Tucked away off the beaten path on beautiful St. Joseph Island is an old farmstead once owned by the Still family and, before that, the Church’s. In 2013, the 100-acre farm was purchased by Nicholas and Bethany Higgins. Nicholas, a mathematics major and carpenter by trade, is from Edmonton, Alta. Bethany grew up on St. Joe and they now have two small boys, 4- and 2-years-old. They were looking for a place they could raise their children and live close to the land and always knew that the Island was that place. They both have a passion to create their own healthy food and baking their own bread is part of that passion.
They decided to take that passion and turn it into a business. With a small business/entrepreneur grant, they were able to build Stillcroft Farm and Bakehouse.
Nicholas explained to me that their certified organic flour is sourced from K2 Milling in Beeton, Ont. and that their artisanal bread contains just three simple ingredients; flour, water and salt. That is the base for all their breads, with variations, depending on the type of bread they decide to bake. The bread is naturally leavened, so instead of yeast to raise the dough they use a sourdough starter which fulfill both these functions very well. He further explained that a sourdough starter is a mixture of flour and water which is allowed to ferment, gathering beneficial wild yeasts and bacteria to develop into a living organism.
- Sandra J. Trainor