Nottingham, England-based specialist baker Butt Foods has secured a contract to supply its Baked Earth brand sourdough naans to SOHO Coffee Co. outlets in the United Kingdom. The chain of ethical coffee shops features the four-inch Indian-style flatbread in a number of menu offerings ranging from chicken fajita naan, chickpea masala and paneer naan, to pulled pork and red pickles naan.
This pulled pork and red pickles naan offering is on the menu at SOHO Coffee Co. shops in the UK.Butt Foods launched the sourdough naans earlier this year in response to the growing popularity of premium and new wave Indian cuisine dining. Following a study of the South Asian restaurant scene in Britain it concluded that the sector is moving away from traditional curries into a realm of different flavors and presentations, snacks and small plates, and extended meal occasions. The company then created a special sourdough naan formulated to address opportunities presented by the trend.
The Baked Earth artisan sourdough recipe naan features a live cultured sourdough with a long fermentation process to improve flavor and texture – creating naan bread that’s bubbly, soft and suitable for a range of meal applications throughout the day. It appeals to Indian restaurant operators and the foodservice sector in general, both of which are catering to rising demand for street food-style dishes.
Butt Foods, which has been baking naan breads for more than 25 years and also produces a range of other breads, commissioned celebrity chef and former BBC Food Personality of the Year Cyrus Todiwala OBE to develop a number of uses for the naans to illustrate the flexibility of the flatbreads. He came up with an assortment of innovative dishes for all times of the day – from breakfast and brunch through to tapas small plate dishes – for the sourdough naans.
“The dishes that have been created for the SOHO menu are exactly the type of applications we had in mind when we developed the sourdough naan – items that would be simple and convenient for chefs to plate, and incredibly appealing and tasty for customers of cafés, pubs, bars, restaurants and other foodservice outlets,” said David Williams, commercial director of family-owned Butt Foods.
Penny Manuel, managing director of SOHO, commented: “We love it when our suppliers develop innovative products like these – the great pairing of the sourdough texture and flavor with what we all know as traditional naan complements each other perfectly and allows us to develop an exciting range of fillings, offering our customers something deliciously different, whilst being a true reflection of SOHO’s artisan roots.”
The Baked Earth naans, which come in four-inch and six-inch sizes, are available through Collingtree, England-based Central Foods.
