Wild Wheat Specialty Breads

Wild Wheat Specialty Breads Wild Wheat has six retail shops in Mt Eden, Mt Albert, Howick, Belmont and Birkenhead as well as at the wholesale bakery in Mangere.

Winner of the 2012 NZ Food Awards and voted Metro Magazine 'Best Bakery in Auckland' 2011, Wild Wheat Specialty Breads is Auckland's leading producer of artisan breads, pastries and savouries. Wild Wheat also supplies to cafes and restaurants around Auckland.

Welcome to Wild Wheat, Silly Chilly 🌶️! We are now stocking Silly Chilly's full range of delicious chilli condiments acr...
01/09/2026

Welcome to Wild Wheat, Silly Chilly 🌶️! We are now stocking Silly Chilly's full range of delicious chilli condiments across our six stores (we highly reccomend adding to your next eggs or avocado on sourdough!). To celebrate, we're giving you a free loaf of sourdough with every Silly Chilly product purchased, for a limited time and while stocks last. Enjoy elevating your brunch game at home!

SPOTLIGHT ON: OUR SIGNATURE LOAF, THE KŪMARA SOURDOUGH!Founder and head baker Andrew Fearnside reveals all about our mos...
26/08/2026

SPOTLIGHT ON: OUR SIGNATURE LOAF, THE KŪMARA SOURDOUGH!

Founder and head baker Andrew Fearnside reveals all about our most popular loaf, our OG Kūmara Sourdough:

This loaf is one of my very favourite recipes, and it's so exciting that it is still one of Wild Wheat's most popular products. Along with the Country Sourdough, it was one of the first recipes I developed from scratch. The idea came from seeing a recipe somewhere for pumpkin sourdough and I immediately thought, 'Why not kūmara?'

The first challenge was to get as much kūmara incorporated in the dough as possible, while still retaining a bread texture - too much kūmara and it turns quite cake-like. Part of the development process was choosing the right kūmara, which eventually became golden kūmara. This variety brought good flavour, colour and crucially, didn't contain as much water as other types. This made it easier to achieve the bread texture I was looking for.

I wanted to create something dark and rustic, with a rich flavour. I added both wholemeal and rye flours for an earthier taste, and the recipe began to take shape. The sugars in the kūmara have always added extra colour to the crust, which takes a fine balance when baking to not go too far and burn them! Nothing has changed in this recipe or its process in more than 20 years, and it still has that very rustic and robust look about it.

I’m proud that this kūmara loaf has become one of the loaves Wild Wheat is most well-known for - it won an NZ Artisan Food Award in 2012. To the best of my knowledge I believe we were the first bakery to bring a kūmara sourdough to market in Auckland, and I feel that is a special achievement.

It's still one of our most popular loaves, both in wholesale and retail. Hundreds of loaves are sliced every night for cafes around Auckland, and par-baked loaves are shipped further afield for customers to reheat when needed.

My hot recipe tip for the kūmara is a simple one - grilled with garlic butter and parmesan cheese. Simple, yes, but delicious!

THE FACES BEHIND WILD WHEAT – MEET MT EDEN MANAGER, CHRISTY CHEN-HIRANO! She's the smiling face behind our Mt Eden count...
14/08/2026

THE FACES BEHIND WILD WHEAT – MEET MT EDEN MANAGER, CHRISTY CHEN-HIRANO!

She's the smiling face behind our Mt Eden counter that so many of you know and love, and Christy Chen-Hirano says it's easy to be so happy when she's living her dream! Originally from Taiwan, she remembers the fried bread and the sweet, soft, fluffy bread she'd find on street corners and at night markets with great fondness, and when she moved with her family to East Auckland in 1996, the local bakery quickly became her happy place too! She says, “I used to visit all the bakeries in town and dream of working in one!”

A mum of one, Christy has a degree in Japanese and previously worked as an English teacher in Japan. She has been with Wild Wheat since 2019.

If she could only eat one Wild Wheat bread for the rest of her life, it would be the wholemeal sourdough - "this was actually the last flavour I tried in all of our sourdough range, and I've loved it ever since. It's simple, nutritious, and just delicious! It's too hard to pick just one… sorry, I'm picking one more! The Turkish Pide. I could finish a whole one myself!"

You'll also find her treating herself to a small flat white and a cinnamon bun in the morning- but for a special brunch, she loves making French toast with our cinnamon buns (there's a little tip!).

"Being a local in Mt Eden, I love chatting away with our regulars and meeting newcomers. Hearing what they like to pair with our sourdoughs and buns, or even just getting a simple compliment on the coffee, goes a long way in making my day! No matter if it's a rainy old day or a sunny one, there is always lots of laughter and warmth in the shop."

Christy loves 7am, when the shelf is beautifully stocked with our bread and pastries, the smell of almond croissants is in the air and the first sip of coffee - "it always makes my day! I have to say that Be Specialty, our coffee supplier, does a pretty awesome job on our Stumpy blend to go with our bread and pastries."

For more, make sure you sign up to our newsletter - head to wildwheat.co.nz 🍞

LOAF OF THE MONTH 🍞 Pea, Lentil and Barley Sourdough - This is a bit of a special loaf of the month, with our Pea, Lenti...
08/08/2026

LOAF OF THE MONTH 🍞 Pea, Lentil and Barley Sourdough - This is a bit of a special loaf of the month, with our Pea, Lentil and Barley Sourdough using leftover ingredients from previous monthly specials! Affectionately nicknamed the Odds and Ends loaf on the bakery floor, it combines our famed white sourdough base with blue peas, black lentils, pearl barley, red lentils and purple kibbled wheat for a flavour-filled and nutrient-packed loaf that we love!

Also, our special pies of the month: 🥧

GOURMET PIE OF THE MONTH: Beef Red Curry – Slow-braised steak combines with fresh New Zealand kūmara in a fragrant, Thai-inspired red curry sauce and our signature flaky pastry! (Contains shrimp paste).

VEGE PIE OF THE MONTH: Potato and Mushroom Gratin – Winter's most comforting dish is reimagined in pie form. What could be better! Potatoes are slowly simmered in a creamy garlic sauce and mushroom cream, and then topped with Swiss cheese.

The Faces Behind Wild Wheat – Meet Mike Meharg, our General Manager!  From a flight attendant through to managing Wild W...
21/07/2026

The Faces Behind Wild Wheat – Meet Mike Meharg, our General Manager!  

From a flight attendant through to managing Wild Wheat’s entire operation, Mike’s career in hospitality and business has taken many forms! Now focussed on running Wild Wheat, Mike – who you might recognise as a contestant on the latest series of The Traitors NZ! – shares all his eclectic passions, and what drives him to succeed every day.

He's a 44-year-old proud Westie who loves golf, cricket and any other sport thrown my way, as well as his friends, family and beers. Hospitality runs deep in his veins, and it’s a true passion of his. He's been at Wild Wheat for five years, wanting to join owner Andrew's long-standing legacy and commitment to making the best sourdough in Auckland!

You'll find him hard at work at head office or popping into stores - if it's morning tea time, he'll be sipping on a flat white and treating himself to an Iced Raisin Danish, his favourites (and also the Kūmara Sourdough, of course!).

"I have had my hand in many pies (no pun intended) before Wild Wheat - I’ve been a flight attendant, a bar owner, a courier and a Director of HR. My most recent experiences have been in operations roles with Mojo Coffee here in Auckland and Chicago," he says.

"I have a deep passion for hospitality and customer service. Servicing hundreds of wholesale customers a day, and thousands of retail customers a week, is no easy task, so seeing us delivering week after week, month after month by our teams is a testament to everyone involved. I also love that Andrew is dedicated to his craft and is in the dough nine hours a day, meaning that I never need to worry about the quality of our product. It also means most of our ‘meetings’ are conducted in the bakery over mountains of dough!"

LOAF OF THE MONTH - TURMERIC & BLACK PEPPER SOURDOUGH A little bit of colour in the depths of winter, our special loaf o...
06/07/2026

LOAF OF THE MONTH - TURMERIC & BLACK PEPPER SOURDOUGH

A little bit of colour in the depths of winter, our special loaf of the month is both packed with flavour and nutrients.

Anti-inflammatory and immunity-boosting (perfect for this time of year!) this gorgeous loaf is packed with antioxidants and helps with digestion. Plus, it's delicious- perfect as a side with soup, for your lunchtime sandwiches or eaten simply with some good butter.

Available in all of our stores for July.

Spotlight on: Country Sourdough – Bringing a Slice of Europe to Auckland! 🍞 Wild Wheat’s founder and head baker Andrew c...
01/07/2026

Spotlight on: Country Sourdough – Bringing a Slice of Europe to Auckland! 🍞

Wild Wheat’s founder and head baker Andrew chats about our biggest loaf, the country sourdough!

"The country sourdough holds a special place in Wild Wheat history. Along with the kūmara, these were the first two sourdough recipes I completely designed from scratch.

"In 2002 as I got to better understand the sourdough process, I wanted to create my own recipes that spoke of what I wanted Wild Wheat to embody. Kūmara was an iconic first choice. I also wanted to create something rustic and tasty that spoke of Europe and that could be a centrepiece of a table - enter the country sourdough!

"The country sourdough has always been our biggest standard sized loaf, at 1kg. I added rye and wholemeal to create that rustic feel. We also made a rye starter {still going today} just for this loaf, which gave a stronger “sourdough” flavour. Finally, inspired by northern French-style rye loaves, I added apple cider to the liquids to give another flavour profile.

"All of these ingredients help give the country loaf great keeping qualities. I feel it’s a great option for a “weekend” loaf that can keep being cut away at over the course of two to three days, or be the centrepiece piece for a long lunch."

Our country sourdough is incredibly popular Auckland-wide – here’s how some of your favourite restaurants and cafes use it for a little inspiration you can re-create at home!

Poderi Crisci, Waiheke Island:

Chargrilled country sourdough bread, organic cow milk stracciatella, ortiz anchovy, lemon zest.

The Heke, Waiheke Island:

We serve the country sourdough simply, with whipped butter. Delicious!

Little Lane, Clevedon

We use the country sourdough for our toasties! We do a three cheese, cheese and corn and a salami toastie and our best seller is our salami ,which is an Italian thinly sliced spiced salami with our secret mix of cheeses topped with a drizzle of hot honey.

The Faces Behind Wild Wheat – Meet Luke Frew, our Night Shift Production Manager! 🍞 Luke’s a bit of a newbie at Wild Whe...
20/06/2026

The Faces Behind Wild Wheat – Meet Luke Frew, our Night Shift Production Manager! 🍞

Luke’s a bit of a newbie at Wild Wheat, having started seven months ago. He’s responsible for making things run smoothly during our nighttime baking, so your bread and pastries arrive fresh and perfect every morning. 

He has 15 years of experience working in artisan bakeries and patisseries, from small businesses with a few employees through to large-scale operations that never close!

He'a a dual national Brit/Kiwi, - he grew up in Pukekohe and started hus baking career after dropping out of an engineering degree.

There are few bakeries in NZ of this calibre and scale, he says, so the chance to manage a high-volume artisan bakery like Wild Wheat was hard to pass up. "While small local bakeries have their charm, big operations like this can have a greater meaningful impact on both customers and suppliers."

Luke's typical workday starts at 4.30pm when he gets a printout of the types and amounts of baked goods on order for the next morning, organises the team and then he's off! The team is split between baking the sourdoughs shaped by our day shift team or making and shaping our small items such as hamburgers and panini. 

"I usually take up a role within production but also spend time overseeing how things are going, trying to corral our voracious microbes into a schedule that works for us as bakers. We prepare some doughs for the day shift team, manage our sourdough starters and then we clean up just in time for the 3am finish."

And if he could only eat one Wild Wheat product for the rest of his life, what would it be and why?

"The Seeded Sourdough! Sourdough features heavily in my household, unsurprisingly, and one like the Seeded Sourdough with its wholemeal flour and seeds is both delicious and nutritious."

Check out our newsletter for more insider chat on Wild Wheat and our team - sign up at wildwheat.co.nz!

For all of our monthly specials, insider knowledge and exclusive treats, make sure you've signed up to pur monthly newsl...
10/06/2026

For all of our monthly specials, insider knowledge and exclusive treats, make sure you've signed up to pur monthly newsletter (we promise we won't spam you!). Follow the link in our bio or head to wildwheat.co.nz, you'll find the sign up box at the bottom of our homepage 🍞

June's Loaf of the Month: Brown Rice Porridge Sourdough! Highly nutritious, moist and chewy, this loaf is made by incorp...
08/06/2026

June's Loaf of the Month: Brown Rice Porridge Sourdough! Highly nutritious, moist and chewy, this loaf is made by incorporating cooked brown rice porridge into our dough for extra body and flavour - and the porridge naturally helps to extend the loafed shelf life. In stores until the end of June.

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Auckland
2022

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Monday 7am - 5pm
Tuesday 7am - 5pm
Wednesday 7am - 5pm
Thursday 7am - 5pm
Friday 7am - 5pm
Saturday 8am - 4pm
Sunday 8am - 4pm

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