No apologies for returning to the topic of bread, as this week I have been laughing in the face of low-carb diets with Chleb Wiejski. country bread. I found it at Streatham’s Bartek, where they keep it in a Perspex-lidded bin, wrapped in cling film. You buy it cut into a quarter or half, or if you have a whole houseful of builders and plumbers to feed, as a massive whole loaf, but £1.15 buys you a sizeable quarter chunk of sourdough rye bread with a slightly floury top and a nicely chewy undercrust.

Chleb wiejski – country bread

My Polish mate Agnes, being from the Polish countryside, had never tasted it, of course, but thought it was excellent. According to her, “They don’t make stuff like this in Poland any more, just in London, for homesick Poles, who never ate it at home in the first place!”

If you’ve ever eaten bread from Poilane (www.poilane.fr), well, it’s very much in that style. Only I think it’s much better – it seems very fresh, has a more distinct flavour and the texture is closer. On the rare occasions when I’ve bought Poilane in the UK, it’s tasted a bit past its best, the texture has been a bit too leathery and bitter and the crumb has been full of holes. Très artisanale, no doubt, but that’s expensive air you’re buying there – of course for the locals in Chelsea and Belgravia, sites of the two Poilane shops in London, that’s probably not an issue.

Poland 2, France 1

You get the odd hole in your Chleb Wiejski, but nothing like the lace effect of the Frenchy stuff, which means that the butter stays on your toast (and it makes the best toast I have tasted for a long time). Not sure how easy it is to find it in other Polish shops in the UK, but look for a big bin with huge slabs of bread inside and you’ve probably found it.

You’ve probably spotted Kubus carrot juice, possibly even tried some – Tesco and Sainsbury, among other supermarkets, now sell it in their Polish food sections. It comes in various combinations including carrot/apple/peach and carrot/apple/raspberry, and is v popular with kids, but I had to try this one, a combination of carrot, kiwi and banana.

Looks scarier than it is

(I do not know how they got the carrots to go that colour, but two of the ingredients listed on the label are copper and chlorophyll. Ingenious.) For something that doesn’t come from the chiller section it tastes fresh, and though it looks Hallowe’eny it’s rather good. The strongest flavours are of kiwi and banana, not carrot, if that’s an off-putting thought. If your children don’t like it, mix with vodka and ice and drink it yourself.