Thoughts on the Localvore Loaf from the Red Hen
Bakers
Hello to all Localvores,
As the baker who mixed the Localvore loaf yesterday,
I felt that I needed to send out an explanation for how
some of the loaves turned out. As background I am
copying Randy's thoughts on the Localvore loaf from last
year below. The same challenges faced us this year and
yesterday we had some particular problems caused
primarily by the volume of production. We simply did not
have enough willow baskets to accommodate the 170 loaves
ordered. Consequently, we chose to couche the loaves in
our linen couches used to couche many of our loaves.
However, couches do not provide the same support that
the baskets do and this combined with the dough's
delicate structure resulted in very flat loaves.
Although the flavor and taste of the loaves was good,
the physical structure was certainly substandard. We
faced the choice of not sending these loaves out at all
and disappointing those who were counting on the loaf
for the challenge, or sending out loaves that would
never leave our doors under normal circumstances. We
chose the latter.
So for those of you hoping to make sandwiches out of
the loaf, we apologize. We hope that the loaf will still
serve your needs as a table bread and tasty
accompaniment to soup or salad. We hope that everyone
will understand the difficulty of working with Vermont
wheat as a large portion of a naturally leavened loaf's
flour, as well as the challenge of working a dough that
we will only make a handful of times into our normal
production schedule. Sometimes even our best efforts do
not produce the desired results. It is not called a
Localvore Challenge for no good reason! Best of luck
with the challenge.
Sincerely, Jeremy and the rest of the Hens
Randy's thoughts from 2006... A Localvore Loaf
In support of the Localvore challenge, we are making
this special edition whole wheat bread for bread-loving
Localvores. This bread is made with just well water,
salt, and Ben Gleason’s organic whole wheat flour which
is grown and milled in Bridport. We use Ben’s flour
regularly in several of our regular breads, but it never
makes up more than 20% of the total flour in those
breads. I want to make a few points about this bread:
- First of all, this whole wheat bread should be
considered a demonstration loaf. Rather than
exemplifying the best bread that we can produce
(which is of course the goal with our regular
varieties), this bread is made within the
constraints of the Localvore challenge.
Unfortunately, in the case of bread, this is quite a
challenge. If you are familiar with our breads, you
will see that, in many respects, this whole wheat
bread is not up to our normal standards. We think
that the flavor is excellent, but that, because of
some gluten strength deficiencies in the local
wheat, it does not have the volume or texture that
we normally strive for. This is in no way meant to
be a criticism of Ben Gleason’s farming and milling
abilities, but rather a statement of fact concerning
Vermont’s suitability for wheat growing as compared
to that of the midwestern U.S. (most of the wheat
that we at Red Hen use is grown in Kansas and
eastern Colorado). For this special purpose (and for
what we hope is an understanding group of
customers!), we are making this bread as much to
meet your needs during the challenge as to
demonstrate how making a Localvore loaf has its own
challenges for bakers.
- It is also important to note that, even if you
love this bread in spite of the aforementioned
shortcomings, it would be impossible for us to
provide you with this bread on a regular basis
because Vermont produces so little wheat. Over the
past few months, in fact, we have had to reduce the
amount of Ben’s wheat that we were using until this
summer’s harvest came in. I know of two other
farmers in the state who are growing hard wheat (the
type used to make bread) and demand for their grain
far outstrips the supply as well.
- Having said all of this, I’m excited about
seeing what we may be able to do to encourage more
local production of Vermont wheat. I personally try
to eat foods that are grown as close to home and it
is a sad irony to me that my livelihood is tied to a
non-local food source. We’re at a very early stage
in the process and although we’re a long way from
being able to meet our own wheat needs in this
state, I’m excited to see what we can begin to do.
Thanks for making the commitment to locally-based
eating. We’re happy that we are able to help you keep
bread off your wild card list. If you have other
questions, or would like to discuss the challenges of
making bread with local wheat, please call or e-mail me.
--Randy George
Red Hen Baking Co.
Waterbury, VT
244-0966
randy@redhenbaking.com
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