Bakeries in Dudley

The baking story of Dudley

Dudley, with its ruined castle on the hill, is often called the capital of the Black Country, the industrial heartland where coal, iron and limestone powered the factories of the 19th century. Black Country food is hearty and unpretentious: faggots and peas, pork scratchings, grey peas and bacon, and groaty pudding on Bonfire Night. At the Black Country Living Museum, built around old mines and canals in the town, a recreated street includes a chip shop frying in beef dripping and an old-fashioned sweet shop, giving visitors a taste of the past. Local bakers sell batches — the Midlands word for bread rolls — along with pork pies and cakes, while the town's South Asian community adds sweets and breads.

Local bakes to look out for

• Faggots and peas – Rich offal meatballs baked in gravy, served with peas.
• Pork pie – A hot-water-crust pie of seasoned pork.
• Batch – The Black Country name for a soft bread roll.

Bakery hunter's tip: Spend a day at the Black Country Living Museum, then look for traditional bakers and butchers around Dudley town centre for pork pies and faggots.

Did you know? Black Country faggots — meatballs of pork offal wrapped in caul fat — are traditionally baked in gravy and served with peas.