The three best bakeries in and around Bath — Notes From A Country Girl

Bath and its surrounding areas are a Mecca for innovative bakeries with flavour and provenance at their heart. From custard-filled danishes in Bradford on Avon, to cinnamon buns in Frome and on-trend cookies in Bath, here are some of my favourites.

Fred Mackenzie with his popular sourdough loaves at Pipit, Bradford on Avon

Best for seasonal bakes

Pipit, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire

In spring, you might spot Fred Mackenzie at 4am clutching handfuls of wild garlic as he cycles into work to start the baking shift at Pipit in Bradford on Avon. A few hours later and that same garlic will have been transformed into a delicious pesto atop a handmade pizza or inside a fluffy milk bun sandwich.

“We love cooking to the season as we think that makes it more delicious,” he explains.

Fred and partner, Clare Mansfield opened Pipit in 2024, channeling their love of French bakeries and passion for provenance into a bakery which is now at the heart of the town.

For Fred, it’s baking the French pastry classics that delivers the ultimate satisfaction in the kitchen. “They take three days and they can go wrong at any point. They’re nerve racking, but fun and ultimately very satisfying when they go right,” he says.

Every day you can expect an array of cinnamon buns, espresso buns, croissants and pain au chocolat, accompanied by a seasonal pastry. In March, this might include a Wye Valley rhubarb danish filled with an indulgent creme patissiere and topped with a delicious ginger crumb (it’s one of my all-time favourite bakes). For the lunchtime crowd there’s also sandwiches with seasonal fennel. Last Christmas, their mince pies included fall apples donated by locals.

Quality ingredients are front and centre, with Fred highlighting the value of organic, stoneground flour to deliver a nutritious and flavoursome bake. It’s a key ingredient in Pipit’s popular sourdough loaves.

Fred explains: “It’s (stoneground flour) harder to work with. It’s a bit less predictable. Each bag can have its own personality and stoneground flour will rise less so it makes for a denser loaf, but you’re rewarded with flavour.”

***Cook’s tip***

*“If you’re making puff pastry or croissants, a good tip is to have butter the same temperature as the dough and rest the dough in between working it. And be patient.”*
*Fred Mackenzie, Pipit Bakery*

Pipit, Silver Street, Bradford on Avon, BA15 1JX

Open every day except Mondays and Sundays, 8am-3pm

Follow @PipitBakery on Instagram

Best for innovation

The Bath Bakervee, Bath

“We sprinkle a little bit of magic in there,” laughs Kayleigh Dreyer when asked what makes the cookies from The Bath Bakervee so irresistible. Kayleigh is one of three bakers who craft delicious and innovate bakes in their minuscule kitchen located down a tiny side street, just a stone’s throw from Bath’s Abbey.

I was never one to crave a cookie until the Bakervee came to town in 2023. Today I’m part of a loyal following that queue out of the door, keen to discover what delights have been conjured up in the kitchen that day.

Their classic chocolate chip is a firm favourite, but it’s impossible to resist some of the more unusual bakes imagined by this exciting baking team. Kayleigh’s carrot cake cookie is a delicious, addictive mix of oats, carrots, spices, walnuts and raisins with caramelised notes. It’s just one example of a reimagined desert making its way onto the cookie counter.

Kayleigh, together with Chloe Gray and Bakervee founder, Veronica Gutierrez Gomez work together to create different combinations and tasters to see if they work in cookie form.

Kayleigh reflects: “I’m like, how can I make that into a cookie? and then we’ll guess and we’ll try and make a plan and we just work with that. It’s seeing a flavour that could be fun and being like: how can we incorporate that into a cookie with our fun ingredients?”

Their Dubai cookie builds on the Dubai chocolate bar trend, using a chocolate base cookie filled with a homemade pistachio cream that incorporates kataifi wafer, and is topped with crunchy pistachios.

Cook’s view

“It’s seeing a flavour that could be fun and being like: how can we incorporate that into a cookie with our fun ingredients?” Kayleigh Dreyer.

The bakery also makes bread and cakes for The Columbian Company’s cafes in Bath and Bristol which are owned by Veronica and husband, Jhampoll, and serve (arguably) the best coffee in town. In fact, if you’re craving a coffee to accompany your takeout cookie, you can walk the 150 yards to sister-cafe, The Columbian Company on Abbey Gate Street, and enjoy your sweet treat with a brew of South America’s finest.

The Bath Bakervee, 7 N Parade Passage, Bath, BA1 1NX

Open every day, 10am-5pm (5.30pm on Saturdays)

Follow @baker.vee on Instagram.

Best for sustainability

Rye Bakery Cafe, Frome, Somerset

Sustainability is baked into every loaf of bread, bacon sandwich and pan au raisin at the Rye Bakery Cafe in Frome, located in a beautiful converted church on Whittox Lane.

A proportion of the wheat for their flour is grown at nearby Gothelney Farm and then milled in the Rye Bakery next to Frome Station. Gothelney Farm itself follows regenerative farming practices, working to improve soils and biodiversity whilst producing nutritious food.

Pastry offcuts from the bakery’s croissants are used to make delicious, custard-filled Pastel de natas, ensuring nothing goes to waste. It’s the same with the bran which is produced as a byproduct of milling and is fed back to the pigs at Gothelney which are used to produce sausage meat for the cafe’s sausage rolls and bacon for the brunch-time bap rush. It all fits with the team’s mantra: “simple, seasonal and of this place.”

Oliver Whyte, head chef of Rye Bakery Cafe says “sourcing is the number one key” highlighting the fact all of their bakes use butter, cream and milk sourced from Somerset-based, Ivy House Farm and their Jersey cows.

The long queue approaching the counter may be a blessing, providing plenty of time to decide between bakes including a nostalgic iced bun, spicy ginger cake or vegan cardamon bun. For Oliver, it has to be the financier. “We roast our own almonds and grind them up in that. The almond content in that is so high. . . I think you can taste it in the crumb and the flavour,” he says.

However, it’s the bread that perhaps has the biggest cult following, rapidly disappearing in the morning rush. There’s baguettes, a classic sea salt focaccia, seeded rye and more. Try the giant brown, wholegrain loaf, which is a new addition to the shelves. This includes about 50% wholemeal flour and 50% slightly sifted flour to give it a darker colour, but light texture.

Rye Bakery Cafe, Whittox Lane, Frome, BA11 3BY

Open every day, except Mondays, 9am-4pm

Follow @rye_bakery on Instagram