“When I started working for New Seasons Market, the bread was one of the first things that impressed me so much. It was the real deal,” says Helen Neville, marketing director.

And the bread should impress. Using artisan baking methods, the Europeanstyle breads’ basic ingredient list includes only organic flour, water, salt and yeast, when needed. New Seasons’ bakeries were the first supermarket in-store bakeries in the country to be certified organic.

The commitment to organic extends to all 10 stores located throughout the Portland, Ore., area. The first location opened in 1999, and an eleventh location will open later this year. Store sizes range from 14,000 sq. ft. to almost 50,000 sq. ft. About two-thirds of the stores’ product line are natural or organic, but unlike other natural food store chains, New Seasons also offers a twin line of conventional brands. “We have Cool Ranch Doritos, because sometimes those taste good,” Neville says. “But in our fresh departments, like the bakery, we have a complete and total emphasis on the very finest ingredients.”

“Portland is a good bread town, and it has a lot of high-quality artisan bakeries,” says Jesse Dodson, bakery merchandiser. “So there’s already a support base for what we’re doing.” All the bakeries’ products are certified organic, and about 98 percent of them are 100 percent organic; the remaining are classified as made with organic.

The bakeries offer almost 100 varieties of artisan breads, with 80 SKUs available at any time. All are made from eight basic doughs. For example, Dodson uses the classic sourdough to produce an artisan loaf, baguettes, a sandwich loaf and a mini loaf.

“The bakery is really known for its sourdough,” Dodson adds. It was inspired by the artisan version at San Francisco’s Boudin’s Bakery, and the starter dates back to 1849.

Jesse Dodson selects a loaf from the bakery’s 16 ft. countertop display of breads. Production is visible to customers on the other side of the display.

Some sourdoughs get their flavor from vinegar or ascorbic acid, but New Seasons’ sourdough flavor is achieved strictly through fermentation. The sourdough starter lives at a cooler temperature than other bread varieties’ starters, and the final dough is retarded for 18 to 20 hours before being brought back up to room temperature for baking. For every loaf of sourdough sold, New Seasons donates 50 cents to Loaves & Fishes, the local Meals on Wheals program.

Organic Sicilian loaves are made with organic semolina and leavened with pate fermente. The divided dough is then rolled in sesame seeds and rests overnight in wicker baskets. Seven-grain bread is made with organic red and white wheat, barley, rye, oats, sunflower seed and triticale (a hybrid of wheat and rye), and it is sweetened with organic honey. Wheat levain features whole wheat and wild yeast and has a nutty flavor. The wheat nut loaf, made with wild yeast, is loaded with whole wheat, walnut chunks, flax and millet.

The olive ciabatta, a top seller at the bakeries, is characterized by an open crumb and chewy crust. The loaves feature Greek Kalamata olives and are one of the products certified as made with organic.

“The olives aren’t organic, but they are clean,” Dodson says. He could use organic olives from California, however, they do not have the same flavor and cost three times as much. “Sometimes it’s actually better for quality to use something that is not necessarily organic,” he adds.

“Our customers on some level trust us to select quality ingredients and trust us to make the best decisions for them,” Neville says.

New Seasons uses Oregon Tilth for organic certification, which guarantees that the bakeries don’t use any ingredients that are genetically modified, exposed to pesticides or herbicides and are not irradiated. Maintaining the organic certification requires additional documentation, and when introducing a new bakery product, Dodson must first submit a product formulation sheet for approval. The approval time is usually two weeks, and once Oregon Tilth adds the new product to its list of certified items, New Seasons can put it on the shelves.

The core product line sells well, but the bakeries introduce about four to six new items every year. The new items are usually seasonal and often feature local ingredients. Last year the bakery introduced a line of seasonal flatbreads, which were cross-merchandised with cheese. Dodson worked with the cheese manager to develop the best pairings.

Adjusting production

Dodson, who has 20 years of baking experience, came on board with New Seasons in 2005 and has already made his mark. Almost 90 percent of the products are his formulations. “We’ve added quite a few products and revamped our procedures and methods. It’s all to make the bread as good as it can be,” he says.

A store tour, which is common at New Seasons, watches while a baker braids challah.

One of the biggest changes he made was in production procedures. Production used to start at 10 p.m., but by reevaluating the preferments, he was able to have the bakers come in four hours later. He extended the prefermentation process, which allowed for a shorter final fermentation while providing the same flavor and texture.

Mixers start the day’s production between midnight and 3:30 a.m., then another staffer comes in to start shaping the dough. Another staffer joins them two hours later to begin baking. Every two hours a new staffer comes in, and production runs until 8 p.m. Afternoon and evening production focuses on whole grain varieties, which are made with natural starters and need to rest for better flavor and texture.

“I think we’ve done a lot to improve the flavor, texture and shelf life of the bread without using any preservatives or dough conditioners. It was just reevaluating the fermentation process for each specific dough,” Dodson says. The retarder is used to slow down the fermentation process if the ambient temperature or humidity in the bakery is too high. The French dough isn’t retarded, but the challah and sourdough doughs are. Almost all products ferment at 77°F.

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