Foodies used to fight over tables at the hot new restaurant in town, said Hannah Evans in The Times. "Now, it's £6 buns on the counter of their local artisanal bakery."
Britain is in the middle of a "bakery boom", as "cash-strapped diners" trade pricey meals out for "a coffee and a croissant". This year, for the first time, The Good Food Guide has compiled a list of the UK's top bakeries, sending out undercover inspectors to sample the country's very best artisan breads and pastries. You won't find standard pains au chocolat at these popular spots; local patissiers are crafting "show-stopping buns" from top-quality, and often sustainably sourced, ingredients.
It seems "bakery pilgrims" are willing to travel vast distances "in pursuit of a fine loaf or bun", said Chris Marshall in The Guardian. The "siren call of the honey buns at Popty'r Dref bakery" drew my wife and me on a four-hour journey from our home in Oxfordshire to Dolgellau, Wales. "We tagged on a hike up Mount Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) but it was really just a scenic spot to enjoy our bakery haul."
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There's often a sense of "camaraderie" among "long-distance bakery-seekers", with people swapping recommendations in the queue. While the popular bakery chain Gail's has stores popping up everywhere, it's the "rarer treats" from smaller owner-bakers that lure in the "bakery tourists". These tiny, thriving shops offer an "upmarket twist on the classics", like the kimchi and egg Danish at Long Boi's Bakehouse in Manchester.
In Edinburgh, Lannan has developed a "cult-like following", with tourists travelling from far and wide to sample the bakery's custard slices and cardamom buns, while Mabel in Norfolk draws foodies with its "perfectly constructed rosemary and sea salt twists".
For "buns bigger than your head", go to Sticky Fingers in Stockport Market Hall, said Jenna Campbell in Manchester Evening News. At this authentic Polish bakery, husband-and-wife duo Adrian and Klaudyna specialise in enormous "brioche-style yeast cakes filled with cream", as well as eclairs, meringue and babka (a sweet, braided bread).
My favourite London bakery is Toad in Camberwell, said Evans in The Times. Tuck into one of their delicious saffron buns before moving onto their signature yuzu orange jaffa cakes: "drool".
