They say bread is the food of the gods, and we here at The MV Times couldn’t agree more. Freelance features writer Abby Remer, Managing Editor of Features Nicole Galland, and Features Editor/Writer Allison Roberts decided to create a different kind of Dine article, featuring bread tastings. Abby and I [Allison] are gluten- and dairy-free, which isn’t always an easy diet to follow. Luckily, Beetlebung Farm has begun creating a few delicious bread options that seem to be going over well with those who have gluten sensitivity (and those without).
“The bread we make here is not low-gluten. It is made with bread wheat that naturally contains gluten in the way that we all know about. What makes our bread different is how the wheat is treated,” says the Beetlebung Farm head baker, Matt Pontarelli.
I began working with a functional nutritionist recently. I told her that when I was in Spain, I didn’t get stomachaches when I indulged in a little bread. She explained that bread in Europe may be more tolerable due to a number of factors, including stricter regulations on additives and pesticides, different types of wheat, and traditional baking methods, like long sourdough fermentation.
Though Beetlebung also makes gluten-free bread, Pontarelli says that what makes these specific loaves easy on gluten-intolerant stomachs is how they are fermented: “We use sourdough starter, which means that our bread is naturally fermented by microorganisms that produce acid and carbon dioxide. This natural fermentation process is what breaks down the gluten (before it gets to our stomach) that often causes distress in digestive systems.”
Pontarelli says they also source organic and/or sustainably grown wheat from regional farms: “We then mill that grain ourselves here onsite, with a stone mill, which is much more gentle on the grain than a conventional roller mill found in high-volume, commercial flour mills.”
So Abby, Nicole, and I happily tried three different loaves, and here’s what we thought:
Loaf one: Einkorn (ancient wheat)
Allison: This loaf was a bit tough to cut through, but tasty toasted. It was dense and had a sponginess to it. I had it nearly every morning for breakfast with jam, and enjoyed it. It filled me right up. It was crispy outside and soft inside.
Nicki: Very crispy crust; I toasted it, cut the crust off, and loved it with butter or honey. Nice spongy quality that reminded me slightly of teff, Ethiopian grain — the fermentation was an active part of the taste experience.
Abby: I found the crust daunting to cut through, and burnt-tasting. The inside was all right toasted, but I didn’t like the spongy texture of the untoasted part. It had a slight sourdough tang which I liked, though if you didn’t know that was what you were buying, it might put people off.
Loaf two: Turkey Red (heritage wheat)
Allison: This bread was slightly sweet and very smooth. It was also softer than the Einkorn. We were taste-testing this one in the Times building, and a few other Times staff members not involved in our experiment joined in. Every person who tried it enjoyed it very much.
Nicki: I liked this bread, as did my houseguest. She said it reminded her of the homemade bread of her childhood. It worked well both toasted with the usual suspects on it (butter, jam, honey), but also made a terrific sop for soup. I’d be happy eating this bread on a regular basis.
Abby: I enjoyed this bread. It still had a fairly hard crust, but was easier to cut than the first one. I also enjoyed that it had a whole wheat taste. Toasted with butter and honey was the best way to eat it. My partner, who has no food allergies, particularly likes this bread for sandwiches.
Loaf three: Redeemer (modern wheat)
Allison: This was my favorite. It had a more distinctive sourdough taste, but wasn’t bitter. The crust was easier to cut through, and it was soft enough to eat untoasted. I like to toast my bread no matter what kind it is, and this was wonderful toasted with honey or jam, or with a little turkey and cranberry sauce.
Nicki: This was somehow both lighter and more substantial than the Turkey Red — when I put honey on it, it didn’t soak through like it did with the other ones. This is the bread I would eat for “daily bread,” but Turkey Red is the one I’d eat when I wanted to have a foodie experience. Sort of the difference between ordering an ale or ordering a Guinness.
Abby: I enjoyed the deep grain taste of this bread, which was interesting because it was the least dense of the three loaves. As with all the breads, I found it best when toasted.
“People often talk about modern wheat being too harsh on the digestive system, so we made three different loaves, each one with a different category of wheat, to experiment with reactivity versus mass-produced bread,” Pontarelli says. “The three different loaves you have eaten are made from three different grains, respectively. The first two are already single-variety loaves that we make (as opposed to the variety blends that comprise most of our breads). The third loaf I made was exclusively for this project. Some are considered to be easier on the digestive system, and some are not. All have been naturally fermented.”
Beetlebung Farm manager, and key member in the building and conceptualizing of the Barn and bakery, Kate Woods, says, “As a farm and farm business, we approach our bakery products primarily through an agricultural lens. Our goal is to honor grain farmers who work in harmony with their surrounding ecosystem — building soil instead of degrading it, while growing diverse crop mixes that prioritize flavor and nutrition, which are often undervalued. Our bread (and pastry) is truly a celebration of their work. It allows us to pass their stories on to our community, building an understanding of grain as an agricultural product, and all of the risk and adversity that comes with it. Being an unsifted bakery means that we use every part of the grain in each of our bakery products, wasting not one ounce, valuing it all. The best part is that we believe all of this also leads to optimal taste, nutrition, and connection to the farmer and land where it was grown.”
Pontarelli says the feedback they’ve received from the community on the bread has been really great, especially from the gluten-intolerant: “We sell out often, and have had a lot of people tell us they have now become ‘bread snobs,’ which is always fun to hear.”
The cost for two loaves of the same bread came to $22, which is in line, if not less expensive, than store-bought. So far, my stomach hasn’t complained, so I will definitely be buying more.
For more information on these and other products, visit beetlebungfarm.org. Beetlebung Farm, 410 Middle Road, Chilmark.