bake - February 2017 - 38

breads

PHOTOS BY LA BREA BAKERY

Farm to Table
In its 27-year history, La Brea Bakery has become synonymous

weather and vintage conditions, where most of that speciﬁcity

nationwide with artisanal breads and baked goods. The Los

on a year-to-year basis in traditional baking is blended away.

Angeles-based company became the largest artisanal bakery in

Although it does provide some variation, it also creates inter-

the US when it built its Van Nuys, California, production plant in

esting and subtle variances in the ﬁnished loaves."

1998. La Brea's breads began making their way into supermarket
bakeries, spreading from Southern California into the rest of the

Another challenge is increasing the level of production for such

nation. The company's success is strong enough to validate its

a high-end type of bread. "Producing this level of bread in our

self-billing as North America's No. 1 artisan bread brand.

bakeries is another challenge," Davis says. "We have been making
world-class breads in our bakeries for years and are used to

La Brea is now looking to top itself, by unveiling a line of artisan

extended levels of prooﬁng and fermentation, but we took it to

breads made from single origin heirloom grains. La Brea Bakery

even a step further on La Brea Bakery Reserve."

Reserve is the ﬁrst nationally available farm-to-table artisan bread.
That means, for the ﬁrst time, La Brea is has introduced basket
"Single-origin heirloom wheat is a really exciting and important

prooﬁng to help support the breads during the important step of

part of La Brea Bakery Reserve," says Jonathan Davis, senior vice

production. "It also gives our La Brea Bakery Reserve breads their

president of innovation for ARYZTA North America, the company

signature look," Davis says, noting the rustic attractiveness of the

that has owned La Brea since 2001. "When developing our new

loaves.

line, we knew we wanted to work with the absolute best wheat
possible. Our resounding message for this line has been 'wheat

After the single-heirloom wheat is shipped to La Brea's facilities

with a purpose.' We truly believe that great breads come from

- the company has a Los Angeles bakery and two larger bakeries

great grains grown by passionate people in special places."

in Van Nuys and Swedesboro, New Jersey - Davis and Matt
McDonald (La Brea's director of culinary innovation) immediate

Farm-to-table bread hits a wide range of consumers' current

begin working with unique and patented starters to create true

purchasing drivers and, as a result, has become a ﬁgurative hot

farm-to-table bread. Each of the three breads in the line - Pain

item on supermarket shelves and around in-store bakeries. But

de Campagne, Struan, and Fortuna Wheat Loaf - uses a different

developing and producing the ﬁrst nationally available farm-to-

grain mix and ﬂavor proﬁle.

table bread presents its share of hurdles.
Davis pointed out that the company is continuously looking for
For starters, the simple fact that making single-heirloom grain

new relationships. "The technology to make our La Brea Bakery

requires sourcing ingredients at a scale that hasn't been done in

Reserve breads has been implemented in multiple bakeries," he

the artisan bread community. La Brea developed a relationship

says. "Our equipment decisions are driven by the visions we have

with Wheat Montana, a family-owned and operated farm in Three

for our breads and not the other way around. We work with a

Forks, Montana. Wheat Montana's Fortuna Wheat - a non-GMO

variety of suppliers to imitate a true artisan baking technique -

heirloom grain grown for ﬂavor and not yield - is the basis for the

gentle handling, long fermentations and our original starter. "We

new La Brea Reserve line. "Bringing the farm-to-table movement

are always looking to new suppliers and equipment to raise the

to our breads is not without its challenges," says Davis. "Simply

quality of our breads. Being the best and striving for better is

from a supply chain perspective, our Fortuna supply is subject to

what drives us every single day."

38 < FEB 2017 | bakemag.com
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