Batten down the hatches . . . it's MARCH in New Mexico!

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."  Charles Dickens

There really is no way to describe what it's like to sell bread at an open market with the wind howling and throwing gusts of 30+ mph at you. We've had some of our best market days when the weather is difficult. Our customers are amazing! But there came a point this past Saturday that I did consider whether or not we were loosing our minds as I watch the bacon and the eggs Tom was cooking on the grill go flying off in the wind! As one vendor hollered out as the bacon flew by his booth "watch out, the Pigs are flying!"

We did open our BakeHouse Bagel Booth with Grand Success on March 2nd. But it was a difficult day emotionally, for no sooner did we get both the BakeHouse Bread and the BakeHouse Bagel Booth set up, we received a phone call from El Paso, TX that my 27 year old cousin had passed away suddenly. Fortunately, my father-in-law, Tom Sr., was able to pack up my mom, Jolan, right away and take her to El Paso, about a 45 minute drive. 

Tom and I along with my mother-in-law, Rita and our wonderful new employee, Erin, served our customers. It's at times like these, when you have to function while your processing difficult news, that family is so extremely important. I feel in my heart that it's this very aspect that gives the BakeHouse it's unique personality. It is a blessing beyond words.

"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door"  Milton Berle

We had no idea when we added our bagels the the bread line up that we were actually creating an opportunity to expand our business. What started out as a simple desire to recreate the "real" bagel, has now turned in to it's very own business! We now have two very distinct Vendor Booths side by side. The BakeHouse Bagel Booth is introducing us to new customers because of the Bagel Sandwiches, which in turn, introduces those customers to our BakeHouse European Breads and vise versa. I have to say that this to me is truly a Win Win business opportunity!

Only folks from the East Coast are familiar with some of the items we serve.
It's been fun putting together all the advertising. It takes me back to all those
years I was a designer in the publishing industry!

And adding to our already exciting venture, we have now received official news that we have been given a permanent spot at the Las Cruces Farmer's and Crafter's Market! We've been told that we are being considered an Anchor Vendor for the block that we've been placed on. This is really, really important to us. Dave Ramsey would love it! It's like having your very own store front, but without all the overhead of having to own your own building. This weekend will be our first time at our new location, so I'm busy getting the word out, this blog being one of those vehicles. 

Letting folks know where to park is key!
Our new location gives our customers quick, easy
access to our booth.

The access alley is welcoming and will literally take
our customers right to our booth. No longer will they
have to wander up and down the long stretch looking for us!

We will be located in front of a store that has been a part of the Las Cruces
Downtown Mall for many, many years. We feel it a privilege to call this new
location our home! So on Saturdays, you'll find us at 200 S. Downtown Mall, Las Cruces, NM!

This is the weather forecast for this coming weekend: 

Saturday, 3/16/2013

Clear. High of 84F. Winds from the West at 5 to 15 mph.

It is our hope that it holds true! My plan is to take lots of pictures, and I'm excited to have help in doing that since we'll be blessed with some extra help. A student from Germany, Tim, will be joining us for several Saturday's as part of his work study time here in the US. I'm looking forward to when some of our German customers come and Tim will be there to welcome them in German. What a surprise that will be!

Thank you to all of you who have joined us in this journey. Thoughtfully, Kath

A little bit of Brooklyn in the sunny Southwest . . .

This NYC icon has been recreated into a Porcelain Mug and serves
as our Business Card holder!

"It seems that when you travel or go abroad you'll have these wonderful culinary experiences, only to come home and find yourself talking to everyone about them, knowing that you'll not get them again unless you go back to that location. You know Kath, you seem to have brought the experience to us." as quoted to me by a wonderful, sweet spirit, Abby. It's not her exact quote, but I think I've captured the heart of what she was sharing. This was while we were eating BakeHouse Bagels at a breakfast gathering at our church.

This has indeed been our project for the last several months, and why I've not had many updates on the Blog. There has been a lot of prayer, thought, Board of Health meetings, Block Captain discussions, reviews, family conversations and test baking that has gone into our desire to bring to Las Cruces, NM the wonderful, traditional Bagel from the days of the Bagel Bakers Local 338 Union of New York City, which was primarily in the borough of Brooklyn, established in the early 1900's.

As I had shared with you several blogs ago about introducing the Bagel to our lineup of bread, you'll remember the Tom, the over builder, was the instigator. Once we had our bagel production underway, Tom then set his sights on the BakeHouse Bagel Booth.

Again I have been inspired by the history of this "poor peoples" bread. I have such a passion in bringing this simple food, in its original form, to the wonderful City of the Crosses, Las Cruces.

Check out this wonderful video: 

http://media.gfem.org/node/11687

Bringing the idea into fruition has been another amazing journey, which will have us now holding two permits. One for the BakeHouse, which is a food processing permit and the second is a Caterer permit which will allow for us to have our BakeHouse Bagel Booth at the Farmer's Market, which is literally a portable Bagel Shop! How cool is THAT!

So along with the bagels, there will of course be the . . . schmears, and a few other things that are uniquely Brooklyn!

We will offer the refreshing and traditionally
made Egg Cream Soda (which contains no eggs)

And a Bagel Booth that's tipping it's hat toward NYC
wouldn't be complete if it didn't offer the
Heavenly Coffee . . . In the traditional 10oz size cup.
No mega sizes offered here.
The 10oz to go cup is easy to carry along with a brief case,
newspaper and bagel as you hustled to get on the Subway or Path.
Remember, our goal is to capture a tiny part of the true NYC experience!

We did have to sneak one major New Jersey icon into our menu - Taylor Ham, also known as Pork Roll. We will showcase this in our Jersey Boy Bagel Sandwich. As you can see, we are having a blast putting the BakeHouse Bagel Booth together and can't wait to share it with Las Cruces.

We have found that our lives with traditional European Bread and Jewish Bagels is so interesting, like reading a really good book . It's the people that they bring into our lives. Each person, unique and sharing with us their experiences with bread. And while they are sharing with us, I find that I'm getting a small glimpse of into their heart . . . . what a privilege.

Thank you for coming along with us . . . thoughtfully ~ Kath

The BakeHouse is getting some Radio time!

Tomorrow morning at 7:30am I'll be giving an interview with Michael Swickard about the BakeHouse and the European Sourdough Breads that we make. Hope you can join us!

News New Mexico: Twitter

We are truly Thankful . . . .

"How can a nation be called great

if its bread tastes like kleenex?"

~ Julia Child ~

The BakeHouse has been a buzzing since the Thanksgiving Holiday and Christmas right around the corner. Las Cruces is a tourist destination and the mild winter climate brings in new visitors every weekend. Since we're still a floating vendor (we don't have a permanent spot yet) new local customers are discovering us each weekend!

Customers arrive very early to get their bread.
Sometimes the tent is just about set up and we're selling bread!

I never have to worry about anything at our booth with
both my mom (Jolan, on the Rt) and my Mother-in-Law (Rita)
running the show! They are such a wonderful blessing to me,
the BakeHouse wouldn't be the same without them!

There's nothing like customers to keep you on your toes and to keep you striving to do your best. Just about every Saturday since we started selling BakeHouse Breads at the market there has been at least one person that asks for Rye bread. And when we introduced our big BakeHouse Miche, which is a 95% Whole Wheat Sourdough, many of the Rye customers purchased that bread over the others.

The thought of adding another bread, especially Rye bread, was very difficult for me. Rye, the Rye I wanted to make, seemed to have its own schedule of fermentation. And no matter how I tried to weave it in to the schedule, it just seemed like it would be a struggle.

BUT there was this one customer from Sweden. I don't know what it was about her, but she was able to coax me into making a Rye. She wasn't demanding, or pushy, in fact she was tremendously gracious as she shared with me her enjoyment of the BakeHouse Miche. I think it was when she started sharing with me the reason Rye bread was the bread of choice in her country as she grew up. It was simple bread with a very important place on the table. It was purchased out of need. To not have this bread in the home meant that stomachs would be hungry. Because of the keeping quality of the bread, the loaves were made in very large rounds so that they could sustain a family for a week. A slice of this bread with a meager slice of cheese, or a spread of lard, would offer the body fuel for the day.

My desire to recreate Old World Breads is what inspires me as a baker. The bread she spoke about was not quite the dense German Rye that I had researched. I found myself reading about Polish style Rye breads, and there it was, the Polish Cottage Rye, a Sourdough Rye that had the same exact fermenting schedule as the Miche. I became overjoyed with the realization that I could actually add this bread to our line up!

As with all the other BakeHouse Sourdoughs, the Cottage Rye starter is prepared
14 hours before the dough is mixed.

The dough, once mixed and fermented for 2 hours is as soft as velvet!
There is very little evidence of the typical increase in size that you usually
see with a dough made with wheat flour.

The Cottage Rye dough wasn't as sticky as I thought it would be. It was actually very easy to scale and shape.

If you look closely, you can see some of the gas pockets that have formed in the dough

Now that I know how the dough handles, I will be scaling them at 5lbs each.

I dusted the linen heavily with flour to assure that the dough would not stick.

After proofing for 2 hours at 72°, the dough was ready to go into the oven.

The oven temperature was perfect at 475°

The oven bloom was amazing!

It was very hard to do, but we waited until Saturday morning to actually cut a loaf.
The smell was amazing. The Rye flavor was very much there and the taste was
wonderful. 

Saturday morning was going to be the real test. To offer this bread to our loyal customers and to give part of a loaf to the very person who coaxed me into making this wonderful bread, my Swedish customer, Inge. She was so pleased to be chosen as the official taste tester. I told her that she needed to follow up with me, good or bad, and let me know what her thoughts were. 

I received a call on Monday. Inge gave the Cottage Rye an A+! And she thanked me over and over again for bringing this very special bread to Las Cruces. She again shared with me how it was this type of Medium Rye that was a staple bread in many homes throughout Europe. I was so grateful for her experience with this bread and for her encouragement. And to confirm that this bread was needed, the BakeHouse Cottage Rye was the first bread to sell out!

It is a privilege to be able to make these wonderful breads. As our customers come and purchase their special loaf of bread each week, I can't help but watch them walk away, hugging their loaf, wondering if they realize that they are carrying a little piece of history. 

To all of you, our friends, our family and our customers

We wish you a Very Merry Christmas!

Thank you ~ Kath

Three years ago today . . . September 26, 2009.

Today marks the day three years ago that our last bake took place in New Jersey before we moved to Las Cruces, NM. I've been thinking about what I would post today regarding this milestone and I realized that what I posted on October 9, 2009 still resonated in my heart today.

As I look over our blog and all that's taken place to rebuild the BakeHouse here in New Mexico I am awestruck, deeply moved and overwhelmingly grateful.

So with that said, I redirect you to the post on October 9, 2009. It's been and continues to be, an amazing journey.

Thoughtfully
Kath

A Baker's Challenge (issued by the Oven Builder) . . .

"If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens." ~ Robert Browning

It all started with a conversation that Tom and I were having about a bagel shop in Mine Hill, NJ, Bagels on the Hill. We were reminiscing about going there and Tom getting his large coffee, light and sweet, I'd get a large tea with 2 tea bags and room for half and half. We'd check out the NJ Star Ledger newspapers piled by the door as our Everything Bagel with Lox spread and a Sesame Seed with Olive Spread were being assembled and the smell of Taylor Ham, Egg and Cheese filled the air (this sandwich is as unique to Central and Northern NJ as the local Gordita is here in Southern NM).


Then the conversation transitioned and Tom started talking about how he'd watch the guy at Bagels on the Hill make his bagels. It was a tiny shop, just big enough to house the deck oven and the boiling pot along with a few baker's racks. And the front of the shop had the Deli cases and a grill which fit snugly in the corner by the big picture window. I do remember thinking to myself "this place is so efficient, it's just the right size for what they do". And their hours made sense, they were open early in the morning and closed shortly after lunch. If you went to get bagels after 1pm, they were usually sold out.

That's how the creation of our Sourdough Bagels came to be here at the BakeHouse. I have to say, I never ever thought that I'd find YouTube to be so tremendously helpful. I'm a very visual person, so watching and doing is the key for me not necessarily reading. So the last month of watching bagel makers on YouTube and test baking has been extremely valuable for me as a baker. I was committed to making our bagels with the same philosophy as our European Sourdough Bread. I wanted our bagels to honor a tradition of baking that is slowly disappearing. The "craft" of baking that centers around quality ingredients and minimal tampering with the use of only Sourdough as a leavening, flour, Kosher salt, water and Barley Malt.

So this presented another challenge. Finding a bagel formula (recipe) that used only Sourdough as a leavening on a commercial scale. I finally found one that originated from an Jewish Bakery in Brooklyn, NY from years ago. BINGO! I had to tweak it a bit, but the basic info and the percentages that I needed were there, so I was able to move forward with testing it.

The first few bakes were a challenge. I wasn't happy with the overall rise, but our customers encouraged us that the flavor and crust was there, that was important. Getting a better rise was easy once I understood the dough. The dough doesn't need any turns after it's been mixed for almost 6 minutes in the spiral arm mixer. It just sits in the dough bucket for one hour after mixing, then I shape the bagels and put them in the fermenting room with the bread overnight. Easy fix. It's a beautiful dough. Creamy and soft but very strong. It feels and cuts like hand made Mozzarella Cheese. So different from the bread dough. And they bake up so beautiful in our oven. Now we just need to keep up with the growing demand as customers are discovering them. And the word is spreading, as we now have people come up asking if this is the booth with the fresh baked bagels.

Which brings me to another experience the bagels are bringing us. Meeting all the New Yorkers that live in Las Cruces! It's almost like there is this secret ingredient in the bagels that just permeates the air and draws the New York natives to us! It's absolutely amazing. And the fun part is how our discussions are just like the discussion Tom and I had about Bagels on the Hill.

The life of our Bagels. This sourdough was started with the culture we use for our breads.

Our boiling pot! This baby is BIG, and it get the job done.

Tom made our Bagel boards.

Bagels stay on the bagel boards for only 4 minutes and then
they are flipped over, off the boards and the tops are then exposed.

The finished product. I only wish I could post the aroma!

And if this Bagel adventure hasn't been enough for the month of August and September, we also did the Tularosa Basin Wine and Music Festival. This two day festival takes place in Alamogordo, NM, about 70 miles from Las Cruces. It's home of the German Air Force Base and White Sands Missile Range. We've been getting many of our German customers from this area and thought it might be a good idea to be there in person and let more folks in that area know about us. It was a good marketing decision for us and we did extremely well. Between Monday, Sept. 10 to Sunday, Sept. 16th we processed 200+ loaves of bread and bagels, it was a whirlwind. I find that today, my body is grateful to have a day off. 

Tom ready for the day. One of the vendors noted that Tom could sell sand in the Sahara!
He is such a blessing to me and shoulders so much so that I can concentrate on
the craft of making the bread.

Erin was Tom's helper on Saturday. She also helped my mom the previous
Saturday when we had RAIN! She did a fantastic job!

What I don't have is a photo of my mom, Jolan and my Mother-in-Law, Rita working the booth at the Las Cruces Farmer's and Crafter's Market on Saturday. They were in a new spot at the market and it drew a lot of new customers. My Mother-in-Law must have passed on her selling skills to Tom because word got to me that she too can sell sand in the Sahara and she got the Bagels sold out before the bread! Then when they were done, my Father-in-Law, Tom Sr. came and helped them pack up. 

So as you can see, it's a family affair. I couldn't do any of this without the love, help and support of my family and the enthusiasm of our precious customers. Each and every one of our customers becomes a part of the BakeHouse in some special way. They share their experience with our bread. They tell us stories from their past, and on some days, they come weary and worried and reach for a loaf of bread to help cheer their spirit. And then there are the bagels that draw out the New Yorker who has been searching for this elusive creation. It's my deepest desire that the BakeHouse Bagel gives them what our Sourdough Breads has given our European customers - giddy joy!

Blessings to everyone - thoughtfully - Kath 

Working out the kinks . . . .

A Yiddish Proverb: "Everyone is kneaded from the same dough; but not baked in the same oven"


A customer came to our booth this past Saturday all the way from El Paso, Texas.  He admitted that he had become addicted to BakeHouse Sourdough Bread. There was another lady that came by, she's a diabetic, and once she found out that all our breads are made with the Sourdough Method, purchased her loaf with joy and proceeded to walk away with a smile hugging the bag (my mom, a nurse, had just read an extensive article about how Sourdough Bread is the bread choice for Diabetics since it affects the Glycemic Index in different way when compare to conventional breads, and doesn't spike blood sugar). And then there are our German, Russian and Polish customers. You wouldn't think that Las Cruces would be a place where you would have a large European community, but there is. Especially in El Paso, TX with Ft. Bliss Military Base and also the German Air force Base in Alamogordo, NM. Both of these locations about 50 to 60 miles away. It's these Europeans that keep me on track. When we showcased the 5 lb Miche for the first time at the market, three German ladies saw it from across the street and came over, almost jogging. The first gal to reach the booth looked me straight in the eye and said "I know what that is, I will to buy it", the second lady went on in German obviously excited about their discovery, and the third lady said "thank you for making this bread. I can't have it unless I'm in Germany".  I offered them a sample, which they gladly accepted, and I watched them savor the bread they had longed for and had found. As they continued down the street with their bread, chatting away in German, I started to cry . . . . tears of gratitude.

On 8/3/2012 the BakeHouse Oven changed. Just like our oven in New Jersey, within three months I noticed a shift in how the oven retained the heat and baked the bread. It's amazing how it just "happens". There is no warning, no subtle change, it just  . . . is. The only advantage I had this time was the experience I had from our first oven. I knew that the three month window was approaching, so I referred back to my Oven journal notes from our first oven and waited to see if our new oven would follow the same time line.

There is one huge difference with our new oven. It stores heat longer, and it bakes more gentle. It's hard to explain this, it's something that as a baker you can see through your Oven journal notes. But basically what this looks like is that even though I start baking my BakeHouse Sourdoughs at 595°, they come out of the oven without being scorched and they are golden brown. It's amazing when you consider that it's the firing of the oven the day before that dictates the next mornings bake. I can't just turn the knob and get more or less heat! And I can't start another fire when I have over 100 loaves to bake and get to the market by 7:00am!
What I love about this part of the journey is that I get to "know" my oven! I'm getting familiar with it's personality, and believe me, it has one! I anticipate that there to be at least one more shift in how the oven holds heat and bakes, I'm thinking another 2 to 3 months. At that point, it will then be complete and it's true personality will be established. And as long as I do my part as the oven tender, and fire it properly, it will function like a well made clock and never skip a beat.

Our signature BakeHouse Sourdough. This is the first bread that gets baked.
The oven temps for this first bake are around 595° and when the bake is
finished, the oven temps are around 565°. If left to rebound, temps go
back to 575° within 20 to 25 minutes.

BakeHouse Breads ready for the market

It's these wonderful interactions with the customers that encourage me as the other aspects of running a business are with me every day. There is this romance people have in their minds about what it is to be a bread baker. But the bottom line is, it's a business and it has real challenges just like any other business.

We are still working on getting the BakeHouse Oven building finished. We had a setback due to a very unprofessional contractor. There were a few days where we thought that we'd have to dismantle part of the BakeHouse building for the Electrical Inspector, but, the inspector gave strict instruction the contractor and the problems were fixed. We now have our approval sticker and can continue working on the BakeHouse Oven building which includes several items that need to be completed for the Board of Health. They gave us our license based on these items being completed.

The hand sink for the BakeHouse Oven building was the first item we chose to tackle. We have no running water out to the BakeHouse Oven, so we had to come up with a way to get a hand sink out to the building. There are several companies that make portable hand sinks, but they are a bit pricey for what we needed. So we went to YouTube! And we found what we needed. A great video of a guy who made his own portable hand sink! Here's how we did it!

This Sterilite cabinet was purchased at WalMart.

Tom cut the top out for the sink insert.

We found this great little hand sink on eBay!

Wheels added to the base so we could move it easily.

Mini Electric hot water heater and waste water.

Electric and water connection.

We have water!

Our hand sink works like a charm!

Ah, as I'm finishing up this post I just got a whiff of roasting chili from our neighbor. He farms several acres about 5 miles from here and New Mexico's Green Chili season is upon us! It's such a great smell. Between his roasting chili and me baking bread, we fill our neighborhood with a wonderful aroma!

And just for fun, I thought I'd share with you a photo from our Pecan trees! They are covered with these wonderful clusters of nuts. The Mesilla Valley is starting to explode with produce ready for harvest, it's a very festive time here in Las Cruces.

Our Pecan trees are loaded down with nuts!

So until next time . . . blessings to all and thank you again for following along. Thoughtfully - Kath