GAIL'S SUPPORT BRITISH FARMERS

GAIL’s Launches The Wheat Project to Support British Farmers

Introducing the Bruern Farms Sourdough: a loaf that nourishes people and the planet.

Craft bakery GAIL’s is proud to introduce The Wheat Project - an initiative dedicated to championing bread made from wheat that supports biodiversity, restores soil health, and delivers exceptional nutrition and taste. Grounded in the belief that great bread starts with responsible farming, this project highlights the urgent need for a shift towards regenerative agriculture.

At a time when British farmers face mounting challenges - from industrial farming pressures to soil depletion, biodiversity loss, and financial instability - The Wheat Project shines a light on how better farming can build a more resilient future for both people and the planet. Using its scale as a force for good, GAIL is working with farmers to grow wheat in ways which support and regenerate the soil rather than stripping away its goodness.

The first loaf to emerge from The Wheat Project’s inaugural harvest is the Bruern Farms Sourdough, created in partnership with Henry Astor, a farmer and miller passionate about growing wheat as nature intended. On his family-run Cotswolds farm, he cultivates traditional wheat varieties that were widely used before industrial farming, bringing back flavours and nutrients lost in modern bread.

The result is a loaf that is an earthy celebration of Bruern’s terroir. Its flavour complexity is deepened through traditional sourdough fermentation and enriched further by a blend of heritage emmer, wholemeal spelt, and rye flours. The limited-edition Bruern Farms Sourdough will launch on Wednesday, 7th May, in select GAIL’s bakeries. Eat The Field: Healing Our Land and Bodies by Reversing the Supply Chain Despite Britain’s rich agricultural heritage, modern farming’s reliance on pesticides and intensive monocultures has led to a dramatic loss of biodiversity.

Over the past century, the UK has seen the disappearance of 97% of its wildflower meadows, a third of its wild birds, and a worrying decline in essential species that keep our ecosystem thriving (BBC, 2022). This cycle of soil depletion and biodiversity loss increases dependence on chemical inputs, but there is another way. Instead of buying wheat from big suppliers who dictate what’s grown, GAIL’s works directly with farmers who focus on soil health and biodiversity.

This way, the land thrives, and the bread is better. The Bruern Farms Sourdough Henry Astor of family-run Bruern Farms has dedicated forty acres to growing diverse wheat varieties with a range of different qualities, such as disease resistance and high protein content. His approach aligns with GAIL’s commitment to nutrient-dense grains that require no pesticides or chemical fertilisers.

While the unpredictable yield and low gluten content may deter some bakers, GAIL’s Executive Master Baker, Anomarel Ogen, is confident in his team’s ability to create delicious loaves that allow customers to "eat the field." Henry Astor says: “The sourdough GAIL’s created with the wheat from my farm is the output of something pretty radical. GAIL's is using its scale for good - not just baking a loaf of bread for someone to eat, but contributing to an ecosystem, increasing biodiversity, and building community by being a part of that system. By bringing this across the UK, they are revitalising a broken farming system and high street. I’m really proud of what we’ve created together and the hope it gives to British farmers in these precarious times.”

According to Anomarel Ogen, GAIL’s Executive Master Baker: “We’re bringing farmers, millers, and bakers together to revive heritage grains and regenerative farming practices. The flour I use isn’t just a product - it’s the flavour of the land, expressed through farming and milling. My job is to honour that flavour, and turn it into bread that respects the soil, the grower, and the eater.”

Launching on Wednesday, 16th April, across 54 GAIL’s bakeries, with a particular focus on the Southwest, the loaf is expected to be available until October 2025, with an estimated yield of 200 loaves per day.

What’s Next?

A Commitment to Better Bread and a Better Future Following the launch of this first loaf, GAIL’s will continue to support nature-friendly producers looking after the soils and biodiversity on their farms. They have partnered with 10 additional regenerative farmers across the UK to produce a range of heritage grain sourdough, shortbread and crispbreads, which will be available in all GAIL’s bakeries later in the spring.