Natural leaven
Every loaf rises on our own natural leaven — a living culture kept alive day after day for years. No shortcuts.
Our story
An artisan French bakery, made in Edinburgh
More than two decades of baking bread, croissants and pastries the traditional French way — slowly, by hand, for the city we call home.
Au Gourmand began with a simple conviction: that bread made properly — slowly, honestly, with nothing to hide — is worth the time it takes.
We opened our doors in 2000 and have spent the years since perfecting a small, traditional range. Where some bakeries chased scale, we chose to stay close to the craft. Around twenty breads come out of our oven, each one shaped by hand and risen on our own natural leaven rather than commercial yeast.
The recipes are French. The flour, the water, and the hands that work the dough are Edinburgh. That meeting of heritage and place is the whole point of what we do.
Our philosophy
We believe good bread asks for very little: flour, water, salt and a living leaven. The skill is not in what you add but in what you are willing to wait for. A long, slow fermentation — often a full day or more — is what gives our loaves their open crumb, their keeping quality, and their depth of flavour.
The same patience runs through our viennoiserie and pastry. Butter croissants are laminated and folded by hand, proved slowly, and baked to a shattering, golden finish. Nothing is par-baked elsewhere; nothing is rushed.
Slow fermentation & natural leaven
Our leaven is a living culture, fed and kept alive day after day. It is what makes a loaf of Au Gourmand sourdough unmistakably ours. Because we ferment slowly, our sourdough develops a depth of flavour and keeps far longer than its supermarket cousins — qualities you only get by giving the dough its time.
Time, leaven and honest ingredients
Sourdough is one of the ways we bake, and everything we make comes back to the same handful of principles.
Slow fermentation
We give the dough the time it needs, often a full day or more. Slow fermentation builds flavour, structure and a crumb that keeps.
Four ingredients
Flour, water, salt and leaven. That is all our sourdough asks for. The craft is in the hands and the timing, not the additives.
Baked by hand
Shaped, scored and baked by bakers, not machines. Around twenty breads come out of the oven this way, every baking day.
Woven into the way Edinburgh eats
We are not a walk-in shop. Instead, we supply the independent delis, restaurants and shops that the city trusts.
Our bread arrives fresh at delis and on restaurant tables across Edinburgh, from Leith to Bruntsfield. It is a quieter way to feed a city, and one we are proud of — when you eat well somewhere in Edinburgh, there is a fair chance our bakery had a hand in it.
See the full list of stockists and markets, or get in touch about wholesale supply.
A weekend fixture across the city
Every weekend you will find us trading at Edinburgh's markets — Stockbridge on Sundays, Leith and the Grassmarket on Saturdays.
The markets are where we meet the people who eat our bread. Loaves are baked that morning, the viennoiserie is fresh, and the best of it goes early — so come hungry and come soon.
See the market scheduleCome and find us
Whether you run a deli, a restaurant, or simply love good bread, we would be glad to hear from you.