Wild Wheat Belmont is the Belmont branch of Wild Wheat, Auckland's leading producer of artisan, specialty breads, with six bakeries across the city. From its shop at 7/69 Lake Road it sells a varied range of sourdough and European-style breads along with rustic pastries and savoury items, open daily from 7am to 4pm.
The bakery works without preservatives, using time and effort instead — naturally made starters and long fermenting techniques — to create bread that tastes great and is also good for you. That craft is backed by more than two decades of baking: Wild Wheat celebrated its 21st birthday in 2020, sharing stories from the team, including Andrew, known as the cook.
Expect a dozen sourdoughs from classic white to kumara, potato, rosemary and caraway rye, international loaves such as Turkish pide, ciabatta and focaccia, specialty breads including fruit, walnut and heavy rye, croissants, and a new limited-edition sourdough every month. Because there are no preservatives, the bread keeps differently to commercial loaves — wrapped in a tea towel it stays good for at least 2-4 days, and it freezes and reheats beautifully.
Step through the door at 7/69 Lake Road and you are in bread country. Wild Wheat Belmont is the Belmont branch of Wild Wheat, the bakery behind what it calls Auckland's leading range of artisan, specialty breads. Along with five sibling bakeries around the city, this shop turns out sourdough and European-style loaves, rustic pastries and savoury items every day, from 7am until 4pm, seven days a week.
Wild Wheat's philosophy is stated plainly on its own site: simple ingredients, a sophisticated process. The bakery does not use preservatives, preferring to rely on time and effort — naturally made starters and long fermenting techniques — to create bread that tastes great and is also good for you. That patience shows up in the keeping quality, too: without preservatives the loaves will still keep well for at least two to four days, and reheated or toasted they come back as good as fresh.
There is history behind the ovens as well. In 2020 Wild Wheat marked its 21st birthday with stories from the team, including one from Andrew, known simply as the cook, giving customers a look at the people behind the bread.
The sourdough bench is the heart of the range. Alongside a classic White Sourdough there is a Sourdough Baguette, Wholemeal and Country Sourdoughs, and loaves that show the bakers' range — Kumara Sourdough, Potato Sourdough, Rosemary Sourdough, Caraway Rye, Seeded and Kibbled Wholewheat Sourdoughs, a traditional Sourdough Miche and a Spelt Sourdough.
The international shelf travels further: French sticks, Turkish Pide, Turkish Baps and Foldovers, Ciabatta, Focaccia, Puglia, Brioche loaves and buns, Bagels, Corda, English Muffins and Croissants. The specialty section rounds it out with a Mixed Grain Loaf, White Tin Loaf, Fruit Loaf, Walnut Loaf, Rice Flour Loaf, Wholemeal and Light Grain Rolls, Hot Dog and Hamburger Buns, and a proper Heavy Rye Loaf.
One note the bakery is upfront about: by law, its products made with flour contain folic acid.
Each month brings a limited-time special sourdough, available across all six Wild Wheat locations — Belmont included. Recent creations have included a Smoked Rye Sourdough, September's Sprouted Lentil Sourdough and the Ecoloaf, described by the bakery as a sourdough with a conscience. The current star is the Fenugreek Sourdough: New Zealand-grown wheat studded with fenugreek seeds, filling the room with a warm, gently nutty, almost maple-like aroma as it bakes. The bakery suggests it toasted with butter, or as a very good sandwich loaf.
Belmont is a neighbourhood bakery rather than a destination cafe — you come for the bread. Doors open at 7am every day of the week, which suits early shoppers who want first pick of the benches, and the team can be reached on (09) 446-1091 if you want to check that a particular loaf is in. Pick up a sourdough for the week, a French stick for dinner, croissants for tomorrow's breakfast, and whatever the monthly special happens to be.
Because there are no preservatives, Wild Wheat publishes storage advice with its bread. Keep loaves wrapped in a tea towel or a cotton bag, or wrap them in tin foil or cling film and freeze them for upwards of a month. To refresh, thaw slightly and return the foil-wrapped whole loaf to an oven at around 200 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes depending on size, then unwrap and serve. Reheated or toasted, the bakery promises, it will be as good as fresh.