Hello
It's' a big week here at Mini Miss Bread HQ. I'm really excited to confirm our new partnerships with not one, but two amazing artisanal companies to bring the best British and Irish cheese and cured meats to Saffron Walden. From this Friday onwards you will be able to buy Neal's Yard Dairy cheeses along with cured meats from Cobble Lane Cured at MMB. This is the stuff of my dreams, and I hope yours too.
NEAL'S YARD DAIRY
When looking for cheese suppliers our priority was to ensure we used one that supported and heralded British and Irish cheese producers. Nearly all of the cheese Neal's Yard Dairy produce are from these isles, with the exception of a few such as Comté, Parmesan etc. I've been speaking to Neal's Yard for a few months now and I've learnt so much about their methods and how they select and mature the cheeses in house before it is sold to their customers. And what's great for us and our MMB customers is that each week I will speak to the team at Neal's Yard Dairy after they've had their Monday morning tasting session (what a job!) so that they can advise me what is good that very week. And that is what I get to order for you. So you are getting the best cheese from the best batch from the best producers every single week.
The plan is to try and offer you a select few cheeses each week so you can always try something new without getting overwhelmed by too great a selection. All cheeses will be pre-cut and wrapped but we will have the cheeses available to taste in a covid-friendly way for those of you that are unsure. This week we have gone with a selection of five cheeses that would make up the perfect cheese board:
Doorstone
A turret-shaped pasteurised goats milk cheese, rolled in an edible ash. Made at Neal's Yard Creamery, the flavours are zesty, bright and fresh with a pleasant citrus sparkle and a light and fluffy texture.
Baron Bigod
Our known and loved soft cheese made by our friends Fen Farm Dairy. This will now be offered pre-cut from a larger wheel as I've now learnt that it tastes even better when cut from the wheel rather than produced in individual rounds.
Stichelton Blue
Stichelton, a Stilton style of cheese, can exhibit a multitude of long lasting flavours ranging from green apples to beef stock. It has a juicy acidity and toasty, biscuity notes towards the rind. The texture tends to be soft and creamy.
Montgomery's Cheddar
Montgomery's tends to be the driest and most friable of the Cheddars that NYD offer. The team look for rich, brothy and savoury flavours and an almost-crystalline texture that melts in the mouth.
St Cera
The washed rind of this cheese is made by an in house team at Neal's Yard Creamery using St Jude's cheese from Bungay in Suffolk (made with the milk produced by the happy, Fen Farm Dairy cows). It is a small, spoonable washed rind cow's milk cheese with a runny, melting texture. Its flavours are intense, pungent and farmyardy (what a word). This is a cheese for those who like it strong.
I look forward to talking/tasting cheese with some of you later on in the week once we take delivery of these top-class cheeses.
COBBLE LANE CURED
A lesser known but nonetheless highly rated artisan food producer, Cobble Lane Cured began 6 years ago in a garage producing air-dried and fermented products using high-quality British meat.
We discovered this small, driven team during lockdown and knew immediately we had to make their produce more easily accessible for our customers. Again, our plan is to select a small range of their produce so you get a chance to try everything they have on offer as we rotate our stock. This week you will be able to choose from:
Bresaola
Sliced Bresaola cured with herbs, balsamic vinegar and red wine, which give a refreshing tang. It is a great way to experience British beef.
Kabanos (spicy chorizo sticks)
This traditional Polish snack is made from pork shoulder, nutmeg, caraway and black pepper. It’s the Pepperami that went to finishing school - great with a bit of Mustard and your favourite beverage.
Lomo
Sliced Lomo. A simple air dried ham - using the eye of the pork loin, flavoured with garlic and Hungarian paprika.
N1 Soppressata
Sliced N1 Soppressata. Coarsely minced pork salami flavoured with a selection of sweet medium-heat chillis and Hungarian Paprika.
And if you can't choose between the above we will also have some selection packs so you can try a few of these delicious temptations at once.
AUDLEY END PRODUCE
This week the team at Audley End kitchen garden are supplying us with mixed heritage carrots, mixed chard bundles and some baby beetroots. It's been great seeing more of you give their produce a try. And we love supporting this local team of hard-working growers.
BUNGAY BUTTER
We will be extending our special offer on our large packs of Bungay Butter this week offering it for £3.50 a pack instead of the usual £5, so now's your time to try it if you haven't already.
OH, AND BREAD!
And of course what we do best. Our sourdough. There is a clear winner when it comes to offering you a special this week that goes well with all of the produce we will have on offer - the Fennel & Raisin Sourdough. And even if you're not a big cheese or cured meats fan then it's still a stunning loaf to enjoy with a large slab of Bungay Butter. This will be on offer Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Here's the plan for bread this week:
Wednesday
Walden Whites only, from 11am
Thursday
Pre-orders only for collection between 11am and 4pm. Choose from:
Walden Whites
Fennel & Raisin Sourdough
Rugbrød
Heritage Grains & Malted Wheat Flake Tins
There will be no babkas this week I'm afraid but I will try to ensure there is something sweet on the counter for you to add to your bag if required.
To place an order to collect on Thursday please email info@minimiss.co.uk by 5pm on Wednesday at the very latest.
Friday
Walk ups only. Open from 11am.
Walden Whites
Super Sours
Fennel & Raisin
Rugbrød
Heritage Grains & Malted Wheat Flake Tins
Buns & Cookies
And a limited batch of our new lunchtime buns - cheddar, gruyere and oregano buns.
Saturday
Again, walk ups only. Open from our earlier time of 10am.
Walden Whites
Super Sours
Fennel & Raisin
Rugbrød
Heritage Grains & Malted Wheat Flake Tins
Buns & Cookies
COMING BACK INTO MMB
With all these provisions on offer we are going to be opening the shop up again so you can come in and see what's on offer. In order to keep everyone safe we will ask that only one person or family group come into the shop at any one time. In addition we ask that all bread is only handled by a member of the MMB team. We will aim to have some tastings of the cheese and meats available in a covid-friendly way. We just ask that you sanitise on entry and wear a mask at all times and are patient with us whilst we get used to these new procedures and products.
So a busy week ahead. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible later in the week and that those of you coming on Friday or Saturday will enjoy being able to take home a selection of the highest quality, independent, artisanal food produce.
What a week. I must crack on.
Megan