At the end of 2013 we made the decision to not only sell food but to also start making it - the Lampeter bakehouse was born. Having freshly baked bread and handmade pastries available has transformed our offering in the shop, to those that order home delivery and to our wholesale customers
The drive to put in a bakery came about because as a shop, we were struggling to source fresh bread daily, that was the type of bread we loved. Something so simple was proving to be very difficult to us out here in Ceredigion.
We wanted a loaf that tasted great, that was not full of thirteen ingredients, more like four, and that was made from quality ingredients which nourished us. So we set about making slow fermentation, sourdough breads. We loved the flavour and texture you get from the sourdough, and also the long fermentation means that you are eating something that is packed with the nutrients you need to sustain you.
From January 1st 2026 it will become a legal requirement for all UK produced non-wholemeal wheat flours to be fortified with folic acid, with the exception of spelt. Legislative requirements require Millers to include a number of statutory nutrients to all white wheat flours. These are: Calcium as Calcium Carbonate, Thiamine (Vitamin B1), Niacin (Vitamin B3), and Iron. Folic acid will be added on the 1st January 2026, however it would be our preference not to have to add anything to the flours we use in our breads and baked goods.
Alternative flours with no fortification include: Spelt, gluten free flours, wholemeal flours and other flours such as rye and barley.
Due to our recipes only our Rye sourdough with linseed with be free from folic acid.
We never wanted to have a big bakery, but something small, with a great team of people that love what they do, and produce truly wonderful bread every day. We feel we are still learning, but that we have managed to achieve a lot of what we set out to do.