Sprouted breads are a well known health food today, but what is Essene bread? The term Essene actually refers to the Essenes, who valued the well-being of mind, body, and spirit and from this came the notion to eat ‘living’ foods. One of their signature foods was a ‘living bread’ made by a gentle process of germinating grains and seeds, and baking at low tempatures over a period of time.
Manna Bread is truly the modern Essene Bread and one step further than your typical sprouted bread because it is hand-crafted from sprouted whole organic grains and slowly baked at a temperature much lower than conventional bread. For food safety purposes, Manna Bread is not considered a raw food, but is baked in a way which keeps many of the beneficial nutrients intact. Any additional ingredients, such as carrots, raisins, nuts, seeds or herbs, are all certified organically grown. The sweetness of Manna Breadis solely due to our unique sprouting process, which converts starches into sucrose, maltose and other complex carbohydrates. There is no added sugar, no yeast, no salt, or preservatives. Fully sprouted Manna Breads are full vitamins and minerals that are easily absorbed by the body, because they are released from the grain during the three day sprouting process and undergo a more delicate baking process.
The orginal Essene bread was made by Lifestream, which was a subsidiary of Nature’s Path. In approx. 1993, it was rebranded “Manna Bread”, and Nature’s Path made it until 2007 in Canada. In 2008, Manna Organics aquired the baking division from Nature’s Path, and we moved the baking operation to the Chicagoland area. We continue to make the signature sprouted, unleavened bread, following the same procedures and recipes from the early Lifestream days. We are a small family owned and -operated bakery, making Manna bread mostly by hand in small batches.
