A Bristol baker is calling on individuals and businesses from the industry to donate equipment to a new bakery launching at a Romanian orphanage.

Marcus Wells, who ran The Breadstore in Bristol for 18 years before selling the business two years ago, has been approached by a charity called Bread For Life, which runs an orphanage in Brosteni, North Romania, to set up the new bakery.

As part of the move, he is looking for bakers, supermarkets and equipment manufacturers who may have unwanted, second-hand bakery equipment to donate to the cause.

Wells told British Baker: “The charity has asked if I could help set up a bakery to make bread for the 2,000 youngsters who are fed on a daily basis. Several years ago, I did a similar thing in Arhangai in Mongolia. The idea is to also create some employment in the area, so the bakery would only need minimal machinery, as much of the work such as scaling and moulding of doughs will be done by hand.”

The bakery is in need of the following equipment:

  • 15-tray oven
  • Canopy and extractor fan for oven
  • Double rack proofer
  • Spiral mixer, with a 50kg-plus flour capacity
  • Two stainless steel tables, 8ft if possible
  • Three racks and trays, 18 inches by 30 inches in size
  • Double sink with drainer
  • Fridge
  • Shelving
  • Set of scales

“To get the project going we will need to gather up some machinery,” Wells added.

For further details, please email Marcus Wells on marcuswells@hotmail.co.uk.