Organic bakers are fired up for success

Six croissants baked for a friend in Bishop Wilton ten years ago became the trigger for everything that has happened at the 480-acre Carr House Farm in Foston on the Wolds for the past decade.

From that first order the Side Oven Bakery was born, but little were Tim and Caroline Sellers aware of the adventure they were to embark on that today sees their organic farm as not just a crop growing concern but also a mill, bakery, juicery, boxed cereal producer and a farm attraction.

For some farms moves into caravan parks, lodges and campsites have seen them flourish. For many more it has been a case of finding that something different.

Increasingly, farms are uncovering other parts of their business that interest the public and in Caroline’s case that has led to her popular bread-making courses. In some ways it’s a real throwback to the days when many households would bake their own loaf.

“Everything that has happened here, ever since we turned the farm over to organic production in 1999, has evolved. We’ve always put together business plans but we’ve never said that we will do something and in five years time we will move on to the next step, our growth has just come along as opportunities have arisen,” says Caroline.

“I’d always wanted to make bread and Tim booked me on to a course with Andrew Whitley who runs the famous Village Bakery in Melmerby over in Cumbria. My first attempts failed miserably although I made some well-shaped bricks! But baking bread is not rocket science. It really is very simple. I was inspired to make croissants because I like eating them, what better reason can you have?

“When I came back a friend asked me to make croissants for her and said she’d pay. From there the Side Oven Bakery was born. The name comes from our own side oven in the farmhouse where Tim’s family has farmed for five generations. Tim cleaned the chimney and our first efforts were all produced here in the farmhouse kitchen.”

Today’s bakery features an 11ft deep wood-burning oven and the aroma that greets you on entering the building is nothing short of gorgeous. It’s here that not only the bread, but the Sellers’ larger production of muesli, granola and breakfast bars takes place.

“The oven comfortably holds 30 bread loaves and we like it to be around 300 degrees when the bread goes in. We get around two-and-a-half hours of bread making time. We started making muesli to use up the heat, in fact a number of our other products have come about as a result of making good use of the oven.

“Where we are situated does not help in purely selling bread. We re-thought the business and now our major production during the week is making granolas and mueslis. We sent out 200 packs last week. Other strong incentives towards cereal production were that we didn’t have to be up at three in the morning and the cereals have a greater shelf life.”

If the Sellers had not gone organic in 1999 it’s doubtful that there would ever have been Side Oven Bakery. It’s a decision that Tim is proud of today although there are still many who look on those who have gone organic with raised eyebrows.

“There’s still a healthy cynicism about organic producers but it has worked for this farm and as a consequence all sorts of opportunities have come up and keep coming our way. This is predominantly an arable farm although we have some sheep at the moment. Our main crop is wheat and that makes up around a quarter of our acreage. We grow the Paragon variety that is the only group one spring wheat on the Home Grown Cereals Authority list and has very good disease resistance.

“We are also the only growers of spelt wheat, a primitive variation, in Yorkshire and perhaps one of the few in the UK. This is particularly good for gluten intolerant people. The wheat is used in the bakery and sold as milling wheat. We have also purchased our own mill to produce flour for the bakery. Other crops are oats, barley and beans. We have a significant acreage of clover that is our manure crop.

“At the time we changed to organic, the market was offering significant premiums and conventional grain prices were towards the bottom of their cycle. Since then times have changed and now a lot of organic grain is imported from countries such as Kazakhstan and the Ukraine.”

The Sellers have found their own niche markets and the bakery has played its part.

“People are actively looking at their diets more closely,” says Tim. “Cereals such as granola are currently fashionable and we supply the Planet Organic store in London. We don’t want to be a supermarket brand but there is a tier below of premium-priced non-supermarket products that are successful.”

The farm is involved in the HLS stewardship scheme and hosts educational visits to show schoolchildren where their food comes from and how it’s made – from what is sown, how it is grown and harvested to how it’s then milled and baked. But of all their successes there’s one benefit especially that means a great deal.

Caroline explains: “If someone had told us ten years ago we would be talking about all that we have done as we are now it would have been hard to consider. Back then Tim had a man working with him who was about to retire. There were six other farm workers here when he was a boy. We now employ people again and crucially local people like Josie and Robin in the bakery. We also have another local farmer who delivers for us. We regularly have a number of us around the kitchen table for a coffee or lunch. Our farm has come back to life.”

Growing appeal of farm life

Farming and tourism are increasingly linked and the breadmaking courses at Carr House Farm are a great example of this burgeoning symbiosis.

The farm hosts an open day on Sunday February 23, 10am-4pm, and whilst not inter-linked, over in Harrogate, the annual conference of the National Farm Attractions Association takes place at the Majestic Hotel, February 11-12.

For details about Side Oven Bakery bread making courses, visit the Sellers’ website at www.sideoven.com. All other visits are by appointment only.