Jean-Marie had been planning a mill for his bakery in Roujan for years, when he met Mr Olivero, a baker looking for exceptional flour.
Jean-Marie Ximena, founder of Astréïa, Peasant Baker
As you know, Jean-Marie Ximena, the founder of Astréïa, is a farmer and baker. His land in the Hérault region is organic, and he grows wheat and small spelt in particular. At his bakery (Chuuuut… the bread that makes people talk) in the village of Roujan (34), he has been running his own mill for as long as he can remember, making his own flour and transforming it into bread.
He has built a wood-fired oven and cuts his own wood to keep it warm enough to bake his bread at the end of the week. The famous expression ‘to be in the oven and in the mill’ takes on its full meaning!
Jean-Marie’s main aim is to bake bread that is authentic, tasty and long-lasting, using flour that is nutritious, healthy and 100% traceable.
Beyond organic, growing on living soil
The basic work is done on a living soil, so we’re not just thinking in terms of ‘organic’ and the labels that go with it, even if these do of course reassure a large proportion of private individuals.
Authentic baking with stone flour
The wheat is then sorted, cleaned and stored, enabling the flour to be made directly in Jean-Marie’s bakery. The wheat passes through the mill to produce a soft, nutritious flour.
It is then breaded by hand to preserve the starch/protein bonds for better leavening. It undergoes a long fermentation with little salt, using sourdough of course.
The bread is baked in the bakery over a wood fire.
