From Seed to Slice: The Journey of Our Stone-Milled Organic Flour

The Story Behind Every Slice

Every loaf of bread tells a story. But at Aston's Bakehouse, that story doesn’t start with flour, or even with grain. It begins with a single seed pressed into the soil of a carefully tended organic field. What follows is a journey, a slow, hands-on transformation that carries that seed through harvest, stone-milling, and fermentation, all the way to your kitchen table.

We wanted to share that journey with you. Not just because it’s fascinating (it is), but because it speaks to everything we believe in: transparency, tradition, and taste. So, if you've ever wondered what makes our loaves different, or if you’ve tasted that subtle nuttiness in our spelt sourdough or the depth of our seeded loaf and thought, "this is something else", then read on.

Here’s how a seed becomes a slice.

Planting Flavour: The Grains That Start It All

We start with heritage grains, old varieties of wheat, rye, and spelt that haven’t been messed with by modern agriculture. These grains grow deeper roots, pull more nutrients from the soil, and bring rich, complex flavours to the flour.

One of our favourites is a 200-year-old spelt. It’s nutty, aromatic, and bakes up into loaves with a golden crust and soft, chewy centre. But flavour is only part of the reason we use these grains. The other? They’re better for the land. Biodiverse, chemical-free, and grown with care by the farmers we work with.

We think of them like the characters in a good story, older, a bit rugged, full of depth.

Milling Magic: Why Stone Matters

Once harvested, the grain makes its way to our bakery in Inkpen, near Hungerford. This is where the next transformation happens.

Our flour isn’t something we order in bulk. We mill it ourselves, using slow-turning stones imported from Austria and France. These stones crush the grain gently, preserving all the good stuff: the bran, the germ, the oils. It’s not flashy. It’s not quick. But it works.

The result is flour that still feels alive. It smells like grain, not paper. It reacts beautifully in sourdough starters. And it gives our breads that unmistakable taste of something real. Something made with intention.

It’s a quiet kind of alchemy.

From Flour to Dough: The Baker’s Touch

This is where the process gets intimate. With fresh flour in hand, our bakers begin their day. The doughs are mixed, shaped, and folded by hand. We use long fermentation, which lets the natural yeasts work slowly. No shortcuts. No improvers. Just time and temperature doing their thing.

You’ll find our stone-milled flour in loaves like:

• The tangy, open-crumb Pain au Levain

• Our 100% Spelt Sourdough, rich and earthy

• And the nutty, seedy 7-Grain Sourdough loved by market regulars

Every loaf carries the fingerprint of the person who made it. And every one starts with the same flour we mill in-house.

Sharing the Journey

For us, it’s not enough to keep this flour to ourselves. We make it available in 1kg bags for home bakers who care about the same things we do: taste, transparency, and process.

These flours (white, wholemeal, and spelt) are exactly what we use in our bakery. No bleach, no softeners, no hidden additives. Just flour, as it should be.

It’s amazing what happens when you start with the right ingredient.

Why It Matters to Stockists & Wholesale Buyers

We believe food should have a story. And not just a marketing one. A real story. One you can trace back to a field, a farmer, a pair of hands at a mill.

That’s what this journey from seed to slice is really about. It’s about remembering where food comes from. About reintroducing slowness into baking. About flavour that’s earned, not engineered.

So next time you tear into a crusty slice of Aston’s sourdough, know that it’s more than just a good loaf. It’s the result of months of growing, days of milling, hours of fermentation, and a whole lot of care.

And it all starts with a single seed.

FAQs: Your Questions About Our Flour, Answered

• Q: Can I use your flour to bake sourdough at home?

  Yes, and we encourage it! Our flours are rich in natural enzymes and perfect for maintaining a healthy sourdough starter and bake.

• Q: Is everything really organic?

  Absolutely. From seed to bag, every step is certified organic by Demeter (GB-ORG-06). No additives, no bleaches, no gimmicks.

• Q: Where can I buy your flour?

  You’ll find us at farmers’ markets across Hungerford, Berkshire, London, and beyond. We also stock selected delis and refill stores.

• Q: What’s the difference between your spelt and others?

  We use heritage, unadulterated spelt, not the modern, crossbred types. The result? More nutrition, better flavour, and improved digestibility.

Curious to try it yourself?

We sell our organic flour and bread at markets across Berkshire, London, Swindon, and beyond. Or get in touch to learn more about how we supply stockists, refill stores, and bakeries who share our values.

Call us directly: 01488 500425
Email: info@astonsbread.co.uk