By Joy Schrock, President of Berlin Natural Bakery

Never in a million years when I purchased Berlin Natural Bakery, would I ever have believed the amount of work that it takes to produce something as simple as a great loaf of bread.  After all, I considered myself to be a great baker…how hard could this possibly be?

There are moments in each of our lives that we look back and realize that one decision completely changed the entire course of our lives.  Purchasing Berlin Natural Bakery changed absolutely everything about mine.  Had I known going in to this what I was truly signing up for, I might not have done it.  Actually, I’m quite sure I wouldn’t have.  However, today I feel so fulfilled and incredibly honored to be part of helping to raise the standards of our food supply.  This is not an easy task for many reasons.  However, our rewards are in knowing that what we do truly improves the quality of people’s lives.

The production standards that we have put into place are based upon several decades of research and experience.  We do not change our products to meet the standards of the latest trends or fads.  We stay true to the mission.  What is that mission?  It’s very simple…to produce spelt products that you can trust.  Products that are made with ingredients that you can pronounce and easily recognize, that are NOT genetically engineered and that taste great.  Sounds easy?  Check out the steps we go through to make your loaf of bread.

1)  Contracts are negotiated with small independent farmers throughout Germany.

2)  Soil preparation and crop rotation standards are set, farmers are well trained and their farms are inspected.

3)  Genuine German certified spelt seed is planted.

4)  Farm equipment is cleaned and inspected to ensure no cross contamination:  seeder, combine and trucks.

5)  Routine farm inspections are done to ensure no chemicals are being used and that the quality standards of the spelt grain are being met.

6)  Genuine German Spelt is harvested and tested to ensure that it is “chemical free”.

7)  Genuine German spelt grain is stored in its tight outer hull, in a separate stand alone facility that has never been used to store other grains.  This facility is cooled and air blown…ensuring the grain does not become susceptible to mold or pests.

8)  The spelt is de-hulled upon demand of shipment.  Equipment used in de-hulling is only used for Genuine German Spelt.

9)  The grain is packaged and shipped in a sanitized and inspected container.

Dr. Franck and his staff oversee the entire process of our Genuine German Spelt grain…from certified seed production …till it reaches our doors.  Their standards are so high, they can literally trace a bag of grain to the field or the lot in which it was grown.

Then it’s our turn:

1)  The spelt grain arrives at Berlin Natural Bakery…an ALL spelt bakery.  It is stored in coolers until milled.

2)  We stone grind the grain daily on site at the bakery.

3)  The flour we stone grind today…is used to produce the products we bake tomorrow.  Our flour is not stored for months, which ensures no rancidity or susceptibility to pests.

4)  Our stone grinding method allows us to preserve the whole grain.  We lose less than 1% during our milling process.

5)  We bake only small batch breads.  We do not over work the dough, add dough conditioners, gluten or preservatives.  This can only be achieved by baking small batches.  We have highly skilled bakers that oversee the entire baking process to ensure consistency and quality of every product.

6)  Our products are double bagged for freshness.

7)  Baked and shipped fresh daily.

8)  Our bakery holds the highest Kosher Certification “Orthodox Union”.  Soon to be Non-GMO Project approved.

Isn’t it amazing what all we go through to produce a loaf of bread?  Fortunately we didn’t have to meet these standards overnight.   Many of them have been established and implemented over the years due to our never ending need to know the truth and to do what is right…regardless if it’s what is easy.

Many of you may not even care about these standards and fortunately for you…you don’t have to.  You can count on us to continue to do our best to ensure you receive our best.

We know you have a choice regarding the spelt baked goods that you purchase.  Thank you for choosing ours!  We consider it an honor to serve you.

Peace & Blessings,

Joy