Good afternoon everybody, Good afternoon everyone,Thank you for a galvanising start to 2026. This week we have a special newsletter for you, written by our prodigal baker Auriol who recently returned from the trip of a lifetime, with a beaten-up carrier bag containing a kilo of precious vanilla pods, direct from the farm in Madagascar on which they were grown. As per the farmer's instructions, we've stored them in sugar, and we will be celebrating them this week in several products. They will of course be used in our whole vanilla bun, plus we shall be making rice pudding (to Anna Higham's recipe). Then we will finely chop the pods and incorporate them in a hazelnut and chocolate cake, a...
Good evening everyone, And a very Happy New Year to you all. We hope you all found some moments of peace and joy over the festive period, and that you managed your stocks of bread better than the Thurston / Hamblin household. Not a crust or crumb left in sight round here...perhaps Kate should snap out of holiday mode and make a loaf or two. Meanwhile, at the mill, David, who is a stranger to the concept of a holiday, has redressed the mill stones ready for another year of grinding the best flour we could wish for. Fortunately for those bare cupboards we are back baking from Thursday this week. We imagine sub-zero temperatures await us at the bakery when we start prepping tomorrow,...
Good afternoon everybody, Ok, let's get the important bit out of the way. Our hours for the lead in to Christmas are as follows: Thursday 18 - CLOSED Friday 19 - CLOSED Saturday 20 - OPEN Sunday 21 - OPEN Monday 22 - OPEN + LYDIA'S CHEESE STALL Tuesday 23 - OPEN Wednesday 24 - OPEN We will then be closed until Thursday 8 January. All that remains is to mention that our seasonal programme is in full swing. Vanilla fudge is back, there's a multitude of biscuits in bags, the Dundee cakes are flying out. There are tubs of piccalilli and bread and butter pickles and satisfyingly large jars of St John chutney. We've got some wonderful, new season, green...
Good afternoon everybody, First of all a reminder of our upcoming Yule Salon, a celebration of Xmas cakes and bakes kicking off at 10 AM on Sunday in the Covered Market. Full details of the menu in the images at the foot of this message. Another date for your diaries: Many of you may remember that last year our beloved former manager, Lydia, now of Neal's Yard Dairy, ran a cheese stall on the forecourt of the bakery. This year we're very happy to announce that Lydia will be returning on Monday the 22nd of December with a bountiful spread of British and Irish farmhouse cheeses, cutting and wrapping to order from 10 AM. With the Iffley Road and Covered...
Good afternoon everybody, Though still not quite December, we have a few bits of festive housekeeping which we felt may be of interest and may need time to percolate. Here goes... Firstly, on Sunday 14th December we will be hosting our second cake-off event at the Covered Market, a Yule Salon. As in the summer we have invited local guest bakers to join us, this time to create festive bakes. We welcome back Pet Gât, Cake On My Face and Lost Tallulah and greet Jack and Freddie of McQueens for the first time. Unlike the summer, we will be prepared for any queueing situation that may occur with an outdoor payment station. And we will also be making much more...
