When the pandemic hit and locked everything down in March, the Milawa Bread owners were receiving a delivery which would kickstart their dream of a local grain economy.

Two hand-made flour mills from France are now at home with the North East sourdough bakers and the demand for local flour was instantaneous.

Retail sales of the flour were part of the long term plan, but with supermarket shelves being stripped of flour at the time of the Mill arrival, retail sales began immediately.

"We couldn't have actually planned it, as soon as the mills were were plugged in we were selling flour the next day locally," Milawa Bread co-owner Adam Rivett said.

"That is pretty special."

But milling their own flour wasn't enough for Adam and wife Flo - they wanted to take sustainability further, deeper.

Teaming up with Byawatha-based agribusiness owners Andrew Freshwater and Angela Murphy, from Clear Creek Pastoral Co, the next stage of their paddock-to-mill-to-bakery plan was set in motion.

The two North East businesses are now growing their own grain.

In April, 60 trial varieties of wheat as well as broadacre plantings of wheat and other grains were sown.

The the hope is that the most suitable grains, those that "thrive in the local conditions and provide the best culinary outcomes", can be developed for ongoing use in the bakery and wider Milewa and Co family businesses.

"When I wake I actually dream about what is possible with food," Adam said.

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"And I don't think there is enough hours in the day to do all the things I want to do.

"Something that has come out of COVID particularly, is being sustainable and seeing where your products come from.

"That is what excites me about the next 10 or 20 years is making our local food system a lot more sustainable.

"And not that reliance of stuff coming from further afield. My background is cooking from scratch as a chef. But as a baker the first thing I saw was that everything came in a bag, there was a lot of premixes and there was no contact with our raw ingredients.

"That is where I fell in love with that idea or dream about finding out about the baking process and how to do this from scratch."

Adam doesn't see growing ingredients as a new way of doing things, but rather going back to basics.

"I don't think it is a new bread revolution but rather one we are going back to," he said.

"I think we need to start looking at flour as a fresh product.

"Like a carrot, or like milk, like cheese.

"Rather than something we keep in the cupboard that can last forever.

"Freshly milled flour has a shelf life, around three to six months.

"This isn't just about getting the best locally ingredients but also keeping those traditional skills alive.

"Without the skills the ingredients are nothing."

The region has its roots to stone milled flour back in 1861 when the Oxley Mill was in action.

Adam said he believes there is a future in the bread industry when consumers will be "aware of the local wheat varieties and their flavour profiles in their bread".

And he compares the shift to that of the wine industry.

"A shiraz from one region will taste different from another, or a red wine made from shiraz is very different from one made from cabernet grapes," he said.

"A sourdough loaf with hellfire wheat could be a totally different flavour from the same loaf made with one of the African varieties currently being trialled.

"This is one of the most exciting times for bread making across the world where people are putting more emphasis on where their ingredients come from."

With a focus on community, along with the commitment to nurturing skills in the regional area and establishing a local grain economy are portrayed in the short film Bring it Home directed and filmed by chef turned filmmaker Paul Smith from Supergoat Media.