Glasgow’s oldest artisan bakery, Bavarian Bakehouse, is celebrating its 40th birthday – and looking to expand to futureproof the business and meet the ‘incredible demand’ for its products.
Bavarian Bakehouse, which was founded in 1984, was purchased by former accountant Kathleen McShane 14 years ago from German Master Baker and merchant seaman, Karl Wichman.
Soon after, McShane moved the factory from Kirkintilloch to a 4000 sq.ft facility in Cumbernauld, where everything is still made from scratch using time-honoured recipes and methods, and even a sourdough starter as old as the bakery itself.
Weekly, the Bakehouse hand-produces more than 35,000 items to be enjoyed by Glaswegians – including sourdough, pretzels, cakes, pastries, and traybakes – with stockists including Roots and Fruits, Stalks and Stems, Sloans, and Porter and Rye.
The business also has a history of supplying high-profile events, including the Commonwealth Games, The Open Golf at Royal Troon, and the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards at Kelvingrove Art Gallery, where Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher said Bavarian’s sourdough rolls were the best he’d ever tasted.
McShane said: “It’s been incredible to watch how the bakery has grown from humble beginnings to supplying some of Glasgow’s most renowned venues.
“We’ve stayed true to the original principles of using traditional, handcrafted techniques, and that’s resonated with our clients.”
The firm, now a multi-million turnover business with a team of 30 skilled staff, was named Wholesale Baker of the Year in 2023 – but has once again outgrown its current site.
“The reason we are still around is because we’ve never stopped evolving. There’s a growing appetite for food made properly, and I think people are becoming wise to how bad supermarket bread really is for you.
“We need more space so we can continue to give the same care and attention we’ve always given to our products as demand grows.”
Recalling her brush with the Oasis star, she added: “During the dinner, Noel kept asking for more of our soup rolls. Given they’re sourdough, they are markedly different from the rolls you typically get at these events.
“He said they were the best he had ever tasted, and the chefs even gave him some to take home with him in a doggy bag.”
Continuing the rock’n’roll theme, the bakery also supplied the Foo Fighters during their recent performance at Hampden Park.
