Newsletter: Last market, Christmas orders, & Cascadia Weekly

Hello Bread Eaters,

We're rushing headlong towards the last farmers market of the year! The looming months of wide-open off-season are exciting and terrifying. Exciting, because there's so much I want to learn about fermentation, flavors, milling, business management, and wood fired ovens, and I'll finally have the time to explore and experiment to my hungry heart's content; terrifying because this bakery project has taken up more of my waking hours over the past nine months than I'm comfortable admitting,even to myself, and three months is a long separation!

Swing by the market this weekend if you want to hear more about my winter plans. I won't overwhelm the rest of you with my overexcited scheming (plus, I'm really not comfortable with the number of exclamation points writing it all out would entail. Better to save that level of enthusiasm for interpersonal interactions).

We (Raven Breads and I) got a brief but nice mention in last week's Cascadia Weekly. Amy Kepferle's dinner of soup and open faced cheesy sandwiches sounds a lot like what I eat most nights, though she probably one had a modest slice or two of bread with Samish Bay cheese, while I often manage to down a quarter loaf and most of a block of Ladysmith in once sitting. Once in a while I pause to wonder at the sheer volume of bread that I eat, but only briefly. Then I make another slice of bread and butter.

And finally: Christmas specials! I've been playing with a few new recipes that I'm breaking out for this last market. If you're excited about any of these treats, or are planning to stockpile any of the regular market products, shoot me an email or drop a line on the Facebook page and I'll make sure I have enough to feed you through the holidays!

Seasonal specials:

• stollen ($20) with boozy fruit and house-made candied citrus
  
• high mountain shortbread ($10/dz) breathing in the east side of the mountains with juniper, vanilla, and lime
  
• sleepy time shortbread ($10/dz) with chamomile, lemon, and honey
  
• screamin' ginger cookies ($10/dz) all spiced up with a triple threat of powdered, fresh and candied ginger
  
  

Happy eating.

Sophie Williams
Owner | Baker