Toklas Bakery

Meet Bibi, our Cafe Manager:
What is your favourite pastry from the bakery and why?
‘Got to be the Hot Cross Bun. I’ve just always loved hot cross buns and ours are the best. Toasted or untoasted with loads of butter and a bit of salt.’

Who is your hospitality hero?
‘Ellie Manhire - I used to live with her but she was my manager at Larry’s and best friend. She got me into the industry and really gave me an appreciation for restaurants and showed me what good service is.’

What is your favourite design element or artwork in the restaurant / bakery?
‘The huge Wolfgang Tillmans in the restaurant. He is my favourite person in the whole world because he’s incredibly vocal about political issues throughout the world. His photography is really vast, he doesn’t just have one style that he likes but they’re always beautiful.’

Think of the best meal you’ve had in a restaurant. What helped to make it special and stand out?
‘ in Vienna. Super focused on produce and you can really, really tell. Everything about it was incredible. When you know service, you go to some places and wonder why they aren’t asking us more questions or checking in on us and these guys did just that. All the elements were right. They also had really cool napkins and glasses - I took photos of everything!’

What’s the best drink you’ve ever had?
‘There is a coffee roasters in Edinburgh called and their Los Tonos single varietal from Costa Rica is just incredible. Or cold brew - it tastes like chocolate milk.’

What’s the best dish you’ve ever had?
in Hove, Sussex. It’s my favourite restaurant in Brighton (where I grew up) and we went there as a special treat for my 18th birthday. I think I was vegan at the time and they had a salt baked carrot dish. It was simply one big salt baked carrot surrounded by lots of other carrot elements. I just remember eating it and thinking ‘how is this the best thing ever and it’s just carrot’.’

Tell us something most people don’t know about you?
Me and my mum have just started our own sustainable clothing brand called We take old men’s shirts and turn them into women’s blouses.

Join us at Toklas Bakery on 21st November to celebrate the arrival of the 2024 Beaujolais Nouveau.

From 6pm, enjoy the first taste of the 2024 vintage courtesy of a wine flight selected by our Head of Beverage, Agustina Basilico Miara.

We’ll be showcasing wines from three exceptional producers for you to enjoy - Château Cambon, Domaine Jean-Claude Lapalu, and Christophe Pacalet.

Wine flight tickets are £25 with additional glasses and bottles available to buy on the night. Tables will be on first come, first served basis.

We’ll also have a selection of Lyonnaise influenced small plates such as Pate en Croute, Cassoulet and Madeleines from Chefs Alec Willard and Tom Breakspear-Coyle for one night only.

Link to tickets in the bio.

The pistachio cube is back. pistachio paste woven through our croissant dough and baked in a cube.

On the counter now.

Our Rice Pudding & Quince Tart is a swan song as we say goodbye to our Head Baker as her original contribution to the menu three years ago.

Starting with a wholewheat pastry case, we fill this with quince compote and rice pudding, topping off with a walnut craquelin.

On the counter this week to eat in or takeaway.

We are delighted to introduce this year’s Toklas Bakery Christmas hamper, available to pre-order for collection on Friday 20th December or delivery on Saturday 21st December.

Each hamper includes treats such as mince pies, marmalade, amaretti cookies, ginger cookies, bitter honey & chocolate biscuits, stollen, granola, half a Christmas cake, Toklas Blend beans and a bottle of Toklas Red Wine.

Numbers are limited so be sure to order via the link in our bio.

Our Apple & Blackberry Hand Pie is made using a mixture of Bramley & Santana apples with blackberries. We then baked this in an enriched pie pastry using white blend flour.

On the counter now to eat in or takeaway.

In celebration of Halloween, we’ve filled a brioche bun with spiced pumpkin custard made from Red Kuri squash and topped with a cinnamon craquelin.

On the counter now to eat in or takeaway.

Looking back on our visit to earlier this Summer who supply us with their wholemeal, white blend and Olands flour for our bread and pastries.

Talking to Henry whilst walking through his farmland, his passion for going against the current agri-business system is evident.

Through pioneering methods of farming they are working to increase biodiversity, increase wildlife and reconnect the community back to where nutrient rich produce comes from. For us, this also means interesting and delicious flavour profiles as well, which are key in helping our bread and pastries stand apart.

If you’re in the area, please take the time to visit and even better, take a tour with Henry. These discussions are crucial in protecting food supply for future generations.

Join us on Thursday 31st October at 6pm for a one-on-one discussion with the founder of New York’s Jim Fahey, celebrating the 15th Anniversary Edition publication of ‘My Bread’.

Published by Mark Bittman and the New York Times, Jim’s ‘no-knead bread method’ remains one of the newspaper’s most popular recipes and has changed the way people bake all around the world.

As well as having written several cookbooks, James was the first ever recipient of the James Beard Foundation award for Outstanding Baker, and has since opened a pizzeria, Co., a café in Chelsea, and a bakery in Miami.

Accompanying this discussion, the Toklas Bakery team will be baking Jim’s Stecca recipe alongside a selection of seasonal dips which will be available to enjoy during the event.

Tickets are £10 and available through the link in our bio.

As the colder months draw in, we’re serving our tomato & basil soup, finished with fresh datterini tomatoes and some Toklas Bakery sourdough to mop up with.

Available to eat in or takeaway.

One of our current strecci on the counter sees us smother Romesco sauce on our dough before topping with wild rocket and roasted hazelnut oil.

Next up is our take on a traditional Neapolitan pizza. We bake .farm sweetcorn and crème fraîche onto our strecci dough, then top with Proscuitto Cotto, parmesan and basil.

Available to eat in or takeaway from the counter now.

Our take on a millionaires shortbread. We add Tonda Gentile delle Langhe hazelnuts, grown by the Bruna family and considered the best variety in the world, to our shortbread base. We then top with a dark sugar caramel and 58%

Available on the counter.

This month sees our brilliant Head Baker move on to a new challenge.
Heading up the bakery since opening, Janine has created, developed and baked our infamous bread, the plethora of sweet and savoury treats, and led our wonderful team from the front.
Her dedication and talents have earned many plaudits, for which we are truly grateful and proud.

Although she will be thoroughly missed by both our team and customers alike, we’re excited to see what the future holds and where her fantastic skills will lead her to next.

If you’re a talented Head Baker looking to make a move, we’d love to hear from you.
Please send your CV to [email protected].

With inspiration from we take our focaccia and layer lemon & mint marinated courgettes with baby gem and straccone - a soft, sweet, creamy cheese, a mix between stracchino and scquacquerone.

Last week on the counter so make sure to come get yours.

One of our team’s favourite bakes returns. This time, our custardy spandauer is baked with jam made from Aprimira jam, a mirabelle and apricot hybrid.

Available on the counter now.

One year on, we return to our first rendition of a tartine. Topping a slice of our sourdough with aubergine caponata - a Sicilian sweet & sour vegetable relish. To finish, a drizzle of olive oil with chunks of feta dotted throughout.

Available for one more week on the counter.