The bread and pastries served at THE PIG in the New Forest are as wholesome as they're delicious, thanks to our friends at Hoxton Bakehouse!
"On average I think a supermarket loaf of bread has between 17 and o ingredients," says Florence Hellier, co-founder of Hoxton Bakehouse, an artisan bakery based in Southampton that supplies four (and counting) PIGs. "Quite frankly, it blows my mind. We're talking about things like salt, sweeteners, saturated fats, additives, preservatives, flavourings and emulsifiers." Mass-produced bread has even become the poster child for ultra-processed foods in recent years, with a loaf featured on the cover of Dr Chris van Tulleken's definitive book on the subject, Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn't Food... and Why Can't We Stop?
The good news is that it doesn't have to be this way. Like the French, we just need to go back to basics. The 1993 décret pain (bread decree) states that baguettes must be made on the premises where they are sold and can be made only with wheat flour, water, salt and yeast - none of the "nasties".
Like any self-respecting baker, Florence makes her sourdough with just three ingredients: flour, water and salt. Instead of yeast, she uses a sourdough starter made by combining flour (wholewheat and all-purpose) and water over the course of seven days. The recipe Florence uses hasn't changed in 15 years, not since she and her partner, Darren Bland, peddled sourdough cheese toasties at Hoxton Market in cast London.
"For us, it's always been about the quality of ingredients, like Wildfarmed regenerative flour," she says. "If you get them right - the very best of the best - then you can expect the food to sing.
And I think that's exactly how THE PIG approaches its food, too." We started serving Hoxton Bakehouse's incredible sourdough and croissants almost 10 years ago. Back then, Florence and Darren worked 19-hour days and would deliver the bread themselves - usually covered head-to-toe in flour. These days, they have a considerably larger operation, with six shops and almost 200 wholesale customers. And partly due (we like to think) to our unwavering loyalty, we've even convinced them to bake us our own buns. "We make the delicious cinnamon morning buns exclusively for THE PIG," grins Florence. "Everyone else gets citrus buns, but the team here wanted something a little more breakfast-y. By all accounts, these do the trick."
Florence admits to having become something of a sourdough evangelist, offering free loaves to people who may struggle with gluten. Nine times out of 10, she says, those who were convinced they had an intolerance will come back for another loaf. "Generally, when people feel uncomfortable or bloated after eating bread, it's because of the carbon dioxide that's emitted as the bread continues to prove in their stomach," she says. "A supermarket might give their bread two hours to rest and rise, adding improvers to speed up the process. We let our dough prove for 36 hours before it goes in the oven, which means almost all of the gluten is broken down." Ultimately, it's like van Tulleken says: if you're in any doubt as to whether or not your food is ultra-processed, it probably is.
Thankfully, that's not something you'll need to worry about over breakfast at THE PIG.
Visit hoxtonbakehouse.com to learn more, or enjoy Hoxton Bakehouse goodies when you stay with us at THE PIG.
