Meet our sourdough maker
Our Collection sourdough loaves, baguettes and rolls are made to an exclusive recipe at Village Bakery, an award-winning spot in North Wales run by brothers and third-generation bakers Robin and Christien Jones.
The sourdough “mother” (also known as a sourdough starter) was developed by Village Bakery’s master bakers and new product development team. The bakery is run using energy-efficient ovens and with minimal waste.
The bakery is surrounded by six acres of woodland maintained by North Wales Wildlife Trust. It’s open to the public and is home to owls, buzzards and endangered grizzled skipper butterflies.
M&S Collection sourdough
Making sourdough is like making beer – it takes patience, knowledge and enough time to get it just right. Each loaf takes more than 30 hours to make, allowing it to develop an incredible flavour and irresistible texture. There are some foods that require the latest techniques to make, but with our sourdough, it’s all about going back to basics.
The bread is allowed to prove slowly. Nothing artificial – like commercial yeast – is added. It’s folded several times by hand, which develops the protein in the flour, creating an open texture and signature air bubbles, then baked on Italian marble for a deep, dark crust. It's total bread bliss.
This is not just flour
Most of the wheat used in our Collection sourdough is grown by a network of British farmers who work with innovative regenerative farming company Wildfarmed. Founders of Wildfarmed, Andy Cato, George Lamb and Edd Lees, encourage growers to embrace regenerative farming practices, helping to improve biodiversity, soil health and climate resilience whilst reducing carbon emissions from food and farming. All Wildfarmed farmers grow wheat without the application of insecticides, herbicides or fungicides, helping to protect the planet for future generations whilst tackling the climate crisis.
Working with M&S, they’re able to transform vast areas of arable land from chemical-based farming systems to ones that promote soil health. By growing a diverse variety of wheat alongside companion and cover crops, the aim is to make agriculture a solution to the country’s biodiversity crisis, rather than a contributor to it.
Sourdough recipe inspiration
With its deep, crunchy crust and soft centre, our Collection crafted sourdough is a bread that’s a cut above. If you’ve got some leftover slices that have gone slightly stale, don’t throw them away. They’ll makes sensational croutons to sprinkle on soup or over a Caesar salad: simply toss cubes of bread with a splash of olive oil and bake in a medium oven until golden. Or try these super simple recipes from everyone’s favourite chef Tom Kerridge that put our amazing sourdough centre stage.
