Well that’s what Lara thinks, she’s smitten by the dough
But Rex’s is not like every other bakery. The cakes are carefully chosen, made with recipes from Peter Gordon and Dan Lepard, the sausage rolls have been made with house-made puff and local sausage meat, and the ciabatta on the shelf has been named the best in the land. And it is truly deserving of this title.
Up until three years ago Glenn was in investment management. And then one day he gave it all up to bake bread. While he might have only been in the bread business for three years, he’s been deeply engrossed in making food since the age of 14.
The son of a military family, Glenn said “moving every two years, there’s never much to do in the summer holidays, and one day I picked up a Delia Smith cookbook and found it very interesting. I followed my curiosity for food throughout my corporate career and got to know the London dining scene very well.”
After prototyping his bread for about 6 months, Glenn was ready to launch his career at Village Day in Little Chalfont where he sold sourdough, sausage rolls, Benefict Bars and pastries. Today he has a much bigger product range that is constantly fine-tuned and added to.
Stephens broke the mould when he went into finance. “For as far back as the family tree goes, we have been in the military” says the baker and it was growing up in this climate of frequent travelling and a family history that followed the Empire to its furthest reaches that has given him a rich appreciation of world cuisine.
After visiting New York and deciding that Jim Lahey’s bread was the business, Stephens made it his business to try and replicate Lahey’s mastery of the Italian style of bread making.
The result is a range of long-fermented, hand-shaped loaves and sour dough like baguette, ciabatta, pan galego and rye, made with organic flours, wild yeast, Misbourne honey leaven and French butters. “Our long fermentations are easier on digestion and often people with gluten-intolerances enjoy our bread without consequences ” says Stephens “but the main reason we do it is for the taste.”
Rex Bakery are at No. 4 Chenies Parade, Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire HP7 9PH. Open Mon-Sun. Phone: 01494 764423