“They are absolutely food of the gods,” said Andy Haddon after a few minutes eulogising about the simplicity, slight chewiness and fabulous taste of the stottie, the round flat loaf that is as much a part of north-east England as football or T-shirts in winter.
Haddon is speaking in front of the Big River Bakery, which he opened in 2019 on a housing estate in Shieldfield, a diverse, disadvantaged but also buzzy and communal part of Newcastle. It does what countless bakeries do: makes and sell loaves, sandwiches, croissants, pies, pasties, scones and cakes – and, of course, stotties.
