You can't beat freshly baked bread and those living in Norfolk and Waveney are spoilt for choice when it come to independent bakeries.

Here are some of the best in the region...

1. Loaf

Where: 6 Middleton Street, Wymondham, NR18 0AD

Opening times: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday-Saturday: 9am to 3pm, closed Wednesday and Sunday

New microbakery Loaf has been a big hit since opening at the start of March this year in Wymondham, offering fresh sourdough, coffee and other treats to take away.

It is run by couple Clare and Oliver Brown and the idea for the business came in the first lockdown when Mrs Brown baked for her friends and neighbours to cheer them up and they insisted on paying.

This gave them the confidence to start Loaf and after converting the garage at their Great Hockham home into a bakery, they began delivering to nearby towns and villages and it proved very popular.

They then decided to take the plunge and open a shop, with all products vegan, and you can still order for delivery at loafmicrobakery.uk

2. Dollies Bakery

Where: 77 Church Street, Coltishall, NR12 7DW

Opening times: Tuesday-Saturday: 8am-3pm

Talented young baker Jemima Wood, 24, opened Dollies Bakery in part of the Red Lion pub last October after moving back home from London during the pandemic.

After being furloughed and at a loose end she began baking for those living nearby and it took off, so her next step was to open a bakery.

Along with fresh bread, she sells a range of sweet and savoury products such as doughnuts, cinnamon buns and hot brioche breakfast rolls.

Deliveries are also available with all the details on the Dollies Bakery Coltishall Instagram page.

3. The Tudor Bakehouse

Where: HARLESTON: 15 The Thoroughfare, IP20 9AH/ 1 Market Place, IP20 9AD/DISS: 15 Market Hill, IP22 4JZ

Opening times: Monday-Saturday: 6.30am-3pm/Monday-Friday: 8am-2.30pm, Saturday: 7am-3pm/Monday-Saturday: 7am-3pm

The Tudor Bakehouse first opened on the Market Place in Harleston in 1991 and owner Paul Muncila and his team recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.

There are now other branches in Diss, Eye and a second bakery and coffee shop in Harleston too.

Alongside bread, which is baked fresh every morning with choices such as ciabatta and wholemeal, the shops also sell cakes and savouries, including its popular sausage roll with a vegan version available too.

For home deliveries, visit tudorbakehouse.co.uk

4. Bushells Bakery

Where: LOWESTOFT: 210 London Road South, NR33 0BB/71 Hollingsworth Road, NR32 4AT/61 Westwood Avenue, NR33 9RS/ 41 Tennyson Road, NR32 1PS/GORLESTON: 99 Magdalen Way, Gorleston, NR31 7AA

Opening times: Monday-Saturday: 8.30am-3pm/Monday-Saturday: 8.30am-3pm/Monday-Saturday: 8.15am-3pm/Monday-Friday: 7.30am-2pm/Monday-Saturday: 8.15am-3pm

Bushells Bakery was first established in 1883 in Dukes Head Street in Lowestoft and it has continued to serve delicious bread to the town's residents for generations.

The original shop and bakery were demolished in the early 1960s, but it is now a multi-site operation with shops across Lowestoft and another in Gorleston.

The bakery uses locally milled flour in its bread, which includes French sticks, bloomers and speciality loaves, and also available are cakes and other treats.

Order for home delivery at bushells-shop.co.uk, where the current menu features Easter tarts, cornflake crunch and chocolate and caramel cookies.

5. Flour and Bean

Where: 4 Market Place, Aylsham, NR11 6EH/ 2 Market Place, Fakenham, NR21 9AS/2 Market Place, Dereham, NR19 2AW/122 High Street Gorleston, NR31 6RE/Lathams Store, Potter Heigham, NR29 5JE/14 Mere Street, Diss, IP22 4JY

Opening times: See the Flour and Bean Instagram page for the latest opening times

This multi-site, family-run bakery and coffee house offers speciality breads, delicious cakes, sandwiches and tasty hot snacks, including sausage rolls.

Flour and Bean also has a food van that supplies buffet lunch platters to meetings and family gatherings across the county, ideal as restrictions loosen and we can meet outdoors again.

6. Wellbread Bakers

Where: 39 Market Place, Swaffham, PE37 7LA

Opening times: Monday-Friday: 4am-3pm, Saturday: 4am-2pm


Established in 2002, this charming bakery sells fresh bread, rolls, flour and yeast, along with sweet and savoury treats from the counter.

You can also order for home delivery and the products available include doughnuts, pies and pasties and its popular afternoon tea box for one or two, with a smaller children's version too.

Online orders need to be made by 6pm the day before at wellbreadbakers.co.uk, or 1.30pm by phone on 01760 722707, and the delivery charge is 50p within a 10 mile radius of Swaffham.


7. Bread Source

Where: NORWICH: 93 Upper St Giles Street, NR2 1AB/7 Marriott Close, NR2 4UX (bakery counter)/AYLSHAM: 13 Red Lion Street, NR11 6ER

Opening times: Norwich bakeries: Monday-Saturday: 8am-6pm, Sunday: 8am-4pm/Aylsham: Monday-Saturday: 8.30am-4pm, closed Sunday and Monday

Alongside a huge range of different breads, including ciabatta, sourdough and rye, you can also get cakes, doughnuts and pastries, such as cinnamon rolls and a raspberry and pistachio Danish.

The bakery counter in Norwich has plenty of parking outside and stocks homemade jams, cheeses, frozen Brick pizza and more.

There are also branches in Bridewell Alley and at Norwich Market, which are both temporarily closed due to lockdown.

Bread Source offers collection or delivery too and you can order at bread-source.co.uk

Due to the current lockdown restrictions, make sure to only travel in your local area to a bakery or order for delivery if further afield.

These are the latest opening times in March 2021, but they could change at short notice due to coronavirus.