Beer by-products turned into bread

A Joburg bakery has partnered with a beer-maker and wants to use beer byproducts to produce 30,000 loaves to feed the needy. 

The Health Food Company, a baking company in Kya Sand, aims to feed South Africans bread made from maize and wheat products and hopes to change the perception that healthy food is expensive through this project. The company partnered with SA Breweries (SAB) and will use by-products from Castle Lager beer.

“We manufacture a variety of products in the bakery. Bread and maize are some of the most-eaten products in SA, this is due to the fact that in our country, obesity is a huge thing and we want to assist in making the country healthier,” says the bakery CEO Candice Robbertze. 

The Health Food Company is tasked with largely producing thousands of loaves from the beer’s locally-grained byproducts, which will see orphanage homes across Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape receive bread that is sustainable and high in fibre. .   

Established a month before lockdown in 2020, she says the project has elevated the bakery . The beer brand supplies the company with flour milled from grain. Upon arrival, the flour is turned into bread and then distributed by SA Harvest, whose mission is to end hunger in South Africa. It has delivered 38,6-million meals since its inception in October 2019. 

“It’s been absolutely phenomenal to work with the brand and on their idea on zero waste and the fact that they are feeding communities with bread. . When we manufactured the bread, the taste was absolutely amazing,” Robbertze said. 

She says the beer brand’s initiative is parallel to what they do, which made its timing perfect.

“Our bakery is very good at innovation, so when they suggested we look at their product, we gladly said yes because whenever someone says they want any type of bread, we make it first thing in the morning.” 

“They brought us the flour and we played around with the recipe and we got a gorgeous bread. They deliver spent grain. We take what they deliver and mix it with our own dough and follow the simple steps of the bread-making process and let it rise and then mould it. We have to let it rise for the second time and put it into the oven, which bakes it into a golden-brown bread.” 

“In this business you need to constantly come up with ideas. You have to change direction as things change. With Covid-19, we couldn’t get our products imported and we had to start milling our own grain. Thankfully, this has made our products so much cheaper,” said Robbertze. 

Castle Lager brand director, Wendy Bedforth said: “As a proudly South African brand, we are delighted to leverage our production process for the greater good that will fuel the everyday hard-working South African. Bread of the Nation forms part of our rebranding campaign to bring Mzansi’s favourite brew closer to our communities. This campaign speaks to our commitment to using the power of our brand to reshape and rebuild a better South Africa.”