January 24, 2021 - 4:16pm
Looking for 1980s Vermont baker and his bakery.
Can anyone help me remember a Vermont bread baker who had a shop in the late 1980s.,wrote a book, moved to a different small Vermont town, built a large beautiful (maybe log) bakery. His first name might be John. We are hoping to go to Vermont this summer, if safe. We’d love to visit the bakery if it’s still there. I can’t find the bread recipe book! Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
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Up until the end of the first sentence, I thought you were referring to Jeffrey Hamelman.
Cheers
and Baba A Louis bakery. The bakery closed a few years ago, I think.
https://www.baba-a-louis.com/history/
It's for sale. Follow the link to the real estate company for address and tour.
Thank you, thank you. Baba A Louis. Sad.
Lol, I remember them. Was a favorite spot whenever I went through Chester. What happened to them, no idea. To bad, they were decent folks, and the best coffee around! Enjoy!
I remember two Baba A Louis branches in the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s. I left Vermont in 2008. One was in Proctorsville, VT and the other in Rutland, VT. The one in Chester must have been built later.
The inspiration for my baking journey; however, began with Bear Mountain Bakers in Wallingford, VT. Christine and Ray Powers had a very large wood fired brick oven built at their home on Bear Mountain and baked nothing but sourdough bread. They sold their breads to some local mom and pop stores as well as a couple of the larger groceries in Rutland. During the summer, if you arrived at the Rutland Farmer's Market early enough on a Saturday morning you could meet and chat with Ray and Chris and enjoy samples of their delicious bread as well as buy loaves.
After years of enjoying their bread, I decided I should try to make my own and began making some sourdough around 2006 or so. After moving away, I quit baking until about 3 and half years ago when I decided in the middle of a Phoenix, AZ summer to resume my sourdough journey.
I owe that journey to Ray and Christine. They were an inspiration and lovely people who made great bread.