Update, Aug. 28, 2026: Since this story was first published, ORA-1929 founder Boris Bérard has won the Grand Champion title in the Non-Traditional category at the California Pizza Challenge in Anaheim. The victory qualifies him for the World Pizza Championships in Parma, Italy, in April 2027.
At the 2026 International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas last month, ORA-1929 ranked 22nd in the world in the Traditional American category, one of the competition’s most competitive divisions. The recognition follows Bérard’s earlier qualification for the French Pizza Championship finals, earned through preliminary rounds in Nice in early March.
But beyond the ranking, the result points to a shift in how pizza is being made and understood.
Founded by Boris Bérard, ORA-1929 is built around Einkorn, one of the oldest known wheat varieties, paired with a natural sourdough fermentation process. The approach is designed to produce what the company calls a “gluten-friendly” crust: not gluten-free, but structured in a way that may be easier to digest.
Einkorn has never been hybridized like modern wheat and retains a simpler gluten structure. When combined with a long fermentation process, much of that gluten is broken down before baking. The result is a dough that maintains the texture and flavor of traditional pizza while aiming to be more accessible to those with gluten sensitivities.
While gluten-free pizza has become widely available, it often comes with trade-offs in structure and taste. ORA-1929’s works within the framework of traditional dough, refining it rather than replacing it.
The methodology, referred to as the “Einkorn Sourdough Blueprint,” was presented at the expo as a model for restaurants and mobile kitchens, targeting a growing segment of diners who have opted out of pizza altogether.
From Anaheim to Parma
Five months after his top-25 finish in Las Vegas, Bérard returned to competition with an even bigger result. On Aug. 24, he won the Grand Champion title in the Non-Traditional category at the California Pizza Challenge in Anaheim, becoming the first French competitor to enter the competition. The victory qualified him for the World Pizza Championships in Parma, Italy, in April 2027.
His winning pizza, called Cali Pasture, was created as a tribute to California and its dairy heritage. Bérard relied on naturally leavened einkorn, or Triticum monococcum, an ancient wheat with a weaker gluten structure that can make the dough more difficult to work with than modern wheat. He used his wild sourdough starter and French flours, with no commercial yeast.
The pizza was topped with lamb shoulder confited in olive oil for 24 hours with garlic, rosemary and bay leaf. The lamb rested overnight in its own fat before Bérard pulled it by hand and pressed it into rings. Oaxaca mozzarella and fermented heavy cream from Alexandre Family Farm formed the base. After baking, Bérard added labneh made with Real California Milk, red onion pickled in white wine vinegar, fresh mint, toasted pine nuts, piment d'Espelette and lemon zest.
Bérard said almost everything for the pizza came from within 15 minutes of the convention center. He purchased the lamb, labneh, mint and pine nuts on Brookhurst Street in Anaheim. From France, he brought his einkorn starter, French flours and piment d'Espelette.
For Bérard, the difficult-to-handle einkorn dough remains central to what he is trying to demonstrate through competition.
“This is the part of my work I care most about, and it's the reason I compete, to show wellness can be good,” he said. “There is no compromise to have regarding taste and health.”
The Anaheim victory marks another step forward for ORA-1929 after Bérard's top-25 finish in Las Vegas this spring. Next April, he will take his approach to naturally leavened einkorn pizza to Parma and compete at the World Pizza Championships.
