From Field To Bakery In Just 47 Miles

We’re thrilled to kick off the new year by getting our hands on another batch of locally grown Maris Widgeon flour from Shipton Mill, ready to be used in our Organic Wild White Sourdough. This heritage grain, grown less than 10 miles from our bakery in Chipping Sodbury by local farmer John Prior. It reflects our ongoing commitment to local, sustainable farming and supports our goal of sourcing 100% of our grain from healthier soils—whether regeneratively or organically grown—by 2032.We’re excited to share it with you as we embark on another year of baking with purpose. Here’s to more delicious, locally crafted bread in 2025!

The Journey: From Soil to Sourdough

We’ve been fortunate to partner with Shipton Mill for over 40 years, united by our shared mission to bake high-quality bread from high-quality flour. In 2019, when we became a Certified B Corporation, we formalized our commitment to the environment, our team, and our community. As part of this, we began the journey to 'know our farmer'.This search led them to local farmer John Prior, marking the start of a beautiful partnership between farmer, miller, and baker.

Last year, John planted a rye crop for our sourdough starter, but challenging weather conditions meant it didn’t thrive. Fortunately, his successful harvest of Maris Widgeon, a heritage wheat, provided a way forward. With the help of Shipton Mill, we created the first run of our Organic Wild White sourdough using 100% locally grown flour. The second run builds on that success, continuing our shared commitment to sustainable farming practices.

A Slice of Tradition and Flavour

The Organic Wild White is one of our signature sourdough loaves. It’s made with our 69-year-old starter and rested for over 12 hours to develop its characteristic flavour. The addition of Maris Widgeon wheat gives it a distinct, wholesome taste and texture.

Supporting Better Farming for the Future

We are working toward sourcing all our grain from healthier soils by 2032. Having worked with the Soil Association for decades, we continue to produce an award-winning range of organic bread that reflects our commitment to this goal. Already, six of our products feature regeneratively grown flour, including Wildfarmed flour in our Wild Buns and flour Matthews Mill in our Ultimate Burger Buns. These are meaningful steps toward supporting farming practices that enhance biodiversity and soil health.