maple street co-op

Product News
From "Maple Street Co-op News", Feb/Mar 2006

Speciality Organic Breads for All Dietary Needs
by Alan Harrington

Bread is one of the staple foods in our diet, so it is essential that the ingredients be free of chemicals and additives that could have adverse health effects. With this in mind, the Co-op's policy is to stock speciality breads that are, as far as possible, organic and guaranteed free of any ingredients likely to cause harm in the short or long term.

The Co-op specialises in meeting the bread needs of people with allergies and other health conditions. Many people are wheat intolerant or have an adverse reaction to ingredients such as gluten. Apart from wheat flour, the base flours of the breads we stock include rice, rye, barley, kamut and spelt.

Because of the relatively short shelf-life of bread and to minimise wastage, we are careful as to the quantities we order. If you want a particular bread, we are only too happy to hold it for you so that you don't miss out, but we can only do so for 24 hours. We have a system where you pay in advance (in other words, you bear the loss if you don't pick it up) and then we keep your order aside for you and even freeze it if necessary. Just let any of our staff know your requirements.

Here are some brief details of the breads we stock and their delivery days:

• Crystal Waters Bakery: This local enterprise bakes a range of organic sourdough breads using its wood-fired oven, and even makes pizza bases. Breads include Pain de Campagne, Olive & Feta, 5 Seed, Spelt, Fruit & Nut, Pumpkin and New York Rye plus baguettes. Deliveries: Wednesdays and Saturdays.

• Sol Breads: This sourdough bakery in Brisbane has been supplying these popular organic breads for years. The comprehensive range includes Rye & Rice, Megagrain, Pain de Campagne, Olive & Thyme, Pumpkin & Pepitas, Spelt, Pugliese, Rice & Pumpkin as well as Rice & Polenta (both gluten free), Walnut, Kamut and Turkish breads. Deliveries: Mondays and Thursdays.

• Gold Coast Bakeries: These traditional-style organic breads include Stoneground Meal, Fruit, Soya/Linseed, Heavy Wholegrain, Rye, Wholemeal as well as Multigrain, though some may contain soya flour. Deliveries: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

• Kenilworth Bakery: Our longest-standing bread supplier produces a small range of chemical-free breads (apparently on the suggestion years ago of former Co-op staffer Juliette Kalifa). The most popular breads are the Corn & Barley, Wholemeal with Sesame Seeds, Spelt, and Multigrain – a heavy-duty loaf that comes in two sizes. Deliveries: Tuesdays and Fridays.
• Homestyle Kitchen: This Caloundra-based bakery is another of the Co-op's long-time suppliers, with a Continental Schinkenbrot sourdough rye that is chemical and additive free and will keep for a while. Delivery: Tuesdays.

The Co-op stocks other breads delivered less often than weekly. This is because demand is such that we need to place an order of sufficient size to minimise freight costs. As well, many of the breads have a short shelf-life and need to be refrigerated to ensure quality. We've found in the past that there is little point getting in a dozen or so loaves when it may cost $2 extra per loaf to cover delivery costs.

• Celtic Organic Bakery: This Southport source supplies Wholemeal Spelt, Sesame Crust Wholemeal and Rice breads. Delivery: Mondays fortnightly.

• Britt's Danish Delight Bakery: This interesting range of organic breads includes Sesame Spelt, Rice, Sunflower Rice and Pumpkin Rice. Britt's, based at Molendinar on the Gold Coast, also provides organic cookies, crispbreads, baked crispies and some Danish pastries. Delivery: Wednesdays fortnightly.

• Organic Bread Supplies: A newer stockist, this Buderim bakery supplies spelt as well as gluten- and lactose-free bread. Delivery: Thursdays monthly.

We even go as far afield as Victoria to obtain bread:

• Friendly Bakery: This small, specialised organic bakery in Melbourne supplies Wholegrain Rice, Sunflower Brown Rice and Wholemeal Spelt breads. Delivery: Thursdays fortnightly.

• Healthybake: This Lilydale bakery provides Rye Fruit Nut & Seed, Oat Sourdough, Wholemeal Spelt, Wholemeal Kamut, Ancient Grains & Seed, Granota, Barley and Sesame Spelt along with the intriguingly named Pharaoh and Pharaoh & Linseed. Delivery: Thursdays fortnightly.

The Co-op sells some breads, including flat breads, that have a long shelf-life and are in stock all the time:

• Pure Life: This Yamba, NSW, source bakes the Essene range of biodynamic sprouted breads at very low temperatures. They'll keep if refrigerated.

All in all, the Co-op has fresh bread coming in six days of the week. If your needs are not being catered for, please let any of our staff know and we'll try to meet them.

[From "Maple Street Co-op News", February/March 2006; published by The Maple Street Co-operative Society Ltd, 37 Maple Street, Maleny, Qld 4552, Australia, tel (07) 5494 2088, email maplest.co-op@serv.net.au,
website http://www.maplestreetco-op.com.au]