Orange Boot Bakery will be one of 55 bakeries participating in The Bread Bakers Guild of America’s 2nd Annual International Bakery Open House on Saturday, October 20. Guild member bakeries in 3 provinces and 27 US states will take part in the open house.
The idea behind the Guild-Wide open house is to strengthen the connection between people and their local bakeries. I like to think of it as a celebration that locally made, high quality bread is still being made in a continent that is increasingly dominated by factory food production.
In addition to some neat treats, we've got two special events planned for you:
1. The History of Bread: Talk and Tasting
This is a reprise of the sold out talks Mark will be giving in early October at the Regina Public Library. Come explore the history of bread baking, from peasant bread to village bakers to industrial baking to modern day artisanal bread bakeries, eating as we go. History class never tasted this good!
The talk is limited to 15 people, only because that’s how many can comfortably gather around the workbench.
The talk will run at 1PM, after the daily baking is complete.
2. The Baker’s Life: Spend a morning with Mark and Cindy
In France, they call this a stage, where baking students learn from watching professional bakers at work. We just call it Hanging Out with Mark and Cindy.
Come see with your own eyes what goes into baking your daily bread. We will be welcoming two people into the bakery to observe a full baking shift at Orange Boot Bakery. You’ll get to see how we mix, shape and bake our artisan bread, cookies, muffins and other sweets, all by three people and one oven. Cindy and I will be there to give you an overview of what we’re doing and answer your questions too.
This session runs from 4AM – 10:30AM or noon (your choice on end times.) Due to space constraints (we’re really flying in the morning!) this session is open to two people. You’ll need sturdy shoes, an apron, comfortable clothes and a hat/kerchief. Feel free to bring a notebook or camera too.
I’ve been a member of the Guild since long before we opened Orange Boot Bakery. Guild members have worked very hard to promote artisan baking education through classes, conferences and publications. I continue to learn a lot from Guild members and I’m excited to share what I know with you.