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What Is Staff of Life Bread Company?  We are a micro-bakery in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Our mission is to make available to the people of Rockingham County and surrounding areas, the most wholesome, flavorful, and heartiest artisan breads.
Through our website, we hope to offer interesting facts and background on the craft of breadmaking. We are passionate about the health benefits and pure enjoyment of good bread. As we develop our website, we hope to enlighten you about the variety of breads we offer and encourage you to try something new. | What You Should Know About the Bread You Serve At Staff of Life, our wheat flours are unbleached and unbromated. Bleaching reduces the not only the nutrients, but the flavor as well. The use of bromates in flours has been banned in Europe due to their carcinogenic properties. We also grind some of our own flours for better taste and nutritional value. When you buy our breads, look for those that indicate they have been freshly ground. Our bread is free of corn syrup and hydrogenated fats. Corn syrup interferes with the body's ability to feel satiated, and you know what hydrogenated fats do to our arteries. We're lower in salt content than the average loaf of store-bought bread.
At Staff of Life, the flavor of our breads comes from more wholesome ingredients, and a greater amount of time and care devoted to crafting each bread. At Staff of Life, our breads are always fresh -- never frozen. They are made locally, right here in Broadway, Virginia, using techniques centuries (or even, millennia) old. 
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| What is the Big Deal About Sourdough? Many Staff of Life breads are sourdoughs. In addition to having much better keeping properties than standard dough, sourdoughs are better for you. As a cultured food, they contain pre-biotics, which help increase the effectiveness of the probiotics you eat. The culture also breaks down the grain more effectively than your body normally would, helping you absorb more of the bread's nutrients. The acidic nature of the bread keeps it fresh longer, in addition to inhibiting mold growth. Additionally, the sourdough culture releases more minerals in the bran.
Additionally, sourdoughs are lower in the glycemic index, meaning they keep your blood sugar level at a more even keel. Check back at this website for more interesting bread facts. A Word About Storing Your Bread Our customers sometimes ask, "How can I keep my bread fresh?" The short answer is, "It depends." Enriched and crisp-crust loaves require different care. To retain the crisp crust of a sourdough, store them cut side down on your cutting board. You may cover them with a tea towel, if you wish. For softer enriched breads (containing milk, eggs, or butter), store in a plastic bag to retain freshness. For a crisp crust, treat as you do sourdough. If your loaf goes stale, it can be refreshed by wrapping it in foil and placing it in a 350 degree oven until hot.
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