varda's blog

We would like to hire an intern to work at Bread Obsession in Lexington, MA for this fall.  This position would be ideal for someone who loves to bake bread and wants to try out commercial baking in a relatively small and high quality artisan shop.  This is a paid position.  Email breadobsession@gmail.com if you have any questions and/or would like to apply.  Please include your resume, and explain your reasons for applying.

   (Some home baking today - a 90% durum with wheat starter.)

I am thinking about going to the Kneading Conference next week.  Has anyone gone lately or planning to?   Any thoughts or tips?  Thanks!

We are looking for help in our Waltham bakery, Bread Obsession - including delivery and logistics plus bread baking.   We will train.   If you know of anyone who is interested, please have them get in touch.   http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/fbh/5758711840.html
Thank you.

Varda Haimo

Bread Obsession

Some may remember that I put out a call for interns to visit my bakery Bread Obsession this summer.   I am sad to say that no interns applied.  First, we got a lovely visit from exceedingly accomplished baker, Pat Roth, which she wrote about so eloquently here.

Are you interested in learning to bake high quality bread in a busy production environment?   Now is your chance. Bread Obsession is offering internships starting at the beginning of May and running through August for 2-4 weeks each.  We are a young and growing artisan bread company.   We sell to restaurants and stores, and will be participating in the biggest farmers market in Massachusetts at Copley Place in Boston.  You will work alongside us on all bakery tasks including mixing, shaping, loading the big oven, and keeping the bakery tidy and clean.

Hi.   I thought that some might be interested in this profile of Bread Obsession in the Spring issue of Edible Boston.   

http://www.edibleboston.com/edible-food-finds-bread-obsession/

It has been such a long time since I've posted on Fresh Loaf.   As some of you may remember, I went very gradually from baking for fun to baking for fun and profit.    Over that time, the business has steadily grown, but was limited by the fact that it was based in my home kitchen.   Over a year ago, my business partner and I started looking for a place to rent.   It took longer than I could ever have imagined to find a place that we could afford in a reasonable location, but finally we found a place last summer.   Then it took longer t

What happens when your must have bread fails repeatedly?   Other than tears and recriminations, a lot of head scratching and experimentation.  This generally leads to upping your game at all levels as you optimize each step of the process, but unfortunately the main problem can remain hidden.  

This week I've been honored by a visit from Pat Roth (aka proth5.)    I invited her here and happily enough she decided to come and share some of her baking wisdom with me.    One of the things I particularly wanted to master were those pesky brioches à tête.   How do you keep those heads up high?   How do you keep the neck from thickening until they look like body builders with no discernable distinction between body and head?   

These are urgent matters but first

A year ago, I decided to close down my little bake to order business, and see what else I could cook up.   I got my wholesale license, and into a pretty decent market, and set out to make a lot of bread.   A lot of bread all depends where you are coming from.   I'm baking out of my kitchen with fairly small equipment and it sure seems like a lot to me.    I picked up several wholesale customers, and just when I think I have that under control, I bake for a big market, all semblance of control vanishes, and I just bake as much and as fast as I can