A good loaf might have a crackling crust, a springy crumb or flavours that deepen as you eat. We once judged good bread by what we could taste, smell and feel.
Then we began spending more time with farmers, growers and millers, and our understanding changed. Good bread begins long before the bakery, in the field. It should come from wheat grown in ways that nourish the soil rather than deplete it.
This brought us back to flavour. Wheat grown in healthy soil tastes more alive, just as a peach ripened slowly in the sun does. Better soil does not ask us to choose between responsibility and pleasure. It gives us better bread.
To encourage you to choose, or keep choosing, good bread, we wanted to explain what terms like heritage grains, regenerative wheat and non-UPF actually mean. So here’s how we have come to understand them, and how they’ve shaped the way we bake.
Heritage grains
A type of wheat that’s genetically diverse and grows deep root systems. They are more climate resistant, complex in flavour and often better for you, too.
Regenerative grains
A type of wheat that has been grown using regenerative farming practices, which focus on soil health, increasing biodiversity and supporting natural ecosystems.
Wholegrains
Wholegrains contain all three layers of the grain: the fibre-rich outer shell, the starchy middle part and the inner-most part which is rich in vitamins and minerals. The opposite is refined grains, where the nutritious outer and inner layers have been removed.
Diverse grains
Eating a wide variety of grains feeds different strains of beneficial gut microbes, which can improve digestion, immunity, and even mental well-being. Microbes in the soil also benefit from diverse fibres, which is why regenerative farmers often grow more than one crop in the same field. This is why the lists of grains in our loaves can look rather long.
Non-UPF
There is no universally agreed definition of ultra-processed food. The way we have come to define it is: does the way the food is processed steer it away from its natural state? When it comes to ultra-processed bread, chemicals are added to make it stay softer and fresher for much longer than nature would allow. All our bread is non-UPF.
Soil Positive
Soil Positive™ is a registered standard that we are creating to measure whether soil health on participating farms is improving. It means asking farmers what they can grow for us while keeping the land healthy and then learning to bake with whatever that harvest yields. Rather than dictating what we need, the soil goes first.