Mike and Natalie at the Tortoise Bakery. Photo courtesy of Tortoise Bakery
Slow fermented bread isn’t a secret, according to Tortoise Bakery founder Mike Sweetman, but it will take a lot of patience to get the exceptional bread promised by the recipe.
Mike discovered his passion for baking as a teenager, while working in his father’s bakery, but it wasn’t until years later that his interest in slow fermented bread took off.
Tortoise Bakery’s bread has less yeast than normal bread and is fermented for longer, giving it an improved flavour and also making it more digestible.
“We are the only organic accredited bakery in South Wales,” says Mike, “but our method is the key to making our bread unique.”
Next, Mike hopes to produce a bread fermented for 108 hours, he says he’s “almost cracked it.”