Where the flour is sourced from

We are proud to source our flour from Matthews Cotswold Flour, who are based just over an hour away in the beautiful Cotswold hills, in the village of Shipton under Wychwood near the ancient royal Wychwood forest.

Like us, Matthews Cotswold Flour mill is a family run business and was first established in the 1860’s. The mill has been milling in the heart of the Cotswold Hills for over 100 years and Paul and son Bertie Matthews, the 5^th and 6^th generation, continue the family tradition.

Matthews flour are proud, certified organic flour millers and still use traditional stoneground milling to produce all their flour, which is an authentic healthy way of producing baking flour. Consistency is key here at Becketts Farm, and by using Matthews Flour, we are sure to fulfil this.

The bread cycle here at Becketts

4am – the first batch of bread is baked.

Measure and mix 32kg of ingredients, this amount will make around 27 loaves of bread. The ingredients include salt, fat, flour improver, fresh yeast and water. The mix takes 9 minutes to combine and is made up of 2 minutes on a slow setting and 7 minutes on a fast setting.

The bread mix is then placed into the bread plant. This is made up of three stages the divider, the intermediate prover and the final moulder. This is used to divide the bread mixture into equal amounts, ensuring consistency is kept, the process takes 8 minutes to complete. Once the bread has been through the bread plant, the bakers then put the moulded bread into separate baking tins and place on a tray in the prover. This is a warm and humid environment and the bread stays in the prover for around 40 minutes.

Once the bread has proved, it then goes into the rack oven. The loaves of bread take around 35 – 40 minutes to bake and the ovens are carefully monitored by the Bakers. As soon as the bread is baked, they are placed on the shelves ready to purchase. Nothing beats freshly baked bread… right?

The process of baking just one batch of bread takes around 1 hour and 40 minutes to complete. It may seem easy to some, but it is certainly time consuming. We’re grateful for having such wonderful skilled Bakers, producing delicious freshly baked produce EVERY DAY.

What the Bakers bake

The Bakers here, certainly have their work cut out. Their production sheet includes over 60 different products in multiple amounts, that are baked every day. Bread alone, there are over 50 different types. This includes a mixture of white, wholemeal, granary, sourdough, tiger and many more. Our bread is baked in the form of loaves, rolls and baguettes.

As well as our delicious freshly baked bread, the Bakers also have sweet treats and desserts to prepare. These are baked daily and include the classic jam doughnut, Danish pastries, egg custards, bread pudding, tea cakes, scones, fruit pies and much more. Fear not, there are plenty more sweet treats on offer from the Bakery, that our fantastic team of confectioners produce.