Why our sourdough takes 48 hours

Most supermarket bread goes from flour to shelf in under three hours. Ours takes two days.

Day one: the levain

We refresh our starter – the same culture we have kept alive since we opened – with stone-ground flour and Bahraini spring water. Twelve hours later it is bubbly, sweet-smelling and ready.

Day two: the long cold proof

After a gentle mix and four sets of folds, the dough rests overnight in the cold room. This is where flavour develops: lactic and acetic acids build up, gluten relaxes and the crumb becomes open and glossy.

Bake day

Loaves are scored and baked in a steam-injected deck oven at 250°C. The result is a crackling crust and a tender, tangy interior. Best enjoyed the day it is baked – or toasted the day after.