“I want to make good bread for everybody”
Phoebe Stone meets the artisan behind Bath’s Bertinet Bakery, whose signature sourdough is taking on the supermarkets
delicious. PRODUCE AWARDS WINNER
Richard Bertinet is no stranger to the pages of this magazine. His knack for making the trickiest of bakes seem easy has meant the Brittany-born baker is much in demand.
But it was his legendary 1.2kg sourdough loaf that caught the attention of the judges at the 2016 delicious. Produce Awards. “My sourdough is my sourdough,” says Richard. “It took me quite a few years to develop. When we started the bakery we found our customers didn’t like sourdough to be too sour, so we made it with a more balanced flavour, to fit everybody’s palate.
It’s been our signature bread for years now.” Made using nothing but flour, salt, water and Bertinet’s own starter, each loaf is hand-moulded and proved in traditional linen-lined baskets, taking close to 24 hours to produce. Richard grew up in France, where bread was – and still is – a fundamental part of life. “Going to the bakery in the morning was something you did, like reading your email every day now,” he says.