Pick a pretty posy for mum

Show your mum (or grandma) you care by picking a pretty posy from Haxby Bakehouse today or tomorrow.

We’re supporting fellow local and independent business the Little Bear and Bird Flower Company by selling their tulip and daffodil posies in the run-up to Sunday.

A daffodil and fern posy costs just £2.50 and the pink tulips edged with yellow are £5. Both come with a cute bow and are beautifully presented to show you care.

Team them with chocolate from the White Rabbit Chocolatier and a Haxby Bakehouse loaf. What better way to make Mum’s day?!

Say it with Chocolate this Mother’s Day

Make Mother’s Day extra special this year by giving her a special chocolate gift supplied exclusively to the Haxby Bakehouse Deli by White Rabbit Chocolatiers in Beverley.

The small independent business hand-makes heavenly chocolate and chocolate gifts which are different enough to impress, the right size for an indulgent treat, and taste spectacular.

We love the Edible Mother’s Day cards – a 13cm square of milk chocolate (105g) with a ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ message and beautiful decorative chocolate flowers. Then there’s salted caramel bites… nine bite-sized pieces of creamy milk chocolate with perfectly-balanced salted caramel inside. We also can’t resist the ray of sunshine which is the pretty little yellow chocolate flower on a disc.

Or bring a smile to mum’s face with a Clever Cat… 135g of extra fine milk chocolate with a whole chocolate mouse inside. If dogs are more her thing, give a 130g milk chocolate Good Dog with two chocolate bones inside.

We also have a selection of chocolate bars in mouth-watering flavours, including a Mother’s Day limited edition Almond and Raspberry bar…. crunchy almond and sharp freeze-dried raspberries in rich 70% masterblended dark chocolate. Other bars include Rose & Geranium, Passion Fruit with Rose, Nuts and Raisin and ‘Aphrodisiac’ Fig & Cherry.

Come and take your pick from the irresistible range while it lasts: prices start at £3. And while we’re on the chocolate theme, don’t forget to treat yourself to a takeaway hot chocolate made with York Cocoa House hot chocolate. Choose from Classic Hot Chocolate, Chocolate Orange and White Chocolate flavours.

Bakehouse best Hot Cross Buns now in

Spring has arrived at Haxby Bakehouse in the form of our special Hot Cross Buns, baked daily with the our own recipe, using the best ingredients to make a classic Easter treat.

We make them in small batches with Yorkshire Organic flour, dried fruit and mixed peel. They’re subtly spiced, free of artificial preservatives and just sticky and sweet enough.

Some people can’t wait to get out of the shop before tucking in, others toast them and slather them with butter, jam or honey. Whatever your favourite, tag #haxbybakehouse on Instagram and share the joy!

It’s a pity we’re not travelling yet, cos legend has it that if you take a hot cross bun on a sea voyage, it will protect against shipwreck. Hang one in the kitchen, though, and it will protect against fires. And if you bake them on Good Friday, apparently hot cross buns won’t go mouldy for the following year. We haven’t kept ours long enough to test this though.

Whether you indulge as me-time treat or buy for your nearest and dearest, grab a Haxby Bakehouse Hot Cross Bun or four while you can and enjoy them with our best Easter wishes.

Happy #RealBreadWeek!

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.

* Sacks, J. Public spending for public benefit, New Economics Foundation, London, July 2005
** Calculated by Sustain from figures published by the Flour Advisory Bureau and Federation of Bakers.

Oat and honey loaf – it’s Yorkshire’s finest!

Oat and honey loaf from Haxby Bakehouse

Have you tried our oat and honey loaves yet? They’re specially made with Lovely Strensall Honey, Yorkshire Organic flour and oats from Stringers of Driffield, making them a real local treat.

Tommy Banks, chef-owner of The Black Swan, Oldstead and Roots in York – both of which now have Michelin Stars – likes the loaves so much he included them in his sell-out Made in Oldstead Valentine’s boxes.

You can still get oat and honey loaves every day at Haxby Bakehouse, though. What makes them extra special (apart from our baking skills, obvs!) is the amazing honey supplied to us by Rich, a beekeeper extraordinaire from Strensall.

We’ve been selling his honey in jars for some time and one day he came into the shop apologising because some of the honey had started to ferment. Phil, our head baker, was delighted as he’d just seen a renowned chef waxing lyrical about fermented honey on a documentary series. A few trial runs later and the Oat and Honey Loaf was born.

A real Yorkshire treat

Phil says: “The Lovely Strensall honey we use is slightly fermented, which means the water content is higher and the honey’s started to ferment. That makes the flavour get really strong which is perfect for us because you get a lovely honey flavour without the sweetness.

“We also use 100% Yorkshire Organic flour, supplied to us by Yorkshire Organic Millers, based on the North York Moors National Park, and the oats are from Stringer’s, who farm organically on the Yorkshire Wolds.

“We think the resulting loaf is great. And far nicer for being 100% Yorkshire.”

CHOCOLATE VALENTINE’S GIFTS NOW IN!

If chocolate melts your loved one’s heart, look no further than our selection of luxurious artisan chocolate gifts supplied for Valentine’s Day by White Rabbit Chocolatiers.

All their chocolate’s hand-made in small batches and the amazing taste-bud-tangling results are a feast for the eyes as well as the senses.

The Passion Fruit With Rose bar is White Rabbit’s signature white chocolate made with Dominican Republic beans, flavoured with passion fruit and decorated with crystalised real rose petals.

The 70% dark chocolate ‘Aphrodisiac’ Fig & Cherry bar is its classic masterblend of dark chocolate made with Ecuadorian beans, with sumptuous figs and cherries added in.

Or give nine bite-sized pieces of heaven: mouth-watering salted caramel in creamy masterblend 38% milk chocolate, finished with a cute heart pattern

We’re also selling irresistible favourites from Beverley-based White Rabbit’s range: Two Chilli; Rose & Geranium; Nuts & Raisin, and Yorkshire Honeycomb.

If you really want to make an impact, the Boom! Novelty hot chocolate maker will go down a bomb. You add it to a cup or mug via its strawberry lace fuse, pour on hot milk and watch the magical ‘explosion’ to reveal mini marshmallows! This Valentine’s delight has been tickling us pink. Watch the video here: https://twitter.com/WhiteRabbitChoc/status/1227940874056802304

Heart-shaped artisan cheese – perfect for Valentine’s Day

Selection of Valentine’s cheeses at Habxy Bakehouse deli.

Staying in on Valentine’s night? How did we guess?! You can still feel the love by serving up special Bakehouse-inspired meals to make it a day and night to remember.

Baron Bigod Valentine’s cheese.

Make an impact by presenting Valentine’s cheeses, many of which are our best-selling favourites shaped into hearts to help you show you care. Pair them with Haxby Bread, crackers, Yorkshire Crisps, olives and our other accompaniments to wow at the table or make a showstopping hamper.

Baron Bigod’s Bigod I Love You cheese is an award-winning creamy Brie-style cheese hand ladled at Fen Farm Dairy in Suffolk, using the raw milk of its happy Montbéliarde cows. Serve it sliced over warm, roasted vegetables or with figs, red onion marmalade and thick oatcakes.

The eye-catching red casing of Kick-Ass Cheese (pictured above) makes this creamy, strong, extra mature cheddar a perfect Valentine’s gift. It’s produced by Procter’s Cheeses, a family business in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, and is great served with chilli jam and chilli crackers to really warm things up!

Selection of cheese crackers at the Bakehouse deli.

We love White Lake Heart of Gold cheese, a mild and distinctly creamy brie made from Guernsey cow’s milk in Somerset and crafted with care into a heart shape. Serve in a bacon sandwich or alongside our fantastic range of charcuterie from multi award-winning Lishman’s of Ilkley.

The Valentines Day special Burt’s Blue cheese is a semi-soft blue veined cheese hand-made in Cheshire using pasteurised milk. Its ‘mouldy coat,’ which can vary between greys and blues, is quite edible and makes a really striking cheeseboard centrepiece. Bake it in ham-wrapped figs – or it’s a perfect match with Haxby Bakehouse crusty bread for posh cheese on toast.

What ever your plans this Valentine’s Day, our top tip for success is to make it as cheesy as possible!

Semlor buns – the ultimate Lenten treat

Want to share in our secret for banishing the grey day blues? Treat yourself to one of our gorgeously indulgent semlor Lenten buns.

Semlor buns are a Scandinavian treat which are so special that they’re only made at this time of year. Traditionally, bakers sell them in the run-up to Lent (February 17th) and once we tried them, we decided it was a custom we had to observe here, too.

Haxby Bakehouse has put its own slant on the buns, which are cardamom-scented and like a super-tasty cross between a doughnut and bread. We add our own special almond cream to the middle, and top it with a thick layer of heavenly whipped cream.

We enjoy adding seasonal variation to our baking repertoire and every year we convert more customers to this rival to Shrove Tuesday pancakes. Swedish folk love semlor buns so much they eat an estimated six million of them on Fat Tuesday, their name for Shrove Tuesday, which isn’t bad for a population of just over 10 million.

Add a warm glow to your home by serving this irresistible treat, baked every day in our Haxby Bakehouse ovens until the beginning of Lent.

10% discount with a YorkieCard!

You can now get 10% off every bread loaf at Haxby Bakehouse by investing in a YorkieCard, a new loyalty card to support independent businesses in York.

Every independent business signed up to the YorkieCard scheme offers discounts and/or exclusive deals, so you can save yourself cash while discovering new and interesting places to shop, eat and drink around the city.

YorkieCards cost just £12 a year (£20 for two) – so it won’t take long for you to get your money back and start saving. And you’ll be supporting independent businesses by putting money into the local economy.

The loyalty cards are the brainchild of one of the directors of Haxby Bakehouse customer The Larder Club, an Italian deli on Blake Street, York. She said: “My involvement with The Larder Club meant I witnessed first-hand the difficulty businesses were facing across the city.

“I also recognise that many of us want to support local independent businesses as much as we can and the YorkieCard will help us all discover and support York’s many hidden local gems.”

To find out more about YorkieCards and buy your own, click here.

Veganuary starts here!

Vegan range at Haxby Bakehouse

Trying a plant-based diet for Veganuary? Or are you a year-round non-dairy, meat-free eater?

Either way, take your pick from our extensive range of vegan foods to make delicious and healthy meals at home. Or treat yourself to one of our hot, tasty take-away vegan options.

We have veggie burger mixes, 4 grain couscous, greenwheat freekeh and organic jackfruit. Or try our Suma tins of organic ravioli, vegan baked beans and burgers, cheesy pasta, and meatball chilli. Then there’s dolmades (vine leaves stuffed with rice) and our ever-popular Middle Eastern Houmous.

Chase away the grey-day blues with one of our warming takeaway vegan soups, made on the premises each day. They’re served with our own Haxby Bakehouse sourdough croutons which are simply heavenly, though we say so ourselves.

Phil our baker and his team make vegan focaccia daily, and our deli counter serves deliciously creamy and smoky vegan Applewood cheese. We also sell jacket potatoes with a range of vegan fillings, plus vegan toasties like Applewood cheese and red onion marmalade, made with Haxby bread, of course.

So whether you’ve resolved to eat more healthily this January or just fancy a change, pop in to the Bakehouse and give those tastebuds a Veganuary lift!

We wish all our customers a healthy and happy 2021.

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