Rebecca Bishop
In 2013 Rebecca Bishop founded the Two Magpies Bakery in a beautiful Edwardian glass-fronted shop in Southwold, Suffolk. The shop set about converting this corner of England to the joys of long-fermented sourdough bread, exquisitely glazed cakes and indulgent pastries. Just a year after opening, the bakery was shortlisted for the Observer Food Monthly Awards, and since then, branches have opened in Darsham, Aldeburgh and Woodbridge (Suffolk) and Norwich, Blakeney and Holt (Norfolk) with plans for further expansion.
Before opening the bakery Rebecca worked as an art teacher, baking bread and developing recipes in her spare time. After a short bread-baking course at The School of Artisan Food in Welbeck, Nottinghamshire she embarked on a search for the perfect place to set up the bakery of her dreams, finally settling on Southwold.
Rebecca has won ‘Gold’ at the ‘World Bread Awards’ in 2014 and 2015 and is a keen promoter of the Real Bread Campaign. She enjoys teaching bread baking classes at the Two Magpies Darsham site, writing recipes for magazines and giving demonstrations at Latitude Festival and Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival.
Rebecca’s first book brings to life the atmosphere of a professional bakery and documents Rebecca’s journey from home baker to successful business owner, interspersing stories of bakery life with recipes, detailed step by step photos and baking tips gleaned from years of experience. TWO MAGPIES BAKERY – stories and recipes from the heart of East Anglia was published by Headline Home in April 2023.
Rebecca has three grown up children and lives in a beautiful Suffolk village just a stone’s throw from Southwold.
Website: www.thenextloaf.co.uk
Instagram: @thenextloaf