Insights + interviews
Baker & Cook and Brewerkz collaborate on circular food creation
Baker & Cook joins forces with Brewerkz in a collaboration driven by a shared commitment to sustainability.
This partnership showcases their expertise in baking and brewing, resulting in the creation of two remarkable and environmentally friendly products: NEWGrain+ Sourdough, a delectable sourdough bread and Earthbrew Sourdough Pale Ale, a refreshing craft beer.
The partnership pays homage to the process of circular food creation. Brewerkz uses surplus sourdough bread from Baker & Cook to brew the Earthbrew Sourdough Pale Ale, while Baker & Cook uses brewers spent grains from Brewerkz, to bake the NEWGrain+ Sourdough.
We had a conversation with Baker & Cook on the occasion of their collaboration celebration about the partnership, the inspiration of circular food creation and the benefits of sourdough bread.
the Active Age (AA): Why did Baker & Cook decide to work with Brewerkz on this collaboration?
Baker & Cook: Even prior to the pandemic, our commitment to sustainability was always a part of our plan. Our founder, Dean was very intrigued by international craft breweries that could do sourdough upcycling but could not find someone in Singapore focusing on this.
Interestingly, Dean had met Wee Han, the CEO of Brewerkz, years ago at when we just opened the Eng Kong Terrace store. When Brewerkz expressed their interest in expanding their range of sustainable products and approached us, it was a perfect match since sustainability had always been on our radar.
AA: How did the inspiration/concept of circular food creation come about?
Baker & Cook: The theme of sustainability, particularly in fighting food waste, is incredibly important to our business because we believe in being responsible stewards of the environment and ensuring the well-being of future generations.
We recognise that food waste is a global issue that affects millions of people, including those who are food insecure. Hence, we are always on the lookout of how we improve our sustainability effort.
As our commitment to offering freshly baked bread, we do not practice selling overnight breads. Instead of allowing it to go to waste, we donate our surplus bread to The Foodbank Singapore to contribute to the community and fight food waste in the same time.
When Brewerkz came to us about this idea, we were absolutely thrilled to jump on it!
AA: Why did Baker & Cook specifically pick spent grains to work on a sourdough bread?
Baker & Cook: As sourdough is part of our DNA, we thought how about incorporating it into our sourdough bread?
People get a higher nutritional value with just a partial replacement of one ingredient.
Annually, more than 40 million tonnes of brewers’ spent grains are produced by breweries around the world, equivalent to 80,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. While some are turned into animal feed, the bulk of this is discarded. By repurposing brewers’ spent grains into food, we reduce food waste, divert it from landfills, diversify the food industry’s ingredient source, reduce demand for traditional crops and conserve land and water stock.
AA: What are some of the health benefits of eating sourdough bread?
Baker & Cook: As we all know, sourdough bread is better for your gut health as compared to mass produced breads due to its fermentation process. It is easier to digest for those with sensitive guts and to maintain a good gut health. Plus, when you consume sourdough bread, you do not feel as bloated as other breads.
AA: Do some of these benefits extend to the Earthbrew Sourdough Pale Ale by Brewerkz?
Baker & Cook: 20 percent of the grain bill used in brewing Earthbrew Sourdough Pale Ale is made up of sourdough bread. We haven’t lab-tested whether the health benefits of the sourdough bread are retained in the beer but beer by itself has a variety of health benefits including antioxidants, proteins, vitamins and aiding in stronger bones.
AA: Will this be a regular item on the menu going forward? If not, when will the availability end?
Baker & Cook: We would love to see this project gain traction and we can then consider to incorporating NEWGrain+ into other SKUs. Possibly a new SKU to add into our supermarket range!
For now, it has been on our special’s menu for slightly over 3 weeks and response has been positive thus far! It’s slated to be a limited-time special until 31 October but we will gauge the feedback to see if we should extend it longer!
We have also tested the sourdough and it will be paired as a brunch item! You can find the Sauteed Mushroom with Garlic Pesto on NEWGrain+ Sourodugh, Truffle Mascarpone and Poached Egg as well as the Braised Beef Cheek, Root Vegetables and NEWGrain+ Sourdough at all Baker & Cook stores except Holiday Inn Express Clarke Quay and InterContinental Bugis. Available till 31 October!
Photos credit to Baker & Cook and Brewerkz
Retail availability: The Sourdough Pale Ale is available at SGD7.80 (330ml) and the NEWGrain+ Sourdough bread retails at SGD 10.50 at all 12 Baker & Cook stores. The Sourdough Pale Ale is also available at All 5 Brewerkz outlets.
