In the most unlikely row of the week, posh supermarket Waitrose and northern crumpet legends Warburtons have parted ways. Waitrose has confirmed that it has removed all Warburtons baked products from its shelves as their performance "didn't meet expectations" in its stores.
In return, family-run bread giant Warburtons has hit back reiterating its position as the: "number one bakery brand in the UK" and says that "quality is paramount".
Waitrose, in delisting Bolton-based Warbies products from its stores, is among the only major UK supermarkets NOT to sell the brand. Instead it sells the likes of Hovis, Jackons and its own-brand range of loaves and bread products saying: "We focus on fantastic products at great value that our customers love and we remain open to working with Warburtons in the future."
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In response, Warburtons told The Telegraph: "At Warburtons, quality is paramount. We know that consumers recognise the quality, and value of our products and that is why we are the number one bakery brand in the UK.
"It is a shame that Waitrose chose to delist us last year and we would of course love to be back on their shelves in the future."
Indeed it is a shame. I mean, hello, can ANY other brand really beat Warburtons crumpets for taste and butter-trapping joy?
To put both Waitrose and Warburtons' doughy delights to the test, I decided to pit a number of the supermarket's own-brand bread range against the might of Warbies. We looked at the product and value but most important of all we sampled the taste of both products.
Which brand really is the best thing since sliced bread? And which products met my own, very high, expectations? There was only one way to find out.
I stocked up on four key items from both Warburtons range, and Waitrose's own bakery brand. I bought all of my Warbies products from Iceland, which rather handily has a 3 for £3 offer on the full range, but prices can vary depending on where you buy them so I've listed the standard retail price too here.
For the products that are normally toasted, we used the same brand of butter (Anchor in case you're wondering) and we did the same toasting time in the toaster to ensure it was as fair a testing process as possible. All of the products can be frozen, so don't worry nothing has gone to waste in this test.
Here's how I got on.
Sliced bread
Warburtons Medium soft white sliced - £1.25 (single unit price, but purchased as part of 3 for £3 offer at Iceland)
Waitrose super soft white medium slices - £1.15
When I lifted the slices out of the packet, Warburtons' bread was noticeably softer, and slimmer than the Waitrose version. But how would they both measure up once toasted?
Well, slathered in butter it would appear all toasted breads are created equal.
They were both delicious in a way only sliced white toasted bread can be. And if you didn't know they were from different loaves you would never know the difference as both tasted almost exactly the same.
Winner: Draw
Crumpets
Warburtons crumpets 9 pack - £1.25 (single unit price, but purchased on offer for 3 for £3 at Iceland)
Waitrose sourdough crumpets 6 pack - £1.35
I admit that I've tried many, many different retailers' crumpets in my time, but none has ever matched up to Warbies. Sometimes I get persuaded to try a quirkly-shaped unicorn crumpet should I spy one in a bakery aisle, but other than that it can only ever be Warbies for the win.
However, I was pleasantly surprised with the taste of the Waitrose version in this comparison, it was a much firmer propisition than the Warburtons one but with a nice fluffy puffy taste presumably thanks to the sourdough.
Due to the dense texture though it didn't seem to soak up as much butter though into its inner crumpet-y chasms. Which, in my view, is the whole point of a crumpet.
God knows how Warbies do it, but they've created seemingly the perfect crumpet design to trap as much of the butter as possible within its dough matrix of holes and passageways. The trickles that do get through saturate the slightly crispy bottom for a near perfect circle of carb heaven.
Honestly many try, but no one can better a Warburtons' crumpet in my opinion.
Winner: Warburtons
Finger rolls
Warburtons 6 sliced hot dog rolls - £1.60 (purchased from Iceland)
Essential Waitrose 6 white finger rolls - 90p
Just ripping the Warbies hot dog roll from its six pack allowed me to feel the fluffiness. And for the super-lazy among us, hurrah, it's already been sliced ready to slip your sausage into it.
The Waitrose roll was firmer to the touch and not as yielding as the Warburtons one, although the sturdiness did make it easier to slice into.
Unfortunately, with no sausages available at the time of testing (it feels a long way 'til payday), I just had to taste the rolls as they came in their pure bread form.
The softness of the Warburtons roll continued in the mouth, with a nice clear bready taste. Alas, the Waitrose one seemed quite dry in comparison and not all that pleasant without a hot dog in it. Lesson learned.
Winner: Warburton's
English muffins
Warburtons 4 white breakfast muffins - £1.25 (single unit price, but purchased on 3 for £3 offer at Iceland)
Waitrose 4 English white all-butter muffins - £1.55
I had high hopes for the Waitrose version here as they looked quite pleasant coming out of the pack, all podgy and round. But once toasted I'm afraid it all just tasted rather dense and flabby.
The Warburtons version on the other hand had a delicious taste and brilliant "spring" once you chewed into it, exactly as you would want.
I was also a bit surprised by the fat content difference between these two. I guess due to the "all butter" recipe of the Waitrose muffin it came in at 2.2g fat compared to Warburtons' version with 1.3g fat.
Winner: Warburtons
The verdict
While Waitrose proved it can really measure up in the sliced bread stakes with its own brand loaf, I'm afraid on all the other products we tested Warburtons was our carb king.
Nothing, and I do mean nothing, can beat a Warburtons' toasted crumpet with butter slathered over it, and while Waitrose put up a worthy battle in this category, it was almost futile against the classic.
However on the finger rolls and English muffins it did noticeably fall short on taste to Warbies in my opinion.
So after four rounds, in this particular bread-off, Warburtons is my winner.
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