Loaf Community Bakery is our new bakery in Cotteridge, South Birmingham, specialising in sourdough and other artisan breads. Bread is baked at the home of Loaf director Tom Baker, in both a conventional and traditional wood-fired earth oven. The bakery sells bread through a ‘community supported bakery’ scheme (see below), as well as selling some wholesale to specialist local delis. Bread is made with organic flour, grown and milled in the UK.

Loaves are baked on a Friday, and need to be collected that evening between 4 and 7.30pm. Collection is from Cotteridge currently, although an alternative Saturday collection point is in the pipeline. A large (800g) white sourdough (Cotteridge Sourdough) and a large (800g) 100% rye sourdough (Revolution Rye) are available initially. Both breads keep well for 5 days and are suitable for freezing. Other specialities such as brioche and ciabatta will be available occasionally on a first-come first-served basis.

About the Bread

Revolution Rye  - A 100% rye sourdough bread. This loaf is baked with a 2-year old rye sourdough starter, and UK-grown organic light rye flour, topped with pumpkin and sunflower seeds. It has an amazing depth of flavour and surprising moisture. Like a good cheese or wine it gets better with age, and is at its best 2 or 3 days after baking. It will be in good condition for 5-7 days. 800g.

Cotteridge Sourdough – Flour, water, salt, wild yeasts. Nothing else. A loaf born and raised in Cotteridge using a 4-year old wheat sourdough starter, and UK-grown organic white flour. This is a great everyday bread that has a subtle sourness and light airy crumb. It keeps well for 5 days, and freezes well too. 800g.

Revolution Rye (front) and Cotteridge Sourdough

Invest in Loaf Community Bakery and subscribe now for just £11 a month!

We can only take a limited number of subscribers and spaces are filling up fast, so get in touch soon if you’d like to sign up. We’ll be keeping a waiting list too.

I’m sold, how do I subscribe?

Simple, email Tom on bread@loafonline.co.uk to register your interest, who will reply with more details. Payment is by cash or cheque paid on the first collection of the month. The bread club works in 4-week cycles, so if you join art way through a cycle, the relevant reduction will be made to your first payment.

What is a Community Supported Bakery anyway?

The idea is simple, and it’s borrowed from the American community supported agriculture (CSA) model. Each month you ’subscribe’ to a farm (or in this case, a bakery), giving a set amount of money upfront. Because of your monthly investment and commitment to the farm (bakery), the farmer (baker) has a guaranteed income and so can invest in equipment, tools, supplies, labour etc, in order to repay your investment with an agreed amount of produce every week. The farmer (baker) gets some security and a leg-up in surviving against the industrial food system, and you get wholesome produce, produced responsibly and sustainably, at a fair price. In this case, there will also be less wastage, as the baker knows exactly how many loaves he needs to bake.