Imma The Bakery

Sourdough leads the bench

Sourdough is the whole point of Imma The Bakery in Stoke Row, a bread-led operation working out of an industrial unit since 2019 and aiming at something as plain and as difficult as the best plain sourdough in the country. The loaf is the standout, and it is what The Good Food Guide recognised when it named Imma among Britain’s Best Bakeries for 2026. The bakery’s own framing is modest: bread as a daily table staple rather than a destination purchase, even though people drive to it.

Around the bread sits a pastry counter with real range. Seasonal danishes run sweet and savoury, pistachio cruffins have become a signature in their own right, and almond croissants and carefully decorated pistachio croissants fill out the laminated side. An elderflower and strawberry Danish appears when that style of bake comes round. Golden sausage rolls handle the savoury corner, and wood-fired toasties add something hot to a counter that could otherwise be all cold pastry.

An industrial-unit counter with an early rhythm

The experience is counter-led rather than restaurant-like, and the industrial-estate setting has become part of the bakery’s character rather than a drawback. The day is front-loaded: loaves, pastries, toasties and takeaway boxes are at their strongest early, and the queue reflects it. The sourdough draws a line that snakes out of the unit, and the bake is finite, so late arrivals find a thinner case.

The atmosphere is practical and craft-facing. Bakers are visible shaping bread and working the wood-fired oven while customers queue, which makes the wait part of the visit. Alongside the bakes, a small selection of deli items and staples such as butter and milk means the trip can cover more than pastry.

Order the loaf, then the pistachio cruffin

Take a sourdough loaf first. It is the reason the bakery exists and the item everything else is arranged around, so it should be in the bag before the pastry decision starts.

Then move to the display. The pistachio cruffin is the sweet order that has earned its own following, and the almond and decorated pistachio croissants sit close behind it. A seasonal Danish is the pick when the fruit is right, particularly the elderflower and strawberry version. For savoury, the golden sausage roll is the specific one to ask for, while a wood-fired toastie turns the stop into something closer to lunch. A strong order is therefore a loaf for later, a cruffin or Danish to eat straight away, and a sausage roll for the walk.