The final chapter in our Wheat Project diaries – through which we’ve looked at our initiative to bake with more organically farmed heritage grains from the perspectives of our farmers and miller – concludes with how the baker’s role translates all the care taken in the fields into healthy, nutritious and flavourful loaves…
Shipton Mill, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, August 7th 2024
Baking begins in the soil – a fact that reveals itself clearly if you spend any time at all with our master baker, Anomarel Ogen (Ano, for short). Ano has devoted his craft not only to making exceptional loaves but also to using baking as a way to engage with how food can be a means to improve natural systems and nourish humanity.
To Ano, a baker’s role is one of stewardship. “Modern baking has made it possible for bread to be the same thing everywhere,” he explains. “But that’s not how it’s meant to be. Bread made from heritage and ancient grain that is farmed in ways that work with nature can be as expressive and site-specific as wine.” Unlike modern wheat, which is engineered for uniformity and speed, heritage grains carry the quirks and character of the soil they grow in – or, to put it another way, its terroir.
“[A]s bakers, we listen”
“Every batch of flour is different,” Ano says. “So, as bakers, we listen. We listen with our hands, feeling how the dough responds, and adapt the process to bring out its best qualities.” Heritage flours often lack the consistent gluten structure modern baking relies on, but that’s where the artistry lies. “You learn to work with what the grain wants to do. You translate what the farmer and miller have preserved into something people can share and enjoy.”
While some view baking as an art, Ano sees it as a craft, one imbued with a great deal of responsibility. He speaks passionately about reversing the industrial model that disconnects eaters from the origins of their food. “For decades, bakers dictated to millers, who dictated to farmers. Everything was reduced to what worked fastest and cheapest in the bakery. But now, we’re starting to listen to the soil first. Farmers care for the land, and bakers like me carry that care forward to local communities.”
This ethos is at the heart of our Wheat Project, a collaborative effort bringing farmers, millers, and bakers together to revive heritage grains and regenerative farming practices. Ano views himself as a custodian in this cycle. “The flour I use isn’t just a product – it’s the voice of the land, expressed through farming and milling. My job is to honour that voice, turning it into bread that respects the soil, the grower, and the eater.”
“The depth and complexity of bread made from heritage grains is unmatched”
The path to more sustainable baking isn’t easy. Working with heritage grains requires constant experimentation. “You don’t know what this year’s harvest will bring,” Ano admits. “The grains are unpredictable. They might ferment too quickly or resist hydration. You need skill, patience, and sensitivity to adapt.” Yet these challenges are also what make heritage grains so rewarding. Ano’s face lights up as he describes the flavours: “The depth and complexity of bread made from heritage grains is unmatched. Each loaf carries a story – of the weather, the soil, the people who worked the land.”
Bread is the final step in a long journey, but for Ano, it’s also the beginning of a new connection. “At the end of the day, the eater plays a role too,” he says. “When someone buys a heritage loaf, they’re not just buying bread; they’re supporting an ecosystem, one that starts in the soil and touches farmers, millers, and bakers. They’re helping to sustain a way of growing and eating that’s better for all of us.”
“It carries the flavour of the land, the year, and the vision of what bread can be.”
Asked about the Wheat Project’s culmination—a signature heritage loaf coming to our bakeries this summer – Ano’s response is as much philosophical as practical. “This loaf isn’t about perfection. It’s about expression. It speaks to the care of the farmer, the craft of the miller, and the adaptation of the baker. It carries the flavour of the land, the year, and the vision of what bread can be.”
Through this loaf, Ano hopes to inspire a shift in how we think about food. “It tells a story of the world as it once was—and the world as we hope it can be. A world that’s more connected, more resilient, and full of flavour.”
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