From community theatre to sourdough — meeting Dominic Biddle

Our HOUSE COLLECTIVE opening weekend began with a visit from Dominic Biddle, delivering bread and a delicious selection of savoury and sweet baking for the day ahead.

As we chatted, a story emerged that reached beyond the bakery. Dominic’s route to bread has its roots in community arts, theatre and an interest in bringing people together.

A background in community arts

Before turning to baking, Dominic worked in community arts. In Manchester, he trained in Theatre of the Oppressed, an approach developed by Brazilian theatre practitioner Augusto Boal. Dominic described this part of his work as “theatre for social justice”.

He also spoke about Bread and Puppet Theatre, whose combination of bread, street performance, protest and community plays connected with his own interests.

Even while he was working in theatre, bread was an interest quietly growing alongside it. Eventually, baking became his main work, although he hopes the two strands might one day come together again.

Listening to him, it was easy to hear how much his enjoyment of working with people continues to shape what he does.

Bread with a connection to the land

Dominic’s bakery is based at Shimpling Park Farm in Suffolk, where the Pawsey family’s connection to the area stretches back more than 300 years. Four generations of John Pawsey’s family have farmed around Shimpling. Today, John and Alice own the farm, with Rufus working as farm manager. Alice also brings people into the life of the farm through education and events.

During our conversation, Dominic explained that the farm converted to organic farming around 25 years ago. He uses its stone mill to mill the heritage wheat grown there, giving his bread a direct connection to the surrounding fields.

The farm grows heritage grains alongside other crops, using long crop rotations and plants such as clover and beans to build soil fertility. Its approach to growing food also includes caring for wildlife habitats, with work to restore woodland and ponds and maintain and plant hedgerows. The farm has worked with Suffolk Wildlife Trust for many years — a fitting connection with the HOUSE COLLECTIVE exhibition here at Mill Tye Gallery.

Hearing Dominic talk about milling and baking brought that relationship between land, materials and making into focus. Behind each loaf is the grain grown on the farm, the work of turning it into flour, and the time and care he gives to making his organic sourdough.

You can discover more about the family and their work at Shimpling Park Farm.

The market as a meeting place

Accessibility matters to Dominic. Coming from community arts, he wants people to feel able to engage with what he makes. Part of that involves finding a price that reflects the ingredients and work behind his bread while remaining affordable to customers.

It is also one reason he enjoys selling at markets. People can encounter his stall simply by walking down the street. A conversation can begin without anyone having planned a visit.

His theatre background still finds a place here. Being out in public, meeting customers and responding to the day feels, to him, a little like street theatre.

“It’s a bit of clowning in your 3x3 tent,” he told us.

It was a warm, playful description of a market stall as somewhere for human connection as well as buying bread.

The satisfaction of making

There is plenty of hard work behind the baking. Dominic had been making pizzas the night before our conversation and spoke about the tiredness that can come with the job.

But he also described the satisfaction of pulling bread out of the oven — a moment when the time and effort become something tangible, ready to share.

It was a pleasure to hear a little of his journey during his visit to Mill Tye Gallery. With HOUSE COLLECTIVE exploring creativity, local landscapes, heritage and materials, his story brought another connection to the morning: someone working with what the land produces and finding his own way to bring people together.

Thank you, Dominic, for helping us welcome our visitors with such delicious baking.