Early Firing French Road Bakery Wood-Fired Brick Oven July 30th 2010

Works well as evidenced by little smoke coming into chimney area below the lintel; note also how bricks have turned 'white' inside because temperature is (way) above 750F

The Oven:  Weight: 10,000 lbs; Bricks: 500 plus; Thickness of brick 'heating mass': 7"; Thickness of insulation materials: 4"; Internal Dimensions: 49.5" * 37". Nr. of 750 gram (pre-baked) loaves per batch: 15-30 depending on loaf shapes; Nr. of Batches: 4-8 depending on dough, type of wood, length of firing, fortitude of Baker.

100% Whole Wheat Loaves ready in the oven

Crumb shot of 100% Whole Wheat loaves in the oven above:

Ingredients   

Flours: Organic Whites, Whole Wheat, Rye, either stone ground, fresh ground or sprouted.

Water:  Revitalized well water -  typically about 65-75% of the flour contents depending on recipe. Also filtered, though am waiting to purchase a much better filtration unit.

Salt: Sea Salt - usually about 1.3% of total recipe including flour and water, i.e. 12 grams per 600g loaf. Usually Marisol Celtic Sea Salt (the best I have found) but sometimes other brands depending on supply/transportation costs.

Starter : Wild or natural cultures; i.e. made from grain and water with no other inputs except air and naturally existing yeasts and bacteria from the environment. The whole thing is a) very simple and b) a mystery.

Also: olive oil or butter used to lubricate pans (only for pan loaves), and sometimes as ingredient in the loaves; home ground rice flour used on peels to load into oven and which generally falls off bottom of the loaf during baking and removal from oven. Traces of ash (and occasional small pieces of charcoal) on bottom of hearth loaves for which no extra charge!

Schedule, Ordering

Baking Days:  June-October 2011:  Baking Days are Tuesdays and Fridays.

Weekly Order Priority List:  I would prefer to run a simple operation servicing members of the local community around the Fourchu, Gabarus, French Road and Big Ridge area. Production capacity of the oven and bakery facility seems limited to about 200 loaves a week (with some pastries to be added to the menu later); this means about 60 families ordering two loaves a week for example. So a priority list will be kept in the order in which customers put in for a regular weekly order until such time as production capacity is met, at which point there might have to be a waiting list. That said, it seems there is little interest locally so will mainly sell into Farmers Markets on the island

Ordering:  At some point we might have a form here on this website, but for now will take orders by email or telephone. Please order at least two days before a Bake Day, and again preference will be given to those making regular, weekly orders. Am willing to deliver - by arrangement - between Gabarus and Big Ridge or thereabouts the day after Baking Days providing these are regular weekly orders. There might be a delivery fee depending on location.

Current Prices:  $6.00 for 680g gram baked weight loaves (Subject to change if wheat or other costs go up.) $7.00 for enriched loaves with special additional ingredients such as fresh-ground Vollkorns and the Walnut Loaf, and $8.00 for the sprouted, multigrain grain loaves now being offered. This compares weight-wise with similar artisan-style breads in supermarkets even though such loaves have usually been par-baked far away, frozen, then trucked in, then finish-baked in the local supermarket bakery and described as 'traditional hearth baked breads'. They are good breads, but they are not fresh-made sourdoughs (indeed most of them are not true sourdoughs at all in that commercial yeast is the principal leavening agent) using only organic ingredients and locally made by hand. Organic artisan loaves in Farmers Markets usually sell for $5.00 and up per loaf when using organic flours, and more when using more expensive heritage flours like Spelt (now offered) and Red Fife (not yet offered).

Organic unbleached specially formulated white flours from LaMilanaise cost slightly more than organic dark flours and berries, also they take up the same amount of space in preparation, baking, cooling and transportation phases, so I am charging the same as for the darker loaves with whole grains. Not only is this fair given the quality of flours being used, but also it keeps things simple, a virtue in itself.

Although possibly interested in commercial orders, because of limited weekly production capacity am hesitant to offer wholesale prices although am willing to consider those able to place regular orders after I have had a chance to determine the regular weekly demand from local community members. For now a general guide: Minimum size of special order is either 10 hearth loaves or 24 flatbread loaves or 20 shortbreads for which a 5% discount. Need at least 2 days notice.

Storage:  Natural breads without preservatives, oils and other additives do not like being stored in plastic which promotes mould. Best to keep them in paper bags (supplied with delivery), or damp towel, or if you want to freeze them, then double wrap in plastic just before freezing. When thawing, keep them thus wrapped until they have fully re-absorbed all the moisture trapped in the bags, then transfer to paper bag or bread bin or simply leave out on wooden (not plastic) cutting board, cut-side down. Again, once cut they are good to eat for 5-9 days depending on general humidity and the moisture content of the loaf after baking. After that, toasting or re-heating in an oven with a little steam (spray in some water to get steam in oven) will make them moister.

Future in General: assuming some sort of basic operational viability, would at some point like to train a young assistant from the local community. It will take a while before am sufficiently familiar with brick oven baking and the local market, but anyone interested can apply at any time.

Also, am hoping a kind local farmer might at some point be willing to grow organic hard wheat, spelt and rye so that we have our own source on the island. This might prove especially handy if times get a little rough, as the international financial and geopolitical situation is indicating might soon be the case.

Housekeeper : will trade bread in return for several hours a week housekeeping service in order to keep home and bakery sparkling and ship-shape.

        Thanks to:

Douglas Arthur Brown of Oak Haven Bakery in Belleisle NS. Doug graciously hosted me in his home and allowed me to witness his Baking Day in similarly sized and constructed wood-fired brick oven. Doug has been making 100% organic loaves, pastries and granola for about ten years.

Myron Syms: a friend of decades and master baker who has been most encouraging and also kindly hosted me to witness a Baking Day. Myron runs the well-known Grand Boulangerie De L'Est in Cheticamp and also sells at the Farmer's Market in Sydney during the winter months. Myron's croissants are so good he was hired by a group of Germans to lecture bakers all over the country on how to make them the old-fashioned way.

Randy Wilson, neighbour and host of the www.frenchroad.tk website which plans to offer various services for the local community including a chat space, community announcements and so forth. Randy came through with crucial construction help with aspects for which I lacked skills such as creating a solid base and adjusting some of the foundation work in the house to support the 10,000 pound oven, a steel harness, hopefully soon a better shovel and ash tray arrangement and so forth.

Ashley S. C. Howes

902 884 2599

About the Logo

The logo was drawn by Yours Truly using Japanese sumi ink and brush. It came from a dream I had shortly before awakening one morning, several weeks before deciding to change my life here and start the bakery, which at the time of this dream was not yet even the glimmer of an idea. To draw: start at the centre and draw a spiral to the outside, then turn back and go back to the centre - exactly what happens with the water revitalizer I use as it happens, i.e. a double vortex. Whatever - it is an ideal Bakery logo!