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From the fantastic work of the Real Bread Campaign:
In June 2025, Warburtons introduced three products under the name ’our Dough. These wrapped, sliced, ultra-processed loaves are manufactured by the Chorleywood Process using baker’s yeast and an additive. Despite the products not being genuine sourdough bread, the UK’s largest industrial dough fabricator markets the range as ‘sourdough but softer’ this is what we call sourfaux.
It feels to me that Warbies wants to have its cake and eat it. On one hand, the company is profiting from using the high marketing value claims ‘sourdough’ and ‘no artificial preservatives’, designed to appeal to a growing appetite for healthy and ‘clean’ eating. On the other, the manufacturer is avoiding the costly extra time, specialist skills and knowledge necessary to craft genuine sourdough bread.
Merton Bakery makes real bread: flour, salt and water, hand mixed, slowly fermented, hand shaped and baked hot and fresh.
PS: If you are in the UK you’ll be able to listen to this Radio 4 programme that covers aspects of the Real Bread campaign along with the nuances of the argument about transparent labelling of bread.