Things are changing in Eynsham – a shop previously occupied by an estate agent has been taken over by a master baker. As proprietor of The Natural Bread Company, William Black said: “I wonder if this is a first? It’s usually the other way round, with estate agents taking over bread shops.”

Those who attend Wolvercote Farmers’ Market on Sunday mornings or shop at other farmers markets in Oxfordshire may already be familiar with William’s delicious award-winning sourdough breads. He has been satisfying the appetites of ‘real’ bread enthusiasts for some considerable time and has now decided to take the plunge and open his own shop.

Just days before his official opening William’s baguettes were voted top in the contest held by French in Oxford. His product stood alongside baguettes submitted by celebrity chef Raymond Blanc’s patisserie and Waitrose. A certificate to this effect proudly stands centre stage in the shop window.

Clive Mellum, the sales director for Shipton Mill, was among those attending the official opening, as William buys much of his flour from this Gloucestershire mill, and it was Clive who helped William when he needed help to master the secrets of baking real bread.

Clive began baking when he was just 11 years old, so there’s not much he doesn’t know about the bread trade. He admits being thrilled to discover just how enthusiastic William was about natural bread. Clive explained that the time was right for such a venture: “At last people are beginning to realise the true value of bread baked using traditional methods and local flour.

“Many people who believe that they are allergic to wheat products come to discover that it is the modern mode of production that they are allergic to rather than the wheat.”

As Clive walked round the shop he admired the crusty golden finish that make William’s breads so attractive.

“You can tell a lot from the way the loaf looks – William is a natural when it comes to baking. He has a real feel for the dough and like a true baker can instinctively identify that moment the dough peaks and is ready to bake. He should be very proud of himself and this lovely shop,” he said.

Carpenter Adrian Willett also attended the opening, having spent the previous seven days helping William to turn an estate agents into a bread shop.

If you visit the shop – which stands next to the butcher’s and opposite Cornucopia the deli and the Co-op – take a look at the main counter which Adrian has lined with oak that is more than 400 years old.

It’s wood which was saved from nearby moated Manor Farm. “It was going to be thrown away and I simply couldn’t let that happen. This is the perfect place for it,” he said proudly.

William’s traditional breads are all hand- crafted, but of course this means that they carry a higher price tag than mass-produced loaves, but be assured they are worth every penny. It’s a case of getting what you pay for.

Sourdough bread keeps moist for a considerable time as it doesn’t contain conventional brewer’s yeast.

It is also made without added enzymes, enhancers or improvers, which means it tastes as bread should taste. Sourdough bread makes the most gloriously crunchy toast, and for those who eat with their eyes, sourdough loaves look simply scrumptious. The variety of breads that William bakes from his Wantage bakery include a 100 per cent pure rye loaf, which is popular with those who can’t eat wheat, and a pain de champagne, which he describes as being halfway between sourdough and yeasted breads. He also bakes Bauernbrot, a German bread which he calls his rustic bread since the German name is difficult to pronounce. It is made from spelt, rye and wheat. At the end of the week, he bakes his Oxford sourdough loaf – he calls it his weekend bread – which is made from Wessex Mill flour. He says that when customers buy this bread he is able to give them the name of the farm that the flour came from.

The cakes and buns sitting in baskets alongside the breads have a rustic look. You won’t find fancy French gateaux here, even though they are all baked by William’s French wife Claire, who comes from Brittany. That is not to say that you won’t discover a few of her special hand-made French pastries piled high on the counter. Her pains au chocolat are to die for and her far Breton out of this world. Far Breton is a rich custard pudding with prunes, very similar in some ways to clafouti, but with a denser almost quiche-like texture.

As William plans to open his new bread shop at 7.30am every day, he hopes Eynsham residents will now set themselves up for the day with a couple of slices of sourdough toast, or a freshly baked croissant.