October 10, 2011 - 5:16pm
Hello from Western NC!
Hello everyone! I am very new here, I haven't even begin to explore the site but it looks amazing! I started baking about 4 months ago from the Artisan Bread In 5 Minutes A Day book. I had only made one loaf of bread before that, the old fashioned way. This book totally changed my life! I never thought of myself as a baker before, but I have been dubbed the "bread queen" by all my friends and family now. I absolutely love baking all types of bread (I'm trying bagels for the first time tomorrow!)
I live in Asheville, NC with my husband, 3 cats, Boxer dog, and my younger brother. We go through about 3-4 loaves a week! I'm so glad to have been referred here by a friend and look forward to meeting new people and learning new recipes and tips :)
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Good morning from Raleigh, NC. I have enjoyed this site for a while now and I know you will too. People on this site are very knowledgable and more importantly willing to share their hard earned knowledge with others ... all you have to do is ask.
Asheville is a great place for bread - there are a lot of professional bakers and interest in making not just good bread, but great bread. In the Spring there is an Asheville Bread Festival - I beleive it has been held for six or seven years now. Have you been to it? If not, it is very worthwhile - breads for sale and classes and workshops too - everything from basic bread making to Wood Fired Ovens to milling locally grown grains - lots of passion, knowledgable folks and most importantly "good bread".
Again, welcome and keep on baking ....
Ben
Hi Ben! Thank you for the welcome. I have never been to that bread festival, but it sounds amazing and I'll definitely check it out!
Hey there. I am another Asheville baker, and can recommend the bread festival. The retail gathering at Greenlife has been crazy-crowded the past couple years, but I particularly enjoyed the workshops this last spring.
See you there next year.
I'm sure there are tons of options I don't know about, but the co-op seems to have lots of interesting stuff and Lindley Mills (mills King Arthur flour) is close enough that I bet there is a local retailer that carries a wide variety of there flours.
Not to thread jack, but maybe Fresh Loafers could meet up for the Bread Fest this year. I've missed it the last couple years, but really hope I can make it this year.
Hey,
I would be very interested in helping get this going for 2012 Bread Festival - it would be fun to meet some of the folks that I enjoy reading their posts. And another excuse to eat and talk about baking and bread ....
Ben
I will definitely be there.
Also, for those who don't know, Chef Donatelli teaches ConEd bread classes of various levels at ABtech in Asheville on Wednesday evenings throughout the year in addition to the excellent Baking and Pastry Arts program.
Alan
I'm in.
I'm all up for meeting!
I've thought about taking a few classes at AB Tech. My brother just started the culinary program, so we're hoping for a buy 1 get 1 free education :) What do you all do in Asheville (day job?)
Sounds like a plan for sure. The only thing that is out about the 2012 Bread Festival is the date - March 24, 2012. It is an event worth traveling to - Asheville is a great destination too. I an including a link to the 2011 Asheville Bread Festival event to provide those who are not familiar with this event a flavor of what the festival is about - good bread for sale, opportunity to meet and see many artisan bread bakers and see and sample their products, an opportunity to attend some really first rate workshops (although space is very limited), and a chnace to be around folks that love bread ... and did I mention it is in Asheville - a NC mountain vacation destination worth visitining on its own. The 2011 URL is
http://ashevillebreadfestival.com/
I will post something in late February - early March to see the interest in organizing a MEET-UP of TFLers at this event.
Ben