I wish I didn’t love bread but I do. I wish I didn’t love bread with butter as that would at least cut some of the calories but alas, I love it! Bread and butter. Could there be anything lovelier than a fresh French stick with some salted butter? I could never go on the Atkins diet that’s for sure, the thought of cutting out bread is not appealing. I’d rather eat nothing than not be able to eat bread… It might be the down fall of my diets but I don’t care, good bread is something I just wouldn’t want to live without!

I am very picky about bread though and I often go out of my way to go and get a particular French stick or loaf. It drives Jonny mad that I have this particular French stick I must have over any other but that’s the way I am. The closest supermarket to me is actually Tesco but because they don’t make THE French stick I like the best I have kind of dismissed them for their entire bakery range in the past. Bit of a shame I have realised as I was invited to visit a store yesterday so that I could have a tour of their bakery and try some of their extensive range and actually, they make pretty darn good bread!

Last night, my friend Sam and I took a trip to meet with the Lowestoft store and enjoyed very much hearing the interesting bakery facts delivered by team member Mark. We also very much enjoyed tasting the products from the bakery coupled with recommended accompaniments such as the mushroom antipasti (yum), onion houmous and chili oil. I particularly enjoyed the Walnut Bread and Tiger Loaf (one of Tesco’s best sellers and created from an original West Country recipe).and even more enjoyed the tasting of the home made Almond Brioche Bread and Butter Pudding (click the link for the recipe) made with brioche from the bakery. It was so amazing I even took my bowl with me for the tour of the bakery so reluctant was I to let go of it!

We got to meet their team of bakers and see how passionate they are about their jobs. It was great to hear about the ovens and how they bake the bread fresh on site every day. Of course some of the products like the croissants and doughnuts are brought in but everything is baked where possible from scratch. I thought every member of staff was passionate about what they were doing actually and I’m not sure if its because of the area of the store, perhaps I’m used to being in London where my local Tesco is NOT friendly but everyone was smiling and seemed to be enjoying their jobs. They were interesting and interested in, from the manager to the staff at the till I bought something from before we left. Very impressive team!

So, the bread I tried was delicious. Will I be changing and re-trying their baguettes when I know that years ago I wasn’t keen? Well… I think the baguette I love from another shop couldn’t really be beaten but I’ll certainly be back to buying my rolls and speciality breads from there and they also do the most delicious pretzels and cinnamon buns with a cream cheese frosting! Just try and keep me away from those! Oh and that Bread and Butter pudding recipe… Well… I think I have a new favourite desert!

I have not been paid to write this post.

Follow