When I was a child, I saw the magic at work in everything. The door between the physical and imagined was open and the world was full of wonder. There was little difference between the magic of tide pools, methodically explored in Tevas and fleece on an overcast afternoon, laminated species key in hand, and the magic of a backyard fairyland, where I might spend equally serious hours exploring the fairy kingdom and serving feasts from the garden in raspberry goblets and bowls carved from hard, green apples. I found worlds in the secret colors inside clam shells, in the geode's prickly center, in the lush abstractions of Georgia O'Keefe's erotic flowers, which I carried in a pocket-sized art book that must have come from a museum gift shop. I kept beach stones and horse chestnuts for pets.

But, of course, I grew up. In biology and physics classrooms we learned beautiful theories, but never spoke of wonder. In English class we read fiction, but wrote only critical essays. Each subject in turn closed its door on imagination. I learned many things in school, but forgot magic.

Looking the other day at the wild topography of the rye breads, I felt an upwelling of the old wonder. The loaves cooling on the rack before me were as beautiful as any purple-hearted clam shell. They were made with intellect—with a practical understanding of temperature and time, of enzymes, yeast, and bacteria—and with the visceral knowledge of long practice. Science and intuition, fact and metaphor, both. Bread baking, I thought, might be a kind of practical magic.

Sophie
Owner | Baker

The WINTER BREAD SUBSCRIPTION and individual orders  are available every Wednesday for pickup in Birchwood, Columbia, Lettered Streets, Fairhaven, and now at the Well Fed Farmstand in Skagit, at 17858 Sam Bell Rd.

Sign up this week to pick up a Winter Bread Subscription in Skagit and get a $10 farmstand credit.

Orders due by Sunday night for pickup the following Wednesday.

Red Wheat ($7.50)
Mountain Rye ($8)
Baker's Choice (variable)
Brown Butter Shortbread ($10)

Some good things: sunshine, gamboling lambs, and bread next week!

These blue skies are temporary, and all the more dazzling for it; the lambs will soon be out on pasture, where you’ll be able to see them cavorting when you stop by the Well Fed Farmstand for veg, eggs, meat, and Mountain Rye; and the Winter Bread Subscription runs from next Wednesday until the weekly farmers market starts up again in April.

Sophie
Owner | Baker

WINTER BREAD SUBSCRIPTION
10 Weeks, every Wednesday Jan 27 - Mar 31
Pickups probably: Birchwood, Columbia, Lettered Streets, Fairhaven (open to adding more neighborhoods west of the freeway if you have a good porch!)
Bread and shortbread will also be available to order week by week without a subscription.

TINNED RED WHEAT subscription ($75)
- An excellent all-purpose wheat.

MOUNTAIN RYE subscription ($80)
- The classic seedy rye & wheat.

BAKER's CHOICE subscription ($80)
- A new rye every week, some old favorites and some we have yet to invent. The likely lineup:
Jan 27 - Rugbrod
Feb 3 - Gingerbread Rye
Feb 10 - Ring Rye
Feb 17 - Apple Rye
Feb 24 - Miche
Mar 3 - Alpine Spice Rye
Mar 10 - Smoky Vollkornbrot
Mar 17 - Root Cellar Rye
Mar 24 - Honey & Spice
Mar 31 - Westphalian Pumpernickel

Nina lives in the Gulf Islands. She found my name in a zine her daughter brought her, Baking for Biodiversity, by the Portland writer and baker Katie Gourley. She liked that I run the bakery by bicycle—she thought I milled my flour by bicycle, too!—and so she called up her local library and asked the librarian to find my phone number. She doesn’t have a tv, a computer, or a cell phone; she listens to Amy Goodman in the morning on a Bellingham radio station, and sometimes a little music afterwards if it’s any good. Doesn’t have a car and, at 80, no longer rides her bike. She bakes bread every other week—pain sauvage, “because I’m wild!”—in a 94 year old electric, cast iron oven in her 100 year old house. She is a photographer. She mentioned, in passing, that in her youth, in London, she photographed The Beatles.

Pain sauvage is wild fermented bread, made without commercial yeast or sourdough. The dough ferments with the yeast and bacteria present in the grain. This is how idli is traditionally made, and injera. I heard once of a baker in Italy who left his mixing bowl of dough to wild ferment every night. I’ve never made a wild fermented wheat bread, so I’m copying out Nina’s instructions here as told to me, with all her particulars. If you decide to make her pain sauvage, you will, of course, need to adapt the ingredients and process to your own kitchen.

NINA's PAIN SAUVAGE

Day 1
Mill 1/3c rye, 1c emmer, and 1c red fife wheat into coarse meal. Mix with an equal volume of very cold water and ferment overnight at approximately 20°C for 20 hours.
Mix 4c red fife wheat flour with 4c water. Ferment overnight at approximately 20°C for 20 hours.

Day 2
Mix the overnight ferments, 3tsp sea salt, and 6c of red fife wheat flour with a wooden spoon. Let sit for an hour. Knead for 5 minutes, and then stretch and fold every hour for 5 hours. Leave out for another three hours or so before putting the dough into the refrigerator overnight.

Day 3
Take dough out, let sit for half an hour.
Turn dough onto a table dusted with bran. Cut into 4 pieces.
Grease 4 round, glass pans and place dough into them. Scatter flax seed on top.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 600°F. Turn off. Wait half an hour. Turn back on to 600°F. This process takes about 2 hours. When the oven is hot the second time cover the pans and put them in the oven. Turn the oven down to 500°F. After 35 minutes, take off the covers. Bake for another hour.

WINTER BREAD SUBSCRIPTION
10 Weeks, every Wednesday Jan 27 - Mar 31
Pickups probably: Birchwood, Columbia, Lettered Streets, Fairhaven (open to adding more neighborhoods west of the freeway if you have a good porch!)
Bread and shortbread will also be available to order week by week without a subscription.

TINNED RED WHEAT subscription ($75)
- An excellent all-purpose wheat.

MOUNTAIN RYE subscription ($80)
- The classic seedy rye & wheat.

BAKER's CHOICE subscription ($80)
- A new rye every week, some old favorites and some we have yet to invent. The likely lineup:
Jan 27 - Rugbrod
Feb 3 - Gingerbread Rye
Feb 10 - Ring Rye
Feb 17 - Apple Rye
Feb 24 - Miche
Mar 3 - Alpine Spice Rye
Mar 10 - Smoky Vollkornbrot
Mar 17 - Root Cellar Rye
Mar 24 - Honey & Spice
Mar 31 - Westphalian Pumpernickel

Nothing new this week, but here's an interview I did on business and capitalism that went up last week on the Institute for Washington's Future and a newsletter reprint from December, 2017.
How to love the sky in winter

Here is my hypothesis: it isn’t the gray that makes our winters feel oppressive, it’s our built environment. If you spend your days working in an office from dark to dark, or tucked away in your house, hiding from the rain, these short, wet days are grim indeed. And when the sky presses low, as the asphalt presses up, and the walls of brick and stone and wood close in from all sides, I too feel trapped. But that, I think, is the fault of the asphalt and walls, and not the sky.
​
On wild winter days, when the wind blows hard and the rain comes down sideways and the damp cold slides deep into you and settles there to wait for spring, the city is a miserable place to be. But go out walking on the beach, along the dark strip of pebbles between seaweed and driftwood. Turn up your collar and lean into the wind till your eyes tear and your cheeks flush. Breath in the cold and brine. The sea is violent and alive, white caps racing for shore. The beach is strewn with treasures. Or trash. Bring a bag to collect the storm’s flotsam, whatever it may be.

And when the storm lifts, and the clouds race over you—altocumulus over cumulus, and the brief glimpse of the cirrus high above—those are the days for open spaces. The brown, stubbled fields of the Skagit Flats have their own, subtle beauty in winter, and above them, the sky is wide and bright, even on an overcast day.

But best of all are the low, gray days with their steady rain. In the city, the nimbostratus is a dull blanket, the rain inexhaustible and exhausting. But go out walking in the woods. Find old woods, if you can, with Douglas firs and red cedars wider than your outstretched arms, and an open understory. Layer up with wool and leave your rain coat behind. It’s hardly raining under the trees, more a dripping mist, and the plastic is loud. Without it, you can hear the forest: rain hitting the leaves of sword ferns, the wind breathing through the trees, and off and above, a raven chuckling. The low clouds catch on the hills and treetops, pooling and whisping away. If you stand still, in just the right place, you might even have a moment alone with the forest, no freeway rumble or flyover, no stereo boom or human voices, just the wind and rain moving over the landscape, and the quiet sound of your own breathing.

WINTER BREAD SUBSCRIPTION
10 Weeks, every Wednesday Jan 27 - Mar 31
Pickups probably: Birchwood, Columbia, Lettered Streets, Fairhaven (open to adding more neighborhoods west of the freeway if you have a good porch!)

TINNED RED WHEAT subscription ($75)
- An excellent all-purpose wheat. (Switching from hearth to tinned for the winter because we'll only be baking once a week and tinned loaves have better keeping quality).

MOUNTAIN RYE subscription ($80)
- The classic seedy rye & wheat.

BAKER's CHOICE subscription ($80)
- A new rye every week, some old favorites and some we have yet to invent. The likely lineup:
Jan 27 - Rugbrod
Feb 3 - Gingerbread Rye
Feb 10 - Ring Rye
Feb 17 - Apple Rye
Feb 24 - Miche
Mar 3 - Alpine Spice Rye
Mar 10 - Smoky Vollkornbrot
Mar 17 - Root Cellar Rye
Mar 24 - Honey & Spice
Mar 31 - Westphalian Pumpernickel

Today is the last market of the year. I've been mixing and baking all week in preparation, and nearly everything (except an entire batch of Mountain Rye with gaping top crusts) came out beautifully. It's been a long week, and a good one. I hope these loaves and pastries will make the last weeks of your year a little sweeter.

See you soon. And don't forget your umbrella!

Sophie
Owner | Baker

MARKET MENU
10am – 2pm, 1100 Railroad Ave

BREAD:
Red Wheat ($7.50 / 720g)
Elwha River Spelt ($8 / 680g)
Mountain Rye 2nds ($6.50 / 750g)
Vollkornbrot ($8 / 750g)
Seedy Buckwheat ($8 / 420g)

SWEETS:
Gingerbread Cake ($6 - $16)
Pain d'Epices ($24)
Cookies ($5 / 2)
- Gingersnap
- Chocolate Chip Hazelnut
- Dark Chocolate Peppermint
Shortbread ($10 / half dz)
- Brown Butter
- Hazelnut
- Lemon Poppy
Gingerbread Biscotti ($8)

I heard crows mobbing and looked up for the threat. No raptor circling, but a liquid chuckle from the tall fir across the street. Ever since there are ravens everywhere. That black bird there, probing the lawn, perched on a low, swooping branch, strutting the roof gable, calling from the woods, flying a wedge-tail silhouette against the cold, blue sky. They must have been here all along but I only saw what I already knew: garrulous urban crows, and the occasional raven in the hills and forests out past the city’s edge.

Sophie
Owner | Baker

Orders are open for the LAST MARKET, Dec 19. We'll be closed for a month afterwards so stock up!

Red Wheat
Elwha River Spelt
Mountain Rye, cut or whole
Seedy Buckwheat, cut or whole
Vollkornbrot, cut or whole
Gingerbread & Pain d'Epices
Cookies & Shortbread

MENU for WEDNESDAY, DEC 9
Order by Sunday night for pickup the following Wednesday.
Pickups in Birchwood, Columbia, Lettered Streets, Happy Valley/Fairhaven

Red Wheat ($7.50)
Mountain Rye ($7.50)
Wild & Seedy "Toast" ($8)
Cookies: Chocolate Chip Hazelnut, Bittersweet Chocolate, or Gingersnap ($15 / 6)

NOTES & UPDATES:

TODAY'S GINGERBREAD: I thought I’d solved the puzzle of last week's suddenly falling gingerbread but apparently not. They all fell down. Again. Damn it. I've turned the failure into some really excellent gingerbread biscotti, and have also held some loaves back from the second bake to send (very discounted) to market for those of you who enjoy cakes the texture of baked pudding.
DECEMBER MARKETS: starting next week we'll have Smoky Vollkornbrot (I'm determined to get that electric smoker to work!) and Pain d'Epices, a truly spectacular spice and honey bread that's been aging in the bakery for months.

WEDNESDAY BREADS: Red Wheat and Mountain Rye every week, plus Roasted Squash (Dec 2), Wild & Seedy (Dec 9), and Black Bread (Dec 16). As always, orders for Wednesday pickup are due by Sunday night.

WINTER HOLIDAY: The bakery will be closed for a month after the last market, Dec 19. We'll have everything available for pre-order and pickup at the last couple markets for those of you who want to stock your freezers, and will get the Winter Bread Subscription dates + menu up in the next week or two.

Sophie
Owner | Baker

MENU for WEDNESDAY, DEC 2
Order by Sunday night for pickup the following Wednesday.
Pickups in Birchwood, Columbia, Lettered Streets, Happy Valley/Fairhaven

Red Wheat ($7.50)
Mountain Rye ($7.50)
Roasted Squash "Toast" ($8)
Cookies: Chocolate Chip Hazelnut, Bittersweet Chocolate, or Gingersnap ($15 / 6)

There’s nothing fancy about this pie. No elaborate spice blend. No family secrets. Just very good ingredients put together into a very good pastry. That fantastically flaky crust is made with a blend of wholemeal spelt & buckwheat from Fairhaven Mill, organic butter, and lard rendered from Well Fed Farms pastured pigs. The filling is a mix of interesting apples gleaned from 19th century orchard remnants around Bellingham, with just enough butter and sugar to round out their flavor, and a splash of cider vinegar made from the bakery’s apple scraps.

You can order pie, among other things, in the online store. Orders due by Sunday night. Self-serve pickup next Wednesday in Birchwood, Columbia, Lettered Streets, or Fairhaven.

In thanks for the abundant land we live on and in acknowledgement of violence and coercion of the Point Elliott Treaty, 10% of Wednesday’s sales will go to the Lhaq'temish Foundation.

Sophie
Owner | Baker

P.S. If pie is too sweet for your taste, here's a Black Friday rant from a couple years ago.

TODAY AT MARKET and NEXT WEEK FOR MARKET PREORDER
10am – 2pm, 1100 Railroad Ave

BREAD:
Red Wheat ($7.50 / 720g)
Elwha River Spelt ($8 / 750g)
Mountain Rye ($7.50 / 750g)
Vollkornbrot ($8 / 750g)
Seedy Buckwheat ($8 / 420g)
Sourdough Stuffing ($6)

SWEETS:
Gingerbread Cake ($6) - There was massive and inexplicable cake collapse. The gingerbread supply is limited today.
Gingersnap Cookies ($5 / 2)
Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies ($5 / 2)
Bittersweet Chocolate Cookies ($5 / 2)
Brown Butter Shortbread ($9 / half dz)

MENU for WEDNESDAY, NOV 25
Order by Sunday night for pickup the following Wednesday.
Pickups in Birchwood, Columbia, Lettered Streets, Happy Valley/Fairhaven

Red Wheat ($7.50 / 720g, $15 / 1.5kg)
Mountain Rye, cut or whole ($7.50 / 750g, $22.50 / 2.3kg)
Rosemary Cornmeal "Toast" ($8 / 750g)
Gingerbread ($16 / serves 3-4)
Heirloom Apple Pie ($30 / serves 6)
Cookies: Chocolate Chip Hazelnut, Bittersweet Chocolate, or Gingersnap ($15 / 6)

A good morning. Pale blue sky and the clouds back lit to the east. Crows fly by by the dozen, winging south. The maple outside the window is green gold. I have a book for every mood and desire in stack next to me: a book on time and culture, on time and landscape, on wilding marginal agricultural land, on living deliberately, and on climate hope, plus a couple of paperback mysteries just for fun. You know the feeling when you’re just so pleased with the state of things it fills you up? I have a memory from childhood of lying under the covers with a flashlight long after bedtime, rereading a favorite book and being so overfull of self-satisfied pleasure—the secret of being up late, the swashbuckling adventure story, the warm bed on a cold night—I had to wiggle out my joy. Like that. Lots to worry about in the world, and I will, but right now I have a new day, a pile of good books, coffee brewing, and the promise of sunshine. I hope your morning is just as sweet.

Sophie
Owner | Baker

TODAY AT MARKET and NEXT WEEK FOR MARKET PREORDER
10am – 2pm, 1100 Railroad Ave

BREAD:
Red Wheat ($7.50 / 720g)
Elwha River Spelt ($8 / 750g)
Mountain Rye ($7.50 / 750g)
Vollkornbrot ($8 / 750g)
Seedy Buckwheat ($8 / 420g)

SWEETS:
Gingerbread Cake ($6-$16)
Gingersnap Cookies ($5 / 2)
Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies ($5 / 2)
Bittersweet Chocolate Cookies ($5 / 2)
Brown Butter Shortbread ($9 / half dz)

FALL BREAD SUBSCRIPTION / WEEKLY PREORDERS
Order for the coming Wednesday or sign up for all the remaining Wednesdays through Dec 16.
Pickups in Birchwood, Columbia, Lettered Streets, Happy Valley/Fairhaven

RED WHEAT Subscription - whole wheat table bread
MOUNTAIN RYE Subscription - seedy rye & wheat
TOAST Subscription - a new tinned loaf every week
Nov 18 - Oat & Honey
Nov 25 - Rosemary Cornmeal
Dec - TBD

Does it matter if we ride the bus, build a free library, buy goods from our neighbors instead of corporations, plant trees? Does it matter if we learn, protest, organize, vote, make art, donate our time and money? Does it matter if we shout our rage and grief for imperfect world we have and the imperfect world we’re making? No. You and I are two of eight billion. Yes. Individual action matters when it helps bend society towards change. Thank you for being good neighbors. Thank you for standing up, speaking out, and reaching for change. Thank you for living out loud and joyfully.

It’s a beautiful morning at the beginning of a beautiful day and I’m going to spend it out with friends in the hills and fields and quiet.

Enjoy the day and the market. It’s Hannah’s birthday, so be sure to wish her happy when you stop by the stand!

Sophie
Owner | Baker

P.S. As often happens when I’m filled with big emotions, I’ve been thinking these past anxious days about poetry. Here, if you’d like them, are two that read for me like a deep breath: an old favorite from William Stafford and a new favorite from Ada Limón.

TODAY AT MARKET and NEXT WEEK FOR MARKET PREORDER
10am – 2pm, 1100 Railroad Ave

With the changing season and new flour and I've been struggling to keep my fermentation on schedule. There are a lot of loaves with holes in them today, and even more loaves that might have holes (I had to stop cutting them in half to find out before I cut them all). Both--holed and possibly holed or whole loaves--are $6.50.

BREAD:
Red Wheat ($7.50 / 720g)
Elwha River Spelt ($8 / 750g)
Mountain Rye ($7.50 / 750g)
Vollkornbrot ($8 / 750g)
Seedy Buckwheat ($8 / 420g)
Bread 2nds ($6.50)

SWEETS:
Gingerbread Cake ($6-$16)
Gingersnap Cookies ($5 / 2)
Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies ($5 / 2)
Bittersweet Chocolate Cookies ($5 / 2)
Brown Butter Shortbread ($9 / half dz)

FALL BREAD SUBSCRIPTION / WEEKLY PREORDERS
Order for the coming Wednesday or sign up for all the remaining Wednesdays through Dec 16.
Pickups in Birchwood, Columbia, Lettered Streets, Happy Valley/Fairhaven

RED WHEAT Subscription - whole wheat table bread
MOUNTAIN RYE Subscription - seedy rye & wheat
TOAST Subscription - a new tinned loaf every week
Nov 11 - Toasted Sesame
Nov 18 - Oat & Honey
Nov 25 - Rosemary Cornmeal
Dec - TBD