Tristaun LeClaire always had a knack for food. During college, he worked in restaurant kitchens in Napa Valley. Later, he worked as the chef at a naturopath’s health retreats, where he designed meals plans for participants, including some with food sensitivities. He learned about alternative ingredients; he leaned toward using whole, unprocessed foods and experimented with grains and spices. Years later, when his young son developed an allergic reaction to gluten, Tristaun was poised to bake foods his son could enjoy.
A friend who was into artisan bread gave Tristaun a sourdough starter, which he initially fed with brown rice flour to dilute and eventually eliminate the gluten. The starter thrived, and Tristaun used it in gluten-free breads. The starter wasn’t particularly sour but added a depth of flavor. After six months, he had a loaf that tasted good, but it often collapsed on baking. He began selling loaves through the naturopath’s office, and people loved it.
The LeClaires were living in Oregon when Tristaun’s brother Devaunt joined the team with a business degree, and they decided to expand. “I went Thomas Edison on that bread,” Tristaun says, describing the effort he put into modifying his recipe. After another one-and-a-half years, in summer of 2015, he had the loaves he wanted: great taste, good texture, and a round, artisan shape. Triataun uses organic ingredients whenever they’re available. The breads are gluten free and “Top 8 Free”—free of the top eight allergens—and also nonGMO and vegan. They are made with whole grains, not white flours or processed ingredients; he uses psyllium husk powder and flaxseed meal in place of the xanthum gum binder that many gluten-free recipes use. Tristaun has succeeded in creating a high-quality bread that’s healthy, delicious, and available to everyone.
Devaunt was stationed with the Marines in North Carolina; Tristaun and his wife were familiar with the area, and they all knew it to be friendly to local businesses. So, Tristaun’s family moved to Burlington and started Simple Kneads. He now bakes in a commercial bakery six days per week, and is hiring additional staff. (He can handle up to 70 loaves on his own, and when he needs help, he ropes in the sales director.) Tristaun shares the company’s mission statement: “The best things in life are good for you. We produce products that bring this truth to everyday food, making foods more extraordinary by making them more basic. Our ingredients are foods in their most wholesome and natural form, as close as possible to the way we find them in nature. We purpose to utilize non-allergenic ingredients wherever possible. For those who read labels, ours will be clean—incorporating ancient processes and nature’s best ingredients from around the world.”
Visit Simple Kneads online at https://www.simplekneads.com/.