Agriculture in Brittany: the organic commitment of a baker-pastry chef

Audio 17:50

Text by: Sylvie Noël Follow

Organic farming is taking root in Brittany and a new generation of craftsmen has emerged. Bakers-craftsmen who claim their love of natural sourdough bread made from organic flours. Bread balls rich in taste, handcrafted in old-fashioned ovens.

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Laurence Voisin and Jean-Marc Even are representatives of this generation. Since 2007, they produce and sell on the markets their sourdough breads and organic pastries. Going organic, "it  was obvious  " for Laurence, "  it means not making pesticides, it's as simple as that  ".

They are based in Peillac, a small town in Morbihan, with 1,800 inhabitants. A dynamic town center with a mini-market, a bar, a bakery, a butcher, a craftsman-potter and on the banks of the Arz river, an old-fashioned weaver. It is in the surrounding countryside that organic artisans are installed: a breeder and producer of goat cheese and the Pihaudaie farm where Laurence and Jean-Marc live since 2009. It was at the time, an old barn in renovate with an old village oven they dismantled to build their top oven which bakes 100 kilos of bread at each batch. Sourdough bread prepared the day before, “  so that yeasts and bacteria multiply at night. The next day, the leaven is ripe and is used to grow our bread,  ”explains Jean-Marc.

In 2013, they bought agricultural land. An acquisition that was not easy, "  because of our atypical projects, because we offered organic  ", remembers Jean-Marc. Finally, they teamed up with the goat farmer and were able to buy a building with around twenty hectares, which unblocked the situation: “We  had to put a boot in the fields. It took us two, three years to find land, we didn't have too much trouble  ”.

Since then, they have claimed their status as pastry-farmer and baker-farmer. On a plot, they multiplied the local seeds of wheat from the country of Redon to adapt it to the terroir. They started with 100 kilos of seeds, 4 years later, they produce their flour of wheat, rye, buckwheat, "  still need spelled,  " concludes Jean-Marc. The latest acquisition is a flour mill installed in an abandoned sawmill. Self-sufficient from grain to bread, "  just dependent on petroleum,  " jokes Jean-Marc.

Today, they sell their produce on the farm, on the Redon market and feed the biocoop and the restaurant of the city's cinema. "  You have to know how to slowly climb the steps while preserving the quality,  " says Laurence. Every Friday evening, they are also at the village bar, transformed into a place of sale where - provided you have ordered on the website - it is possible to collect a basket of vegetables, cheese and bread. But a visit to the farm is a must to admire the breads and pastries that garnish the tables in the evenings with batches: breads, cakes with poppy seeds and orange zest, Breton pucks, almond-blackcurrant " orchard  " pies  , or even rhubarb-redcurrant, "  our local redcurrant, the rhubarb of market garden buddies  ". In Peillac, the pleasure of quality food is shared with friends.

► Also read:

• Organic farming in Brittany: collective self-organization in action
• Organic milk in Brittany: the price per liter cannot be the only parameter of a conversion

► Also listen: Organic is taking root in Brittany

Report produced with the support of the European Union / Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission.

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