The Polish Bakery - disappeared? 17 March at 5:26PM in Food shopping & groceries 14 replies 592 views

Stompa

Does anybody know what's happened to 'The Polish Bakery' products in the supermarkets?

I went to do my weekly online shop at Asda today to find that all their products have vanished. Same story at the other big supermarkets. You can find them via Google, for example:

https://groceries.asda.com/product/seeded-grains-bread/the-polish-bakery-half-wheat-half-rye-sourdough-bread/63007058

(listed as ITEM UNAVAILABLE), but not via the supermarket website search itself. Is there a supply problem? Have they gone bust?

Krakkkers

Never seen that in my local Asda.

p00hsticks

According to their website they partner with a number of supermarkets
Our Partners – The Polish Bakery
But after a quick search I can't actually find any of their products on any of the supermarkets own websites  

Sarahspangles

According to Companies House they went into administration earlier this month

Stompa

Sarahspangles said:

According to Companies House they went into administration earlier this month

Thanks, that's a great shame, their bread was excellent. Hopefully the company can be salvaged. Sadly, it looks as though pretty much the only thing you can now get at Asda is Hovis, Kingsmill or Warburtons, none of which I'd touch with a bargepole!

cymruchris

It could be they're gone for good - or could be the administrators find a buyer and they restructure. Have to wait and see.

sarah1972

Stompa said:

Sarahspangles said:

According to Companies House they went into administration earlier this month

Thanks, that's a great shame, their bread was excellent. Hopefully the company can be salvaged. Sadly, it looks as though pretty much the only thing you can now get at Asda is Hovis, Kingsmill or Warburtons, none of which I'd touch with a bargepole!

Or instore bakery 

Stompa

sarah1972 said:

Stompa said:

Sarahspangles said:

According to Companies House they went into administration earlier this month

Thanks, that's a great shame, their bread was excellent. Hopefully the company can be salvaged. Sadly, it looks as though pretty much the only thing you can now get at Asda is Hovis, Kingsmill or Warburtons, none of which I'd touch with a bargepole!

Or instore bakery 

True, though that seems to have a much shorter life, and perhaps wouldn't freeze well. And I doubt you can buy it pre-sliced online.

sarah1972

Stompa said:

sarah1972 said:

Stompa said:

Sarahspangles said:

According to Companies House they went into administration earlier this month

Thanks, that's a great shame, their bread was excellent. Hopefully the company can be salvaged. Sadly, it looks as though pretty much the only thing you can now get at Asda is Hovis, Kingsmill or Warburtons, none of which I'd touch with a bargepole!

Or instore bakery 

True, though that seems to have a much shorter life, and perhaps wouldn't freeze well. And I doubt you can buy it pre-sliced online.

Plenty sliced, freezes fine https://groceries.asda.com/search/Bread/products?facets=Brand.product_brand%3AThe+BAKERY+at+ASDA

or Asda extra special https://groceries.asda.com/search/bread/products?termType=recent&facets=Brand.product_brand%3AASDA+Extra+Special

Stompa

sarah1972 said:

Stompa said:

sarah1972 said:

Stompa said:

Sarahspangles said:

According to Companies House they went into administration earlier this month

Thanks, that's a great shame, their bread was excellent. Hopefully the company can be salvaged. Sadly, it looks as though pretty much the only thing you can now get at Asda is Hovis, Kingsmill or Warburtons, none of which I'd touch with a bargepole!

Or instore bakery 

True, though that seems to have a much shorter life, and perhaps wouldn't freeze well. And I doubt you can buy it pre-sliced online.

Plenty sliced, freezes fine https://groceries.asda.com/search/Bread/products?facets=Brand.product_brand%3AThe+BAKERY+at+ASDA

or Asda extra special https://groceries.asda.com/search/bread/products?termType=recent&facets=Brand.product_brand%3AASDA+Extra+Special

Thanks, but neither of those links work for me, I just get: We can't find any results for "bread", sorry about that.

But you're right, there are some 'The BAKERY at ASDA" sliced breads, though most look like Hovis/Kingsmill/Warburton clones. TBH so do most of those in the 'ASDA Extra Special' range, though perhaps they really are extra special!

Most appealing are the sliced sourdough loaves, though they're rather expensive and appear to have very few slices per pack.

Either way I'll have to do some experimenting. Thanks for your help.

Sarahspangles

Most appealing are the sliced sourdough loaves, though they're rather expensive and appear to have very few slices per pack.

Well if you’re up for experimenting have you tried making your own?  We bought a bread machine three weeks before the first lockdown.  We switched over to using sourdough almost immediately, because dried yeast supplies ran low.  I actually used some of the Polish Bakery loaves that we used to buy as inspiration for recipes. 

We never buy loaves now, or yeast.  I occasionally make a sourdough boule (hand finished, oven baked) but mostly loaves are baked in the machine’s bread pan.  There’s a lot of ‘mystique’ about sourdough but we maintain a small rye starter (30 to 60g) that lives in a jam jar in the fridge and gets fed a few hours before baking a couple of times a week.  It replaces all the yeast and some of the water/flour in whatever recipe we use, and we keep back and feed 10 to 20g ‘scrapings’ for next time.  To use a bread machine, you select a dough programme and simply let the dough sit in it until it’s risen enough to hit bake.  

At £160 for the machine and 50 to 80p for 500g flour to make an 800g loaf I’m sure we broke even some time ago.