'Well-done' is a request normally associated with steak. But head to France, and ordering a baguette bien cuit (well done) isn't unusual.

It's this well-baked loaf, from the French country-style baking, that Hannah Calvert and Chris Kelly are championing.

Hannah and Chris are the couple behind Manchester's new Pollen Bakery, and they want to introduce Mancunians to their signature dark-bake loaves.

Their first full-time bread venture together, Pollen Bakery follows the same ethos that led other bakers to the dark side, such as Bebette in Denver, and Bien Cuit in Brooklyn.

It's a baking technique that's well-known France and America, but has yet to gain momentum in the UK.

(Image: S'mores Twitter)

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It might not be a style of bread that people recognise, but Hannah and Chris are sticking to their buns.

"I think a lot of people in the UK haven't been exposed to this type of bread," admits Hannah, "I can't compare it to anything locally, the flavour is totally different, the texture is totally different."

"They are going to have a darker crust than people are used to, but this is bread we love to make and believe adds to the flavour and quality of the finished loaf," she adds.

Based in a railway arch just behind Piccadilly Station, the pair are aiming to open up as a bakery selling wholesale and directly to customers towards the end of August.

Once the bakery is up and running, they plan to trade at local markets, and open the bakery doors on Saturdays to allow visitors to pop in and buy bread and pastries to take away, with the aim of having a small retail space away from the bakery unit as they become more established.

And with quality at the heart of their operation, Hannah and Chris will be keeping their production volume low to ensure they stick to their high standards.

"There is a limit to our daily production, we can only make a limited amount of loaves per day," says Hannah. "We're going to ease our way into this to ensure the product is the best it can be... everything else comes secondary to the quality. We want to constantly develop and push ourselves in an attempt to make the bread better and better as time goes on".

(Image: S'mores Twitter)

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Using organic flour, a 24-hour prove and a French country style baking, the Sheffield Street bakery will produce a core range of five sourdough loaves: a white 24 hour-proved sourdough; a seeded granary wholemeal; a 100% rye; a 20% rye; and a barley porridge loaf (where barley mixed with water is added to the dough to give a moist and creamy texture with a distinct flavour).

Pollen will also bake a range of French pastries including croissants, pain aux raisin, pain aux chocolat and a cinnamon morning bun.

At the weekends they plan to add specials to their range of breads, including a heritage loaf at the weekends, made exclusively with UK grains.

The loaves will be priced between £3.20-£3.50, and will be available to buy from their bakery towards the end of the summer.

Hannah and Chris earned a reputation for top-quality cooking in Manchester with their previous part-time venture S'mores, gourmet supper clubs, and prior to that their street food outlet Fil Fil Falafel.

Follow @PollenBakery or visit PollenBakery.com for up to date information on their launch.