Monday, June 11, 2012

Salvation in Bread

Those of you who know me know that I have this thing, this little diatribe I do that Jesus must have been a loaf of bread. Literally. I make that point very emphatically, to the point of annoying people at dinner parties.

It's just too easy a comparison to think about how when you make bread, you let it rise (on the cross) until doubled, "punch it down" (or watch it die), and then let it rise again (resurrect).

And lest we forget the miracle of the loaves and fishes? When good bread is made, a small portion of the dough is left behind as a "starter" for the next loaves of bread. Thusly, thousands of people can be fed from just one loaf.

But what happened on Friday was a different type of salvation.

After being a bit blue on Thursday, fending off angry customers and encroaching competition, I decided to make chili which meant cornbread. But not just any cornbread. I was thinking I wanted to make Sourdough Cornbread. So I turned to my favorite girl on the internet. I knew she'd have it and sure enough, there it was.

We're talking all of the cornbread fun without all the sweetness. It was dense like a good loaf of country sourdough, but meatier. I had 4 (maybe 5) slices with some good butter and kosher salt. I had another two slices the next day with butter and a spoon of Boat Street Pickled Plums.

Everything about my grumpy Thursday dissolved away in the creamy substance of this bread.

So whether or not Jesus or bread is my ultimate salvation is anybody's guess. I just know making something I like saves the day.


Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Who we want to be?


Everybody needs goals. Perhaps it’s a great way to be as a baker since if you know where you want to end up, it’s just a few quick steps to get there.

After being open four and a half years, mostly being in survival mode, it has become clear that we need to take a step back. Things have started to run more smoothly. The staff has taken charge of the bakery, and they now know instinctively what to do. We’d like to move the bakery to the next level, which is going to be a big shift in how we handle our daily tasks. I’d like to build better partnerships with my suppliers. In fact, I’d like to find better suppliers, and not rely so heavily of large box vendors where I don’t have a real person to deal with. There are going to be struggles. There are going to be inconsistencies, there are going to be days when we don’t have strawberries, but I am dedicated to bringing in the best quality ingredients to the shop, taking full advantage of the bounty that we have in the Pacific Northwest. Seizing the moment so to speak. Life is too short for the same old mediocre stuff every day.

The other goal I have is to grow the business, and perhaps open another retail entity. Unfortunately, we aren’t going to be able to stay at our current location forever, so it’s time to broaden our horizons. I have been taking some time to look deep into my heart and find my passion. Sure, I love food and I love pastries. But now that I’ve successfully opened a bakery, what do I really want to give back to the world? With strength, focus, and determination, I feel ready to take on the challenges of moving forward, no matter which direction the future takes me to.