Every week is Real Bread Week at Haxby Bakehouse but this week is we’re proud to support the official annual celebration of additive-free loaves and the people who make them.
That’s you too: we applaud anyone who makes their own bread and keeps the process as natural as possible. We sell our ingredients at the Bakehouse – so why not seize the dough and start baking your own today?
Making real bread is fun and satisfying. Making it with the kids is a great way to steer them towards healthier food: you’d be amazed at the number of children who ‘don’t like wholemeal’ but love it when it’s lovingly made by their own mitts. Real Bread is:
- Better for you Most mass-produced loaves have artificial additives, high levels of yeast to force the dough to rise quickly, and perhaps a dollop of fat. Some are sprayed with chemicals to slow the growth of mould. The whole bread-making process can take as little as 45 minutes from start to finish. Our sourdough bread takes three days to make and uses no flour improvers, no hydrogenised fat and no preservatives. Not only does that result in a tastier loaf but by the time you eat it, the naturally-occurring enzymes have started to break down the gluten, so it’s easier to digest.
- Better for our community Money spent with local businesses is worth far more to a local economy than money spent at, say, a supermarket. We employ local people and buy from local suppliers where possible. One study found that, of every £1 spent with local businesses, an average of 76% was re-invested locally. By contrast, for every £1 spent with suppliers based outside the area, only 36p was returned*.
- Better for our planet The big bakers producing the majority of our loaves transport more than twelve million of them around the country each day**. Diesel-guzzling lorry loads travel up and down motorways from large plant bakeries to central distribution depots, then local distribution hubs and on to retailers. The majority of our flour comes from Yorkshire and we make a point of using local suppliers.
Our owner-baker Phil Clayton is proud to be a Real Bread ambassador and is serious about his responsibility to choose his ingredients wisely and carefully. Help us support the environment and our wonderful local farmers by making or buying real bread. Share photos of your bread this week with the hashtag #WeAreRealBread.
Find tips and recipes for making Real Bread here.