‘I judge a restaurant by the bread and by the coffee’ Burt Lancaster once famously said.

Our coffee is roasted in Bury St Edmunds for us by Frank & Earnest but you may not know that we bake our own bread at The Crown. Head chef Ricky won’t tell us his exact recipe for the perfect loaf but he has given us his top tips:

• Always use the freshest yeast possible, most supermarkets will supply you with it from their bakery counter
• When rolling or shaping, use flour very sparingly as it will add to the flour weight of your dough which alters the recipe ratio (use oil instead to stop the dough from sticking)
• Adding steam to the oven when cooking will help the crust to develop, a tray with cold water or ice cubes works well
• Start with a very hot oven and reduce the temperature for longer bakes to give the bread a good ‘oven spring’ to finish off the rising process

Well, they do say the proof is in the eating and who can resist the smell of freshly baked bread?

We hope you’d approve Burt…