The Great Assumption

Growing up, one of my mother’s favorite wisdoms was pointing out the pitfalls of assumption. I was no stranger to the notion of what assuming would make you and me. Despite that, and my innate zeal for over explaining just about everything, I still occasionally step in it. Today, for example.

As we get ready to open the glorious new space that will be our 1871 world, I have been doing a little light reading. The really boring kind that drones on about three-bin sinks, dishwasher temperatures, equipment clearances, and -because our product line is happily expanding- labeling. All to make sure the new space is dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s. That’s when it hit me like a ton of bricks labeled “duh”.

For the last few years we have been labeling the most-used ingredient in our bakery as, simply, “organic flour” on every label. That’s true. And, thankfully in our responsible sourcing and milling, compliant. However as I was reviewing the labeling requirements it struck me. Not all flour is just flour. To us, flour means milled wheat berries. Plain and simple. To much of the rest of the world, it gets a bit muddy. Bleached wheat, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid and, sometimes, even more things I can’t pronounce (and wouldn’t eat). If we were to, say, run to Walmart and buy a bag of Pillsbury flour, our currently simple ingredient list would be required to drone on like the lengthy codes for a commercial kitchen.

No one wants that.

Since the day we opened our doors, we’ve been very proud of our exceedingly high quality ingredients and our belief in real, honest transparency. Not to mention, real, honest, good food. So, today, when I realized what my assumption in my detail-lacking ingredient label could be making me (you know the saying, I won’t spell it out), I had to fix it.

From now on, our ingredient list will tell you exactly what you need to know. Simply and clearly. Gone is the over-simplified use of “flour”. And with it any muddiness in things we would never, ever use (sorry, Walmart and Pillsbury). Just the real, honest, crystal clear truth in the goodness you deserve.

From bread to pastry, at 1871 it all begins with freshly milled organic wheat berries. And nothing else.