The bread arrived by UPS, heavy as flesh, wrapped in brown paper. Its springy crust belied a two-day journey from baker Avery Ruzicka at Manresa Bread in Los Gatos, Calif.

If shipping bread cross country seems like a wanton act of locavore disobedience, consider that I’m not talking about just any loaf. The one Ms. Ruzicka sent me was made using Oregon-grown Edison wheat berries, ground to flour shortly before being mixed with water, naturally fermented for 24 hours, then baked to tangy, tender goodness. This bread is imbued...