WASHINGTON 鈥� It doesn鈥檛 take much to make a basic loaf of bread: some all-purpose flour, yeast, warm water and a little bit of salt. But basic isn鈥檛 on the menu at D.C.鈥檚 newest bakery, Seylou,聽where co-owner聽Jonathan Bethony forgoes run-of-the-mill in favor of an actual mill.
Seylou is D.C.鈥檚 first whole-grain bakery and mill. That means everything served is made from locally sourced grains 鈥� rye, einkorn, sorghum, millet and barley, to name a few 鈥� which are ground on-site in the Blagden Alley and N Street shop in Northwest.
鈥淧art of the magic is when you fresh mill, you know it鈥檚 a fresh product,鈥� said Bethony, who honed his baking skills at Blue Hill Stone Barns and Washington Bread Lab before moving to the area to open the bakery.
鈥淲e find the fresh-milled grains to be much more flavorful, aromatic.鈥�
Think fresh-squeezed orange juice, compared to concentrate, or fresh-ground coffee, compared to the canister.
Whole grains also have a nutritional leg-up over refined grains.
鈥淲ith the whole grain, you鈥檙e getting all the minerals, and you鈥檙e getting the vitamins and the essential fatty acids of the germ,鈥� Bethony said.
鈥淭his is about as healthy as you can make bread.鈥�
And if there is such a thing as a healthy pastry, Seylou has mastered it. Pastry chef Charbel Abrache makes canel茅s from millet, financiers from einkorn flour and brownies from sorghum 鈥� all without refined sugar.
The scarcity of hybrid bakeries and mills, even in a “craft” food-charged era, is not a surprise. Being both the baker and the miller is no small feat. Bethony works 16-hour days, and throwing in an ingredient that can vary from day to day only adds to the challenge.
鈥淭his is not a dead product. If you buy white flour in a bag, you鈥檙e getting a dead product, and it鈥檚 much easier to be consistent with a dead product,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e working with living systems. Each time I put something in the mixer, I better be paying attention because it鈥檚 not going to be the same as it was yesterday.鈥�
Approximately one pound of freshly milled grain goes into each loaf at Seylou. The bakery currently churns out 150 to 200 loaves daily, and Bethony estimates that each takes about 36 hours, from start to finish. Tending to the fire that fuels Seylou鈥檚 20-ton brick oven is another ongoing task, but Bethony says it鈥檚 all worth it.
鈥淚 feel better feeding this to people. 鈥� I鈥檓 not willing to sacrifice quality just to make it cheaper or to make it more efficient so I make more money,鈥� Bethony said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard work 鈥� I do this because I love to do it.鈥�
Seylou Bakery and Mill is open Wednesday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bread is available starting at 1 p.m.
