In 1989, one mile into the Northland bush, in a tin hut with no electricity and just an old coal range oven was where the first loaf of bread was baked that was to become Rebecca Rolls’ passion and would eventually seed the beginning of Thoroughbread.
Inspired by a love of nutrition and the enjoyment of making quality food Rebecca would spend hours in the kitchen experimenting with different ingredients. The treading new ground energizes her and in time sparked the foundation of a new business.
In the early stages of Thoroughbread, Rebecca baked only wheat breads.
The breads were sold at a local market. It gave Rebecca a lot of satisfaction to have people come back each week and buy from her. Rebecca expanded the range to incorporate new varieties. Loving the experimentation of different food ingredients and the challenge of making a success of a new loaf was a driving factor for her.
Before long Rebecca started getting asked if she made Gluten Free bread. Inspired by the difficulty of making a loaf gluten free she set to work.
She decided that the only way she would be happy selling gluten free bread was if it met three requirements:
– taste great
– be nutritious
– have good texture and usability
Rebecca had strict expectations and listened to customer’s feedback as an extra guideline. The response was good from the out set but behind the scenes there were many frustrating moments. In time a recipe and method began to emerge.
As word of mouth traveled she was faced with a problem. She couldn’t produce enough gluten free bread to meet demand.
Due to this Rebecca decided that Thoroughbread would stop making wheat bread and become exclusively gluten free.
She loved the constant challenge and the great satisfaction she was getting when achieving success. It is a decision she has not regretted.
Demand for Thoroughbread’s gluten free bread has been overwhelming and outlets around the country continue to grow in number.
“Starting from scratch, when preparing the ingredients, gives me the involvement I love and the result I am proud of. I have found the whole process of getting to this point, which was full of disappointing failures and triumphant successes, so colorful and satisfying. I feel like I have tamed the wild horse and also feel I have met the three requirements that I set out to achieve in gluten free bread. In saying this, my expectations are constantly being refined so I have concluded that it will always be a work in progress. I hope that you enjoy the bread as much as I have the journey. “
– Rebecca Rolls
