Bertinet and Earth & Wheat get behind the Real Bread message
Sourdough bread brand Bertinet Bakery is collaborating with the Real Bread Campaign on a series of initiatives, while surplus foodtech startup Earth & Wheat is putting its weight behind Real Bread Week to prove that ‘wonky bread’ can also be real bread.
Following the launch of its fresher-for-longer, ‘sandwich-friendly’ sliced sourdough range, Bertinet Bakery now wants to ramp up its sourdough mission and has enlisted resident nutritionist Jenna Hope and head of Bakery Anomarel Ogden to highlight the potential health benefits. It will also share insights from a survey – conducted with the Real Bread Campaign – to find out the public’s perceptions of bread.
Bertinet was founded by master baker and chef Richard Bertinet, who first opened a pop-up bakery above his cookery school in Bath. Baked the traditional way, his sourdough is handmade in small-scale UK bakeries, from only three ingredients, flour from Shipton Mill, sea salt and water.
“Consumers are increasingly aware of what goes into their food and there is no better time than now to support the cause for Real Bread made better,” said Dan Barrett, MD of Grocery for Bertinet Bakery and Bread Holdings.
The heart of the campaign
Real Bread Campaign coordinator Chris Young added, “Our vision is for everyone to have the chance to choose Real Bread.
“The rise of local Real Bread bakeries and home-baking remains at the heart of our campaign, but Bertinet Bakery working at scale to give everyone access to all-natural bread that can be popped in the toaster is key to changing perception of what is possible.”
It’s okay not to be perfect
Another to get behind Real Bread Week (19-27 February) is Earth & Wheat, to promote that real bread doesn’t have to always be perfect.
Earth & Wheat is the UK's first and only wonky bread box subscription platform. The brainchild of James Eid, a fourth-generation baker at family-owned Signature Flatbreads, the startup’s mission is to end food waste at the point of production, ‘rescuing’ baked goods from crumpets to tortillas and breads that would have otherwise been binned due to their odd size or unattractive appearance. For every box purchased, Earth & Wheat also donates a meal to food charities in the UK.
“There are very strict specifications for bread on what is allowed and what is not allowed to be packed, shops will not accept anything ‘wonky’ because they know it will not be bought by their customers,” said Eid.
“This means that if a tortilla is not a perfect circular shape, or it is too big or too small, it will be rejected, so the automated machinery in the bakery will immediately spot it and throw it in the bin.
“Crumpets can come out of the oven looking ‘too thin’ because there is not enough batter. This can sometimes happen at the beginning or at the end of production when the batter is filling the pipeline or has just been shut off. Unlike tortillas though, crumpets have to be individually hand-picked off the production line before being thrown away.
“Around 16% of all food is wasted at the point of production – it’s this invisible waste we want to stop. Our tortillas or crumpets might be wonky but probably taste fresher than the bread at the shops because it is rescued and shipped directly from UK bakeries.”
“Earth & Wheat is fully behind Real Bread Week because it’s really important that people support bakeries by helping them reduce food waste. It helps create jobs and keeps bakeries at the heart of the community. With consumer support, bakeries will continue to innovate and find new ways to save real bread from going to waste, and we strongly support that.”
Bertinet Bakery Sliced Seeded Sourdough (RRP £2.25-£3.95), White Sliced Sourdough and Malted Wheat (RRP £1.95-£3.50) are available from Sainsbury’s Waitrose, Ocado and Milk.
