On a daily basis, we take the time to follow what our customers are becoming and we wanted to move up a gear by highlighting what they have become, what motivates them and what enables them to feel consistent with their project and their mission.
We are starting our web series with ‘A bon vî Pan’, located in the commune of Gouvy in the Belgian Hautes Ardennes.
A bon vî pan’ bakery in Belgium
When you ask Monsieur Husquet to sum up his vision of the bakery, the answer is quick and concise:
‘We’ve been working with stone-ground flours since the beginning. We bake in a Lopis wood-fired oven. We don’t use any additives or bread improvers. We bake with rye sourdough. Everything is made on site.
This project is obviously followed by the same philosophy for the pastries, which contain no colourings or flavourings. De plus, le sirop de glucose est banni car ils préfèrent, à juste titre, travailler avec du miel.
How do you go from baking to making flour on site?
Sébastien is currently retraining for a new career. The idea of making their own flour was there from the start. However, before making flour, the priority was to master the art of baking. The important thing was to master everything, one by one.
Then, little by little, expertise, experience and skill came into play… With the ever-present concern
to know what we’re eating, the mill allows them to master another link in the chain.
But that’s not all…
Another aspect is the freshness of the flour. The mill enables the flour to be produced according to the needs of the bakery, on a made-to-order basis. This limits the proliferation of insects such as weevils and tribolium in the flour.
How did you choose your mill?
‘After several searches on the net, I discovered the Astrié type mills. The practicality of the technology was very interesting. The fact that you don’t have to iron the flour in the mill and its high extraction rate made all the difference.
Astréïa stood out from the others thanks to its professionalism and craftsmanship. The team listened to my project and was relatively responsive.
How do you source the cereals you need to feed the mill?
‘Having your own mill also means you can work locally. I know which fields my raw materials come from. We work with two local organic farmers.
They supply us with :
- wheat
- spelt
- rye
- and small spelt’.
Having your own mill gives you your own identity. In fact, each terroir has its own signature, its own taste. Unlike the standardisation of the agri-food industry, where all character traits are erased.
What do their customers say?
It’s always interesting to get in touch with our customers’ customers, because they are also the ones who keep the whole chain from wheat to bread alive and kicking….
You can join the bakery’s Facebook page: A BON VI PAN
