A Million Miracles

Posted on April 04, 2020 · 3 mins read

I thought you could use some positive news in these uncertain days. I’ve been busy since the last update. I’ve zigzagged the country teaching professional classes, met with the rest of the board to plan for the Bread Bakers Guild for the year, and toured a zillion bakeries to get inspiration and better solidify my own plans. The generosity of the baking community continues to take my breath away.

The incredible team at Sun Street Breads in Minneapolis. Solveig Tofte, owner of Sun Street, Chair of the Bread Bakers Guild of America’s Board, and all around badass insistent I come study her bakery and others. Thank goodness she did!

Brake Bread was among many bakeries I visited in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Thank you for your candor and enthusiasm.

While visiting Moxie Baking Co in Louisville, CO, my friend and hero Andy Clark told me that a million miracles are coming my way. And don’t you know, he’s exactly right? From the farmer and miller who have been delivering local flour to me to the baker that volunteered to reconfigure my pro forma-- I feel so incredibly fortunate for the new and old friends who have reached out to provide guidance as I learn all of the things I didn’t know that I don’t know.

Sandwich Witchery

The food at Moxie is off the rails. Having an enthusiastic team, high quality ingredients, and endless creativity helps!

So here’s where we are today. On my way home from a wheat trial with the Artisan Grain Collaborative and University of Wisconsin Madison, my gig work for the next three months was all cancelled and I got notice that the farmers markets would be delayed. And then the texts and emails started pouring in from customers that couldn’t find bread, or really needed something delicious to sooth their anxieties. I immediately started baking, opening our wood-fired oven months early and without a plan. Certainly this activity soothes me too.

We are currently open for contactless pick-up three days a week. Our limited menu is posted on our Facebook group and updated on our website. Since we can’t have the staff we normally have, quantities are limited. We appreciate your patience as we figure out new systems and open our Bread Shed to the public—something we never intended to do. It has been gratifying to nourish the community and I appreciate how considerate people have been with respecting social distancing. We will continue to bake for you from the Bread Shed for as long as we need to and as long as we stay healthy.

In the meantime, I’ve signed a lease, received my mechanical drawings from the architect, and today I got a message from the oven manufacturer letting me know they have finished building our new oven. I am currently looking for contractors; so if you know someone, feel free to point me in their direction.