An IT worker who bakes part-time has nabbed the title of “Britain’s best loaf” with his seeded sourdough.
Dave de la Riviere first turned his hand to making doughy delights when a neighbour offered him a sourdough starter.
From the very first kneading, he was hooked – using YouTube to further his skill.
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The passion become such as huge part of his life that Dave eventually decided to turn his hobby into his very own bakery.
And it has paid off in spades, with Dave becoming an award-winning baker this month.
Entering the 2024 Britain’s Best Loaf competition, he impressed the judges – with his ‘Uncle Tom Cobbler n’all’ loaf taking first place.
“At the beginning, I baked a lot of flat frisbee loaves,” Dave, from Swallowfield, Berkshire, told Need To Know.
“But as I learnt from YouTube and books, I gradually progressed to edible bakes that I started giving away to neighbours.
“I’m thankful to the persistent people who convinced me to enter [the competition] and the lovely customers we have that allow me to bake in sufficient quantities to learn the intricacies of sourdough baking.
“I’m so proud my seeded sourdough won its category against tough and established competition.
“The judges’ comments were so complimentary too.
“There is an element of disbelief for me, as I’m a micro baker, one guy in his back room with a small mixer and a small oven.”
Dave launched Your Davey Bread in 2023.
What started with selling bread from his front porch is now a fully-fledged business.
He said: “When I opened Your Davey Bread, I offered pre-order and pickup of sourdough loaves from our front porch.
“I attended a micro bakery course with Wayne Caddy, which really taught me how to produce consistent results and how to scale up from a few loaves to batches.
“We now do village markets, fetes and supply the local tea room in Riseley.
“In addition to still having our pre-order business.
“It’s a hobby gone rogue!”
Dave has also revealed what it takes to make the perfect sourdough loaf.
He said: ”Created using cobbler/malted flour, the ‘n’all’ element originally covered any ingredients I needed to use up.
“I experimented with adding various percentages of malted flour to my standard country loaf, until we hit the sweet spot of taste and texture.
“This also took a few experiments with the hydration level of the dough.
“The dough is then covered in poppy seeds and semolina to give the crust some more crunch.”
Dave is now at a crossroads in his baking career.
Buoyed by the award and selling out every weekend, he is wondering if it is time to scale up and open his own bakery.
He added: “I would like to expand to be able to offer my bread in more shops, cafes and restaurants.
“I have also been considering running beginner sourdough workshops!
“Perhaps it’s time for a second oven…”
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