talks me through where everything is sourced. The ingredients are incredibly fresh and incredibly local. Everything you'd expect from a thoughtful bread company. As I chop 15 month matured cheese from our local Cheddar town, and sprinkle in wild garlic hand picked from a local forest floor I cannot wait to see each loaf come out of the oven. And with an energy monitor clocking everything in the bakery we know we're doing the most we can with the power given to us.
6am
Paddy, the company's thoughtful baker, turns up and proceeds to speak Irish for the rest of the morning. Under his expert guidance the batches of bread are made up and ready to prove overnight for the following day. Meanwhile, the loaves for that morning fly in and out of the oven in a mad shuffle of tins and racks. Yeasts, flour, dough, heat... what a wonderful chaos. The loaves march out golden and warm and had there been time I would have eaten the lot.
8.30
We drive to the farmers market in the Green Park Brasserie, our precious loaves in the back. I crash in the passenger seat, mentally, Duncan drives, physically. I cannot for the life of me imagine how he keeps this up. And now we have 200 loaves to sell? You must be joking...
9.00
We enter the market. The rest of the population seem now to be thoroughly awake and open for business and I rush to get the loaves onto the shelves. But Duncan seems to be selling them as quickly as I rack them up. I realise that actually 200 won't be enough to satisfy Bath's bread connoisseurs today.
People walk by and it is a joy to watch the loaves, which we lovingly coaxed into being, catch people's eyes and spin them round towards us.
By 12 o'clock it's all gone, and the baking cycle, from our experience of the day, is now complete. Everybody else gets to enjoy the last bit of course and having smelt the produce all day we know they'll love it. My lasting memories are of smiling faces and the communications about Thoughtful's speciality breads.
I walk away with my personal favourite loaf (wild garlic) in my bag, and ponder how Duncan will be to crank up such a delicate produce to meet such voracious demand... good luck to the best idea I've seen ages...
~Edward Sells~
Find out more:
Visit the Cheddar Gorge Cheese Co, the only company still making Cheddar in Cheddar!
14/03/2009 - First farmers
I have mentioned very little about the bakery shop we have in Green Park in the heart of Bath's City Centre where the Farmers' Market happens every Saturday... I will return in time to the work that went into this little outlet, but suffice to say that like everything else it involved rather a lot of thrift and hard work, but it was worth it in the end!!
This Saturday saw our first real Farmers Market. For those of you who have been following our story, we had run a taster session at the market back in December, when the BBC were in tow filming for the little feature we had in the BBC 2 series "It's not easy being green" but this time round, we were open for real...
It was an early 5am start, but the breads that our Baker Patrick produced all looked fantastic, and our stall opened just after 9am. With my lovely fiancee Julia signed up for the morning to help shift our lovely loaves it was great to be met with the same compliments and encouragement as we had had back in December, and we were delighted to sell out just after midday.
In addition to the lovely selection which included a Light Rye Sourdough, our ever-popular Cheddar Gorge Cheese and a delicious Organic Spelt Walnut and Raisin, we also produced 50 small Beetroot rolls (see photo) and in selling these raised £50 for Comic Relief. It did feel really rewarding as we here at The Thoughtful Bread Company strongly believe in re-investing back into the local community and worthwhile charities whenever possible.
~Duncan Glendinning~
11/03/2009 - Guest blog by our baker Patrick Ryan
Finally time to get my hands dirty!
It's been a long time coming but finally I have gotten a chance to get my hands dirty (or at least covered in flour).
With the final pieces to what has been quite a complex puzzle arriving last week, The Thoughtful Bread Company's maiden bake was ready to go. After Duncan has roped me in as make-shift painter, cleaner and labourer of random tasks over the past couple of weeks it was finally time to put back on a apron and start making some dough! Fair to say I was excited. After watching each little bit of the bakery take form, from the construction of our clay oven to the arrival of our first load of flour I couldn't wait to start bringing it all together.
Monday morning was an early rise. With Duncan off for the day, the bakery doors were opened and the weighing of ingredients commenced. As yeasts were proved and doughs started to rise it was clear that what lies ahead is going to be exciting times. As warmer weather loams the array of ingredients available to us is going to produce some exciting breads. Especially with Duncan out foraging. Just wait till you try our watercress bread!
Being back in the kitchen was definitely a welcome feeling. With the best of local and seasonal produce on-hand, the breads themselves didn't disappoint. After an over night prove and some rolling and shaping, our first breads were finally reading to be baked. And there was no way Duncan was going to miss this one. Just wait til you see the results.
Just seeing those first breads come out of the oven made the long await so worth while. The excitement both Duncan and I felt has confirmed for me that The thoughtful Bread Company can be nothing but a success. It is something I am very proud to be part of. Being part of all the little things and the attention to detail, from reclaiming what we can to using the very best of what is local for me is what is going to place us apart from the rest. All that is left to do now is for you all to have a taste so please join us sometime soon!
Patrick
Follow how Patrick gets on in up & coming blogs where he will share his thoughts on the ups and downs of running of a small artisan bakery
04/03/2009 - Guest blog by James Strawbridge
By James Strawbridge, from New House Farm
“Everybody loves bread.” But, not all of us can bake. Personally, when it comes to good bread I like to leave it to the experts.
Over the last few years I have been involved in a wide range of eco projects featured on the BBC; ranging from building compost loos in Fiji to making biodiesel in Cornwall. I have found that in general it has been the home owner and their motivation for better domestic energy saving that has been the driving force in environmental progress. However, businesses are now starting to be as concerned with the economic climate as they are with climate change. The Thoughtful Bread Company is a new business that has taken up the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle mantra and fused it into a new method of thrifty business. Its originality, authenticity, and eco-credentials are unquestionable. There’s an amazing local ethos and heavy seasonal emphasis on ingredients combined with a high standard of green technologies; from the bricks of the earth ovens up to the biodiesel fuelled delivery process. But the thing that I have been most impressed with is the bread. It got me thinking while I was eating. In 10 words I would sum up the Thoughtful Bread Company as: responsible, empowering, educational, healthy, low impact, traditional, local, and yummy!
A VERY BIG THANK YOU to James for his guest blog. James has been involved in The Thoughtful Bread Company for a while and it is great to hear someone like him talk so highly of our bakery here in Bath.
You can follow what James and his dad Dick from "It's not easy being green" are up to by visiting their website www.newhousefarm.tv
Find out more:
http://www.newhousefarm.tv
26/02/2009 - The Thoughtful Bread Company gracing your television sets, Monday 2nd March, 8pm BBC 2
We had a lot of interest in our clay ovens and the prospect of running courses as a result of our earlier appearance on the BBC2 series “It's not easy being green”.
We have since had the BBC revisit us for an update when Paddy and I, along with the help of friends (it really was a case of all hands on deck), baked through the night to produce a fantastic selection of breads to offer as tasters at the Bath Farmers' Market, which was a huge success.
Please do tune in on Monday 2nd of March on BBC2 at 8pm, where you will see James Strawbridge from New House Farm and I visit some of the local suppliers including Burcott Mill in Wells and the Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company (where James and I are made to wear those silly paper hats to protect the cheese from contamination, and I was even treated to having to wear a goatee protector!!). Beyond just a bit of good fun, the episode will hopefully show just how committed we are to sourcing our ingredients as locally as possible, and also the lengths to which we will go to tap into the wild larder for ingredients so as to stay as competitively priced as possible. In the episode James and I also forage for some nettles for Nettle and Chive bread, and our master baker Paddy treats us both to a bread kneading master-class.
If you have any comments after you have seen the episode we would love to hear from you as we are always open to feedback!
25/02/2009 - Update on development of the bakery
With only a couple of weeks before we hope to be open, the bakery is really starting to take shape. It has been a challenge deciding whether buying new and eco has more merit than re-using and salvaging, and with the local Environmental Health Officer and strict food hygiene regulations to adhere to it has ended up being a healthy mix of both.
The bulk of the building work is being done using conventional building materials, but we are employing a local tradesman, minimising the use of concrete and other damaging materials and using bits of timber, paint and other materials snatched from the doom of a skip or generously given away on our local Freecycle network as well.
Outside, the log store, built primarily out of pallet wood is also taking shape. This is a very important addition as it will need to keep our wood dry, and our biodiesel tank (which which we will power our delivery van with) safe.
Plans are under way for our growing plot, which we hope to also make a good start on sometime in the next couple of weeks. This will take some time to establish, but will eventually offer us an abundance of fresh herbs to incorporate into our breads, and certainly will be housing our compost bin as soon as it arrives from the local council.
We are still keen to here of any unusual or interesting ideas you may have to help “green” our business, so please do get in touch with us if you wish, [email protected]
06/02/2009 - Severe weather conditions halt progress
The last couple of days have been a nightmare. After the highs of sourcing our salvage kitchen equipment, the weather conditions worsened and a painful reminder of the power of nature ensued when the lorry delivering our precious cargo slammed into a neighbouring unit's wall, causing serious structural damage, and we are now facing a hefty repair bill. This really has put a damper on the highs of the money saved through our thrifty business with the Bath Priory, but we are determined not to let this get us down as everything has been so positive.
Because of the rural setting in which our bakery is located, we have felt the full might of the sleet, snow and ice over the last few days, making progress ground to a complete halt until it starts to clear up.
As a result, we are pushing back our plans of oven construction and will update those interested again soon when we have some idea of what the coming days have in store for us.
This downtime has presented a good opportunity to reflect on the last 12 months, as it is over a year now since I embarked on this adventure, and what a year! I can't deny that setting up a business is challenging, but for the few that it suits, it is incredible...I have to keep reminding myself when I am backed up with an endless list of things to take care of that I would be bored if it wasn't like this, and I wouldn't change it for the world. I am loving every single minute and just can't wait to be open for business so that we can share our fantastic range of products with the world!
02/02/2009 - Keys to our bakery!!!
Fantastic news!! After several weeks of paperwork I am delighted to say that we now have the keys to what will be our bakery when our work to convert the unit is done.
Those of you who will have been following the Thoughtful story will no doubt have heard me rant about how unhelpful and narrow-minded the Bath and North East Somerset Council have been with regard to our sighting the bakery in the Bath area. Whilst in the winter months most pubs and many other establishments are happily burning logs on their open fires, (as they should be entitled to), my approaching the council for advice about our new business and our intention to cook all of our bread in a wood-fired oven resulted in them warning us that burning wood would be contravening the Smoke Control Order that is in force in Bath, and that restricts us from burning anything other than smokeless fuel. Whilst I understand the reason behind wanting to protect the national heritage city of Bath, I was disgusted at how unhelpful, and worse still time-wasting the council were in dealing with my case, and for this reason we started looking further afield for somewhere to sight our bakery.
The Thoughtful Bread Company will be operating from a modest unit on Charmborough Farm, a rural industrial estate a couple of miles outside of Radstock, south of Bath. There are many challenges ahead in converting this small 440 sq feet unit into our dream bakery, but we already have some exciting ideas to make our bakery as eco-friendly as possible. These include sourcing building materials from certain landfill, and setting up a system to flush our toilet using rainwater, to mention just a couple!
We have also negotiated the use of a patch of farmland, on which over the coming months we intend on establishing a mature herb garden we hope will provide most if not all of the seasoning we will be introducing into our delicious bread, supplemented by local produce for anything we can't grow on the farm.
We would love to hear from anyone with any ideas as to how we might be able to eco-convert what is a very unexciting, run of the mill industrial unit into the home for The Thoughtful Bread Company, so please get in touch.
We will keep you up to date as to our progress as the really hard work of converting the unit, sourcing all of our equipment and building our oven begins, so follow us on our journey.
17/01/2009 - Success! our first catering event
It was after our feature in The Observer detailing our being inducted into the prestigious Courvoisier The Future 500 network that Caroline got in touch. As a local she took a keen interest in what we were setting out to achieve. In conversation, her impending book launch came up and before long we were delighted to be tasked with catering some food nibbles for the event.
Our baker, Paddy, as always came up trumps, and on offer were our increasingly popular eggboxes with four different types of mini breads including Walnut and Raisin, Garlic and 3 herb, Beetroot and Vintage Cheddar, accompanied by a Spiced Red Cabbage and a Pesto Butter.
It was fantastic to see the egg boxes being handed out and seeing people enjoying sharing them with others around the room, and I felt that it brought people together and worked great as an ice-breaker.
A word on the book which I have yet to read, but having had a very quick whizz through it it seems like an essential book to have. Packed full of ideas for cleaner, greener household management, those that have read it highly recommend it. The book is available on Amazon for those that are interested. You can also follow Caroline's blog here.
I would also like to extend my thanks to the Mr B's Emporium Book shop which if you live in or near Bath, or are passing through is by far the best bookshop in town and offers that personal touch and friendly service that is all to often lost in larger high-street stores.
Not one mini bread was left over, nor were any of the little canapes we prepared and served on roof slates for that rustic look and it was fantastic talking to people about our plans and hearing all of their encouraging words.
Caroline's feedback on the event:
"Duncan and Paddy at The Thoughtful Bread Company did a wonderful job for my book launch. Everyone loved their mini rolls presented in egg cartons – such a great, inventive idea. The selection of breads were flavoured with garlic and herbs, walnuts and raisins, luscious red beetroot and locally produced Cheddar. All with pesto butter and tangy red cabbage pickle. Duncan has so much energy and enthusiasm for what he is doing, and manages to be professional and engaging too, while Paddy clearly knows his bread and how to make it taste delicious! The Thoughtful Bread Company really added to my event, and gave it a local, seasonal feel that was very fitting."
This also was the opportunity for us to test our "no waste" approach to catering, with everything from the egg boxes to the napkins being 100% compostable and when we are open for business soon we will have plenty to feed our herb garden's compost heap with!
A final note simply to say that we are first and foremost a bakery, producing and selling quality, hand-crafted breads and accompaniments. That said, we will occasionally cater for that very special event, so do get in touch if interested.
14/01/2009 - Winter greetings from The Thoughtful Bread Co.
A warm greeting and a belated Happy New Year to you from the deep dark depths of winter.. It is hitting us all, and I have never known the windscreen of a car to freeze on the inside as well as out!!... A great time however for us to make some progress in our hunt for premises, and there is good news at last!
Although not signed and sealed just yet, we are a couple of weeks away from securing a small unit on a a rural industry farm just outside of Bath. Together with the very small coffee shop hut we will be sharing with the Green Park Brasserie in Green Park, Bath, this will provide us with the facilities to bake as well as a retail unit from which we hope to sell our bread fresh 6 days a week, including saturdays when the Bath Farmers Market also frequents Green Park.
Plans are well underway to eco-convert the industrial unit, and with the purchase of a small diesel van that we plan to run on biodiesel, our eco-friendly deliveries are not far off. As always, we want to hear your suggestions as to how we might be able to make our business as eco-friendly and ethical as possible, so we would love to hear from you with any suggestions you may have: [email protected]
See us on TV this Wednesday
WATCH DUNCAN GLENDINNING ON TV
"It's not easy being green", BBC2, Wednesday 14th January, 8pm
Tune in this wednesday to watch James Strawbridge visit the founder of The Thoughtful Bread Company, Duncan Glendinning, in Bath where he lends a hand in building a clay oven in his back garden from scrap and salvage material. A much larger version of which will be used to bake all of Thoughtful's bread when we open.
Additional information on building clay ovens, as well as a book we have negotiated for a very special price is available by clicking here.
Get involved:
We are still looking for people wishing to get involved in The Thoughtful Bread Company. We don't profess to know it all, and from energy-efficient lighting to eco-friendly building and from organic gardening to rainwater harvesting we really want to get our hands dirty. If you fancy joining us for the ride, pitching in and learning a thing or two, or want to be the one doing the teaching, we want to hear from you. Contact us today by emailing [email protected]
