5 December 2023

This is the weekly-ish newsletter from Loaf in Stirchley, keeping you abreast of our bakery and cookery school, and other news we think you might be interested in.

This week it's the Loaf gift guide, where we remind you of the locally produced produce and merch we have for sale, in the hope that you consider purchasing some as gifts for your loved ones.

Scroll down for this week’s lunch menu.

🍞 Pre-order your bread and pastries 🥐

We’ll have plenty on the shelves all week, with lunches served from noon on weekdays.

Our opening hours are:
Wed - Fri: 12-6
Saturday: 8-1
Christmas eve (Sunday 24th): 8-1

December pre-orders are open!

As some of you have noticed, we're taking pre-orders for every bake day up to Christmas Eve. Remember that while we want to bake enough for you all, we are restricted by the laws of time and space, so if you want to guarantee that sourdough for Christmas day, or stock up the freezer for our winter shutdown, you'll want to order up front.

Christmas opening (and closing)

For December, our opening hours will be mostly as normal, with the addition of Sunday 24th when we will be open 8am - 1pm.

We will then have our annual winter shutdown where we close for the Christmas break, re-opening in the new year (exact date to be decided very soon), so make sure you stock up your freezer.

Aprons, totes and tea towels, oh my!

We had our delivery from our screenprinters Do Make Say Ink of some lovely items designed by Molly. The headline is we finally, after talking about it for years, have a Loaf apron! Made from organic cotton with a pocket, they are the same quality we use in the bakery. £20 each.

We've also had delivery of the next batch of totes. Long-time customers will know we like to change up the colours so each run is effectively a limited edition. The large tote is a delightful coral on sky blue. £14 each.

We're also bringing back the small tote, by popular demand, in striking purple on dark green. £8 each.

Also, the bread bags are back in stock. These drawstring stuff bags can hold anything but we recommend using them to collect your bread and keep it fresh. £10 each.

Finally don't forget our tea towels, featuring the same design as our t-shirts, all on display in the shop!

Local produce made locally by local people

Over the last couple of years we've been increasing the range and availability of locally produced foodstuffs that go well with a nice slice of bread. We're proud to say this is now a significant part of Loaf's business, and one we want to grow further once we move into the new building.

Supporting local producers is obviously a good thing, but it also ties into Loaf's belief that we should know the origin of the food we eat. When Jacky delivers her jams we can ask her about them; we hear how the bees are getting on and how the weather is affecting the honey; we talk to Pip about how she's developing her new sauces. And of course we only sell things we would use ourselves, so you know they're of high quality.

The following are four core ranges which we think would make great gifts. Please consider buying local this year!

We stock honey from three local apiaries. Arden Forest is south of Redditch, Quinton Meadow is from the south-west edge of Birmingham, while Rea Valley is from hives along, well, it's in the name, and you can't get more local than that.

Pip of Pip's Hot Sauces continues to expand her range. The new Brewed collaboration with Attic is proving very popular and there's not one of these bottles that doesn't have its fans.

One of the newest additions to our shop, Marshall & Co's chocolate is made in Bournville, but not by a multinational corporation. Unlike most chocolate producers, they work with the actual cocoa bean and take care to preserve all the flavour. And look out for their delicious chocolate tea, made with the "waste" bean husks.

And then of course there's Jacky and her various jams and preserves. These have flown off the shelves all year and it's been a real Loaf success story. We will be getting restocks right up to Christmas.

Jacky uses locally grown and foraged ingredients that are in season and cooks everything up in her Redditch kitchen. While there are some standards, we never know exactly what she's going to deliver. What follows is a snapshot of what's on the shelves this week.

Phew!

Attic joins the advent hunt

Those of you already partaking in Rach's advent treasure hunt will be aware, but for those not in the know we can announce that Attic Brew Co have joined us this year - not only will the first person to solve the day's puzzle get a free loaf of Loaf bread, they'll also get a free pint of beer!

Follow our Instagram stories for a new clue each day, then get hunting around Stirchley!

Lunches this week

Wednesday

• Tarka daal with sourdough (Ve)

Thursday

• Soup: Fragrant winter squash soup with crusty cob (Ve)

Friday

• Curry: Roasted sprout, potato and lentil with sourdough (Ve)
• Salt beef on challah bun

Wed – Sat:

• Sausage rolls
• Vegetable rolls (V)

Wed - Fri

• Sourdough pizza: Mushroom, shallots, thyme, goat's cheese, walnuts, mozzarella, rocket (V)
• Ham and cheese croissant
• Tomato, spinach and cheese croissant (V)

Lunches are made fresh weekdays for 12 noon.

Our menu for the week — with ingredients and allergens — is on the website.

Cookery school classes

Classes for January onwards will be posted soon. You can sign up to alert lists for specific classes here.

Thanks for all your continued support. See you next week!

Team Loaf: Neil, Dave, Ian, Pete, Molly, Dorit, Sarah, Martha & Rach

Website: loaf.coop
Socials: Instagram / Mastodon / Threads / Twitter / Facebook