Cooper King x Haxby Bakehouse
UPCYCLED GIN BOTANICALS + HAXBY BAKEHOUSE = DELICIOUS REAL BREAD
At Cooper King Distillery we love collaborating with local and independent companies, especially if there’s food or drink involved! It provides the opportunity to be inspired by talent, gain an insight into a different craft, and of course supports each others’ businesses. Our most recent collaboration is no exception, and one we are very keen to share.
The Haxby Bakehouse is an artisan bakery owned by Phil and Tina Clayton in Haxby, York. All the breads they bake are made with organic flour using a traditional slow fermentation method. In order to create tastier and healthier products, Head Baker Phil does not use dough improvers, but instead uses low-yeasted overnight sponges, natural sourdough leaven or a combination of the two. This dedication to authenticity, quality and simplicity is exactly why we love working with and shouting about such talented craftspeople.
They bake 4000 loaves during the week, and on weekends, they make smaller batches but of a greater variety. Many recipes are Phil’s own invention, using ingredients such as sunflower seeds, local fermented honey, wild garlic and Yorkshire cheeses. It is this passion and desire for new and exciting flavours that we share with Phil, and that which creates a role for Cooper King Distillery in his bread-making process.
We have begun upcycling the spent botanicals that remain after cold-distilling our various gins and vodkas, by sending them to Phil who then uses them to make unique, wonderfully flavoured breads, such as an aromatic botanical rye, which tastes sublime. If you do pop in to pick one up, ask Tina to recommend a cheese to go with it. She sources superb cheeses, including some from our friends at the Courtyard Dairy. Phil also uses the spent botanicals from our collaborative gin with restaurant Skosh to make a sweet and spicy glaze, which adds a wonderful warming finish to his pastries.
This simple new upcycling scheme allows for innovative creations by the Haxby Bakehouse which contain a flavour of Cooper King! The idea ties in beautifully with our deep-rooted green ethos, by recycling and reducing waste and helping us achieve our goal of being economically, financially and socially sustainable.
We are an independent business that strives to be environmentally responsible, whether this is achieved through powering the distillery with 100% green energy, donating 2.5% of gin sales to the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust to plant trees, or simply by contributing to the creation of real honest bread.
More (and there are many!) of our green initiatives can be found in the sustainability section of our blog, and you can read about our previous collaborations here.