An organic bakery run from the kitchen of a family home has launched a Crowdfunder appeal to help double production.
Ami Shirley and Lance Butcher bake authentic sourdough bread from their home in Rutland, which they sell to shops, restaurants, cafes and delis across Britain’s smallest county and neighbouring Leicestershire.
Right now the business, Bisbrooke Artisans, can make around 40 loaves a day. A flagship 1kg loaf called The Village Sourdough costs £3.50, with other varieties including charcoal and caraway, turmeric and fennel, citrus rye, sesame and an omega 3 mix.
They are launching a Crowdfunder campaign today to raise £9,500 to buy a bigger, second hand oven that will allow them to double, or even treble production.
They are also thinking of hiring a nearby unit to work out of as the business pretty much takes up the whole of their kitchen.
Lance started baking as a weekend hobby, to wind down from his IT job in London. Ami retired from teaching in Leicester to join him as the pastime became more serious a couple of years ago.
Demand for their bread, which is made from locally sourced flour with water and Himalayan pink salt – without any dry yeast added – is already outstripping production.
Each batch takes 30-36 hours to make, following a process that takes in natural leavening, proofing, rounding, shaping, retarding and baking.
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Contributors to the Crowdfunder campaign will get rewards such as a year’s worth of sourdough bread or sourdough baking workshops and even have the chance to “pay forward” their reward to help a local community group.
Ami said: “We have launched a Crowdfunder campaign so we can expand the bakery and bring real sourdough bread to the whole of Leicestershire and Rutland.
“We support lots of local cafes, delis and restaurants and we want people to be able to enjoy our bread wherever they are based.”
The business also makes fresh spicy condiments, drawing on Ami’s Bangladeshi heritage, to accompany the breads and to give people a “new flavour experience”.
They are also considering some sweet varieties of their sourdough.
Ami said: “It was never a conscious thing to make it a business but everyone who tried Lance’s bread said it was yummy – and that was back at the start when he didn’t even think it was that good.
“It’s gone from one or two loaves to 240 a week, and now we’ve woken up to thinking about what we can do next.
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“We can’t actually keep up with demand. We never want to say no to anyone, so I’ve asked people to bear with us or just take a single delivery, and people have been very kind and very patient because it’s such an amazing, delicious, high quality bread.
“Other bakers have said there’s no money in sourdough because of the time it takes to make.
“What you buy in the supermarkets isn’t real sourdough. I’m sure it’s good bread and I’m not knocking it, because as long as you know what you are getting that’s fine.
“But ours is 100 per cent sourdough – just water and flour with a live culture that you keep feeding until it becomes aggressive, then you add more flour and water and a little bit of salt, and that becomes the dough.”
The bread can be brought straight from the bakery or outlets such as Fika in Oakham, Budgens in Uppingham, Tiny Bakery in Leicester, the Marquess of Exeter in Lyddington, Falcon Hotel, Uppingham, and Leicester Coffee House.