Bread Ahead Bakery
London, England
I’ve been to London before and have sampled some donuts (mainly in cafes or along Portobello Road), but I’ve never purposely visited some of their top donut shops. That was all about to change with this trip across the pond. It would be a market-hopping, food-binging trek that would get me to three top donut shops and allow me to appreciate the culinary art that are British donuts.
My first stop off the plane was to Borough Market, a culinary-mecca in the food market world. And inside this market is a year-old bakery called Bread Ahead. In addition to making delicious breads and donuts, they also have a baking school that you can take classes at.
But I was here for the donuts. Depending on when you go, they’ve been known to have such flavors as Blueberry and Orange Ripple Custard, Velvet Chocolate, Hazelnut and Almond Praline, Lemon Curd, and Raspberry Jam. On my inaugural trip, I was greeted by two flavors: Classic Vanilla and Crème Caramel with Salted Honeycomb.
Both donuts were plump and delicate and coated with a fine sugar. The classic vanilla had a filling similar to vanilla pudding. The pudding texture continued in the Crème Caramel donut, which was sublimely flavored. And the crunch of the honeycomb took it to the next level.
If you want Justin Gellatly’s donut recipe, head to this site or watch this video and try to mimic them. If you’re able to come close, just make sure you share one with me.
[Photo credits: The Donut Hunter]
Borough Market, Mon-Sat 8am-5pm, http://www.breadahead.com/