If you have ever wanted to eat a footlong sausage roll or sugar finger doughnut, your chance has finally arrived.
When the head baker at Arbroath’s Pie Bob’s Bakery took on the challenge in April last year to see how big he could make his sugar finger doughnuts, six of the footlong treats were put up for customers to buy.
They sold out that day, so Neill and Muriel Ilford, who have run the bakery for the past 21 years, along with daughter Emily Ilford-Minott and son-in-law Gabriel Minott saw this as a opportunity to create other over-sized goods.
Because sausage rolls were one of their most popular items, they created a footlong version that is double the height and thickness of a normal-sized one.
The goods are all made in-house in Pie Bob’s Bakery commercial kitchen unit at Kirkton Industrial Estate with a team of 35 staff members.
Available to purchase on weekends from 11am, the items can be bought individually or as a deal from the bakery’s main shop on Grant Road in Arbroath.
‘Length of your forearm’
The supersized doughnut and rolls quickly gained popularity, so Emily had to come up with prices to reflect their size.
She said: “When I’m holding it to put into the boxes, the cake comes up to the length of your forearm.”
The current prices are £4.99 for the sausage roll and £5.49 for the sugar finger doughnut.
The items can also be purchased as a box deal of one doughnut and one sausage roll for £9.99.
Emily explained: “We had a few customers turn their noses up at the prices.
“But when you see it, it’s not just longer it is almost double the thickness and the height of the regular item.”
Emily hopes her customers can enjoy the box deal as a weekend treat with family or work colleagues.
Feeds three to four people
According to the bakery, the footlong foods can feed multiple people.
Emily said: “If you were to have a sausage roll with some vegetables and chips for your tea, it would comfortably feed three people.
“But if you had it for lunch with some crisps then it would easily feed four.”
As for the sugar finger doughnuts, Emily explains they go a lot further due to the amount of cream in the dessert making it much sweeter.
“As for the cakes, there is a lot more eating in that.
“With the amount of cream, you wouldn’t need all that much to feel satisfied.
“We took one with us on a recent road trip and it fed six of us.”
Increased business
The supersized food have brought in more business for the bakery, with people buying extra items along with their footlong box deals.
Emily said: “Bakeries have become a little old-fashioned because it is so easy to go to the supermarket.”
“But people are genuinely excited about being in our bakery and are picking up other food items too.”
Alternative menu choices include pies, regular sausage rolls, fresh daily bakes, and hot food such as chips and filled rolls.
Stock shortages and price increases
Although the bakery doesn’t need to buy any extra stock to make these goods, the limited supply of ingredients has made them change the way they control for stock.
Emily explains: “Flour and oil have been our biggest struggles at the moment which we need for the doughnuts.”
This has resulted many bakeries increasing their prices, but Pie Bob’s Bakery are trying to avoid this jump.
“We would have to add 50 per item to cover our current costs.
“People don’t want to pay that, and we are not willing to charge it either.”
Instead they have bulk-bought ingredients when they are cheaper in order to maintain current prices.
Future plans
With the success of the sausage rolls and doughnuts, the bakery is ready to try other supersized items.
Emily said: “We pretty much are up for trying anything.
“It is fun for the bakers too because they get to play around and get creative.”
Pie Bob’s Bakery is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with temporary closure from midnight to 4am on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Address: 5 Grant Road, Arbroath, DD11 1JY
