A Little Bakery with Big Dreams

There are, I imagine, worse things to spend one's time thinking about than biscuits.

Nevertheless, I don't think I quite anticipated how much of my life would eventually revolve around them. The texture, the thickness, the ingredients, the baking time and, perhaps most importantly, whether the finished product would actually survive a journey through the postal system. The humble biscuit, as it turns out, is a rather complicated little creature.

And so, The Prancing Pony Bakery came into being.

The Beginning of Something Small ❤️

I've always been rather fond of traditional things. Old books, familiar flavours, a good cup of coffee and the sort of simple pleasures that don't require a tremendous amount of fuss.

When I decided to start my own bakery, I wanted to create something that reflected those interests. Nothing particularly extravagant or unnecessarily complicated. Just good, homemade biscuits, prepared with care, and perhaps a little personality thrown in for good measure.

Of course, there's a considerable difference between deciding to make biscuits and actually running a bakery.

For one thing, there are an extraordinary number of things to consider that have absolutely nothing to do with baking. Packaging, labels, ingredients, hygiene requirements, delivery arrangements, the list seems almost determined to grow longer whenever I think I've reached the end of it.

Still, there's something rather satisfying about gradually putting everything together.

A Biscuit Worth Making 🍪

At present, The Prancing Pony Bakery offers four flavours: Vanilla, Cocoa, Ginger and Ajwain.

My aim has been to create a biscuit that sits somewhere between a traditional digestive and a shortbread. Something with a satisfying crunch, but without being so hard that eating one becomes an exercise in dentistry.

Naturally, achieving the right texture has involved quite a bit of experimentation.

There have been adjustments to recipes, changes to baking times and numerous considerations about how to make the biscuits sturdy enough for posting without sacrificing the qualities that make them enjoyable in the first place.

I'm pleased to say that progress has been made, although I suspect there's always something new to discover in the kitchen.

All our biscuits are vegan, which is something I wanted to establish from the very beginning. Good baking shouldn't have to depend on dairy or eggs, and there's no reason a vegan biscuit can't be every bit as satisfying as a conventional one.

A Rather Pleasant Milestone 😊

One of the more exciting developments this month has been receiving a five-star food hygiene rating following our first inspection.

For a small home bakery, it's a particularly encouraging achievement. A great deal of thought and preparation has gone into creating a suitable baking environment, so receiving that rating was a wonderful moment.

It also means that The Prancing Pony Bakery has begun its journey on a rather positive note.

What Comes Next? 🤔

I have plenty of ideas for the bakery, including seasonal flavours, different biscuit box sizes and other little developments that I'll share as things progress.

This journal will be somewhere to record those experiments, celebrate the occasional success and perhaps recount a mishap or two. After all, I can't imagine that running a bakery will be entirely free of them.

For now, though, I'm simply pleased to have begun.

The Prancing Pony Bakery may be a small enterprise, but I hope that, with time, it will become something that people associate with comforting flavours, thoughtful baking and the pleasure of sitting down with a good biscuit.

Preferably accompanied by an equally good book.

Until next time,

Annie

The Prancing Pony Bakery 🐴