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Soil to Slice: Bruern Farms Sourdough

  • Angus D. Birditt
  • Jun 16
  • 4 min read

Read the following piece that explores the work Gail's Bakery is doing to highlight the transparency and traceability within their supply chain, namely with Bruern Farms in the Cotswolds, using their flour to produce a new range of sourdough that puts soil first and foremost. The team from Our Isles took a recent trip to the farm hosted by Gail's Bakery to see the farm's 'soil to slice' journey in action. Read on and explore.

Bruern Farms in the Cotswolds
Bruern Farms in the Cotswolds

Set in the idyllic verdant expanse of the Cotswolds, Bruern Farms is a 2000-acre enterprise spanning over 3 farms. Now managed by two people, Henry Astor (third-generation farmer) and his farm manager, Henry says, 'Bruern Farms was originally run by a whopping 35 people who had their own cricket club, farm cottages (13 on site in total) and numerous community-led events that they could join.'


'Sandwiched between Diddly Squat Farm Shop and Daylesford Organic', Bruern Farms now produces around 48 tons of flour a year, selling it to over 20 bakeries, including a special partnership with Gail's Bakery to produce the 'Bruern Farms Sourdough' range - Gail’s take around 12-15 tonnes a year. Bruern Farms has transformed from a heavily-led conventional arable farm to one that is mixed and regenerative-minded; focusing on growing a diverse population of cereals, raising pasture-fed longhorns, agroforestry with over 90 apples, pears and quince varieties, and a market garden that supplies local retailers and restaurants.


"It is all about the quality of protein not the level of protein, the status quo needs to be changed."


Why the shift towards diversity and regenerative agriculture? Henry states that, 'Farmers are pinched to produce the most amount of product for the lowest possible price. Cereal farming specifically is based on protein levels, and so, if you have insufficient levels of protein, it will probably be put to bird or animal feed, however, with my flour the protein may not be as high but the quality is there, plus it's been made with the health of soil and wildlife in mind. That is to say, it is all about the quality of protein not the level of protein, the status quo needs to be changed. You'll find that the more farmers being squeezed to increase production, the more land will be needed, which means ripping up hedgerows, more machinery, more debt. Something has to change.'


When Henry took over the farm, he saw an industry that was subsidy-led and 'wanted to change it up'. He worked (and still does) with farmers in Denmark to test populations (multiple and diverse species) of wheat that have both resilience and quality. Not only does Henry grow the wheat for Gail's, he also mills the grain and sifts the flour on-farm, so it can go straight into the bakeries.


"The way I like to describe the relationship between healthy soil and healthy bread, is through holes. In both cases, you don't want compaction, you want holes for aeration, and plenty of them!"


So, when we are eating 'Bruern Farms Sourdough', what are we really eating? Well, who better to tell us than Gail's Executive Master Baker, Anomarel Ogen. 'The sourdough loaf is 30% population of 17 different species of wheat (what John Letts termed as 'heritage' wheat) and 70% conventional cereal. We are guided by what works for the soil. It is about changing the conversation; traditionally bakers make on customer preferences, but what we are trying to do with Bruern Farms (and other small-scale farms) is to reverse that conversation and be driven by what the farmer needs for the soil to thrive. Then, the baker needs to translate those needs of the soil and the farmer to the public. Healthily soil will eventually translate to taste and flavour, i.e nutrient density. But it's an incremental change.' Ano, suggests that this is why they use this stated amount of conventional cereal, as 100% population flour with such a diversity of species would (at the moment) be a step too far in terms of producing a sourdough that can keep it's shape and be palatable for their customers.


Going forward, Ano says, 'What works well on the farm, bakers will therefore have to figure out how to craft and adapt it. This is not a prescriptive journey. The way I like to describe the relationship between healthy soil and healthy bread, is through holes. In both cases, you don't want compaction, you want holes for aeration, and plenty of them!'


For many millers, there is a by-product of bran, but at Bruern Farms, the bran is used to top the Bruern Farms Sourdough for decoration and bite.


What's the verdict? 'Bruern Farms Sourdough' is a story celebrating community, skill, stewardship and soil. And yes, the price tag that comes with this loaf is steeper than other loaves out there you'll find in the supermarkets and bakeries, but can you really know the entirety of it's story; know the farmers involved, the transparency of supply chain, how it is being produced and how it affects the health of the natural environment, such as you can with 'Bruern Farms Sourdough'. What is impressive, is that, over the 170 odd bakeries that Gail's have in the UK, they can make a real change on a large scale, something that those in the regenerative agricultural world is struggling with. So, hats off to those at Gail's and Bruern Farms, let us hope this is a blueprint for many more larger food companies to follow.


'The sourdough Gail's created with the wheat from my farm is the output of something pretty radical. Gail's is using its scale for good - not just baking a loaf of bread for someone to eat, but contributing to an ecosystem, increasing biodiversity, and building community by being a part of that system. By bringing this across the UK, they are revitalising a broken farming system and high street. I’m really proud of what we’ve created together and the hope it gives to British farmers in these precarious times.' ​​- Henry Astor, Bruern Farms


Source the 'Bruern Farms Sourdough' at selected Gail's bakeries - find out more here. This work with individual farms forms part of Gail's larger initiative THE WHEAT PROJECT, which they note, is 'dedicated to championing bread made from wheat that supports biodiversity, restores soil health, and delivers exceptional nutrition and taste'. More to come within this project, so stay tuned!


Photographs by Elliot Sheppard for Gail's Bakery




 
 
 

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