FFWD Weekly
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Books by Beth Weisberg For decades, getting our daily bread has been based on drive-by shopping: tossing a fluff-filled plastic sack into the cart and rolling on. Cultural amnesia has led us to think mass-produced is not only the standard, but that it's the best. The Prairie Mill Bread Co. and Heritage Recipes Organic Breadworks are just two of a number of local bakeries that provide hand-shaped breads with personality. "Free slice," Prairie Mill's signature sign, encourages folks to wander in. The store's name is not just for homey effect – there are grain mills in both their Northland and Sierra Square locations. While commercial whole wheat flour is regularly made from white flour with bran added, Prairie Mill undertakes the laborious process of daily milling to guarantee their product contains the nutrition and goodness of the entire wheat kernel. Heritage also uses freshly milled flour, purchased from a local miller, and both bakeries use a slow-rise yeast to make their bread. At Heritage, owner/baker Lisa Schellhorn has even grown organic grapes in B.C. in order to harvest their wild yeasts and use it for her sourdough. Commercial fresh yeast (not the dried granules from the little foil packets) is used for her other breads, which rise, are punched down, then allowed to rise again. Supermarket bakeries commonly rush their bread, using quick-rise yeast which results in a fluffier, lighter product. Prairie Mill’s standard loaf weighs in at two pounds four ounces, and when a loaf of Heritage's Slovak Country Rye hits the slicer, you can tell just by listening that two slices of this are enough to make a meal of. But a more substantial loaf is not the only advantage of using traditional methods. Mould, the downfall of many a midnight sandwich snack attack, is less likely to affect a slow-risen loaf made with fresh flour than an average supermarket offering containing artificial preservatives. Prairie Mill Bread Co. is a partnership of two couples – Vance and Andrea Gough, and Stephanie and Kevin Davis. Stephanie and Vance knew each other from university, where Vance was working on an MBA in new business start-ups. Stephanie's husband Kevin had a decade of baking experience in the States – including sourdough in San Francisco – and was dreaming of having his own bakery. Vance picked up on the popularity of artisan bakeries while he was in Utah. "He saw people lined up for this bread, and he thought we don't have anything like that in Calgary, " says Andrea Gough, co-owner and marketing director. Kevin and Vance put their baking and marketing talents together and the group launched their store in May 1997. They've recently opened a storefront on Centre Street North – no milling or baking at this site, but plenty of baked goods and free slices available. Heritage Recipes Organic Breadworks on Fairmont Drive S.E. may be a small operation, but they have tremendous variety. Besides six kinds of sourdough, they also produce a wheat-free Ezekial bread (from a recipe created by researching a description in the Bible), gluten-free brown rice bread, loaves of kamut and spelt, veggie rolls, calzone, focaccia, whole grain cookies and much more. All this with only two bakers – it's phenomenal. "I've never worked at anything so hard in my life," says owner Lisa Schellhorn, who in spite of admitting to "crazy hours" sounds like a woman completely in love with her profession. Her passion is deeply founded. After working for an MP during the Mulroney years, Schellhorn moved to Black Diamond and decided to grow and sell organic vegetables at the farmers' market. To fill in the gap before her crop was ready for harvest, she and a partner baked and sold bread. The bread was so popular their customers wouldn't let them stop even once the vegetables were in full swing. Schellhorn still sells at farmers’ markets – Millarville, Grassroots Northland Market, and Hillhurst/Sunnyside. "I love the markets," she says, "and the direct feedback from the customers." Her bakery brings in customers so loyal she doesn't need any other promotion. "People in Calgary deserve to know what good bread is about," she says. "When people say bread is the staff of life, there's something to that." What's good at the bakeries My favourites: Prairie Mill Bread Co.: "hubcap-size" cinnamon buns, cranberry orange bread, and the superb banana chocolate chip bread. And there's a new Mediterranean loaf that I've gotta have more of. Top sellers: honey white, honey whole wheat and Yukon sourdough. Heritage Recipes Organic Breadworks: roasted garlic rosemary or black olives with cracked black peppercorn sourdough, outstanding spelt grainola cookies, uber-delicious Austrian Hiker's Loaf. Top sellers (by category):12-grain peasant seed loaf (organic), garlic and rosemary (natural leaven sourdough), brown rice loaf (non-wheat/allergy-free).

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