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Loaf’s Sustainability Policy
Here at Loaf, we understand the importance for us as a business to be responsible and sustainable corporate citizens and we believe the first step to this is tackling the wastage in our part of the food supply chain.
Our sustainability policy at Loaf in a nutshell is:
Reduce - Reuse - Recycle
Reduce
Food waste has by far the biggest carbon footprint of the food supply chain. The carbon footprint of the energy consumed to produce the food is far greater than that used in producing the packaging. As such, our number one priority is to reduce food waste . We have a number of ways that we aim to do this;
- Our products are made to order and baked fresh every day.
- Any surplus product is then donated to our friends at Kiwi Harvest who redistribute it to those in need.
- We have a factory shop on site where we sell any excess fresh products at affordable prices. We also provide excess product to our team of Loaf staff to share with family and friends.
- Lastly, any product that’s not up to Loaf’s quality standard is collected by a local pig farmer and fed to his very lucky pigs!
Reuse
We work with our suppliers to buy in bulk with as little packaging as is necessary. We reuse a variety of the packaging our supplies come in and recycle what we can't reuse whenever possible.
Our Loaf boxes that are used to send out fresh bread and pastries daily to our customers are reused as many times as they can safely be used. Our delivery drivers collect the empty boxes from our customers each day and brought back to the Loaf HQ. We also charge our customers a small fee for lost and damaged boxes to encourage them to help our mission of reducing wastage.
Recycle
When it comes to our products, our packaging policy is;
As little as possible, as much as necessary.
Our first responsibility is to provide you with a safe product that retains its freshness - this is our priority when it comes to packaging design. If the packaging doesn’t do its job then the food is wasted and has a far bigger carbon footprint.
We are committed to continue to look for the most sustainable packaging for our retail products and our shipping solutions. We’re working on having all of our film bio-based and biodegradable and all of our plastics to be able to be recycled through soft plastics recycling.
What can I do?
As mentioned, the most important aspect is to reduce your food waste. So use your loaf and avoid buying too much fresh produce and ensure all food is stored correctly.
To extend products' shelf life we recommend storing things like cakes, slices, and bread in the fridge.
Fresh pastries are best stored in a cool, dry place.
If you’re not planning on using something straight away then pop it in the freezer.
Use Your Loaf
New Zealand households waste 157,389 tonnes of food per year, with bread being the single largest food type, making up almost 10% of the total household food wastage. Here at Loaf, we encourage you to think twice before throwing away bread that’s past its best when there are so many purposes for slightly older bread.
So, use your loaf and check out our 5 days of bread for some of our favourite uses;
Day 1: Eat fresh!
Day 2: Toasties
Day 3: French Toast
Day 4: Bruschetta
Day 5: Croutons
View our recipes for inspiration
Freeze your Loaf
All large loaves will freeze well if you make sure to defrost before reheating. Try to avoid freezing small products as they are more likely to dry out. Our cakes and slices also freeze well so you can stash them away and pull them out whenever unexpected guests show up or you’re craving a hassle-free dessert.
Revive your Loaf
From the moment bread is finished baking it begins to lose it's moisture through a process called starch retro gradation. In the original baking process, the starch begins to gelatinise above 60C and absorb moisture. Once absorbed, the starches swell and create the spongy, fresh, solid texture we associate with bread. As the starches recrystallise over time, they lose the moisture that was once locked in the baking process. By simply reheating your bread, the starches will re-gelatinise and revive the soft texture we have come to associate with "fresh" bread.
The Microwave Method
Reheating your bread in the microwave is the simplest way to soften and revive your stale bread and has the longest lasting results.
Steps:
- Moisten a section of a tea-towel long enough to completely cover your loaf of bread (or the portion that you intend to eat). Do so by soaking a tea-towel in cold water, and then squeeze out as much of the water as possible.
- Wrap the portion of bread in the damp tea-towel.
- Place the covered loaf or slice into the microwave, and heat for 10 seconds.
- Remove the bread from the microwave and take it out of it’s tea-towel blanket.
Serve and enjoy!
Oven Method
This method takes a little longer to revive bread than the microwave but works just as well.
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 150C (300F).
- Wrap the bread in tinfoil, making sure it is fully covered.
- Place the foil covered bread into the oven for 5-20 minutes. The larger your loaf is, the closer to the 20 min mark you'll want to heat it for.
- Remove bread from the oven and allow it to cool in the foil. You'll want to let your bread remoisten inside the foil so that as it cools it doesn't release the remaining moisture as steam.
Serve and enjoy soon as it's cool enough to touch!
The Celery Method
This method is for remoistening bags of sliced bread; however, it takes a little bit of foresight compared to the other methods.
Steps:
- Slide a small celery stalk inside the bread bag with the sliced loaf.
- Seal or close off the bag.
- Place the bread bag with the celery stalk into the fridge and let it sit for several hours. If possible let it sit overnight in the frige as this tends to have the best results.
- Remove the celery stalk from the bag. The celery should be fairly dry and tough by this point having lost moisture to the bread.
Enjoy your sliced bread how you normally would!