It's not hard to find good bread in the South of UK but you generally are not going to get it in a supermarket and need to know your local area. I live within walking distance of at least 2 independent bakeries and 2 chains[1] that make good bread and for the last 30 years of living in the UK the only times I have had difficulty getting decent bread have been in the North or in Wales. For calibration I am an absolute bread snob having baked my own sourdough for years (although I haven't for a while). I even did a Dan Lepard[3] masterclass once.
For flour the best places to get good flour are either online[2] or in expensive healthfood shops. The one near me that does good flour is where all the local yoga mums buy their candles and whatnot but they do great bacheldre spelt flour for example. But Dove's Farm flour for example is generally pretty good and easy to come by even in supermarkets if you go to a waitrose for example.
[1] Gails and Ole and Steen. If you're a serious snob you can criticise both because the dough isn't made on the premises, it's made centrally and then just baked in the shop but it's still good bread.
[3] https://www.danlepard.com/ He's one of the top sourdough bakers in the world, to the extent that Michellin starred-restaurants have been known to get him in as a consultant to come up with the breads to go alongside the rest of their menus.
For flour the best places to get good flour are either online[2] or in expensive healthfood shops. The one near me that does good flour is where all the local yoga mums buy their candles and whatnot but they do great bacheldre spelt flour for example. But Dove's Farm flour for example is generally pretty good and easy to come by even in supermarkets if you go to a waitrose for example.
[1] Gails and Ole and Steen. If you're a serious snob you can criticise both because the dough isn't made on the premises, it's made centrally and then just baked in the shop but it's still good bread.
[2] https://www.bakerybits.co.uk for example is great.
[3] https://www.danlepard.com/ He's one of the top sourdough bakers in the world, to the extent that Michellin starred-restaurants have been known to get him in as a consultant to come up with the breads to go alongside the rest of their menus.