E5 Bakehouse, London Fields

The ethos at E5 Bakehouse is that traditional methods are best. Housed beneath the railway arches of London Fields station, the bakery handcrafts its artisan bread from locally milled, organic flour. It was founded in 2011 by Ben Mackinnon, who fled a desk job to pursue his passion for baking. He's so serious about his craft that he even built his own stone mill on site; apparently freshly milled grains make for more flavourful and nutrient-rich dough.

The main bakery serves delicious weekend brunches and is home to its own coffee roastery and shop. The bakehouse's pièce de résistance however, is its stellar baking classes. With no more than ten people per group, eager learners can spend an entire day mastering the art of sourdough, while being treated to delicious coffee, lunch and cakes. The Sourdough Breadmaking course is an excellent introduction to London's trendiest dough: participants perfect bagels, country loaves and ciabatta style buns, but the best part is probably the end of the day when they get to take them all home.