Our Story
AT WILD CULTURE BAKERY OUR GOAL IS AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO CONNECT PEOPLE TO REAL FOOD, AND TO EACH OTHER. IT’S A BOND.
Although we began under a different name, since 1995 our commitment has always been to stay true to the tradition of fermentation done in the ancient way.
SOLID, TRUSTABLE NUTRITION CREATED WITH PASSION, COMMITMENT, HUMOUR AND LOVE.
We strive always to improve what we do, and to realize our place in the rapidly growing network of amazing people committed to local, organic, sustainable food production and consumption.
IT’S BIOLOGY! IT’S SCIENCE AND ART. IT’S RELATIONSHIP. CONNECTION.
We are privileged to be a part of it here where we live. Vancouver Island. No better place on earth.
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20 years ago when the Bakery was started in Cumberland by a traditionally trained master baker from Brittany, France, there was nothing like it anywhere in our region. When we bought and moved the fledgling enterprise to Qualicum Beach, our goal was to make this extraordinary authentic European bread available to many more people. Expanding into a large wholesale reach beyond Qualicum and Parksville over many years, our products became and still are some of the most sought after in the huge network of natural and organic food stores. Since opening our retail shop several years ago on the 6 acre farm on the outskirts of town that is home to the Bakery, we have gradually returned more to our roots, making the commitment to focus on and serve our immediate and local community. We have seen an overwhelming and enthusiastic response. The praise and support we hear daily from our many regular customers and friends is inspiring and we are grateful to all of you.
The work of hand crafted artisanal sourdough baking is very physical, earthy. The hours are long and a bit against the current of ‘normal’ human rhythms and flow. It can be all consuming and is not for the faint of heart. Most bakers are a bit mad…we think. However, we are pleased to provide our community with traditional products made with inspiration and enduring integrity while honouring the need to find a balance between work and play. We are proud to have been part of the very beginnings of the food revolution that has seen an explosion of similarly inspired enterprises appearing all over the world. Tartine in San Francisco, Sonoma and Bourke St. in Sydney Australia, Fol Epi and Fry’s in Victoria to name a significant few. The list is long, and growing! It is good company to be in.
Organic
Sourdough Bread
100% CERTIFIED ORGANIC
COMMERCIAL YEAST FREE
We make all of our breads in the ancient and traditional French manner using only certified organic flours, grains and seeds leavened with a natural wild bacterial culture made from flour and water. All of the doughs are made with filtered water and sea salt and many are made using Heirloom grains e.g. Red Fife, Spelt, Kamut and Emmer. Much of the flour is stone milled fresh onsite and used within a few hours.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WILD CULTURE PROCESS & FLOURS
Artisan Pizzas
FRIDAYS ONLY
250-752-0077
Friday is Pizza day at Wild Culture! Our sourdough crust is made with organic Rye, Spelt, Red Fife, Sifted wheat and 00 Pizza flour giving it a delicious flavour. As the numbers of pizzas are limited we strongly recommend pre-ordering. Available for ‘take & bake’ til 5pm
(will bake if required)
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WILD CULTURE PROCESS
Artisan Sweets
PLEASE NOTE: due to the amount of flour that we use and mill on site we would not recommend the flourless items for Celiacs.
We strive for fresh, local and organic whenever possible and we use real butter in all of our sweet offerings. The cinnamon buns, lemon tarts and hazelnut Chocolate tortes are a few of the favourites that our customers return for weekly.
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Drop by to see our many other creatively inspired pastries and sweets
*We welcome special occasion cake orders…please call for more information.
MAKING A WILD CULTURE
Lactobacillus bacteria, some of the oldest life forms on our planet, inseparably woven into the ecosphere, abundant beyond the current grasp of science, are the primary engines of the fermentation that is true ‘sourdough’. They are powerful, complex, naturally evolved and truly wild, essential to life and health, vigorous, and part of us.
By allowing organic flours to ferment… meaning creating an environment for these creatures to reproduce to unfathomable numbers in a controlled way… we can manipulate recipes and produce amazing sourdough breads that are without question one of the healthiest ways to consume grains. Digestible. Truly nutritious. Real food. No shortcuts allowed. Organic flour, pure deep well water, lactobacillus bacteria with a few wild yeasts from the local environment, sea salt, time, and a bit of knowhow. There you have it. Wild Culture.
We love the name’ Wild Culture’.
It describes exactly what we do and in a sense, who we all are.
FLOURS AND GRAINS
There is nothing simpler than bread. The grains we buy, milled here at the Bakery in our German stone mill, and turned into breads, sweets and pizzas, are mostly from Canadian farms that are certified organic. Our farmer friends have made huge sacrifices and commitments to grow this way. We are happy to support them. We feel good knowing that we are providing our customers with the purest grains on the planet.
We mill onsite: Red Fife, spelt, emmer and einkorn, (all heirloom grains). We buy pre-milled Kamut, Buckwheat, brown rice, and unbleached bread, pastry and pizza flours from organic suppliers Our whole grains arrive from prairie fields and the B.C. interior via the hands of Wayne and Carrie Smith, vancouverislandgrainandmilling.com. We hope to be milling mostly locally grown grains in the coming years!