Large Loaves
These five pound loaves are comparable to the original forms of country bread which were usually baked in community ovens once a week or even less frequently, and had to last. We much prefer the texture of large loaves and their longevity is remarkable. We use only biodynamically ground grain for our Fire Bread. BIODYNAMIC® agricultural practices account not only for the health of the soil but the creative shaping forces of the cosmos on the plant.

History of Our Breadmaking
When Bernard Castellani moved from France to America in 1999 we formed a partnership, an alliance. Bernard, half-Provençal, half-Tuscan, had a bakery in the Luberon region of Provence called Le Fournil de Mérindol, which was known for its crusty, herb-scented nut and olive breads as well as a sweet version of Fougasse known as Gibassier. His oven was also directly wood-fired and he also used organic flours and raised his bread with a levain, a natural starter-culture made without commercial yeast.

On one level we had remarkably much in common, but more significantly we shared a similar path and passion. We had both discovered that, all things considered, BREAD MAKES ITSELF in much the same way 90% of a great wine is made on the vine and the remaining 10% depends on how little you interfere with its natural process. And we were both devoted to serving bread, and I don't mean just slicing it. We realized we were stewards of bread, attendant priests, so to speak, and the degree to which we were attuned to the breadmaking process was the extent the bread revealed itself to us.

The Bread Itself is the Guru
In 1972 I read that the great bread baker, Pierre Poilâne, father of Lionel, the celebrated Parisian baker, had said that "If you need to sleep a lot, you will not make bread." Many bakers have sought us out for advice and assistance, but probably the best counsel we can offer, learned an ocean apart through many awakened nights, is that the bread itself is the guru.