AT 4am, the normally bustling streets of Barnard Castle in County Durham are quiet, with the majority of residents tucked up in their beds. But take a glance inside the Moody Baker on Horse Market and you will see a hive of activity.

A team of four talented bakers will be hard at work weighing flour and kneading dough for the bakery’s delicious range of breads and rolls. Using the finest flour from Gilchesters Organics in Northumberland, the team carry out every part of the baking process by hand to ensure maximum taste and quality. Its owners, Dave and Sarah Baker, are committed to sourcing regional produce and are fiercely proud of the fact their bread is ground, milled and baked within a 40 mile radius of the bakery.

At 7am, the remaining four members of the team arrive and start work on the bakery’s award-winning pies, pastries and cakes. Once again, the focus is on traditional techniques, with each product lovingly crafted from tasty ingredients from the North-East and Cumbria.

From the ever-popular Wolf Pie, made from steak, onions and Allendale Brewery’s Wolf Ale; to good-old fashioned sausage rolls bursting with tasty sausage meat, apples and onions, everything is made from scratch each morning.

Mr and Mrs Baker opened the bakery in 2010, following in the footsteps of Mr Baker’s mother, Meryl, who set up a successful bakery of the same name at Alston in Cumbria 11 years ago.

“Everything is handmade here in the bakery and we firmly believe it is worth spending a little extra time to get the best results,” said Mrs Baker.

“A lot of places now rely on machines and additives but you won’t find any of that here. As a baker, there is something immensely satisfying about arriving to an empty shop and filling it full of delicious homemade pies and loaves.

“All the recipes come from someone’s mum or grandma or have been devised by us and developed over the years.”

Each day, customers can choose from regular products and specials. There is also a new deli area selling an array of products from across the region, including honey, spicy sauces, relishes and liqueurs.

“We use a lot of these products in our baking,” said Mrs Baker. “There are so many fantastic producers in our region and they should be celebrated.”