We very much pride ourselves on the quality of bakeries, coffee shops and hybrid offerings here in Manchester, and with an overwhelming selection, it can sometimes be difficult to predict which ones are worth the visit. Now, one of our very own has been honoured with a place in the Baker’s Dozen Top UK Bakeries list – making it that much easier to know you’re in for the best quality – and it’s not the first time Lovingly Artisan Bakery has been named.
Cumbria & Manchester’s Lovingly Artisan Bakery has been listed in the Baker’s Dozen Top UK Bakeries for the fourth consecutive year in a row, as part of the 2026 Bakers’ Dozen, which lists the best artisan bakeries in Britain. In a change to previous years, this year’s Baker Dozen were voted for by the readers of British Baker, the UK’s leading baking industry trade publication, as well as the publication’s expert panel of 100 academy members.
The Lovingly Artisan team said: “To be named in the Bakers’ Dozen for the fourth-year running is honestly a bit bonkers, and we couldn’t be more grateful. It’s incredibly humbling to see what we do resonate not just with our customers, but with fellow bakers and the wider industry too.
“We’ve always believed in putting quality, wholesome, naturally made bread back at the heart of the table, and to feel that this ethos is inspiring others across the UK means everything to us.”
Why Lovingly Artisan Bakery has been named in the Baker’s Dozen
Lovingly Artisan bakery has two North West locations – Kendal in Cumbria and Altrincham Market in Greater Manchester, plus stalls at Kirkby Lonsdale Charter Market and Kendal Farmers Market – and produces 14 different types of sourdough, setting itself apart from other bakers in the region and country. The bakery was founded by award-winning baker Aidan Monks, who has been baking with the sourdough method long before it became trendy, and prides itself on using slow fermentation and organic British flours.
The bread at Lovingly Artisan comes in lots of different shapes and sizes with varying types of flour including tin loaves, bloomers, buns and Pain de campagne. From malted barley and Northumberland rye to ancient Emmer and Einkorn to Khorasan and Kalamata Olive sourdoughs, the bread selection is exciting, with many using heritage-grain flours (some ancient grains used even date as far back as the Romans) to create breads that Lovingly Artisan describe as “good for the tummy, good for the soil and good for the soul”.
You’ll also find plenty of flavoured breads to order including Marmite and cheese, rye berry, cheese and chilli, or spiced apple and sultana. Although the bakery has been named in the 2026 Baker’s Dozen primarily for their bread, Lovingly Artisan also produce delicious pastries such as handmade butter croissants, pain au chocolat, cinnamon twists and pain au raisin, to name a few.
What is an ‘artisan bakery’?
An artisan bakery is where baked goods—such as sourdough, bread, buns, pastries, cakes and more—are made by skilled bakers by hand, often utilising longer and more traditional processes. Quality of ingredients and the end products are high on the agenda, and as a result, artisan bakeries typically only have a handful of sites.
The 2026 Bakers’ Dozen
- Lovingly Artisan, Cumbria & Manchester
- August Bakery, London
- Big Bear Bakery, Glasgow
- Chatsworth Bakehouse, London
- Farro, Bristol
- Gorse, Cornwall
- Haxby Bakehouse, York
- Imma The Bakery, Henley-on-Thames
- Lannan, Edinburgh
- Northern Rye, Newcastle upon Tyne
- Pettigrew Bakeries, Cardiff
- The Bear Bakery, Chester
- The Tiny Bakery, Leicester