Speciality Breads - Red Tractor Licensees

Meet the innovative baker at Speciality Breads

From rosemary focaccia rolls and teacakes, to mini onion tin loaves and glazed brioche buns… the team at Speciality Breads put ‘the art into artisan baking’ and have a long-standing love for making new delicious traditional and contemporary creations using Red Tractor assured wheat flour.

Based in sunny Margate, Speciality Breads is an artisan bakery that supplies fresh, frozen breads and other baked goods to catering wholesalers up and down Britain. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. Not only do they produce a wide range of breads using Red Tractor assured wheat flour, but they are constantly exploring and creating new ones.

It’s all thanks to Greig, Speciality Breads’ Head of New Product Development (NPD). Previously a Head Chef, Greig has a passion for exploring the world through its varied cuisines.

“I love food and how it engages all of your senses, and bread making is especially good at this.

“The feel of the dough, the smell of the bake, the golden colour when it comes out of the oven, the sound of the crust cracking as it cools and of course, the taste.”

Greig, Head of NPD at Speciality Breads

Testing and tasting

Greig’s background saw him making everything from white bread to pizzas, focaccias to bao, but when he joined Speciality Breads the door to discovering new types was really opened to him: “If I see something I’ve not heard of, I’ll look it up and end up down a rabbit hole of discovery, which leads to new creations. Then I speak to the team and ask them whether they think it would be tasty and popular… and of course possible!”

Greig then gets to work in the test kitchen, finding the right combination of ingredients to make his new idea delicious. Then it’s a case of working out how to scale up the production, testing and tasting. Finally, when the team is sure they have a safe product, it can be launched.

Does Greig have a favourite creation? “For me it’s the Frozen Scone Pucks (bottom right). They’re easy to cook and give customers all the joys of freshly baked scones – with none of the faff or consistency concerns of doing it themselves!” Greig said.

Sustainability mission

From electric company cars to partnering with FareShare to ensure any surplus food goes where it’s needed, making delicious breads isn’t the only part of his job that Greig is proud of. “Our aim is to be the most sustainable bakery in the UK,” he stated.

With a new site planned to open in 2025, what does the future hold for Greig and his team? “No two days are the same. There is always something new to tackle or learn. Baking is a harmony of science and passion; you have to understand what’s happening in the dough and nurture it to create something delicious to share with the world,” Greig said.

“Working for a business with a vision you believe in, and being supported throughout the innovation process, makes it so easy for me to get up in the morning.”