My husband I and I will be at my brother's place in Manhattan for a week starting Friday 13th. Yikes that had better be a good omen. I go there often but have only scraped the surface of great places to get bread/deli items and restaurants. Any suggestions most welcome. Caroline

I have started doing an apprenticeship/training as a bread baker and was asked by my now boss where I see myself in a year. Baking isn't what I went to school for, but I love it (even though I'm just starting out doing it on a commercial basis). 

Ideally I would love to be taken on as an apprentice in either France or Italy so I could learn the basics of the basics, but I have no idea how to go about finding the right bakery that would be willing to do that seeing is how I've never been to either country.  Does anyone have any suggestions about what I should do or know of a type of perhaps bread bakers association for either country?

I thought I'd start a quick thread listing where to get supplies locally in southern Ontario.  Please feel free to comment with your favorite places and I'll add them to this list.

Flour / Grains:

A and E Fine Foods, 19811 Woodbine Ave, Queensville, 905-478-1500

Stocks some organic flour

Arva Flour Mill, 2042 Elgin Rd, London, 519-660-0199

Mills and sells organic flour directly

Bulk Barn, Various locations listed on their website

Usually a good selection of flour and baking ingredients

Merrylynd Organics, #3010 Hwy 28 (formerly 134), Lakefield, 705-755-1081

Mills and sells organic grains/flour directly

New-Life Mills, Hanover, 1-800-265-5510

Local mill, see Liam's posting

Oak Manor Farms, 756907 Oxford County Rd #5, RR#1, Tavinstock, 519-662-2385 (website down?)

Mills and sells organic grain/flour directly

Organic Abundance, 3066 Bloor Street West, Toronto, 416-234-5258

Stocks some organic flour

Ouderkirk and Taylor, 3 Wyndam St. N, Guelph, 519-827-9378

Stocks some organic flour from La Meunerie and Ontario-grown Red Fife

Baking Supplies

Ayres Baking Supplies, 354 King St. N, Waterloo, 519-886-7001

Mostly cakes and decorating but some useful supplies.

Golda's Kitchen, 2885 Argentia Road, Unit 6, Mississauga, 1-866-465-3299

Both retail and online stores for kitchen supplies.

Harvest Corporation, 249 Watline Avenue, Mississauga, 1-888-925-6644

Baking/Restaurant supplies.

McCall's, 1290 Fewster Drive, Mississauga, 1-800-541-3415

Mostly cakes, decorating & chocolate.

S.T.O.P. Restaurant Supply, 206 Centennial Crt., Kitchener, 1-800-265-2961

Restaurant supplies with sales to the public.

Bakeries

ACE bakery, 1 Hafis Road, Toronto

Altitude Baking, 1346 Queen St. East, Toronto

Bonjour Brioche Bakery, 812 Queen St. East, Toronto

Brick Street Bakery, 55 Mill Street, Toronto

Cob's, Toronto

Epi Breads, 1526 Bayview Avenue, Toronto

Golden Hearth Baking Co., 343 King St E, Kitchener

Pan Fresco, 414 Locust Street, Burlington

Sproll's Fine German Bakery, 300 Trillium Dr, Kitchener

St. John's, 153 Broadview Ave., Toronto

Thuet, 609 King Street West, Toronto

Links

Foodlink lists farms with local produce for sale in Waterloo/Wellington.  There is also a Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) directory and a listing of farmer's markets in Ontario for those that are interested in buying and supporting local farmers.

Any good bakery recommendations for Seattle?  I get to spend 4 days there in mid Feb.

Thanks in advance

John

Does anyone know of a place in Worcester, or anywhere in the Brattleboro-Keene-Amherst MA area, where I can get real Italian sausage? I tried one Worcester Italian market that makes their own--no fennel! Used to be you could trip over all the Italian bakeries, markets, and restaurants in Worcester's Shrewsbury St. neighborhood. I would love to find a Latin market, too, where I could get Mexican spices and/or tortillas. And how about a place with real bagels?? Sometimes it's frustrating to know what things should taste like!

I grew up in Brooklyn, NY and remember corn bread shaped like rye bread. Except , if I remember correctly it was slightly yellow but I don't remember it being a sour>

Also I am looking for a recipe to make rye bread as used in delis.

Any suggestions? I would really appreciate it since I've being searching for eons.

Mitchell

If you're right around the VT/NH border, and like good bread, pick up a loaf from Orchard Hill Breadworks, or visit them in East Alstead, NH!

There's a wonderful bakery in Boone, NC called Stick Boy Bread Co. (http://www.stickboybread.com/); check it out!

Just want the world to know that artisan bakeries are alive and well in the Detroit area.  At the Give Thanks Bakery, the breads, pastries, and really just everything are great.

Here is the link: http://www.givethanksbakery.com/bread.html

It is hard to find, but well worth the search.

I was going to keep this a secret, just selfishness, but this would be a disservice to the Baker.

The Bakery is only a one room old barn and ever so quaint.

One will just pass it driving for no reason on Plains Road (#232) in Litchfield Maine.

Not much of signage of the upcoming old house. It’s a red painted wooden siding building, wooden sign with its name. And a stuffed ‘Scarecrow’ leaning against the wall.

An official US Historical marker stands at the edge of the road, smack in front. It declares that this building once housed, (or was he born in, I don’t read to well) one of the three founders of  “ The Rotary International Club ”

Once I learn how to place pictures into eGullet, I will take some and comment more on the place.

You must enter through an entrance that is narrow and has three very worn wooden steps into a room, with a couple of single light bulbs  illuminating a work area of wide wooden plank flooring, a couple of wooden tables, metal racks, all engulfed in typical Old Country Bakery smells of sour dough starter, yeast, freshly ground grains and and maybe a faint hint of some herbs, or is it olives?

There are a 1940ish Hobart? floor stand mixer, numerous bags of grain and flour, and covering a whole wall, the prize of the suspected: a large brick oven with a cast iron door, to be opened, that is 'lifted',  the old fashioned way with chain and counterweight. Firing is done from the outer entrance room, right next to these here three steps. All kinds of fine dry and split oak and maple logs are aside and along the firing hole.

The place is open Tue - Sat from 7 to 7, and everyday a different kind of bread is being baked. To name a few: Tuscan, Peasant, Old World Jewish Rye, Sicilian, Olive Herb, Baguette, Focaccia, Apricot Almond and Greek Cheese Bread.

These varieties speak for the owners Greek heritage.

Mark and Tinker Mickalide are seldom there. The place operates on the HONOR system !!!, The bread is laying loose on the racks, a few hand written signs indicate the types and price, some vary. A couple brown paper bags are available, but to a place like this one should actually bring their own old fashioned cloth bread and rolls bag, I got some from my Grandmother, but for all you newcomers a nice canvas bag would do. Don't bring plastic, unless you are mean and want to desecrate the product.

I just stopped by yesterday, I live only 15 minutes, 12 miles, away from the Black Crow Bakery. Mark was working hard on squaring off fresh kneaded dough and rolling all by hand this lively mass into baguettes, placing them lovingly onto dusted canvas sleeves for the next day's bake-off. I think he starts at about 3 AM.

Anyway when you get there about nine or tenish, no-one is in sight, a banged up cooky tin is on the table with some change, coins, maybe three four dollars in bills and a sign: "Make Change here", all larger bills are told to be placed into a 1920 tiny metal wall mailbox, a slot will let you in, the money that is, and Mark or Tinker will take it out when they see " MY cup runneth over ". No worry about that, the whole operation is too small to get rich on, and I think not even big enough to make a living.

Most of the time I call ahead, the day before and order my 3/4 loaves, to then find it labeled and priced and "Wolf"ed.

The only thing commercial about the Black Crow Bakery is a nicely designed and stylish printed brochure of what and when these breads are available

I actually risked them still having any loaves left at about 4 PM. Well, Mark had three loaves of the Tuscan left over from the day before, and at $ 2.00 to boot.

Regular price is three dollars, and that is still a steal for the quality you get.

Now, these breads are heavy ! weighing in at about one kilogram, very firm but also airy, with nice 'wholes' when sliced to smear good country butter into.

This is the kind of bread, one must buy a proper knife for, I have a nice 12 inch serrated one, and only cut as I need it. Just cut myself a fairly thick slice, toasted it, got that butter on it and smeared some good New Zealand Thyme Honey on it

Directions from Gardiner ME, west on RT-126, across the street from Gardiner Middle School, turn-off “Pond Road”, go about 8/9 miles, just after an American Legion sign on the left, and before coming to a cemetery , the place is on your right., going any further gets you to an intersection with Hallowell-Litchfield Road , the Litchfield fairgrounds and a fire station. You missed it. Oh yeah, phone they have: 207-268-9927