Lovingly Artisan are pioneers in the baking space, and Matthews has been with them on their journey for over 30 years. Primarily a sourdough specialist, their breads enhance natural flavours and ingredients to craft something truly exceptional. Founded by award-winning baker Aidan Monks, and with the support of his wife, Catherine, Lovingly Artisan is becoming a staple for bread in the Lake District. We caught up with Aidan and Catherine to find out more!
Can you tell us a little bit about your bakery?
We actually began in a really small garden shed, kitchen. It was a very tiny building with one conventional oven, but that's where it all began! We were then at Oxenholme Railway Station, and now we're on the outskirts of Kendal at our really picturesque bakery. We're primarily a sourdough bakery, and we've been working alongside Matthews Cotswold Flour for many years. We often say that the Cotswold flour was our DNA; it runs through everything we do, and you'll really learn how we've been innovating our recipes and how we develop them with the introduction of new aspects in how we bake and mill alongside many of our partners.
Do you have a favourite flour from the Matthews range that you tend to buy?
The majority of flour we use from Matthews is Wychwood, their premium white flour. It's a fantastic flour that has the ability to withstand long sourdough fermentation. If the quality of protein isn't good in flours like that, you can't do long fermented sourdough, and that quality is through the consistency of the milling; the selection of good grain. The grain that they take into the mill is good quality, and it feeds all the way through. If you want good bread, you have to use a miller where the grain purchase has been carefully considered so you can have that consistency of flour. What we love about Matthews is that we know and trust Bertie and the team to work with farmers and buy well to ensure a quality flour.
What do you value most?
Our mantra is to make good quality bread that is fit to be at the centre of the table. That journey that we've been on has led through into believing honesty and integrity. Our whole story is about exactly what we do. What our customers see is our honesty and integrity in what we produce through and through. We believe in delivering that nutrition to the customer so that they get what they need from us and start to find a food that they trust and want to make part of their daily diet, but part of their world all the time. It's really important that people trust us and believe what we're doing, and we become a cornerstone in their household.
What does your relationship with Matthews look like?
We've been working with Matthews for more than 30 years now and, originally, with Paul Matthews and now his son, Bertie, too. We've gotten to know Bertie really well. The relationship between a baker and a miller is the most important relationship. That ability to cope with ups and downs and know that you can rely on that miller to be there is of immense value as a successful baker. Having that family miller to trust, as a family baker, the combination of the two is immensely powerful. Through these turbulent times, those relationships are the powerful ones.
What makes Lovingly Artisan unique?
There are so many fabulous, unique bakeries across our land, but we did make the decision, three years ago now, to grow our own grain. We're growing our grain in Penrith, Northumberland, and most recently in Cheshire. And that grain is then milled by us, so from Soil to Sourdough is a big part of our passion. We bake over 13 different Sourdough loaves.
You've been using Matthews Cotswold Flour for a while, and now, to venture into starting your own mill, have you felt supported?
We've had a lifelong partnership with Matthews. As a baker, I started using Matthews more than 30 years ago, and they've been a consistent partner. Without a miller to work with who you know will turn up every week, on time, with the flour, and that flour performs every day you put it in the mixer, consistently, is something so important to a successful bakery. Through the years, they've supported us with our ups and downs. Our most recent proof of how strong the relationship is, as we decided to grow our own grain and mill our own flour, we had support and collaboration from Matthews throughout that. Now we're milling successfully but we're actually buying more flour from Matthews than we've ever brought before. We could never have separated from them because Matthews is an integral, key part in what we do, and I think that partnership is one of the absolute keys to a successful bakery.
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