The People’s Republic of Norwich

Rainbow Wholefoods Norwich

Fascinating visit to Norwich at the weekend. Popped in for a cuppa with Richard of Rainbow Wholefoods, who is one …

4 new believers December

Another hugely varied collection of new customers who have just come into the fold: Blue Sky deli in Christchurch near Bournemouth, Premier …

Christmas Home Delivery dates

The last day for home delivery of our bread before Christmas is Tuesday 23rd December.  We'll need orders by Friday …

Usk Farmer’s Market 6th Dec 2014

Our last two markets of the year are at Usk on the 6th December and the 20th December. You can …

Love from email

To: mike@tortoisebakery.com Subject: Wonderful Bread Dear sir,I should like to thank you and your bakery in baking the best loaf …

3 new believers

Welcome to the Campanilismo Italian deli in Swansea, Ethica vegan store in Plymouth, and Marches cheese & charcuterie specialists in Abergavenny. Three very different outlets, each taking …

Love from Kent

To: mike@tortoisebakery.comSubject: integrale loaf Just a quick email to say I love this bread ( bought at Canterbury wholefoods where …

Usk Farmer’s Market 18th Oct 2014

Challenging week this week. Slightly colder and less humid in the bakery but not cold and dry enough to switch …

Visit to Landbrot bakery Berlin

Fascinating visit to Berlin's greatest Organic bakery recently. Learned a lot about how to make our rye bread even better. …

Love from Cambridge

Hello,   I have recently started buying your amazing bread (from Arjuna health food shop in Cambridge) and I just …

Tortoise Bakery on BBC1

Nice to be featured on Monday’s episode of the Hotel 24/7 series on BBC1.  You can catch it on iPlayer. …

Neath Food Festival Fri 3rd & Sat 4th October

Great festival in the streets of Neath town centre this Friday and Saturday. Free entry & a big range of …

Usk Farmer’s Market Saturday 4th October

Having missed an Usk market for the first time this year it was nice to hear from regulars trying to …

Abergavenny Food Festival

We're excited to be at Abergavenny Food Festival for the first time this weekend (20th and 21st of September). We're …

Usk Farmer’s Market 6th Sept 2014

I''m at St Fagan's Food Festival while Natalie's manning Usk as usual this Saturday. New oven is already running over …

St Fagan’s Food Festival 6th & 7th Sept 2014

We always meet interesting people at food festivals. It's always great talking to customers directly and other stallholders who smile …

Great rack oven needs good home

We are bursting at the seams for space so it's time for yet another remodel of the bakery. Our new …

Usk Farmer’s Market 16th August

Not long now before Natalie and I have our first days off of the year. We're off to Berlin where …

Tortoise Tapas

Pan con tomate (with optional toppings for home - serves 2 as a snack) Recipe from Wales Online's interview with Bar 44's …

Usk Farmer’s Market 2nd August 2014

Rather than trust the numbers, sometimes you have to have faith. If we went purely by the sales figures in …

6 new believers

Welcome to 6 new outlets to the Tortoise fold: The Plug in Dinas Powis Cardiff, The Natural Store in Helston, The …

Three new believers

 A very big welcome to the three newest members of the fold: The new Ferryman Deli in Laugharne West Wales, The …

Chapter Arts Centre new serving Tortoise Bakery

The benefits of getting up early…

…are that sometimes you get to see things you'd otherwise miss

Chia & Flax Sourdough debuts at Usk Farmer’s Market 7th June

Lots of new things bubbling in the bakery (literally in the case of sourdough). Following our new Wholegrain and Emmer …

Usk Farmer’s Market Sat 17th May

The hot weather has brought its new challenges this week. With the bakery roasting all my doughs have been fermenting …

Jobs

We’re always on the lookout for great people so let us know your details and we’ll be in touch next …

Usk Farmer’s Market 3rd May

After meeting lots of new faces last weekend at Gorseinon food festival Nat is looking forward to seeing our regulars …

Wholegrain Sourdough – my current favourite

More sourdough experimentation throws up a pleasant surprise – this is my favourite loaf at the moment. This loaf is …

Emmer Sourdough – alternative grain with flavour

Emmer flour is an ancient grain which is very low in gluten and high in calcium and fibre. This week …

Trade

Product and Price List To download our current trade price list click on these links below Wholefoods shops Feb 2015 …

Celtic Manor now serving Tortoise Bakery Bread

Big thanks to Shelley Heseltine for helping to make this happen.

4 more believers

 A very warm welcome to 4 new stockists. On the wholefoods front we are now stocked by Green Spirit in Stroud …

Gorseinon Food Festival Saturday 26th April 2014

Back in my home town this Saturday for Gorseinon Food Festival, our first food festival of the season. The weather …

Usk Farmer’s Market – 5th April

We're back tomorrow morning and will be bringing 2 new sourdough loaves we've been developing. The first is a Wholegrain …

Six new believers

Now that the new oven is fully up and running we've been able to take on a few new stockists. …

Usk Farmer’s Market – 1st March

 We're back this Saturday with lots of our lovely organic hot cross buns. Boil the kettle and get the toaster …

Interest rate

Obsession

Eat, sleep, work, repeat

Usk Farmer’s Market 15th Feb 2014

Interesting week this week, where we had a little stand at a trade show. It's our first attempt to sell …

Enough trials already

Today's tests were a watershed. This walnut sourdough is easily as good as anything from the old oven. So next …

Crawl, Walk, Run

The peel has broken. The bins are full of rejects. The neighbours don't want anymore burned bread, thanks. This week …

Usk Farmer’s Market – 1st Feb

New batch of Figs came in today. When I opened the box, I discovered this handpacked delight.  We're back this Saturday …

New oven – getting there (slowly)

After 4 more trials we are starting to getting to know our new oven. This was a test batch we …

First bake with new oven

When we first started baking bread we were a pie company making Organic pies for a market that didn't want …

Real Bread FAQs

1. What is Slow Fermented Bread? Bread made with little or no yeast and a very long prove, time allowing …

Usk Farmer’s Market Sat 21st Dec

Last market for us in 2013 is this Saturday at Usk. If you'd like to order bread for collection email …

Home delivery before Christmas

Just a few days left to order bread for home delivery before Christmas. The last day we can take orders …

Usk Farmer’s Market 7th Dec

This Saturday's market is the last-but-one before Christmas. The last market before Christmas is on the 21st Dec, so to …

New oven – teething troubles

Currently just the 5 issues with the oven then…

New oven – we have ignition

New oven – close to complete

Usk Farmer’s Market 16th November

New oven build almost complete but still using the old faithful for Usk tomorrow (which is probably a good thing …

New oven – the build so far (continued)

New oven – the build so far

Usk Farmer’s Market Sat 2nd Nov

Natalie is back at Usk Farmer's Market tomorrow while I put together the peels for our new oven (which arrives …

More Cowbridge niceness

Dear Natalie,A quick note to let you know that we have already polished off your sourdough walnut loaf purchased during …

More Cowbridge niceness

Good luck baking tonight!!! Have a grrrreat day tmoz at the Cowbridge Food and Drink Festival. Sour dough to die …

It’s nice to get even more emails like this

I bought my first ever loaf from you today at Cowbridge Food Festival. I couldn't wait to get home and …

Cowbridge Food Festival Sat 26th & Sun 27th Oct

Last festival of the year for us and it's on our doorstep just a few miles from the bakery. We're …

Usk Farmer’s Market Sat 19th Oct

 Here's an article I read this week in a bakery trade magazine:Ah….this is where we have been going wrong this …

3 new stockists this week

This week  we welcome 3 new friends to the Tortoise fold; The Natural Choice in Conwy, Greenlife in Totnes and …

It’s nice to get more emails like this

Hi Mike. I believe it was yourself I bought a couple of loaves from on Saturday (at Neath Food Festival) …

Usk Farmer’s Market – Sat 5th Oct

Although we're at Neath Food Festival on the same day, we'll still be at Usk as usual this Saturday 5th …

Neath Food Festival – Fri 4th Oct & Sat 5th Oct

The food festival at Neath is held in the town centre where the stalls fill the pedestrianised area amongst the …

Usk Farmer’s Market 21st September

If you are heading to Abergavenny food festival tomorrow, do pop into Usk Farmer's Market on the way there. Stephen …

New Oven – deposit placed

Enough dithering. Money where your mouth is time. You can never be sure it'll be worth the money, or "payback …

Usk Farmer’s Market Sat 7th Sept

Mam (Maureen) & Dad (Roger) are manning Usk this week while Nat and I are at St Fagans. Life would …

St Fagans Food Festival 7th & 8th September 2013

This weekend we’re at St Fagans Food Festival. Planning on taking lots of loaves and a big variety. (Man plans, God …

Angela Gray Bruschetta

We like it when chefs take what we do and make it even better. http://www.angelagray.co.uk/cookery-school/riverford-supper-evening/

You’ll never see bakery whites so white

Photoshoot whites, not real whites….

A loaf for everyone

We’re now up to 20 different loaves to try and cater for every taste. No more excuses to switch to …

Usk Farmer’s Market Sat 16th August

Back at Usk this Saturday but then it's 3 weeks until the next one. All proceeds go to the New …

It’s nice to get emails like this

Good morning Tortoise Bakery, It matters not how hard you are working and how utterly exhausted you can get. Excellence …

Cardigan Food Festival Sat 10th August

Knowledeable customers, lovely setting and a great town. We're back at Cardigan food festival tomorrow. We'll be bringing our 2 new loaves …

Usk Farmer’s Market 3rd August

Procrastination. The comfort of not quite deciding yet. The freedom to still change your mind. The possibility that things might …

Penarth Food Festival 21st July

Nice little Festival at Penarth this Sunday with a relaxed friendly atmosphere. Hoping to have 2 new loaves for this one, both …

Usk Farmer’s Market 20th July

Bakery is like a greenhouse this week. All doughs are behaving slightly differently to normal. Big challenge to maintain consistency. …

Usk Farmer’s Market 6th July 2013

Back from holiday and back at Usk this Saturday with me manning the stand for a change. Stockholm was interesting …

Stockholm Benchmarking

We're on holiday this week so we aren't taking web orders again until Wednesday 26th June. Nat and I are …

Usk Farmer’s Market 15th June

Nat's back again this Saturday morning at Usk before heading back to base to feed the mothers in time for …

Fonmon Castle Summer Country Fair 15th and 16th June

Great festival this weekend at Fonmon Castle near Barry with some great activities and interesting food tents. I'm manning it on Saturday …

Usk Farmer’s Market 1st June

Natalie's on her way with a van full of lovely bread. Another big week almost over. If you miss us …

Two markets this Saturday 18th May 2013

Mam (Maureen) and Dad (Roger) are covering for us at Usk Farmer's Market and Natalie and I are at the Smallholder's Show in Builth Wells, …

Usk Farmer’s Market 4th May

If a bad workman blames his tools, what kind of workman praises his tools? Had a nerd-tastic week experimenting with …

Gorseinon Food Festival Saturday 27th April 2013

Back in my home town this Saturday for Gorseinon Food Festival. This was the town where my grandfather, John Lewington …

Usk Farmer’s Market 20th April

It's been one of those weeks. Elation when our new mixer arrived quickly followed by lots of frustration when it …

Usk Farmer’s Market 6th April

Our white sourdough has been going through lots of little improvements in the last few months and we're taking more …

Usk Farmer’s Market 16th March

Last market before Easter this Saturday so it's the last outing for our lovely Hot Cross Buns

Usk Farmer’s Market 2nd March

Another new boy for Usk is our Khorasan loaf, part of our  Alternative Grain range. High in selenium, protein and complex carbs. …

The power of tweaking (cont)

Back in 1997 I worked for Dixons Group (owner of PC World, Currys, The Link and Dixons), a massive £5bn …

The power of tweaking

These passed the Usk Farmer's Market test and sold out in about an hour… We've had loads of great feedback …

Usk Farmer’s Market 16th Feb 2013 – Hot Cross Buns

I've been experimenting with Hot Cross Buns this week, so we've baked a tiny batch for Usk Farmer's Market to see …

Usk Farmer’s Market 2nd Feb 2013

After a false start with the snow a few weeks ago, we are definitely back at Usk tomorrow for our …

No-one else is baking bread like this (yet)

If you have mild gluten or wheat intolerance you may be able to eat all of our loaves, as all …

Usk Farmer’s Market Sat 15th Dec – last before Xmas

Last Usk market for us before Christmas, so we'll be bringing lots of loaves and lots of freezer bags so …

Usk Farmer’s Market Saturday 1st Dec

Another new loaf trying to pass the "Usk test" this week is our new 18 hour fermented Sesame Spelt. We …

Usk Farmers Market Sat 17th November

Sold out very early at a very busy market last time, so we'll have more loaves than normal tomorrow. It …

True Taste Awards – meeting Patrick Gee

It was fascinating talking to Founder of Llanllyr Water Patrick Gee last week at the True Taste Awards. His bottled water …

Tortoise on Tour – Usk Farmer’s Market 3rd Nov

Back again this Saturday with all the favourites plus a small batch of our new lovely, the 16hr fermented Pumkin …

True Taste Award – 44hr Walnut Sourdough

Everyone needs a pat on the back now and again. Last night our Walnut Sourdough won Bronze at the True …

Tortoise on Tour – Cowbridge Food Festival 27th and 28th October

Last festival of the year for us and it's the biggest one we do. It's on our doorstep so we've …

Tortoise on Tour – Usk Farmer’s Market 20th Oct

Back again at Usk Farmer's Market this Saturday morning from 10am until we sell out (usually between 12 and 1pm). Ring …

Five years old today

I thought it might be interesting to share the biggest lesson we’ve learned in the first 5 years since 2007. …

All the gear, no idea

Natalie is manning Usk this week (Saturday 6th Oct) while I man Neath Food Festival. (A lot of people asked …

Iolo’s chickens

Great local food festival tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday in a local town, Neath. Pulling out all the stops by baking …

Love The Slog

Back in the 90s I worked for a London management consultancy set up by some guys who left Bain & …

Tortoise on Tour – Usk Farmer’s Market 15th Sept

My turn to man the stall this week while Natalie is on an admin blitz back at the bakery. Lucky …

Bertie and the Beast 2

Tortoise on Tour – St Fagans Food Festival 8th & 9th Sept

Great event at St Fagans Food Festival this weekend.  80 stalls and free entry in the wonderful surroundings of the St Fagans …

Tortoise on Tour – Usk Farmer’s Market 1st Sept

If you're fed up of rolls like these (above) then come visit us at Usk Farmer's Market, this Saturday 1st …

Tortoise on Tour – Usk Farmer’s Market 18th August

Humidity in the bakery means it's like working in a giant prover. Everything is accelerating, so have had to tweak …

Hot and Sticky

Hot and sticky in the bakery this week. All the ferments are bubbling like crazy and the air is thick …

Tortoise on Tour – Cardigan Food Festival 11th & 12th August

We're heading West to Cardigan this weekend for the Cardigan River and Food Festival which has been extended to 2 …

Tortoise on Tour – Usk Farmer’s Market 4th August

Back again this Saturday, it kicks off around 10 and goes until until 12:30/ 1pm (depending on when we sell …

Tortoise on Tour – Usk Farmer’s Market 21st July

Rain doesn't stop play at the indoor Farmer's Market in Usk. Free parking, interesting stallholders and great food. Hope to …

Tortoise on Tour – Penarth Food Festival Sunday 15th July

Festival season continues with a small but perfectly formed food festival in lovely Penarth this weekend. 11am to 4pm on Sunday. Hope …

Tortoise on Tour – Usk Farmer’s Market 7th July

Back again at Usk this Saturday with Natalie manning the stall. Fig & Flax loaf is a regular feature now …

Tortoise on Tour – Fonmon Castle Country Fair 30th June & 1st July

The next big festival for us is a new event on our doorstep- the Summer Country Fair at Fonmon Castle …

Tortoise on Tour – Usk Farmer’s Market 16th June

Back again this Saturday. (Mam & Dad manning the stall again for us!).

Bertie and the beast

Tortoise on Tour – Usk Farmer’s Market 2nd June 2012

Back again this Saturday with our next new baby, the 16 hour Fig & Flax loaf. 

Tortoise on Tour – Royal Welsh Small Holders Show 19th & 20th May

Our first visit to Builth Wells for the Small Holders show this weekend. http://www.rwas.co.uk/en/garden-festival/ It's a bit of an experiment …

Tortoise on Tour – Usk Farmer’s Market 19th May

Back again this Saturday. (The two enthusiastic helpers on the stand are my Mam & Dad). 

Tortoise on Tour – Usk Farmer’s Market 5th May

Back again this Saturday with Natalie manning the stall and loads of rustic rolls…

Our first celebrity fan

Big thanks to Pam Ferris for her kind email recently. She buys our bread from a fantastic shop called Canterbury …

Tortoise on Tour – Gorseinon Food Festival 28th April

It's the start of the festival season and we're kicking off with a festival in my home town, Gorseinon near …

Usk Farmer’s Market Saturday 3rd March

Back again this Saturday at the best farmer's market in Wales. We're usually set up by 9:45am, sold out by …

Tortoise Bakery bread now available from Riverford Organic

Riverford are pioneers in both the production of organic food, and through their box scheme, providing an alternative shopping experience to …

Usk Farmer’s Market this Saturday 4th Feb

Back again this Saturday. Hoping to bring some new loaves which are in development to do some realtime market testing; …

Our first shop

Spent the weekend viewing different sites in Cardiff and surrounding areas for our first shop. Still a long way to …

Bagsy your favourite this Saturday

…from Usk Farmer's MarketOur crystal ball is never perfect – if we've not made enough of your favourite loaf and …

Usk Farmer’s Market Saturday Jan 21st 2012

Back again on the 21st for our first Usk Farmer's Market of the year. And we've been invited to double …

Chapter Arts Centre Saturday Dec 10th

We're back at Chapter this weekend for the Festive Food Fair. Opening times are 11am until 6pm but don't leave …

Usk Farmer’s Market – Sat 19th Nov 2011

Back again this Saturday between 10am and 12pm with all our old favourites and our new baby (Hazelnut & Raisin …

Tortoise on Tour – Cowbridge Food Festival 29th & 30th Oct

Last big festival of the year for us and it’s on our doorstep. Our stand is in the furthest tent …

Tortoise on Tour – Usk Farmer’s Market 15th Oct

Back again this Saturday. Probably the best Farmer’s Market in Wales. Held indoors with a cosy cafe, free car parking, …

Tortoise on Tour – Neath Food Festival 7th & 8th Oct

 This Friday and Saturday we're heading half an hour down the M4 to Neath Food Festival. Our stall is right …

Evil Plans

Just finished reading Hugh MacLoed's new book "Evil Plans: Escape the Rat Race and Start Doing Something You Love". Inspirational …

The poshest Car Boot in Wales?

Nat is (wo)manning the St Bride's Major Produce Market this Saturday 17th from 10am until 1pm (as I'm manning Usk).  There's …

Usk Farmer’s Market Saturday 17th Sept

We're back at Usk this Saturday for our fortnightly slot at the Farmer's Market.  Pop in on your way to …

Tortoise on Tour – St Fagan’s Food Festival 10th &11th Sept

St Fagan's Food Festival is unique in a few ways   1.  it's free… 2.  it's held inside the National …

Tour Bus

On the way back from a food festival recently the old Alfa creaked and groaned one last time. She went …

Bread starting to take off

This feels different to pies. With pies, every new sale had to be earned the hard way. Target shops identified, …

Tortoise on Tour – Usk Farmer’s Market

Proof we can survive on (almost) no sleep. This Saturday 9:30 am to 12:30pm we take Tortoise on Tour to …

Tortoise Bakery

The World’s Slowest Bakery Bread is going from strength to strength. We can already see that this is going to …

16hr Traditional loaves

If you’re new to slow fermented bread, these loaves are the closest we make to “normal” bread. Neither tangy like …

Sourdough is ready

We’ve been selling yeast-risen bread for a while now so it’s time to push onto the next stage. We’ve been …