instore - November 2017 - 36

special report

Instore bakery

while few, around the world who have maintained the integrity of
artisan breads, have not compromised quality for speed and who make
a lot more breads than we do."

bread sales
5% other
8%
flatbreads

crusty/
hot
hearth

sandwich

17%

40%

30%
artisan
SOURCE: NIELSEN

millers who are behind those ingredients, and are just as passionate as
you about their craft, also is vital, he says.
La Farm breads, Vatinet says, are crafted one loaf at a time. That sounds
obvious enough on the surface, until you see how that focus on the
task at hand affects other, more conventional ways of measuring
"success." "We're asked how many loaves a day we make, and honestly,
as a company we don't count, because we are so focused on each single
piece of dough and its fermentation to craft the single best loaf."

The most important "upgrade" La Farm has made is in its human tools.
"If anything has increased over the years, it's our ability to train our
team as it has grown."
Looking ahead, Vatinet says he doesn' t know how much more La Farm
can grow and still maintain its high standards. But he knows that it is
possible to scale up without sacrificing quality. "There are other teams,
36 * NOVEMBER 2017 * instore

As other artisan bakers scale up to meet the growing demand, it's La
Farm's hope that as many breads as possible are produced using heritage grains, organic grains and grains from nearby farms, and - most
important - that breads are produced with respect for fermentation.
"The more we educate our bakers, develop farming equipment and
manufacturing equipment to preserve the nutrition of a single kernel
of grain, the more tables in this country will have nutritional breads to
feed their families."
When it comes to the task of building even more demand for artisan
breads at retail, merchandising plays a key role, Vatinet says. Retailers
must train their instore bakery associates about product, and then pass
that knowledge along to customers, particularly via sampling. "It brings
knowledge on what are quality breads and grains, and through taste,
they delight in each grain's individual flavors."

Larder Baking Co.
Larder Baking Co. is a relative newcomer, having opened its
10,000-square-foot Los Angeles production facility in 2013. The
company is already baking up to 30,000 pieces - anything from threepound loaves of bread to half-ounce slider buns - per day, but that
growth has not come at the expense of taste.
"Keeping that great, artisanal product while scaling up, that's been
the big learning curve for us," says Jennifer Macy, Larder's general
manager. "I think where we are so committed is that we will not sacrifice quality for growth. It's really part of our mission and everyone who
works here agrees. We really do think the old-fashioned way here and
it's really important to the product that we're producing."
On the pastry side of the business, that means cracking shell eggs,
using fresh strawberries for scones and a commitment to not use
anything out of a box or bag.
When it comes to bread, it all starts with 'The Mother," the starter
culture created in 1992 by Nathan Dakdouk, now Larder's master baker.

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As La Farm has grown, it has added a fermenter to take care of its
"mother starter" and dividers to speed the production process. The
company also relies on mixers, a hearth oven and a cooler to help
preserve shelf life and control the speed of fermentation. But at each
stage, from flour to shaped loaves, product is handled by human hands,
Vatinet says.

La Farm's growth has been mirrored, Vatinet says, by growth in artisan
industry-wide, as American consumers have broadened their food
horizons. As a result, there's more demand now for artisan breads than
ever before. "Over the past 25 years in this country, it has been great to
see the communities increasing their understanding of quality breads,
and the grains the loaves are made with. The customer is more knowledgeable than ever and seeking higher quality choices."

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of instore - November 2017