The Friendly Loaf in St Edmundsbury

After reading about this bakery in the local paper I made a special trip to see what the bread is like. WOW! The best Portuguese Custard Tart I have ever eaten! There were amazing little quiches as well….to say nothing of the Rosemary Focaccia! What a find.. Worth the trip.

My daughter and I attended The Friendly Loaf's beginners bread making course in June. It was run by Ben, who is an excellent teacher, with Simi, forgive me if this is the incorrect spelling of your name, in support. The morning began with a bakery breakfast and tea/coffee. Ben described where the flour they use came from and demonstrated their production machinery. He then made the dough we would soon use, whilst he gave us more information on their production methods. Within a short time the dough had risen from which he showed us how to make different types of loaves and many bread based items by hand. We then followed suit and made a variety of breads including a pizza base, adding various toppings they provided for our lunch. It was very much a hands on course and we came away with lots of different types of breads we had made. So much so that my daughter and I had to share some of it with family and neighbours. Ben is extremely knowledgable and has worked as a chef in his career. He clearly enjoys baking and made it lots of fun for us. I thoroughly recommend this course and additionally love the products they sell in their attached shop. I try to get there once a week for a coffee, bread and pastries. There's parking on site and Simi, Ben and the team are as their name business name suggests, very friendly. The bakery is an outstanding resource in Bury St Edmunds.