Bunhead Bakery: Bringing Palestine's sweet and savoury flavours to South London

From Thursday to Sunday, Sara Assad-Mannings opens the shutters to her small bakery in Herne Hill, South London.

Proudly proclaiming ‘Sourdough buns, Palestinian flavours,’ Bunhead Bakery has gained something of a cult following since its inception during the pandemic.

But now with its first physical store, which opened in May, things have gone to a whole new level.

“Let’s gatekeep everything moving forward, but girl it’s too late for me,” Sara jokes, referring to the queues that snake down the street every time Bunhead Bakery opens its doors – often even before the shop opens.

But Bunhead’s story started in lockdown, years before the bakery opened in May. 

“I started selling buns in 2020, driving all around South London to deliver to shops and cafes, selling at markets at the weekends. When I first started, there were Palestinian flavours, but that wasn’t a central focus of the business.” 

Starting with five flavours (rose and cardamom, cinnamon, lemon, chocolate malt – for her Kiwi stepmum – and the salty bun,) Sara began to play with Palestinian flavours.

Now, a visit to Bunhead Bakery will tantalise you with baklava or taste tahini and grape molasses buns, Ka’ak bread and brown butter miso chocolate cookies, something Sara says helped her connect with her Palestinian heritage.

“I always say Bunhead is the truest expression of myself. Those are the flavours that I grew up with. It just happens to now carry a kind of educational purpose or a purpose of bringing Palestine into people’s hearts.

"Putting ‘Palestinian flavours’ on the shopfront was very intentional. The photos in the bakery are ones that my dad took in the 80s in the West Bank. It’s so connected to my family history.”

Sara points out one photograph of a woman holding a picture that her son drew in prison, while others show people in the West Bank whose homes were demolished.

While some have called her declaration of Palestinian identity and solidarity ‘brave,’ what means the most to her is homegrown support: “I have the support of so many Palestinians in London and at the end of the day, that’s all I care about.” 

Sara, who has mixed Palestinian and British parentage, never hid her roots, but the events of 2023 led to an amplification of her sense of self.

“As I was introducing more Palestinian flavours and talking more about my family’s history, it became central to the business. People looked to me to educate them, or for someone to support them.” 

The popularity of Bunhead Bakery is unsurprising considering how delicious Sara’s bakes are (I challenge anyone to make focaccia last longer than one sitting) but the support has intensified. 

“I remember putting out a post on Instagram in October saying it felt disingenuous to post bun content and that I’d spent my life going to Palestine, that I understood the situation and knew what was about to happen.

"That post got so much attention. When people feel helpless, being able to support your business or talk to someone who has family in the area feels like a material way that they can do something.”

Most of Sara’s interactions have been positive (aside from a comment asking her to condemn Hamas,) if surprising that many people had no idea what was happening in the region. 

“I was listening to a song that said being Palestinian, you’re underpaid life teachers and overpaid leaders. Palestine has some of the highest literacy rates in the Arab world, and so much of that is because it’s taught to Palestinians that you have to fight for your right to exist," she tells The New Arab. 

"You understand from a very early age that you have to be resilient and stronger, so when Palestine was catapulted into the world, there were Palestinians around the world who felt like it was our time to seize this opportunity to keep the cause alive and keep our people alive.”

Sara says this sense lay somewhat dormant in her until she realised that it was part of her life’s purpose, something Sara is conscious never comes across as inauthentic. 

“I’ve spoken about my story and subtly tried to make clear that I’ve been doing this for four years. We put the offer in for the shop in September last year. This isn’t capitalising on what happened.

"It’s gross to say that it’s an amazing time to open a Palestinian business, but it’s a moment where people want to feel like they’re doing something. I’m always very intentional about giving back,” she adds, referencing a recent fundraiser for projects providing direct and essential aid for people on the ground.

While Sara might only snatch a second to connect face-to-face with customers while she and co-founder Georgia Wickremeratne hustle to keep the queue moving, two things are for sure – you won’t leave Bunhead hungry, and you’ll definitely be coming back for more.

Isabella Silvers is a multi-award-winning editor and journalist, having written for Cosmopolitan, Women's Health, Refinery 29 and more. She also writes a weekly newsletter on mixed-race identity, titled Mixed Messages

Follow her on Twitter: @izzymks