It's situated in the Colne Valley at Slaithwaite, five miles south west of Huddersfield:
and the bakery/café is on the towpath of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal:
just a few yards from the lock pictured above.
Their focaccia looked nice:
but in the end I chose their Yorkshire Leaven Loaf - which they said was their most local:
There's an attractive café, with an attractive range of snacks:
You can try a sandwich, made with their own bread whilst you watch them make more bread.
Or you can sit outside and watch the boats go buy with a Frittata Slice and a fresh salad made with produce from their own vegetable garden, or a home-made soup
There's a great range of cakes, like this Lemon and Poppy Seed cake:
and other baked items like this Pain au Raisin:
Drinks on offer include Suki tea and Dark Woods Coffee.
The coffee comes from just a mile along the towpath, and is delicious. You can also buy their coffee beans to take home. I tried and enjoyed their Good Morning Sunshine blend, with a chestnut roast and a flavour described as "French toast on a summers morning"! I also tried their Under Milk Wood blend - which was awarded the “Golden Fork” in the 2016 Great Taste Awards. It's a naturally sweet blend of high-grade single estate coffees with a flavour that makes you think of caramel.
This bakery is a wonderful example of how concerned people can join together, and create something which the whole community can benefit from. This Community Supported Bakery was the first to be built using bread bonds (where people put money in to get it started and can get paid back in bread). The result is happy people, eating healthier food. I'm delighted that this experiment has been successfully repeated across the country - and hope that we will see even more in the future.
The Handmade Bakery
Unit 6 Upper Mills
Canal Side
Slaithwaite
West Yorkshire
HD7 5HA
Tel: 01484 842175
http://thehandmadebakery.coop
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