Where the Bread Begins
A short conversation with Aslak
Meet: Aslak, the baker at Alm Østre.
The rhythm of the farm is in his hands: in the flour milled from the fields outside, in the quiet strength of a sourdough culture that has been nurtured for years, and in the patience it takes to make bread that tastes like the place it comes from.
Beside him is Oscar, stepping in with steady hands while Aslak’s back takes a well-earned rest. Together, they shape loaves that are honest, slow, and deeply alive.
In this short, handheld video, we step into their world, nothing staged or polished. Just the sound of dough being folded, the warmth of the stone oven, and Aslak’s gentle reflections on time, craft, and the beauty of keeping things simple.
Here, sourdough isn’t just baked, it’s grown carefully, shaped by hand, and fired with wood.
It begins with three things:
flour from the farm, water, and a living culture that has been fed and kept for years.
The dough rests.
Then it is folded, slowly and repeatedly allowed to rise in its own rhythm.
The next day, the loaves are placed into the stone oven, where heat and time turn them golden, crackling, and full of the flavor of the fields.
Every loaf carries the taste of Alm Østre: the grain, the soil, the slow time the farm preserves.
LOCAL TREASURE
ALM ØSTRE
Alm Østre is more than just a farm: it’s a living rhythm, a quiet, grounded world shaped by nature, animals, and human hands working in harmony. This is the oldest biodynamic farm still in operation in Norway, and walking its fields feels like stepping into a story about how land and life can grow together.
BJØRKE ØSTRE 