THE owners of a South Lakeland bakery have enjoyed a slice of good fortune having won an award for their sourdough loaf.

Partners Chris Small and Kirsty Postlethwaite, who run the Bakehouse Born and Bread bakery at Greenodd, won a bronze award at the World Bread Awards for its country sourdough.

Mr Small, 26, said the recognition came as a huge shock to them both.

"It was the first time we have entered anything so we weren't expecting it at all," he said. "It's quite mind blowing to be honest.

"We've only been here for three years and we still see the business as quite new. It's very humbling. To get something official and a certificate is another level for us.

"It's almost given us a new drive to have these judges with a professional background think we're worth keeping an eye on – it's a nice seal of approval. It's a great feeling."

Mr Small and Ms Postlethwaite, 30, both had a background in the food industry before they decided to take up the option of running the village bakery in Greenodd. Ms Postlethwaite focuses on the patisserie side of the business while Mr Small runs the bread and pies elements.

"The award is a joint effort because we've experimenting on the bread together," he said. "We've both come from catering, Kirsty was a patisserie chef and I'm from a pub food background.

"The bakery has been a new challenge for us but it has come naturally. It's nice to make food we enjoy and apparently other people like it as well. It's nice to find people are fitting us into their routine and we got some very good feedback."

Although Greenodd is known to Ms Postlethwaite, being from Arrad Foot, the south of Cumbria is relatively new to Mr Small, who hails from Woking in Surrey.

"It's a bit of a lifestyle change but it's really good," he said. "It's quite a privilege to live somewhere like this and it's a lot more relaxing here."