Two Magpies Bakeries has seen sales soar over the past 16 months thanks to increased consumer interest in ‘real bread’ and the opening of three new sites.

The business, which has sites in Suffolk and Norfolk, has reported a sales increase of £3.5m over the past year-and-a-half with sales growing from £670,000 to £4.25m.

Over the past three years, the business has expanded from one outlet in Southwold to four, with branches also in Aldeburgh and Darsham, as well as a new bakery and café in Norwich, which opened in February.

“We’ve developed a serious management team for growth, which we’re managing with cash flow and we have lots more plans for expansion,” said Steve Magnall, co-owner of Two Magpies Bakery.

It also attributed its success to increased consumer interest in real bread, which is currently being celebrated as part of Real Bread Week running from 22 February to 1 March.

“There is a huge growth in interest for speciality breads, wholesome foods, different flavour combinations and unique bakes. People love real bread and we see that interest continuing to grow across all our sites,” added Rebecca Bishop, co-owner of the bakery.

To celebrate Real Bread Week, Two Magpies will be hosting a sourdough masterclass at its Darsham bakery school. It is also providing sourdough starter, for customers who want to make the bread at home from scratch.

Its core range of long-fermented sourdough breads include Magpie Sourdough with Walnut & Honey and Fermented Barley Blackshore Stout Sourdough made with local brewery Adnams Blackshore stout and natural supplier Hodmedods’ fermented barley grains.

“There are very few bakeries doing what we do. We are constantly adapting to trends – for example, we’ve introduced more vegan and gluten-free bakes – while in Darsham we run sourdough masterclasses, so people can learn the techniques for themselves. People want more flavour and real ingredients and that’s what we’re providing,” added Bishop.

The sourdough is made using a live culture and locally milled flour. It contains no artificial additives, processing aids or improvers and adheres to the Real Bread Campaign description.