Ingredients

Wheat

Quality is at the heart of our business, and carefully selecting the wheat we use is essential to making the best quality bakery products. All the wheat we use to make our flour is produced under contract with established farmers which allows us to ensure the outstanding and consistent quality of our products. 

Our family business began in 1876 and we are proud to have been working with hundreds of British farmers ever since. We now contract grow over 150,000 tonnes of wheat in Britain each year, which is the largest amount of British quality milling wheat used by a branded food business in the UK. 

We also source wheat from Canada which, when blended together with our British wheat, gives us the perfect combination of qualities we look for in in our bread in terms of taste, softness and freshness.  

We work closely with our farmers, in both the UK and Canada, to develop long term relationships which enable us to work in partnership to develop the specific varieties of wheat, at the optimum protein levels that we require for baking our bread to ensure that quality is maintained. 

Yeast

Yeast is used in baking as a leavening agent, which means that it helps the dough to expand or rise. The yeast converts the fermentable sugars present in our dough into the gas carbon dioxide. This forms bubbles or pockets within the dough, causing it to rise and creating the soft spongy texture we are all familiar with in our bread. 

Salt

The salt we use in the baking process plays an important role in the dough formation, fermentation rate and flavour of the final product. We recognise the health concerns of our consumers around their salt intake, and have taken steps to reduce the amount of salt we use without compromising on quality or taste. 

While technologically challenging, we have worked hard and invested significantly in new technology to ensure all our products have salt levels of 400mg of sodium per 100g or below. 

Water

Water plays a critical role in binding together all the other base ingredients. 

In addition to these base ingredients, we use a small number of other ingredients that enable us to bake 2 million products a day, products that will both remain fresh and provide great value for our consumers. 

Fat

We use a small amount of fat, added for improved dough structure and softness in the finished bread. We don’t use any hydrogenated or trans fats.

Soya Flour

A natural whitener which improves the colour or crumb of our bread. It works well with oxygen to strengthen the dough and provides support and structure during baking. All our soya flour is identity preserved. 

Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)

This captures the oxygen during mixing, helping to improve dough processing, strength and the volume of bread we can produce.

Calcium Propionate

This is a preservative used due to its ability to inhibit mould growth and provide us with a 6-day shelf life. The amount permitted in bread is controlled by European regulations. 

Emulsifiers

Hugely important in the processing of the dough, emulsifiers work with the gluten to provide structure, gas retention, volume and softness. 

Enzymes

These are naturally present in small quantities in yeast and flour, and additional enzymes are added during dough mixing. Enzymes help produce well-risen, soft loaves which keep well. Enzymes are destroyed by heat during the baking process and therefore are regarded as a processing aid, and in accordance with EU legislation are not required to be labelled in the ingredients list. 

Poppy Seeds

Like many other manufacturers, Warburtons uses poppy seeds in some of its products which it clearly details on the packaging. Poppy seeds are an essential part of the seed blend used to give products their unique taste and texture. 

Poppy seeds pose no threat to health but it is commonly known that they can contain very small traces of opiates, which can be detected during routine drug testing due to the sensitivity of the testing method used. Even consuming opiate medicine, such as headache tablets containing codeine, could result in a positive test result. 

Should opiates be detected during routine testing, Warburtons, following advice from the Laboratory of the Government Chemist, would recommend individuals to request a more in-depth drug test. It is also advised that individuals make it clear prior to testing if they have consumed products containing poppy seeds. 

Seeds and Dried Fruit

We have a number of products that are baked using seeds or fruits including our Seeded Batch, Seeded Wraps and Thins, Teacakes and Orange Fruit Loaf. The mix of seeds or fruits we use will vary upon the product, but they are always clearly labelled on pack. Seeds include: sunflower seeds, brown and golden linseed, millet seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, kalonji seeds and poppy seeds. Dried fruits include: sultanas, raisins, currants, and cranberries. From time to time, to ensure the very best quality, we might need to temporarily substitute one fruit for another of a similar type. When this happens, we try our best to ensure it doesn’t change the taste of our products. 

Like many other manufacturers, Warburtons uses poppy seeds in some of its products which it clearly details on the packaging. Poppy seeds are an essential part of the seed blend used to give products their unique taste and texture. 

Poppy seeds pose no threat to health but it is commonly known that they can contain very small traces of opiates, which can be detected during routine drug testing due to the sensitivity of the testing method used. Even consuming opiate medicine, such as headache tablets containing codeine, could result in a positive test result. 

Should opiates be detected during routine testing, Warburtons, following advice from the Laboratory of the Government Chemist, would recommend individuals to request a more in-depth drug test. It is also advised that individuals make it clear prior to testing if they have consumed products containing poppy seeds. 

Flour treatment agent (E920)

Warburtons uses a flour treatment agent (E920) in some baked goods. The E920 that we use is synthetically produced through natural fermentation or enzymic processes using raw materials of vegetable origin or pure organic, non animal, compounds. All of our baked goods are 100% suitable for vegetarians. 

Other Ingredients

To make our diverse range of products, we also use other ingredients which may not be listed here but will be included on pack. These include: malted wheat, barley, barley flakes, kibbled pearl, butter ghee, malt extract, yoghurt powder and malted oat flakes. If you have any questions about one of our ingredients, please do contact our customer care team. 

We help consumers make an informed choice when purchasing our products by including ingredients, allergens, best-before date and the weight of the product on the pack. We comply with the Government’s Food Labelling Regulations on the labelling of wrapped bread. We also provide Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs) so that consumers can understand how our products can fit into their daily diet. 

Consumers can be confident that everything we put in our products is safe and serves a useful purpose. As a family business, we don’t use any ingredients in our food that we wouldn’t happily eat ourselves.