Graduates on the Warburtons management trainee programme took a day out from working with the latest baking equipment to learn how the process was completed in years gone by.
Working with Openfield, Britain’s largest farmer-owned grain co-operative and long-time supplier to Warburtons, the graduate trainees spent a day at Sacrewell Mill near Peterborough to learn how bread was baked before the advent of modern ovens.
Sacrewell Mill is a traditional 18th Century watermill owned by the William Scott Abbott Trust that seeks to educate and inform children and adults about the role of agriculture in producing food.
Each year about 110,000 children and adults visit the mill to see flour milled using 18th Century technology and bread baked in a traditional wood-fired bread oven.
Openfield chief executive James Dallas explained that the visit was about highlighting the value of provenance in supply chains and what it means to consumers.
“I am delighted to support such a worthy charity which concentrates on educating children in the role of agriculture in supplying safe and healthy food.
“The William Scott Abbott trust has intimately restored the water mill and bakers’ oven to create an authentic window into the history of flour milling and bread production, so far removed from today’s modern processes.
“The more children learn about food production and agriculture and the link with the environment the better their awareness when it comes to making healthy choices.
“We are always willing to promote a strong alliance between farming, the environment and education and Sacrewell Mill is the perfect place for kids and adults to get a real sense of where their food comes from,” said James Dallas.
Warburtons cereal development director, Bob Beard said the visit was a valuable opportunity to explain to the graduates how bread production has evolved since the time when flour was routinely milled by water power.
“The basic principles of bread production remain much the same as they were two centuries ago, but technology in production and our understanding of how protein structures can be influenced to improve baking performance has led a transformation in modern baking techniques.
“Being able to contrast the new with the old helps to demonstrate how sophisticated modern methods have become,” said Bob Beard.
