RAVEN BAKERY
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Small Medicine

2/27/2021

 
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I’m learning how to darn. So far I’ve inexpertly managed a few flat mends; I have yet to attempt anything advanced like sock heels or cuffs. My foray into darning was inspired by a book I picked up a few months ago from the library--Mending Life, by sisters Sonya and Nina Montenegro—which is both a practical introduction to mending clothes and an exploration of mending as a practice of healing and restoration. I returned the book weeks ago, but both its simple darning instructions and the idea that mending clothes could be an expression of a larger ethic have stuck in my mind.

What if caring for everyday objects, for people, for our communities, for land and water here and everywhere are tangled vines growing from the same roots? “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives,” Annie Dillard wrote. “What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing.” I don’t think darning a hole in a sweater takes the place of political action, or that individual action can change systemic problems, but maybe caring for household goods is one way to appreciate the material gifts of our daily lives—the food, clothing, and objects—and our responsibility to them. Maybe mending can be a small medicine for the large hurt of living in a culture of extraction and consumption.

Sophie
Owner | Baker
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Orders are due by Sunday night for pickup on Wednesday in Birchwood, Columbia, Lettered Streets, or Fairhaven, or for pickup Thursday at the Well Fed Farmstand in Skagit, at 17858 Sam Bell Rd.

THIS WEEK:
Red Wheat ($7.50)
Mountain Rye ($8)
Baker's Choice: Alpine Rye = 100% rye with a Tyrol-inspired bread spice of caraway, coriander, fennel, anise, blue fenugreek ($8)
Brown Butter Shortbread ($10)


Pie Please

11/21/2020

 
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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
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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)


disorderly, and marvelous, and ours

11/7/2020

 
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
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A quiet place this past summer.
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)
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Red Wheat with a hole in the middle

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


Vote Like Our Future Depends On It

10/31/2020

 
The national race may be a foregone conclusion in most states, but LOCAL ELECTIONS MATTER. If you're a citizen living in Washington State, you should have already received your ballot. Fill it out! Mail it in or drop it off at your local ballot box! If you haven't yet registered to vote, it's not too late: you can register to vote online until Monday, Oct 26, and in person at your County Election Office until Nov 3.

Because too many states don't have electoral systems as free and fair as ours, 25% of today's VOTE bread sales will go to Fair Fight, the organization Stacy Abrams founded to protect the right to vote in Georgia and across the country. VOTE breads include the tinned wheat, which stenciled quite well, and the spelt, which (unintentionally) cracked under pressure like our fragile democratic system.

Bellingham Farmers Market, 10-2.

Sophie
Owner | Baker
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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)
Lardy Apple Turnover ($6)
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
Oct 28 - Baked Apple
Nov 4 - Corn & Molasses
Nov 11 - Toasted Sesame
Nov 18 - Oat & Honey
Nov 25 - Rosemary Cornmeal
Dec - TBD


Fat of the Land

10/17/2020

 
E tells me pig fat is hard to sell. People love bacon, not backfat. After taking up walkin space for a year a lot of it ends up, eventually, in the compost. Well, pig eaters, I'm here to report that you don't need leaf lard for sweet pastry. Even backfat lard, when tempered with butter, will do very well. My early experiments in 100% lard pastry were too much, but today's lard and butter turnover crust is pretty much perfect. If you don't believe me, go try an apple turnover for yourself.

Sophie
Owner | Baker
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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:
The Most Apple Cake ($5)
Lardy Apple Turnover ($6)
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
Every Wednesday Sept 2 - Dec 16
9 weeks remaining
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
10/21 - Multicereal
10/28 - Baked Apple
Nov - Dec TBD



You Should Ride a Bike

10/10/2020

 
I could tell you all the reasons not to drive a car. I could tell you about noise, air, and water. I could tell you about environmental justice. I could tell you about oil wars, about fracking, about the existential threat of climate change. I could tell you about the squirrels, raccoons, rabbits, song birds, cats, and crows I pass daily, flattened on the road. Or the coyote, the beaver, the deer, and the fox laid out dead in the ditch. I could tell you about the barred owl I found yesterday on my way to work, about her soft, curled toes, her unruffled feathers, her pale face, her eyes, one closed to the sky, the other open to the pavement, unseeing.

But you know those stories. And besides, a bicycle isn’t an anti-car. It needs no negative justification. You should ride a bike* because it’s a delight; because your quads are strong, or will be, and feeling their power is a power in itself; because you can go so fast!; because the air above the creek is cool and wet; because on a warm night the scents bloom around you; because the sky is more beautiful than any ceiling. Riding your bike on a blue summer day is easy and sweet, but riding through a winter afternoon can be its own, uncomfortable kind of pleasure, your headlight cutting a wedge of raindrops into the dark, the wind in your face, the wet trickling cold down your collar. The comfort of the indoors is seductive, but does it make you feel alive? Does it make you laugh with wonder at the beauty of the day and your body moving through it?

You should ride a bike because you live here, in this place, in this weather, and you cannot love it from a distance, behind walls and windows. You should ride a bike just the joy of it.
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* This imperative comes with qualifications: bicycles aren't accessible to everyone; good public transit is also essential.

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:
The Most Apple Cake ($5) made with rye and buckwheat and more apple than batter.
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
Every Wednesday Sept 2 - Dec 16
10 weeks remaining
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
10/14 - Rosemary Cornmeal
10/21 - Multicereal
10/28 - Baked Apple
Nov - Dec TBD



The Opposite of Capitalism is Relationship

9/12/2020

 
In the spring, when the fields were just greening, I took Erik and a friend on a field trip to the border to visit Kevin TeVelde, master tractor mechanic and farmer of all the rye and pastry wheat used at Raven Breads. We talked a little about grains and a lot about machines. Kevin loves tractors. A few months later Erik bought one of the old combines, an Allis Chalmers Gleaner F. This fall or next spring he’ll plant grain alongside his row crops and pastured livestock.

At the end of August we biked out to Lopez for a tiny, midweek vacation. The first day we slept and ate and slept again, a farmer and a baker stomped flat by summer work. The second day, refreshed, we walked down the road to Horse Drawn Farm where Nathan, the co-owner of Barn Owl Bakery, was tinkering with his combine at the edge of the rye field. Erik stepped up to talk mechanics while I stepped back and let the talk of belts and alignments roll over me, admiring the fields, the bright sky, the men talking over the machine.
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Nathan, Erik, and Stephen (?) talking mechanics at the edge of the rye field at Horse Drawn Farm.
On our way off island we rode by Barn Owl to pick up a bag of flour, a blend of Lopez grown Fortuna, Chiddam, and Selkirk wheats from the 2019 harvest. The air was clear, the sky was a dazzling blue. It’s hard now, on this dim, smoky morning to remember the world in such intense colors, just as it’s hard to remember the looming devastation of climate change on a perfect, blue summer day. In this warming world we need local food economies more than ever. We need their human scale and resilience. We need food that builds up, rather than exploits the land and the people who work it. The flour was a gift, and so the bread I baked with it for today’s market will also be a gift. All the proceeds from its sale will go to Cooperativa Tierra y Libertad, a worker-owned farm cooperative founded by leaders of the farmworker struggle at Sakuma Berry Farm.

Sophie
Owner | Baker

FALL BREAD SUBSCRIPTION
Every Wednesday Sept 2 - Dec 16
14 weeks remaining
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
9/16 - Polenta
9/23 - Buckwheat & Molasses
9/30 - Wild & Seedy
10/7 - Roasted Squash
10/14 - Rosemary Cornmeal
10/21 - Multicereal
10/28 - Baked Apple
Nov - Dec TBD



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)
Lopez Island Wheat ($9 / 720g) - all proceeds to Cooperative Tierra y Libertad

SWEETS:
Gingersnap Cookies ($5 / 2)
Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies ($5 / 2)
Bittersweet Chocolate Cookies ($5 / 2)
Snack Cake: Apple Pear ($5)
Brown Butter Shortbread ($9 / half dz)

NEXT WEDNESDAY PREORDER & PICKUP
Self-serve pickups in Birchwood, Columbia, Lettered Streets, and Fairhaven.
Address and directions with your pickup reminder email Wednesday morning.
Order by Sunday night.

Red Wheat
Mountain Rye
Toast: POLENTA
Sweets: BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE COOKIES & CHOCOLATE CHIP HAZELNUT COOKIES

The End of Organics

9/5/2020

 
How’s that for a clickbait subject line? See, I am learning how to use the internet properly, if with some reluctance. I’m not actually giving up on Organic ingredients, but I do find that as my knowledge of the food system deepens, I’m more interested in relationships, in short, transparent supply chains, than I am in certification stickers. Certifications like USDA Organic or Fair Trade are useful if you don’t know your producers, and I’ll continue to prioritize them for ingredients I can’t buy directly, but Organic doesn’t mean sustainable or just. Plenty of farms follow the letter of the environmental regulations rather than the spirit, and, more importantly, Organic certification doesn’t regulate labor practices. Given the social-racial-economic-environmental justice disaster that is U.S. farm labor, this is an unconscionable omission.

When we choose what ingredients to buy for the bakery, the thought process goes something like this:
  1. Does it taste good?
  2. Is it from the closest supplier/producer?
  3. Does it have the shortest supply chain? If the supply chain is untraceable (i.e. the product is from the commodity market) can we eliminate this ingredient from the bakery?
  4. What do we know about the harm the production of this food does to workers and the land? Is there a less harmful alternative?
  5. How much does this ingredient cost? Can we use it without raising prices? If not, are we willing to charge the true cost of our food? Will our customers pay it?

The current results, imperfect but ever-improving, are as follows:

BUTTER: Organic, cultured cream, domestic not local. Usually from Oregon.
EGGS: pastured year-round, non GM feed, not certified Organic. Broad Leaf Farm (Whatcom), Osprey Hill Farm (Whatcom), Foothills Farm (Skagit), or Well Fed Farms (Skagit).
FLOUR + GRAINS: USDA Organic. Fairhaven Flour Mill (Skagit).
  • Red wheat – Williams Hudson Bay Farm (Walla Walla)
  • Rye – Kevin TeVelde (Whatcom)
  • Pastry wheat – Kevin TeVelde (Whatcom)
  • Elwha River Spelt – (Adams)
  • Buckwheat, corn, oat – usually from Montana Milling
FRUIT + VEG: Sometimes Organic certified, sometimes not. Whatcom + Skagit farmers, Bellingham gleanings (back alleys, orchard remnants, parks, gardens), occasionally East Side stone fruit farmers.
HERBS: The garden.
HONEY: BeeWorks Farm (Whatcom), The Valley’s Buzz (Skagit).
MILK & CREAM: Twin Brook Creamery (pastured, not Organic), Fresh Breeze Organic Dairy.
NUTS: Holmquist Hazelnuts.
SEEDS & SWEETENERS: Seeds all Organic. Tropical products (chocolate, sugar, etc.) Fair Trade certified and/or bought by the distributor directly from farmers or coops. Distributor: Hummingbird Wholesale (Oregon).
SPICES: Some certified Organic and/or Fair Trade, some not. All direct contracted from small farmers around the world by Burlap & Barrel, Singing Dog Vanilla, Red Ape Cinnamon.
SALT: Commodity sea salt.

See you soon.

Sophie
Owner | Baker

P.S. Just to put it out there: I’ve thought for years about creating a map tracing every ingredient I use from farm to bakery. I’ve been picturing this as a totally low tech pin & string map, but if you know of any students looking for an in depth study of one small corner of the food system, perhaps it could be digital?


FALL BREAD SUBSCRIPTION
Every Wednesday Sept 2 - Dec 16
15 weeks remaining
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
9/2 - Oat & Honey
9/9 - Toasted Sesame
9/16 - Polenta
9/23 - Buckwheat & Molasses
9/30 - Wild & Seedy
Oct-Dec TBD


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

BREAD:
Red Wheat ($7.50 / 720g) *tinned or hearth loaf!
Elwha River Spelt ($8 / 750g)
Mountain Rye ($7.50 / 750g)
Vollkornbrot ($8 / 750g)
Seedy Buckwheat ($8 / 420g)

SWEETS:
Gingersnap Cookies ($5 / 2)
Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies ($5 / 2)
Bittersweet Chocolate Cookies ($5 / 2)
Snack Cake: Nectarine Peach or Apple ($5)
Brown Butter Shortbread ($9 / half dz)

NEXT WEDNESDAY PREORDER & PICKUP
Self-serve pickups in Birchwood, Columbia, Lettered Streets, and Fairhaven.
Address and directions with your pickup reminder email Wednesday morning.
Order by Sunday night.

Red Wheat
Mountain Rye
Toast: TOASTED SESAME
Sweets: BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE COOKIES & CHOCOLATE CHIP HAZELNUT COOKIES

The Peace of Wild Things

6/27/2020

 
All the way up I thought about the end of the world. The night before I’d stayed late deep cleaning the bakery and listening to Bill McKibbin talk about climate and capitalism. It was a hard story to hear. I worked till after one, went home to shower and sleep and dream apocalyptic dreams, biked my morning’s deliveries, and fled to the mountains.

All the way up I thought about neoliberalism and exploitation, about inequality and power, about the ocean become desert, about atmospheric oxygen dropping, about heat and fire, rising tides and rising floodwaters, the wild gone, the animals gone, the forests gone. When my grandchildren walk this path, I thought, the mountains will still be standing, but will the trees? Will the cedars, the firs, the hemlock and spruce? What of the willow thickets, the vine maples, the red alders with their leaves wet and gleaming in the soft light? The forest, with its carpet of new green, its mossy boulders and thick ferns, its orchids and trillium, its snowmelt streams falling in white ribbons down the mountainside, was so beautiful it broke my heart. We walked in the clouds. The birds were quiet. The rain fell soft against leaves and loud against our coats. Up we walked, and up. We were wet from hats to socks despite our Gortex. When I bent down to lift the face of an orchid, water streamed from my hood. For a moment, we could see the far ridgeline though the shifting mist and trees, and then it was gone again.

Somewhere up in the snowfields above treeline my mind quieted, though the climate grief remained, a familiar ache in my throat. It was colder in the open and we soon lost the trail. The snow was rotten with hidden streams. We turned and followed our footprints back to the wet, green forest. After a time the rain stopped. We walked down into sunlight.

Sophie
Owner | Baker

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

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

SWEETS:
Gingersnap Cookies ($5 / 2)
Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies ($5 / 2)
Rhubarb Snack Cake ($5)
Brown Butter Shortbread ($9 / half dz)
Hazelnut Shortbread ($9 / half dz)

SUMMBER BREAD SUBSCRIPTION
9 WEEKS REMAINING
Every Wednesday, June - August

Pickups in Birchwood, Columbia, Lettered Streets, South Hill, Fairhaven.

RED & WHITE Subscription - wholemeal wheat table bread.
MOUNTAIN RYE Subscription - seedy rye & wheat tinned bread.
TOAST Subscription - a new type of tinned wheat bread every week.

Next WEDNESDAY PICKUP
Self-serve pickups in Birchwood, Columbia, Lettered Streets, South Hill, and Fairhaven.
Address and directions with your pickup reminder email Wednesday morning.
Order by Sunday night.

Red & White
Mountain Rye
Toast: TOASTED CORN
Special guest: BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE

Rain thoughts, shelter, & $1 per loaf

6/13/2020

 
“This weather...” the farmer next to me started, and trailed off.
“Well, at least it’s good for growing grass,” said the other. “Our pastures are doing great.”
“Yeah, there is that,” said the first, sighing.

But not being a farmer myself, and rather liking the way our garden has grown tangled and green, even if the tomatoes and cucumbers are lagging, I’ve enjoyed our cool, damp June. It’s quiet weather, good for reflection and growth. Biking through the low light, the warm, misting rain, the empty streets, I feel my mind, too, growing greener, spreading roots and uncurling new leaves.

If you read the Herald this week, or the city’s news site, you know that the city and Lighthouse Mission Ministries are working to relocate the low barrier shelter, which has been temporarily housed in Bellingham High School, to the former Public Market on Cornwall. One of the things I’ve been thinking through on my rainy rides is my own reflexive NIMBYism. I’m ashamed to say that my first thoughts were for my business, and the space adjacent to the Public Market that I’m considering as a potential bakery location. My business is, of course, beside the point, or it’s a later point, after everyone in our community has a safe and healthy place to stay. Housing is a human right, without exception for mental health or addiction. Downtown property owners and businesses are organizing in opposition to the proposed location. Please add your voice to the conversation when the public comment period opens.

$1 from every loaf of bread sold today will go to HomesNOW! The city has extended the permit for Unity Village from April 30 to 90 days after the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency. After the rocky end to last year, HomesNOW! is posting their monthly fiscal reports on their website.

Sophie
Owner | Baker
Picture

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

BREAD:
Red & White ($7.50 / 720g)
Mountain Rye ($7.50 / 750g)
Vollkornbrot ($8 / 750g)
Seedy Buckwheat ($8 / 420g)

SWEETS:
Gingersnap Cookies ($5 / 2)
Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies ($5 / 2)
Sour Cherry Rhubarb Snack Cake ($5)
Brown Butter Shortbread ($9 / half dz)
Hazelnut Shortbread ($9 / half dz)
Tahini Shortbread ($9 / half dz) LIMITED TEST BAKE

SUMMBER BREAD SUBSCRIPTION
11 WEEKS REMAINING
Every Wednesday*, June - August
Pickups in Birchwood, Columbia, Lettered Streets, South Hill, Fairhaven.

RED & WHITE Subscription - wholemeal wheat table bread.
MOUNTAIN RYE Subscription - seedy rye & wheat tinned bread.
TOAST Subscription - a new type of tinned wheat bread every week.
Toast menu:
June 3 - Summer Garden (herbs, olive oil, toasted cornmeal)
June 10 - Toasted Sesame
June 17 - Oat & Honey
June 24 - Buckwheat & Molasses
July 1 - Toasted Corn
July 8 - Wild & Seedy (sunflower, sesame, flax, maybe others?)
July 15 - August 26 TBD

*If you're going to be away for a week, you can gift that loaf to a friend or ask to double up your order the following week.

Next WEDNESDAY PICKUP
Self-serve pickups in Birchwood, Columbia, Lettered Streets, South Hill, and Fairhaven.
Address and directions with your pickup reminder email Wednesday morning.
Order by Sunday night.

Red & White
Mountain Rye
Toast: OAT & HONEY
Sweets: LEMON POPPY POUND CAKE

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