Covent garden & Covent garden | London
OUR HISTORY Founded in 1815 in Verona, North of Italy, land of castles, Romeo and Juliet, Il Grano Reale Panificio soon became popular among the citizens. In over 200 years, spanning the reigns of nine monarchs, Il Grano Reale Bakery has been owned by only two families. Just before The Great War, Carlo Signori, a descendant of the founder, was thinking of moving from Verona to Paris; by sheer coincidence he met Andrea Belinni, a Milanese who owned a restaurant in London, and the two men decided to swap businesses. During the second world war, Il Grano Reale Bakery stayed open but its
structure was reinforced with thick wood. It was only open from 1pm to 3pm and offered the compulsory rationed bread at five shillings but could offer copious cakes and pies. The Bakery could never open on Sundays because it was on Church grounds and could not get a licence, then changed to Monday to offer some rest to the staff. Il Grano Reale Bakery serves the traditional Italian bread at its best – and at affordable prices. It specialises in classic breads, pies, cakes, biscuits and all sort of delicious baked products.
TODAY With the finest flour at the essence of the e5 ideology we’ve put a lot of thought into where ours come from. All the flour we use is organic and we’re increasingly sourcing directly from UK farms who are growing diverse and ancient varieties of wheat. These are not only more flavoursome but of course sustainable. Suppliers such as Cann Mill, Maple Farm and Gilchester’s Organics have provided us with the first rate UK organic flour which continues to feed the ongoing evolution of the Bakehouse and fuel our mission to use exclusively UK wheat. In 2015 we took over a 2nd shop in order to house our stone mill and mill on site at the bakery using UK grains, enabling us to have the freshest and more nutrient rich flour for our loaves. Stone mill is an
inherently cold extraction process that causes minimal damage to the vitamins and essential oils present in the grains. With an equal commitment to locally sourced produce for our cafe, all of the vegetables, fruit, meat and dairy we use are organic, seasonal and supplied by producers we know and trust. You can read more about all the wonderful companies who supply us with fresh produce year round under ‘Provenance’ section of our website. All of our energy is from renewable sources. Using biodegradable packaging, recycling our waste and composting are second nature as is delivering our bread to local cafes and restaurants using Dutch delivery bicycle.
We are what we eat. And so are you. With these wise words in mind, driving constantly our mission, Grano Reale has built its history and reputation of extreme quality and care of ingredients. Our expertise and knowledge of ingredients has been built up over many years of experience in the food industry and is strengthened by the team we have put in place. We understand our customer’s needs and are entirely focused on delivering and surpassing their requirements. We only buy them form the finest producers focused with purity of processes and the environment, most from Ireland and Italy. Because we understand that the main part of serving quality food starts at the field. The important part is the preparation. And we put too much love and care doing it. Our obsession with hygiene and good quality forces us to sistematicaly take care of every step of whole business, from the stock to the sell.
Quality. Purity. Excellence. art. Joy and pleasure. ues these are the val ing we put in everyth we do FOR YOU.
OUR SPECIALITIES White bread White bread refers to any bread whose crumb colour is clearly white or cream. Dough made from white wheat flour is very stretchy and resilient, which means the baker can use it to produce many different styles and shapes, and the worldwide popularity of white bread is partly down to this characteristic. Typical ingredients include wheat flour, water, salt and yeast.
Wholemeal bread Wholemeal and wheatmeal breads are popular and must have 90% or more wholemeal flour in the recipe used, and wheatmeals any level of wholemeal flour mixed with white flour. Wholemeal bread contains higher concentrations of minerals and vitamins than white bread as it retains the bran and germ of the wheat. It is an excellent source of dietary fibre, containing twice that of white bread and more than multigrain breads.
CROISSANTS A simple yeast-risen dough, layered with butter, cut into a triangle and rolled up like a scroll so that the centre bulges and the ends taper out. Traditionally, the unbaked croissant was then curved into a crescent shape, though nowadays croissants are often left straight. Typical ingredients include wheat flour, water, milk, yeast, salt, sugar, butter and egg.
Our products are a product of love – and time. Our recipes are simple, based on traditional techniques and natural ingredients; locally-sourced organic flour, which we are increasingly stone milling on site at the bakery, water and salt.
PIES One of our best sellers! The basis of Dutch apple pie is a crust on the bottom and around the edges. This crust is then filled with pieces or slices of apple, usually a crisp and mildly tart variety such as Goudreinet or Elstar. Cinnamon and sugar are generally mixed in with the apple filling. You won`t believe how flavoured it is!
CAKES Every day we make and deliver amazing cakes throughout London, and our cake shop is open all week. Every cake we make uses the finest available ingredients and is baked fresh to order in small batches by our committed team. Each one is then hand-decorated by that same small gang of cakeobsessed individuals, dedicated to making sure you enjoy the best darn cake experience you’ve ever had. What’s not to love? Everybody loves a fine slice of cake...
CUPCAKES What makes the perfect cupcake? High-quality natural ingredients and no preservatives go into our freshly baked sponges, which we lovingly hand bake and decorate from scratch each day. It’s home baking done! No matter what the occasion or whether you are simply looking to indulge in one of your passions, we produce beautiful designs and unique cakes perfectly tailored to your requirements.
Everything we bake, make or sell embodies our passion for artisan methods, organic local products and delicious food. Our breads are entirely hand-crafted, baked daily at sunrise and we source our flours from local mills. Our bakery is home to a small, committed group of bakers, chefs and baristas. It is our belief that to bake beautiful and nutritious sourdough loaves, requires a clear conscience and a great deal of respect and care for our leaven- the life of our sourdough.
FIND US Carnaby St.
Covent garden
Monday to Saturday 8h - 20h
Monday to Saturday 8h - 20h
8 Carnaby St, Carnaby London | W1F 9PD 020 7734 9223 carnaby@ilgranorealebakery.co.uk
35 Long Acre London | WC2E 9JT 020 7379 9197 covent@ilgranorealebakery.co.uk
www.ilgranorealebakery.co.uk