A mecca for lovers of sourdough breads and patisserie, a visit to Sarah Richards's brilliant little bakery in the centre of Tramore is worth planning a journey around if you're in the area.
Sarah's story is one of best laid plans and all that. A graduate of Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork, who saw a course at Ballymaloe Cookery School as a practical step towards financing a fledgling career as an artist, she also spent a year cooking at Ballymaloe House - and she was hooked.
Bread making had become a passion and, luckily for those of us who know that every minute spent in the queue at the lovely Seagull Bakery is a minute well spent, she went on to work with the sourdough baker Declan Ryan (and one of the founders of Real Bread Ireland https://realbreadireland.org/) at Arbutus Bread. From Cork to Tramore, where she has been baking since then - and where this busy mum established the Seagull Bakery in 2013. And here, further inspired by time spent in Scotland with the British baker Andrew Whitley, pioneering author of Bread Matters (2006), Sarah introduced her unique range of wild yeast sourdough breads.
When Covid-19 struck, an unprecedented number of people took up bread baking - bringing a much wider appreciation of the value of taking care in sourcing the few basic ingredients needed, and allowing the time required to produce a wholesome, naturally fermented loaf.
The therapeutic and general health benefits of making and eating sourdough are now well known - and many who discover the satisfaction of slow baking become regular bakers themselves, of course, and may never need to shop for bread again. But for most, the taste for the flavour and texure of sourdough bread, once acquired, leads to a determination to seek out an artisan baker - and the Seagull Bakery is an ideal destination.
For most customers in the queue, the aim is simply to collect one or more of their favourite loaves to take home, perhaps with some of the tempting patisserie that will catch your eye while waiting for your turn. But there are also a few seats indoors and out, where you can relax over coffee and cake... Magic.
***In spring 2021 a new branch opened at 46 Patrick Street, Waterford City (open: Wed-Sat 8am-4pm, Sun 9am-1pm) and another has since opened in Dunmore East.
