Bakeries in Lincoln

The baking story of Lincoln

Lincoln's cathedral towers over a city built on a limestone ridge, and the cobbled lane of Steep Hill, lined with tea rooms and shops, links the medieval upper town with the busy lower town. Lincolnshire has one of England's most distinctive food traditions. Its plum bread, a rich, spiced fruit loaf, contains no plums — 'plum' was an old word for dried fruit — and is eaten sliced and buttered, often with cheese. The county is also known for haslet, a baked pork-and-sage loaf, and for stuffed chine, salt pork packed with parsley. The vast fields of the Wolds and Fens supply wheat, and Ellis Mill, a restored windmill near the top of the hill, recalls the many mills that once ground it.

Local bakes to look out for

• Lincolnshire plum bread – A rich, spiced fruit loaf, sliced and buttered or served with cheese.
• Lincolnshire haslet – A baked pork and sage meatloaf, sliced cold for sandwiches.
• Grantham gingerbread – A pale, crisp, domed ginger biscuit from the county's south.

Bakery hunter's tip: Climb Steep Hill slowly — the tea rooms and bakeries along the way are part of the fun — and explore Bailgate at the top near the castle.

Did you know? Lincolnshire sausage is traditionally coarse-cut and flavoured mainly with sage.