LOVE LOCAL
SOURDOUGH BAKER
RISEOF
bizarre twist of fate, in which a freelance web developer discovered a penchant for baking while working on an eco-tourism project in Fiji. It was during a stint as a sustainability manager on this most tropical of paradises that Duncan honed his sourdough skills and dared to dream of setting up a business that would combine his two passions: sustainability and slow food. Upon his return to the West Country, Thoughtful Bakery was born.
D 52 | THE WEST COUNTRY FOODLOVER 52 | THE WEST COUNTRY FOODLOVER
uncan Glendinning’s path to opening an artisanal bakery was hardly a conventional one. His story is one of a
THE
Duncan Glendinning, founder of Bath’s Thoughtful Bakery, explains how man really can live on bread alone...
Words by Gaby Dyson Since opening its doors over one decade ago,
the T oughtful Bakery has risen to become Bath’s leading eco-artisan bakery. Home to real bread and all manner of indulgent treats, visitors can knead their own dough downstairs in the bakery school or receive tips on how to properly nurture a sourdough starter from the passionate in-house team. T ere’s no typical day at this city center bakery. One morning, you might fi nd rustic garlic loaves for sale, created using foraged wild garlic from nearby woodlands. T e
next, you might be tucking into one of their signature purple wraps; made by blending vibrant beetroot juice into the dough, before being stuff ed with hummus, roasted root veg, feta cheese and mixed leaves.
“Sustainability and ethics are key to everything that we do at T e T oughtful Bakery,” says Duncan. “We vary our off erings throughout the year to stay in tune with the seasons. We pickle, we ferment, and we do everything we can to squirrel away some of that produce for the more inclement months of the year.” A childhood spent holidaying in France
helped inform Duncan’s view of real bread. “My mother is French and I remember collecting our daily bread from the boulangerie. She would specifi cally ask for it bien croustillant (nice and crispy) because she liked the heavy crust on a freshly baked baguette. I always found it strange that in France we would buy bread at least once a day, whereas in England it was a weekly event. At T oughtful Bakery people oſt en ask
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