Alcohol is no longer the British vice of choice. Pubs are struggling and booze consumption is in decline. So where are we getting our buzz these days? From caffeine and buttery pastries, of course. Or so argues Milly Kenny-Ryder in Britain’s Best Bakeries (Hoxton Mini Press, £22.95).

Coffee shops are the hippest of hangouts, and independent bakeries the place to be seen, Kenny-Ryder claims in the introduction of this elegantly designed hardback, aptly produced for coffee tables.

Over the past 10 years, Brits have ditched “mass-produced, plastic-wrapped” bread for the crusty, chewy sourdough baked across the street, she says. Rather than crisps and chocolate bars, Danishes are the ultimate indulgence.

To illustrate that point, the book’s glossy pages are brimming with artful shots of the bakeries deemed the best in Britain, where carefully crafted goods adorn the shelves. There are 62 in total: ranging from the newly opened and Instagram-friendly to seventh-generation businesses, where the counter has never gone without a dusting of fresh flour.

The author, a French expat in the UK, believes her adopted home country is about to become just as enamoured with excellent bakeries as France, where a fresh pain au chocolat is “the ultimate reward” for a hard day’s work.

A handy ‘Best For’ index means readers can quickly access who does what best, from timeless classics to wacky innovations.

This compact, no-frills guide is the ultimate bakery bible and well worth the dough.

Topics