Our daily bread

Henry Willis and Natalie Normand selling their bread at Wellington Farmer’s Market.

Pursuing life in the County—one loaf at a time

When he steps out of the 140-year-old barn that now houses an artisan breadmaking facility, Henry Willis pauses to gaze across the wide valley that stretches before him—tidy fertile fields punctuated by woodlands and a few homes and farms. The creek that winds through the farmland below will, when flowing, find its way into Lake Consecon. The texture and rich colours remind him every day why he does this. This is what Henry and Natalie were looking for. They are home.

A little more than a year ago Henry and Natalie were living in Scarborough. They had a good life there—but somehow incomplete. When Henry lost his job in construction management he knew it was time for a change.

Henry had been baking bread for several years in a wood-fired oven he built in his suburban back yard. He won a loyal following among friends, family and beyond. He enjoys crafting bread from organic local ingredients.

Together they decided that if ever they were going to make the move to pursue the dream— this was it. So just over a year ago they came across the former Hall family farm—perched on a ridge at the east end of Wilson Road.

“We both knew this was it,” explains Natalie. “We knew before we went into the house—this was it.”

Beyond the sheer beauty of the place, the grain-growing land surrounding the farm and the facilities on the property—it was centrally located and situated on a secondary road. It provided easy access across the County and to suppliers, but still off the beaten track.

The bonus was a wealth of helpful neighbours nearby.

So a year ago they moved in—and began building Humble Bread—repurposing the proud but tired century-old barn into a modern breadmaking facility. The oven came first. Henry had very specific ideas about how it would function and how the materials would move through the processing facility to become bread. It is constructed of bricks reclaimed from the former Methodist Church on Main Street in Picton, destroyed in 2010.

Bricks salvaged from the former “brick church” on Main Street in Picton, now form the oven at Humble Bread.

“We designed the entire facility to be operated by one person,” explained Henry. “We hope one day to grow and mill our own grain to make flour. It would have been cheaper and easier to build a new building but we really loved this barn and wanted to put it back to work.”

The custom built oven is about the size of two pickup trucks parked side by side. The baking area is about six feet deep by 10.5 feet wide. Henry fires the oven, using locally sourced ash, oak and hard maple wood cut to specific lengths for his oven. He will burn until the oven reaches about 800 degrees, then puts out the fire and lets it cool to about 600 degrees. At this point the bricks surrounding the baking zone become soaked in heat—rich, reliable and even radiant heat—perfect for baking bread. It takes less than 20 minutes to bake 100 pounds of dough into bread—equivalent to about 80 baguettes. The bread emerges from the oven still full of moisture and with a rich caramel colour.

Henry eschews commercial yeast-baked bread, preferring naturally leavened bread. Though it requires more time and attention in preparation, the payoff comes in the form of richer, more delicate flavours and a more wholesome product.

“Our bread is healthier, unique and flavourful,” said Henry. “It tastes great and it is great for your digestive system.”

Henry and Natalie are not yet ready to begin baking bread in large quantities. There is work to be done preparing the production and retail area of the facility.

It has taken a year for Henry and Natalie to get to this point. They are prepared to give it the time it takes to get it right.

Currently Henry is baking just once a week—selling Humble Bread through the Wellington Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings at the United Church. The Agrarian Café in Bloomfield is also carrying their product.

Other County restaurants are eager to begin featuring their breads, but the couple aren’t yet ready to scale up production just yet. Soon they intend to bake three times a week. They will also have a retail storefront soon.

In a few years Henry plans to grow a couple of acres of rye in the fields behind the barn. He will use his own milling facilities to produce flour. He is intent on controlling every aspect of bread production and the conditions in which it is made.

“We are very fussy about our product,” explained Henry.

The couple see themselves on an adventure— after a year of investment they are still weeks, perhaps months, from cash flowing inward rather than only outbound. But this wasn’t a business decision as much as it was a life decision.

“We really want to live and work in the County,” explains Natalie. “We know our product is good. We have so much passion behind this.

“This is the lifestyle we wanted. It was the right decision for us. This is it.”

A few weeks back Mrs. Hall came by to see what had become of the homestead. It has been some years since she and her husband raised their family on this land.

“She was thrilled that there was so much life and energy buzzing around the farm again,” reported Natalie. “She said her husband would have been very pleased to see how we were putting the farm back to work.”

Henry and Natalie feel they are home.