Teamwork Makes The Dream Work ❤

Yesterday morning at our 1 Million Cups Rockford presentation on the story of Crust & Crumbles, I had the great opportunity of revisiting our humble beginnings, recounting all the steps that got us to where we are today and sharing our vision of the future with the group. As I was telling the story, I reflected on all the amazing people who have come into my life along the years that in some way or other put their own special touch into helping build C&C and how grateful I am to them... 

No one does it alone and people coming together to lift one another is such a precious thing. I love this picture of Devin, Marc, and I that we took last night during prep work...these guys are some of the funnest and hardest working people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. They fuel our little venture with their boundless energy, enthusiasm, and commitment. I'm so proud of how far they've come in their skills as bakers and can't wait to see what the future holds. Give them a high five when you see them at the markets because they are awesome and there would be no bread at the booth without them!

On the menu this week, we will have Country White Sourdough, Cranberry & Walnut, Jalapeño Cheddar, Seven Seed Whole Wheat, Baker & Brewer as well as Olive Oil Semolina loaves. A couple of newsletters ago, I had mentioned that we are working on a new flavor suggested by a few customers and we finally got it down! Super excited to be featuring the "Everything Bagel" Bread this week - with toasted sesame seeds, poppy seeds, minced onions, garlic flakes, and sea salt, this one packs a punch in flavor. We really hope you like it!

Blind Date With A Baker

In just over a week, kids will be going back to school and summer will be officially winding down...I can't believe how fast the time has gone by! It has certainly been a hectic couple of days around C&C but we're happy the weekend is finally here and we get to see all your friendly faces at the market. On the menu this week, you'll find a wide variety of choices - Country Sourdough, Cranberry & Walnut, Seven Seed Whole Wheat, Baker & Brewer, Olive Oil Semolina, Jalapeño & Cheddar, and Black Sage - and with last night being one of our biggest bake nights ever, hopefully everyone gets to take home their favorite loaf. 

With summer winding down, we have also been getting a lot of inquiries about how to purchase our breads when the market season is over. If you've been by the booth the last couple of weeks, you may have heard a little bit about this already: 

I'm thrilled to introduce to you, Blind Date with a Baker - our version of a Community Supported Bakery (CSB) program. Originally inspired by the community supported agriculture model, CSB's have played an important role in bringing artisan bakers and their communities together to connect over the common love of real bread and to support the continuation of this old world craft. Currently we are working on securing the pick-up location choices and finalizing other details of the program. We'll release more information soon and we hope you will help us spread the word about this!

1 Million Cups Rockford has kindly invited us to their weekly event held at The Nordloff Center downtown. It's always fun to share the story of C&C and to get to know members of the community as well as other entrepreneurs who are passionately building their own start-ups. There will be a short presentation followed by a Q&A session next Wednesday, August 16th, starting at 9am. The event is open to the public, so anyone is welcome to come! For more info, you can check out their web page linked above.

Earphones in. Volume up.

Did you know August is National Peach Month? I didn't but you'd think I did because I have been eating peaches all week in every which way possible! Our neighboring farmer vendors all have these bright and juicy stone fruits available right now, so you should definitely grab some this weekend. For #ToastTuesday the other day, we toasted up some walnut bread and topped them with ricotta cheese and a peach mint salsa tossed in plum balsamic vinaigrette. 

On the market menu for Friday and Saturday are Baker & Brewer, Olive Oil Semolina, Cranberry & Walnut, 7 Seed Whole Wheat, and Country White loaves. We are not introducing any specials this week but we are working on a new flavor idea for next time thanks to several customers who have suggested it. *Hint hint* - we are taking a cue from everyone's favorite bagel. 

Also, there are so many cool things happening in downtown tomorrow night as part of First Fridays Rockford. From skateboarding in Ground Floor Skateboards' alley to joining in on a match at the E. State & 1st St. chess parklet to enjoying some Americana rock tunes at Owly Oop to "Finding Dory" at Davis Park...there is something for everyone to do. Not to mention you can use RMTD's free trolley service to connect to downtown events and venues after hitting the market!

Finally, we are excited to share with you our Spotify "Baker Beats" mixes - you'll notice that we have added it to our social links on our website found at the bottom of the page. The only thing we consume more than carbs at the bakery is music...we take turns being in charge of the speaker to blast our tunes as we get through the long prep/bake nights throughout the week. You can follow along to hear each baker's playlist and the Collab Mix one is opened up for anyone to add music to so we can enjoy what you want us to hear.

Goodbye, J U L Y 🌻

With August around the corner, we are entering peak harvest season with ripe veggies stealing the spotlight everywhere you turn. This has been the summer of galettes for me since I've baked one at least every other week. From savory to sweet, this free-form pastry is versatile, delicious, rustic, and much easier to throw together than a pie or a tart. Our neighboring vendor at the North End market traded me some gorgeous tomatoes for a loaf of bread recently which gave way to this caprese galette.

Layer a smear of pesto, fresh mozzarella slices, and tomatoes on top of the dough...then after baking, top it off with chopped basil and a drizzle of balsamic reduction. Here is a good basic dough recipe if you want to give it a try {you can always add a little sugar to the mix for fruit galettes}. After rolling out the dough, place the filling in the center leaving 2-3 inches bare around the edges and then fold over the edges, overlapping folds as necessary.

For markets this week, we will have all our usual fare with the addition of Kalamata Olive sourdoughs and Pain D'Epis (pictured above). Epis are French-style breads that are made with traditional baguette dough. They are shaped as such to resemble the flower of a wheat stalk. With so much surface area exposed from the angled cuts, this is the crustiest loaf there is and it's perfect for sharing with everyone getting their own little "kernel". 

In other news, our dough sheeter crossed the Atlantic and finally arrived at the bakery last Friday. We are so excited to start working on our viennoiserie program and introduce croissants, danishes, as well as other laminated pastries to our line-up. As soon as they are available alongside our loaves at the market, you'll be the first to know!

Take A Bite, Rockford 😋

Today is the 10th week and halfway mark of the Rockford City Market season. Summer is certainly flying by and I hope you are enjoying every moment of it! If you are looking for something fun to do this weekend, join me and make your way down to the City Market pavilion Saturday night from 4-10pm for Bite Nite - a new food festival featuring the best food in Rockford, Loves Park, Roscoe, Rockton and beyond. There will be live music, local beer, and wine. Tons of vendors will have taste size portions for sale for $1-$4 each. Admission is $5 and anyone under 12 is free. 

We had the pleasure of joining our friends at the Rockford Country Club as they hosted the 41st Annual Rockford ProAm past Monday. We baked up our Country White Sourdough as well as the Baker & Brewer loaves for the bread station and got to meet a whole lot of great folks from around the community....also happy to report that our bread was up to par :) We want to thank RCC for including us and being such gracious hosts!

This week's special for the market is our Black Sage bread alongside the Olive Oil Semolina, Cranberry & Walnut, Baker & Brewer, and Country White loaves. Above is one of my favorite ways to eat the Black Sage - slather whipped cream cheese on the toast and top with smoked salmon, dill, as well as a sprinkling of salt & pepper. If you give it a try, let me know how you like it!

Vive La France!

Just imagine...without the French, we wouldn't have champagne, croissants, or blue cheese. Not to mention the Statue of Liberty! In honor of Bastille Day, celebrated each year on July 14th which just happens to be this Friday, we will be baking up a bread that is quintessentially French - the baguette.

These loaves are hybrid - made using both a sourdough culture as well as a preferment with commercial yeast. This method allows for more flavor from the natural leavening as well as a thinner crispy crust thanks to the preferment. It has been quite a while since I've last made baguettes, so I'm excited to finally be adding these to our list of offerings.

We know some of you have really been missing the Baker & Brewer breads at the market for the last couple of weeks. Well, no more! The spent grain loaves are back and I suspect you are going to notice the slight change in taste from before. The folks at Prairie Street Brewing Co. have whipped up their Angry Turk imperial coffee stout recently and it's the grains from this brew that are going to be used in our loaves for the next few weeks. Dark roasted coffee and rich cardamom are the hallmark flavors here.

Past Monday, we announced our very first giveaway over on our Instagram and Facebook - if you've missed it, there's still time for you to enter [on either social media channel] and win this C&C tote bag to pick up at the market this Friday! All you have to do is answer this - "Out of 3412 photos in my phone, how many pictures are of bread?" The closest guess without going over, wins. The guessing game ends on 7/14 at 10am and we'll notify the winner right away to pick up their prize that afternoon.

Drunken Hog Encore

I hope everyone had a fabulous Fourth of July! Rockford did such a great job with the downtown parade and with the fireworks as always. We normally start our market preparations for the week on Tuesday evening but we all took a welcome day off to enjoy the festivities with family and friends. 

Drunken Hog loaves will be making another appearance at the markets this week for all of you that didn't get a chance to try it last time. We will certainly bring them back a couple more times during the second half of the season but unfortunately these are not a regular menu item. You can expect to see Olive Oil Semolina, Seeded Country Brown, Cranberry & Walnut, Jalapeño & Cheddar, as well as Country White Sourdoughs on the lineup.

The fruits and veggies at both Rockford City Market and North End City Market have been looking awesome. Summer in the Midwest is in full swing and, with it, we get to enjoy the bounties of nature and all that our local farmers have to offer. I have been stocking up for the week on Saturday mornings from my fellow vendors at North End. If you've yet to visit this quaint neighborhood market, I hope you do!

Rock the Market 2017

As part of the annual Fourth of July celebration, Rock the Market Night goes down at the City Market this evening with extended hours until 10 pm. Last year over 10,000 people joined us downtown to start off their holiday weekend! There will be two bands at each stage, cooking demos, and loads of other activities. And to top it off, looks like the weather is finally calming down.

Per C&C tradition, we will feature the Drunken Hog loaf at the markets this weekend because...well, there's nothing more American than bacon & bourbon. Over 12 lbs of brown sugar candied bacon and a couple bottles of bourbon were incorporated into this particular batch...if you get your hands on one of these loaves, make sure to toast your slices for full effect!

Also on the menu, we will have Country White Sourdough, Cranberry & Walnut, Olive Oil Semolina, Seeded Country Brown, as well as Jalapeño & Cheddar loaves. If you don't make it out to the markets this weekend, I hope you have a safe and fun holiday full of friends, family, and fantastic food!

Hello Sunshine

Summer solstice was upon us this week and it marked the onset of this here glorious season. In many spiritual teachings, the progress of the sun throughout the year symbolizes ascension and Wednesday was the final climax of this journey as it was the day of most light in the year.

Coincidentally, Wednesday was also the day we walked into the C&C kitchen and marked the ending of one journey as we begun another. It has been a long winding road to transform a dream into a reality and this space into a properly equipped bakery. Now the real work is in front of us and we are as excited as ever to get started. 

On the market menu this week, we will have our Country White Sourdough, Cranberry & Walnut, Rosemary & Olive Oil Semolina, Seven Seed Whole Wheat, as well as Baker & Brewer spent grain loaves. They all came out so beautifully in the new oven and we hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed baking them for you! 

We managed to get a time lapse video of our very first trial bake from Wednesday night...it's quite mesmerizing to watch the process of how it all comes together - check it out by clicking the picture below :)  [direct link HERE ]

Meet the Forno Stratos 🔥

This week has been an exciting time at the bakery as our oven finally made its way from Verona, Italy to Rockford. Since naturally leavened breads require slow wild yeast fermentation, a majority of the production process happens way before any heating element is ever turned on. Thus, peeling the dough onto the hearth of the oven is the final act of baking and the resulting loaves wholly validate all the previous days' efforts. Ovens built specifically for artisan style bread baking provide an intensely penetrating heat from the stone hearth while pumping a generous amount of steam into the chamber which allows for maximum expansion of highly hydrated dough. This combination is what contributes to the breads being voluminous and gorgeous...with a shattering crispy crust and an open tender crumb.

The oven is certainly the heart of any bakery and now that ours has arrived, we feel complete. Over the last couple of months, many people have contributed their time, talent, and resources towards preparing and equipping the C&C kitchen for launch. And a majority of this week has been spent on assembling and running connections to this amazing piece of equipment. The good news is we are 99% done with the renovation. The bad news is this heavy installation week has prevented us from being able to bake for the markets. We will miss seeing you all at City Market tonight and at North End Market tomorrow! Every oven has its own character and quirks, so we will be busy spending all the days until next market to learn and familiarize ourselves with our new friend. I cannot wait to break it in and share with all of you the breads that will come out of it.