Great British Baking in the Cotswolds and London

Are you a big baker? Someone who craves a trip for the traveler, not the tourist? Simply a pastry-loving person who’s looking to dive deeper? A visit to the Cotswolds and London is in order. On this immersive and downright nerdy week in Great Britain, you’ll follow your favorite breads, pastries and buns from soil to flour, mill to bakery.

Last time we were there, we got lost in the dreamy villages of the Cotswolds—a pre-Roman agricultural region brimming with mills, sheep, and surreal architecture—and took impromptu visits to London bakeries that make headlines. (That means you, Notting Hill Bakery.) Our hands dug into rich soil, played with stone-ground flour and shaped sourdough in the country’s oldest baking school. We ate our way through a rustic pizza party, a classic Cotswolds gastropub, Vietnamese comfort food at a private supper club and even mezze at one of London’s hottest restaurants. In between all that, we baked and snacked and honed our skills—and learned and learned and learned.

Read on to see how we traced great British baking from the field to the kitchen–and why you should join us in September for our next baking-focused retreat in the Cotswolds and London. (Psst: There are only two spots left!)

TRACING GREAT BRITISH BAKING FROM FIELD TO KITCHEN: OUR FAVORITE STOPS

Soil science

All sourdough starts somewhere, right? And no, we don’t mean the morsel of starter your neighbor gifted you years ago. The answer is right beneath your feet: the soil. Naturally, that’s where our great British baking adventure began. The first few days in the Cotswolds were a quest to trace baking from the soil up. After a cozy morning of mingling with a dozen baking buds during breakfast at an 18th-century coaching inn, we hit the road for our first stop: the nonprofit FarmEd. (Tip: Wake up early to catch golden rays of sunrise illuminating the charming honey-stone cottages. The views are right out of a storybook.

On sprawling pastures in Shipton-under-Wychwood, FarmEd uses regenerative agricultural practices to support the land, rather than deplete it. Its 107 acres are home to herbal leys that add nitrogen back to the soil, cute chickens who take down weeds as they roam and even a herd of hungry sheep who gobble up weed-ridden wheat fields—and then fertilize them—in just one day. (Don’t worry, that wheat grows back stronger than ever.) We first toured the gorgeous farm on foot to gauge how regenerative wheat affects our daily bread. You won’t find synthetic pesticides or fertilizers here.

We got our hands dirty when sniffing soil to compare different samples by sight, smell and touch. Earthworm friends abound—another indicator of happy soil, which makes for some distinctive wheat that’s richer in nutrients and flavor once milled. Of course, we had to put this to the test... with pizza.

Our immersive day of wheat-y wonders earned us a delicious reward: a pizza party! We felt like giddy kids at a birthday bash—except this was the charming Cotswolds at golden hour, not a cafeteria. That wheat we learned about earlier was milled into Matthews Cotswold Flour (more on that later), which is used in the springy pie dough that expert Scott Deley taught us how to make. He gave us a hands-on pizza making lesson—beginning with properties of various wheat doughs (inspired by 00 pizza flour) and ending with crispy crusts and bubbling cheese in a wood-fired oven.

With all that trusty pizza wisdom, our group started shaping, slinging, topping and firing our own pies right there in the field. We produced plenty of Neapolitan-style pizzas (they put parlors back home to shame), which were paired with bountiful sides and desserts.

The sorcerer’s stone

The Cotswolds District has been an agricultural epicenter for centuries. Archaeologists have excavated pits of bedrock—likely used to store grain—from the Iron Age (1200–500 B.C.) and millstones from Roman period settlements (43–413 A.D.). It was a no-brainer that we’d learn traditional milling practices with Bertie Matthews, the eighth-generation owner of Matthews Cotswold Flour Mill. This family’s mission is to revitalize the local grain economy—and we got to see it for ourselves. After a quick Matthews family tree primer (the business has since evolved from a seed-selling business in the 1860s), we toured the 100-year-old mill that grinds out over a hundred types of flour—including ancient grains einkorn, emmer, spelt and khorasan. It’s Britain’s no. 1 artisan flour mill for a reason.

Bertie led us through the flour mill, where we saw the milling processes pan out on traditional stones vs. modern systems. We met George and Marmaduke—who were not men, rather milling stones. Master millers feed the stones whole wheat grain, and as they rotate and grind against one another, wholemeal flour—with the bran and germ still in tact—is funneled out. The result is a protein-dense, stone-ground flour that’s naturally high in gluten and rises beautifully in the oven to produce a crusty bread you’d be pressed to find elsewhere. (It tastes much more complex than the run-of-the-mill AP flour.)

Beyond the sorcerer (Bertie) and the stones (George and Marmaduke), our group got a lecture on: 1) the interconnection between farming and milling, 2) why wheat is truly a powerful flour and 3) how artisan flour can reshape local agriculture—and food businesses, too. But if you want these stone-ground secrets, you’ll have to come along with us in September. We were even quizzed on all things flour, perfect for the nerdiest of bread lovers.

A break from the bread

After our first day in London—where we got alone time to hit up bakeries on our bucketlists, aimlessly wander museums or take a stroll in Hyde Park—we regrouped in Hackney. This borough is home to trendy cafés, art galleries and vintage markets, plus some pockets of quiet residential neighborhoods.

We meandered toward an unassuming warehouse with a rickety elevator (trust us). And after going up, up, up—we opened what Milk Street’s Rosemary Gill described as “an easter egg” of culinary magic. Inside was Uyen Luu’s private supper club, where an open-concept kitchen, whimsical paper lanterns, twinkling lights and stunning table settings filled the space.

By day, Uyen is a food content wizard—both photographing and writing her way through social media and multiple cookbooks, like “Quick & Easy Vietnamese.” She’s even taught Milk Streeters how to prepare simple, one-pot Vietnamese meals. But by night, she’s the captain of this supper club ship—one that’s brought in the likes ofJamie Oliver (who shouted out the Saigon summer rolls).

Armed with fish sauce, herbs from the garden and plenty of vermicelli noodles, Uyen got cooking. (Fun fact: Uyen’s sous chef is her mom.) Among the glowing lamps and homey furniture, it really felt like sitting in a cookbook author’s personal kitchen and watching a master at work. The eight courses, including summer rolls with perfectly poached prawns, golden-colored bánh xèo (a rice flour crêpe folded over crunchy bean sprouts) and beef pho, made us forget all about bread. This hideaway was truly, as Rosie says, an “unexpected jewel” of the trip—and London’s diverse food scene as well.

Flour power

It was finally time to put all that flour—the same stuff ground in the Cotswolds—by baking with the best of the best at the National Baking School, the country’s oldest of its kind. Sourdough superior Elaine Boddy and professional baker Sophie Carey were wholly prepared to help us become the best bakers we know. (Some quick studying of “Bakes” also proved helpful.)

We then were primed on all things sourdough—from starter dos and don’ts to precise rising times to shaping and baking loaves. During those periods of rest (sourdough sleep is important for the gluten to relax), we banged out crackers, muffins, hot-crossed buns—you name it, we made it. Cookies? Yes. Focaccia? Yup! Scones with jam and clotted cream? We did that too. (All of this baked goodness became fruits of our labor, i.e. snacks, throughout the two days.) Elaine was also available for 1-on-1 sessions on our last day in London—she was a saving grace for us bakers who sought the best flour formulas or wished to troubleshoot collapsed loaves.

The best part of our time at NBS? Everything we experimented, practiced, baked and tasted came from the same flours we learned about as seeds in the soil and grains under the stone.

A taste of Honey (& Co)

Last, but certainly not least, was our private baking class and tour of Honey & Co, a tiny restaurant serving traditional Middle Eastern food, owned by Chefs Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich. The husband-and-wife duo is funny, down-to-earth and an absolute delight to learn from. In fact, Milk Street is the restaurant’s only private baking class client—ever!

We talked shop and learned all about the cozy restaurant, deli (Honey & Spice), grill house (Honey & Smoke) and their four cookbooks. We then watched Sarit and Itamar prepare Middle Eastern desserts like almond marzipan cookies and feta and honey cheesecake—made with shredded kadaif that’s coated in sugar and butter. We got to try our hand at organizing nests of kadaif and piping marzipan cookie dough into sheets of shaved almonds.

The culmination of our entire week–from field to oven, slow rural life to urban hustle and bustle—was celebrated at a big family-style feast at Honey & Co. While sharing delicious mezze à la Sarit and Itamar, we reminisced about sniffing soil, pretty wheat pizzas, quaint Cotswolds villages, bakery hopping in London and our favorite baked bites. Our farewell dinner was rounded out with all the unique desserts we made earlier—the cheesecake still calls our name—and a souvenir in the form of bags of marzipan cookies. They were so good they never even made it to the airport.

Come to the Cotswolds and London with us in September—only two spots are available, so book now.

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Francesca Furey

Francesca Furey is the Commerce Editor at Milk Street. A writer passionate about the intersections of gastronomy and culture, she edits and produces content for the Milk Street Store, blog and more.