Rye Sourdough
Rye sourdough is a dense, dark loaf raised on a rye starter rather than commercial yeast. High in rye flour, it has a deep sour tang, a close moist crumb and a long keeping quality.
Honest Bread lists 75 bakers across the UK and Ireland known for rye sourdough, each baking from scratch with no additives. A Northern and Eastern European tradition kept alive by UK and Irish craft bakers.
Rye Sourdough bakers
Alex Gooch Artisan Baker
Award-winning organic artisan bakery using long fermentation to produce sourdough loaves, rye and heritage-grain breads and pastries. The team bakes six days a week and supplies its own cafes and stockists across Wales.
Alex Gooch Artisan Baker
Award winning artisan bakery in Hay-on-Wye baking six days a week using a long fermentation process. Known for rye and mixed grain sourdoughs, ciabatta and heritage grain loaves.
Allendale Bakery
A rural microbakery near Allendale baking specialty breads in a wood-fired oven using Northumberland-milled Gilchesters organic flour. It is known for rye sourdoughs and runs baking courses.
Arbutus Bread
Artisan wholesale bakery in Mayfield founded by former Michelin chef Declan Ryan, baking French-style sourdough and yeast breads through the night. Acquired by the Bretzel Trading Company in 2024 and still operating.
Bacus Bhreanainn (Bacus)
Independent craft bakery and cafe on Green Street in Dingle, baking Irish and continental breads in stone-floored deck ovens and supplying shops and restaurants across the peninsula. The range includes sourdough, rye sourdough, soda bread and yeasted loaves.
Bakari
Family-run, Scandinavian-influenced artisan bakery on Donegall Street making 100 percent naturally leavened sourdough and rye breads alongside pastries. Listed by Real Bread Ireland.
Bake Out
An artisan bakery and cafe with a shop by the bridge in Lewes that makes its bread, pastry and cakes from scratch. The founders won Britain's Best Loaf in 2018 and a Sussex seeded sourdough category award.
Barbakan Delicatessen
A bakery and delicatessen in Chorlton established in 1964 to serve south Manchester's Polish community, baking over seventy varieties of bread daily using traditional overnight methods. Known for continental rye loaves, bagels and 48-hour sourdough.
Barron's Bakery & Coffee House
Long-running bakery baking bread in Cappoquin since 1887, still using its original Scotch brick ovens with slow natural proving and hand shaping. The range includes wheat and rye sourdoughs, spelt loaves and soda breads.
Bluebird Bakery
Real Bread bakery whose original shop in Talbot Yard sits next to the bakehouse, using long fermentation and local organic flour for its sourdough and rye loaves. It now also supplies sister shops across Yorkshire.
Bread 41
Organic sourdough bakery and cafe on Pearse Street, where breads are made over two days from organic flour milled on site. Founded by Eoin Cluskey.
Bread and Roses
An artisan bakery in Alnwick specialising in naturally leavened and sourdough breads raised with natural levain rather than added yeast. The range includes seeded sourdough, rye with caraway and Moscow rye.
Bread Naturally
Artisan bakery in Raheny making sourdough and yeasted breads from organic flour, with a team baking through the night. Established 2015 and now run by bakers Niamh McHugh and Hayley Caprani.
Bread on a Bike
Sourdough microbakery off Mill Road in Cambridge, baking naturally leavened loaves to order from flour, water and sea salt with no added yeast or improvers. Bread is slowly fermented and made in small batches for collection.
Bretzel Bakery
Long-standing artisan bakery in Portobello dating back to the 1800s, with a shop and cafe at the original Lennox Street site and a production bakery in Harold's Cross. Known for award-winning sourdough.
Builín Blasta Cafe & Bakery
Bilingual cafe, bakery and retail space in the Ceardlann Craft Village overlooking Spiddal beach, making its breads, cakes and pastries in-house including sourdough rye, focaccia and baguette.
CAWA Bakery
Independent wholesale and retail artisan bakery specialising in sourdough bread and viennoiserie, with a retail coffee site on Fulwood Road. They bake white and rye sourdough and laminated pastries and deliver across Sheffield and the wider UK.
Cobs Bakery (Cambridge Organic Bakery)
Organic wholesale bakery in Cambridge using long, slow fermentation to make white sourdough, a malted four-grain, whole spelt and a molasses-and-caraway dark rye. It supplies shops, markets, restaurants and university colleges across the city and is now run.
Cornrue Bakery
Westport bakery and cafe founded by Patrick O'Reilly specialising exclusively in naturally leavened sourdough made with organic flour over a six-day process. Its bread won gold at Blas na hÉireann.
Docker Bakery
Award-winning sourdough bakery founded in 2016, baking a full range of sourdough loaves and pastries from a production unit in Folkestone. It also runs a retail stall at The Goods Shed in Canterbury and supplies East Kent restaurants and cafes.
Dún Artisan Bakery
Bakery on Main Street opened in 2021 by trained chefs Caitriona Keating and Fergal Walsh, hand-making naturally leavened sourdough and pastries in-house with organic Irish and local flours. Breads use only flour, salt, water and time.
E5 Bakehouse
Independent organic bakery set in railway arches beneath London Fields station, baking sourdough and other loaves by hand each morning from stone-milled flour sourced from British farms. Founded in 2010.
Falko Konditormeister
German master baker's shop in Bruntsfield baking authentic German sourdough breads from a long-established rye starter, alongside handmade cakes, pretzels and Baumkuchen.
Field Bakery
Farm bakery at Gothelney Farm at the foot of the Quantock hills, baking sourdough from diverse grains grown and fresh stone-milled on the farm. Open to visitors on Fridays with weekend bread club and workshops.
Forge Bakehouse
Bakery and cafe founded in 2012 on Abbeydale Road, with a central bakery supplying its shops, wholesale and online customers. The team bakes bread and pastries from scratch with a weekly changing range of sourdough.
Grain & Hearth
Sourdough bakery and cafe established in 2019 by Adam and Carmen Pagor after moving from London. They bake naturally leavened sourdough and seasonal viennoiserie on site, alongside a deli and speciality coffee.
Hamblin Bread
Neighbourhood bakery and cafe in East Oxford baking bread daily from stone-ground British flour, water and salt. It sells only sourdough bread alongside buns, pastries and pizza, and runs a second outlet in the Covered Market.
Hápi Bakery
Micro-bakery in Galway's West End, a sister business of Kai run by chef Jess Murphy, making sourdough from a blend of wholemeal and strong flour with a rye and strong-flour starter. Supplies several local cafes and shops.
Hazelwood Bakery
Family bakery linked to Hazelwood Lodge near Ballyvaughan, making organic sourdough by hand from flour, starter, salt and water with long proofing. Loaves use organic wheat, rye and spelt flours.
Hylsten Bakery
Sourdough bakery near Dartmoor, founded in 2020 and now based in Buckfastleigh, baking with organic UK-grown stoneground flours. Supplies loaves wholesale to shops across Devon.
Layla Bakery
Portobello Road bakery baking white, rye and seeded sourdough on site using Wildfarmed flour, alongside brioche, focaccia and viennoiserie. A second site has opened in Acton.
Leakers Bakery
Long-established artisan bakery on East Street where breads, savouries and pastries are hand-made from scratch and baked on the premises in brick-floored ovens. Its sourdoughs use only flour, water and levain, with no added fats or improvers, and have won G.
Levain and Cherry
French-style sourdough bakery founded by baker Pascal Bishop that makes the majority of its range with its own levain using organic French flour. It has branches in King's Heath and Stirchley.
Little Eye Bakery
Specialist micro-bakery making sourdough bread by hand from a long-established leaven, with no additives. Sells at local Wirral markets and runs sourdough bread-making courses in West Kirby.
Little Valley Bakery
Award-winning artisan bakery on Gower making slow-fermented breads including sourdough, rye, spelt and bloomers using organic flour and traditional methods. A Real Bread Campaign member, it bakes in Parkmill and has shops in Mumbles and Brynmill.
Longstraw Bakery
Organic sourdough microbakery in West Somerset using UK stone-milled wheat, oats and rye from smaller-scale farmers. Named among the Good Food Guide's top bakeries in Britain.
Lovingly Artisan
Award winning sourdough bakery near Kendal founded by Aidan Monks and Catherine Connor, using slow fermentation, organic British flours and heritage grains. Named in The Good Food Guide top 50 bakeries and voted Britain's best artisan bakery in 2023.
M's Bakery
Family-run artisan bakery in Pokesdown where everything is made on the premises from scratch. Known for slow-fermented sourdough that takes at least 24 hours to make, from multi-seed batards to whole grain rye boules.
Margot Bakery
Artisan bakery opened by Michelle Eshkeri, making sourdough breads, pastries and babka by hand on site. Each signature loaf is given a three to four day fermentation.
Mark's Cotswold Bakery
Family-run bakery specialising in hand-made high-hydration sourdough, baked by a small team in a Chipping Norton unit using flour from the nearby FWP Matthews mill. It won a regional gold at the National Bakery Awards 2023 for several of its sourdough loaves.
Modern Baker
Organic baking brand started in Summertown that produces slow-fermented sourdough using organic flour. The original cafe has closed and production now runs from a base in Kidlington, with loaves sold through stockists.
MOR Bakery
Independent sourdough bakery and cafe baking traditional sourdough, pastries and savouries using organic ingredients and locally sourced Cotswold flour. It runs sites in Chipping Norton, Chipping Campden and Stratford-upon-Avon.
More? The Artisan Bakery
Handmade artisan bakery, cafe and shop in Staveley Mill Yard known for slow fermented sourdough built from a long established starter culture. Supplies eateries across the Lake District.
Mother
Weekend bakery in Hebden Bridge slow fermenting its sourdough over three days using wildfarmed flour, plus a few pastries. Open Saturday and Sunday only.
Natural Bread Company
Family-run independent artisan bakery that hand-makes its breads, pastries and cakes from scratch at its Botley bakery using locally milled flour and long fermentation. It sells through weekend market stalls in Oxford and supplies cafes and colleges across.
Northern Rye
A small batch microbakery in Newcastle's Ouseburn district making sourdough loaves, viennoiserie and pastries. The dough is long-fermented for up to 28 hours using flour, water and salt.
Pana Bread
Bakery at Merchants Quay Shopping Centre, with a further shop in Ballincollig, making a range of artisan breads including sourdoughs, rye, soda and gluten-free loaves.
Proof Social Bakehouse
Artisan wholesale bakery and cafe near Oxford run as a social enterprise by Tap Social Movement, baking a range of sourdough breads and pastries on site. Customers can watch the bakers at work from the cafe mezzanine.
Pump Street Bakery
Father and daughter bakery founded in 2010, baking real sourdough without commercial yeast plus handmade pastries daily near Orford. The same business also makes its own bean-to-bar chocolate.
Real Patisserie
An independent group of patisserie and bakery shops in Brighton and Hove baking French style breads, viennoiserie and slow ferment sourdough on its own premises. Each shop has an open kitchen so customers can watch the baking.
Rosewall Bakery
A Penzance microbakery run by baker Sarah from Clarence House, producing crusty sourdough, seeded rye and white sourdough alongside pastries and savoury bakes. The Sunday Times named it among the best microbakeries in Britain.
Rye & Roses
Family bakery near Machynlleth working from a converted farm building, baking almost everything with their own sourdough starters and slow fermentation. They use Welsh flour from Felin Ganol mill.
Rye Bakery
Frome bakery and cafe set inside a renovated church, baking sourdough and handmade pastries. Production runs from a unit near Frome station where the team mills its own organic grain.
Ryes & Shine
German microbakery started by Angela Noethlings in Mayfield, specialising in organic artisan sourdough and dark rye breads made only with flour, water and salt. Sells at a weekly stall in St Luke's.
Scarpello & Co
Family-run artisan bakehouse and wood-fired pizzeria making small-batch sourdough loaves with long fermentation using stoneground flour, water and sea salt. Listed as a Real Bread Ireland member.
Seagull Bakery
Artisan sourdough bakery started in 2013 by Sarah Richards, using only flour, water and sea salt with a wild yeast ferment over up to two days. A member of the Real Bread Ireland network with outlets in Tramore, Dunmore East and Waterford City.
Sourdough Revolution
Family-run sourdough bakery and baking school in Lechlade that bakes fresh artisan bread, pizza and buns. Its High Street shop has been handed over and its loaves are now sold locally through Crampi Italian Food & Wine, with wholesale and the baking school.
Stir
Cambridge bakery and cafe group whose breads, cakes and pastries are handmade and baked fresh daily at its Chesterton bakery. Its range centres on sourdoughs and other slow-fermented loaves made with organic UK-milled Shipton Mill flour.
Tartine Organic Bakery
Organic wholesale bakery in Baldoyle producing hand-made sourdough breads and pastries using traditional methods with no production-line automation. Established 2012.
The Bakery TW
Artisan sourdough specialist and small cafe on Camden Road, formerly trading as the Bicycle Bakery. It bakes sourdough loaves, pastries and cakes on site.
The Grumpy Baker
Microbakery run by Liam Nash making real bread from flour, water, salt, yeast and time with a home-grown rye starter and over 18 hours of fermentation. A member of the Real Bread Campaign, it has been named among the UK's best microbakeries.
The Old Post Office Bakery
Long-running organic bakery off Clapham High Street, founded in 1982 and described as one of London's oldest organic bakeries. It makes handcrafted sourdoughs, tin loaves and traditional British bakes.
The Sidwell Street Bakehouse
Community micro-bakery run by St Sidwell's Community Centre, baking sourdough and slow-fermented breads from stoneground organic flours while training volunteers. Sells in store, at Exeter Farmers' Market and to local delis.
The Sourdough Wagon
Artisan micro bakery on the Llyn Peninsula baking organic sourdough loaves in a wagon at Crugan Farm Shop using stoneground British flour. The baker also serves Welsh rarebit on site.
The Underground Bakery
Otley bakery producing sourdough from a long-established starter plus inventive pastries. Has since opened a second site on Call Lane in Leeds city centre.
The Welbeck Bakehouse
Artisan bakery on the Welbeck estate producing long-fermentation sourdoughs and viennoiserie without additives or preservatives. Supplies the Welbeck Farm Shop and wholesale customers across the East Midlands and South Yorkshire.
Twelve Triangles
Scratch bakery working entirely with slow cold-fermentation sourdoughs on a three to four day cycle, with breads and pastries shaped by hand. Operates several shops across Edinburgh and into the Scottish Borders.
Ursa Minor Bakehouse
Independent naturally leavened bakery in Ballycastle making sourdough breads and patisserie from scratch, free from commercial yeast and additives. Member of the Real Bread Campaign with a seating area where bakers can be watched at work.
Vicky's Bread
A Helston bakery making slow-ferment French and German style sourdoughs and other artisan breads by hand from organic flour. It supplies independent shops, cafes and restaurants across Cornwall and Devon, with collection from the bakery.
Westbourne Sourdough Bakery
Independent bakery in the Tinsley area producing hand-shaped real sourdough bread using a long cold-proofing process. Loaves are sold direct and shipped for UK-wide delivery.
Wild Bread Bakehouse
Sourdough bakery established in Faversham in 2013, making naturally leavened loaves from organic grains with no added bakers yeast. Bread is sold through Faversham Market, the bakehouse and local wholesale customers.
Wild Hearth Bakery
Wood-fired organic bakery near Comrie working almost entirely with natural sourdough, with the oven fired by waste wood from timber milling. Multiple Scottish Bread Championship winner that also opened a Main Street shop in 2024.
Wooster's Bakery
Long-established family bakery, originally at Bardwell Windmill, hand-making sprouted rye sourdough, spelt loaves, batch bread and focaccia. It runs a bakery and deli in Bury St Edmunds town centre plus a site at Wyken Vineyards.
Wye Bakehouse
Independent artisan bakery in the Peak District baking slow-fermented sourdough breads with organic, regenerative flours since 2018. Known for its Pugliese, Country Leaven and Wye Rye loaves, also supplied to Chatsworth.
Yellowhammer
A neighbourhood bakery, pottery studio and restaurant on Lower Hillgate in Stockport, baking sourdough loaves, rye, baguettes, tarts and pies. It was founded by a former Where The Light Gets In chef.