Welcome
Welcome to 'the loaf'. We are a busy and vibrant artisan bakery, delicatessen and café in Crich, Derbyshire selling a wide range of specialist bakery products, home made café food and deli-style groceries. We make bread, cakes, pizzas, pies, quiches, salads, hot and cold snacks, soups and a whole load more deliciously irresistible, top-quality goodies. Most of what we serve is made from scratch and contains no additives or preservatives.
Latest news
You can keep up with the latest news about our business on the news page. There is also a regularly updated blog and an email newsletter which you can sign up for.
Wednesday night is pizza night
Come and enjoy delicious fresh pizzas either in the comfort of the café or to take away. We are open from 6pm until 9pm every Wednesday. To book a table (recommended) or to order a takeaway, just phone on 01773 857074. View the pizza menu here.
the loaf in list of Britain's top 10 small bakeries
We were delighted to be listed in Dan Lepard's top 10 small bakeries in Britain in the Times newspaper. Listed as one of four local food producers in Derbyshire among 300 national producers, we were then picked out in a list of local small bakeries. Here is a map of the uk showing all of the producers taking part and their offers.
"the loaf is an active part of the community, using local beers in breads, selling flour for home bakers and having a pizza evening every Wednesday."
Dan is a world renowned baker who writes a weekly column for the Guardian and whose website and forum have been a source of great information and inspiration to me over the past few years. Every week we use his recipe for 'barm bread' using beer from the Fisherman's Rest pub. Thanks to Dan for including us in his list.
New products at the loaf
Following our Italian week, we are pleased to be offering 'Italian baguettes' or Stirato every Saturday alongside our regular french baguettes. Made from a recipe in Daniel Leader's book, 'Local Breads', they have a softer crust and more even crumb than their French cousins and are made with Italian 'OO' flour.
Also now making a regular appearance in the range is a new rye loaf: seeded rye. It uses a great recipe posted in the blog of Joanna, home baker and friend of the loaf. We are baking it every Friday and you can read more about the recipe and Joanna's blog on the loaf blog here .
100% spelt sourdough
Many of you have asked whether we use spelt flour in any of our breads. Spelt is an ancient wheat variety that has seen a recent resurgence as it is proving to be less problematic for people who suffer from an intolerance to gluten. Read more about spelt flour or wheat intolerance in recent articles published by our millers, Shipton Mill.
We already bake a part spelt sourdough on a Saturday called 'Spelt and Seed'. However, recently I have been experimenting and have developed a recipe for a 100% wholemeal spelt sourdough. I baked a batch recently which went down well with those that bought them but I would be interested in hearing from anyone who would be keen to buy this loaf on a regular basis so I know if and when to slot it into the range.
