Pollen Bakery

Twenty-eight hours of fermentation

Sourdough made the name. Pollen Bakery started in Manchester in 2016 from a modest archway unit in Ancoats, behind Piccadilly station, where queues formed for limited runs of loaves and pastries and the bread was what brought people back. The long prove, up to twenty-eight hours, is what gives the loaf its structure and depth, and it later put Pollen's bread on tables in dining rooms across the city through wholesale supply.

Lamination followed the same discipline. The counter now carries pain au chocolat, almond croissant, pecan croissant, blueberry bostock, croffin and a morning cinnamon bun, with seasonal cakes, muffins and a salted caramel brownie rotating through the display. Wholesale grew out of that reputation rather than replacing it, and the loaves still go over the bakery's own counter first.

Canal-side, with the bakery in view

The 2018 move to Cotton Field Wharf, on the Ancoats marina, turned a cult bakery into a cafe where the working bakery is visible from the room. Wood tables, menu boards, pastry cases and large windows set the tone, and the outdoor tables looking towards the water fill first on a clear day.

The experience is counter-led: queue, choose from the bakery display or the brunch menu, then find a seat. The crowd is broad, from solo visitors and families to brunch groups, students, tourists and regulars collecting loaves, and the popular bakes can slow the queue at busy moments. Coffee is part of the routine, with flat whites and cappuccinos and oat or almond milk, and a cold-pressed juice of strawberry, apple, lemon and basil beside it.

Order the sourdough, then choose one pastry

Begin with the sourdough, because it explains everything else: the long fermentation gives the bread its structure, and it also anchors the savoury dishes on the brunch side.

Then take one thing from the counter. The morning cinnamon bun shows the flaky, twisted style; the pecan croissant shows the lamination at its most finished; the salted caramel brownie shows the richer cake and traybake end. Vegan-leaning sweets have included raspberry coconut cake and peach crumble muffin. For something more substantial, the range has run from a Scandinavian-style rye open sandwich to bacon buns, halloumi and egg, pizza slices and cheese pastries. The reputation was made on bread and the pastries followed, and the counter still reads in that order.