Born and bread in Tyne and Wear
Are you kneading some inspiration for your bread this week? Look no further. This blog includes six different bakeries in Tyne and Wear that produce their loaves in house. Whether it’s for the soldiers to your eggs, or the sandwich for your cheese, there is an artisan baker awaiting your arrival.
Pink Lane Bakery
First on the list, is the iconic, Pink Lane Bakery. Pink Lane Bakery was opened in 2012 by Neil Le Flohic in Newcastle. The original shop began as an offshoot to a nearby café before establishing itself as a premier artisan bakery. The name of the bakery originates from its original location on the cobbled street of Pink Lane. The lane, historically, was a part of a defensive system of walls. It gained its name for being next to the Pink Tower which was demolished in 1852.
The bakery now has several different locations across the North East, most recently opening a store in Morpeth. Tyneside locations include city centre, Jesmond and Gosforth. Most notably, in 2025, Pink Lane bakery was named the North East best bakery at the National Bakery Awards putting in the running’s for the national award!
The star of Pink Lane’s show is their hand-crafted bread. All loaves are additive free and freshly baked at their Gosforth site. A favourite has to be their Tyne Bridge Sourdough, a classic wheat and rye dough with enhanced flavours fermented for 48 hours. All their sourdoughs are made in the traditional way using Pink Lane’s 1 year old starter.
Pink Lane is super accessible via Metro, whether its Central Station for their city centre location, Regent Centre for Gosforth or West Jesmond station for their Jesmond location. You can hop-off the Metro and hop back and your bread will still be warm.
Northern Rye
Northern Rye is a micro-bakery that have locations in Ouseburn and North Shields. The bakery pride themselves on using locally sourced ingredients for all of their bakes and having high-quality ingredients is paramount. Northern Rye started out from owner Robbie becoming redundant in 2016, he always had an obsession with bread and baking, and this was his chance to change his passion into a full-time career. Northern Rye initially established at their Byker location in Ouseburn in 2019, and following its success rehoused their baking to a larger production space. Most recently they have also opened another café in the Harbour House which is a dynamic creative hub similar to that of Ouseburn, centring Northern Rye as a trendy independent business.
You may of actually had Northern Rye sourdough before and not known it! The business also are wholesalers to some of the top food spots across Tyne and Wear: I Scream For Pizza and Aidan’s Kitchen to name a few.
The breads that are crafted by Northern Rye’s top bakers, are produced using slow fermentation techniques. The sourdough can be proved for up to 28 hours to ensure a rich flavour and crust. This is an unmissable spot to get a fantastic loaf.
Northern Rye can be accessed easily via Metro. For their Ouseburn location hop off at Byker station or for their North Shields location head to North Shields. The station is only a four-minute walk from their Harbour House café.
PureKnead
With an ethos of pure ingredients and knowledge, PureKnead are leaders in style and flavour. The business, founded by Paula Wilson, started out in her kitchen. She wanted to create a brand that not only has healthier additive-free products but also had a community feel, Originally sold in 2015 at Tynemouth Market , the business gained loyal customers and its popularity soared, this has led to PureKnead having three full-time locations in Gosforth, Whitley Bay and in the city centre. They sell a stunning range of artisan breads and often sourdough’s can take up to 48 hours to craft. There is always a lot of love put into their bakes and owner, Paula, wants to continue inspiring her customers to shop local.
Nearest Metro stations are Regent Centre, Whitley Bay and Monument.
BakeHouse Artisan Bakery Saltwell
BakeHouse Artisan Bakery Saltwell is deep rooted in traditional baking methods, focusing on creating high quality original products that have kept the bakery going the last 40 years. The bakehouse offers customers the opportunity to ring up and order in advance, perfect for any parties or catering you may need to do. All their ingredients are locally sourced and baked by dedicated skilled bakers. This spot is regarded as a favourite by locals for its hearty freshly made bread, that you can smell just by walking past.
Nearest Metro station is Gateshead.
Akins Family Bakers
The Akins brothers, opened their bakery in 1984, following gaining experience and passion for bread through working for their uncle at his bakery. The bakery prides itself on creating both traditional and modern food, taking inspiration from around the world. They also have a secondary passion of education and taking on training apprentice bakers, harking back to the owners history of learning on-the-job.
Their sourdough is made from a mother dough sour, which the bakers feed daily. There is no added yeast, just a little salt and vegetable fat. The sourdough is made in two days in order to make a mature natural flavour.
Nearest Metro station is Chichester.
