News: Knead Bakery lands in Oxford!

KNEAD Bakery officially opens the doors to its brand new High Street home today.

Taking over the former Hobbs site, the shiny new Oxford store is the fourth opening for the Gloucestershire-born bakery brand (you may know them from Tetbury, Cirencester or Elkstone) and their first venture into Oxfordshire.

We popped along to the media soft launch yesterday, where the team rolled out the red carpet of carbs… think bubbly on arrival, refreshing iced coffees and iced teas from Bristol’s Extract Roasters, and pastry literally EVERYWHERE.

We wanted to try everything but even for big foodies there’s a limit on how many treats we could fit into our stomachs without the jeans popping, but we all agreed there wasn’t anything we tried that we didn’t like.

A personal highlight was the heritage tomato pastry, mega flaky and crispy, and the tomatoes were packed with flavour. The strawberry and cream doughnut, and the pastel de nata were both spot on as well. They’ve really nailed pastry – nothing was too much, all the flavours were perfectly balanced, and light.

Knead also boast some award-winning pastries – their Almond Croissant is a Great Taste winner, and their Pain au Chocolat has two Great Taste stars to its name – pretty impressive. Gluten-free and vegan options were also in the mix, and yes, it’s fully dog-friendly, so four-legged friends are welcome too. I even picked up a bag of doggy treats for Moose!

Doors open daily from 8am, serving up handmade breads, flaky pastries, savoury showstoppers (hello, sausage rolls and many varieties of pillowy focaccia), plus a patisserie counter that would make Mary Berry weep with joy. If you’re not super local but are drooling at the thought of this place, you can also order online via Knead By Post.

Co-founder Kris Biggs, who launched the brand with fellow pastry wizard John Hawes, says: “We’re so excited to bring our handmade, award-winning bakes to Oxford. This spot on the High Street is a dream location for us.”

Once they’ve settled into Oxford city life, Knead are thinking about introducing baking workshops and supper clubs, which I think is perf for Oxford as we all love food, but we love to see how it’s done just as much (nosy bunch aren’t we?!) so watch this space to see what comes next, and let us know if you visit – would love to hear what you all think.