CSB Shares, Holiday Orders & Gifts

All Good is ready to launch our 2013

Community Supported Bakery Winter Share Season!

We're offering Loaves & Groups of Baked Goods made with NY flours & ingredients, for weekly pickup and a discount for paying in advance, for our Third Community Supported Bakery Program! Share pickups begin Wednesday January 9 and go through May 22 (20 weeks). 1 loaf per week is $110, 1 group of baked goods is $90 (you may purchase more than one share and choose which items you'd like to receive each week.)

Our enthusiasitic members the past two Winter seasons of our share program proved that people in Albany care about supporting local bread artisans dedicated to using pure ingredients and old-school techniques. 

From Barbara C, a member for 2 years: 

"We are very happy with your service and products.  We all like your bread. 

Usually I cannot get our kids to eat anything, but awful, cheap white bread and the fact they are eating yours is a testament to how good it is."

Join the Real Bread Revolution!

Deadline for signup is  December 23, 2012

http://allgoodbakers.weebly.com/2013-community-supported-bakery-shares.html

Don't wait, submit your form & payment in the shop or at the Delmar Market by Nov. 30 and we'll give you a free loaf of bread in thanks for becoming an early member! 

Why Join a Community Supported Bakery? 

We're glad you asked.  For some, the idea of a Community Supported endeavor that involves anything other than farm-direct products might seem foreign, but a quick Google search yields about 30 US CSBs currently in action in just the first 4 pages, with more in the UK and otherwise abroad. When we started our first CSB season in 2010, there were only about 8 in the US, this model is growing! Communty Supported shares that provide much more than produce are gaining in popularity all over the country.  

Here are 5 good reasons to join our CSB.

1) Increased availability of Real Bread (and pastries) in the Capital Region. (Clean, Fresh, Local ingredients free from GMOs, dough conditioners, additives & other lab-produced materials. We use water, salt, high quality flour, and sometimes yeast, organic oils or specialty ingredients. Everything is prepared 

in-house, from-scratch, by us.)

2) Support for NY grain farmers and our risk developing recipes/techniques that respond to the varying protein levels of their wheat. Every membership will utilize about 25 lbs of NY flour. (We buy North Country Farms Stoneground Wheat & White; although NY grain production is up, the purchase of it by regional bakers is still relatively sparse. NY used to be the country's bread basket,  Small, sustainable NY Farmers & Bakers are bringing NY Wheat back.  We could buy more reliable flours from the Midwest, but we choose to honor the farmers who are dedicated to producing wheat again here in the Northeast, our CSB gives you a direct way to support them too.) 
  
3) Discounted, carefully produced loaves & pastries for a fair-trade price.

4) Support the talent of Craft Bakers while developing a personal relationship with us. (As owners, Nick & I are extremely involved in our community and donate loaves/gift certificates/food regularly to worthy local causes that help feed the hungry. We work long hours that require great detail and skill.  Getting to know more people in your neighborhood is never a bad thing and neither is supporting your local food artisans! Everything we do is connected to people, the CSB brings you closer to your food producers.)

5) Help stabilize and inject money into our local-foods economy and reduction of our collective carbon footprint. Our ingredients are typically grown and transported no more than 130 miles from Albany. We are deeply committed to supporting our slow-food producing neighbors.  (North Country Farms is in the Fingerlakes; produce & cheeses are from within 30 miles; only our fair-trade organic sugars, Earth Balance, vanilla, spices, salt, baking powder & soda, Organic oils, NY and Organic flours come from a local/family-owned distributor, Hillcrest Foods in Saratoga or The Honest Weight Food Co-op, Please see our Suppliers Page for more information about our ingredients and philosophy.)

HOLIDAY ORDERS (NOV & DEC)

we are offering specialty loaves & baked goods
to grace your table & help ease your load for
November & December Gatherings!

(please click on the link above to order, submit via email or in person)

Our Cinnamon Raisin Sandwich Loaf is perfect for a quick breakfast for guests (toasted or as French Toast or Bread Pudding).  Nick's Pumpkin Cranberry Walnut Boule, French Baguettes or Dinner Rolls are designed to perfectly compliment your Holiday meals and parties.  

Britin's Buttery Spiced Apple or Chocolate Pecan Tarts, Apple or Vegan Cinnamon Buns, and our Vegan Cookies will satisfy adults & children alike.

Order by Tues. November 13 and Wed. December 16
for pickup Nov. 21 and Dec. 23/24.

We have Capital Region City Dining Cards available for just $20 and we're in the deck!

 

5% of each purchase goes to the Northeast Regional Food Bank, a powerful organization helping to relieve the hungry in Upstate NY. This deck of 50 cards, worth $500 in discounts, is comprised of only locally-owned restaurants and includes 2 freebie wildcards. Cards expire in December 2013 and offer a $10 discount when you spend $30 on food. They fit into your wallet and make a great stocking stuffer for just about anyone! 
Get a bonus card of your choice with purchase.

We offer Gift Certificates in any denomination
CAN BE USED IN THE SHOP,
AT THE SATURDAY DELMAR FARMERS MARKET
OR TOWARDS A BAKERY SHARE.  

Pick up one (or more) at the shop or market for the local-food lovers in your life!
We'll add an extra $5 to any GC purchase of over $25.

Total GC amount doesn't have to be used all at once
and there is no expiration date.

Remember, we prepare freshly baked goods for morning work meetings,
lunches on the go, catering for any purpose
and wholesale breads & baked goods!
Call 518-463-1349 or email allgoodbakers@gmail.com

Shop Hours:
Wed-Fri 7:30am-3pm 
(Fridays now open until 6pm)
Sat/Sun 9am-3pm

  We always look forward to seeing you!

Your Bakers, Owners & Chef

Britin & Nick Foster
We're bringing Real Bread back.

Giving New Meaning to the term "Summer Tour"

Greetings Friends!

Opening our new shop has been a whirlwind experience and with the Saturday Delmar Farmer Market starting up tomorrow, we expect more of the same! We are very happily ensconced in our new home at 540 Delaware Ave. and we are so grateful for the outpouring of support and encouragement we've received from all of you. Thank you. We've got some exciting new happenings for the summer to announce!

Phish  Always Wins
("THE Summer Tour")

Anyone who knows Nick personally is aware he busts his you-know-what all year long, reserving his time off and limited "fun money" for just a few nights a year to see Phish in nearby cities.  He works 12-16 hours a day, 6 days a week and very much deserves this time to nourish his well-being! Our Sous Chef, Lauren Ciaglo, will be filling in for him by baking our loaves while Nick takes his short walkabouts this summer.

"AGB Summer Vendor Tour"

We'll visit six of our local, sustainable suppliers this summer and write up a blog post, with photos and details about production for each, on From Scratch Club! We look forward to helping you get to know our (and YOUR) local food producers! We've updated our suppliers list to show all of the individual vendors with whom we are now working.

On our list to profile this summer:

Farmer Jon's Produce

Meadowbrook Farms Dairy

R & G Cheesemakers

Mountain Winds Maple Farm

Lloyd Spear, Beekeeper

Bulich Creekside Farms

"From Scratch Club Academy Summer DIY Food Tour"

DIY Food Classes starting in June in our kitchen! (can you tell we're excited?)

$45 per person, per class

All Classes on Tuesdays from 6:30-8:30pm (except Kids)

Kids in the Kitchen, June 25th, Monday 6-8pm

DIY Starter Sampler, June 26th

Water-Bath Canning Basics, July 3rd

Home Dairy 101, July 10th

Summertime Condiments, July 17th

Jelly, Jam,Preserve-What's the Difference? July 24th

Food Preservation 101, July 31st

DIY Home & Body Sampler, August 7th

"Enjoy Local Foods (Tour)"

Saturday Delmar Farmers Market

We're there every week, in sun and rain.
Everything you need is at the market, with over 60 vendors this year!
9am-1pm, June-December, 332 Kenwood Ave.

Bethlehem Central Middle School

R'eisen Shine Farms CSA

Next week we start hosting pickups for R'eisen Shine's year-round, whole diet CSA in the back garden! DJ and Dottie are going to help us grow what we can in barter. They've got a great blog that illustrates the trials and triumphs of farming (follow the link above).

New Spring Menu

These selections won't be around long...summer bounty is beginning to arrive!

Introducing: Our New Hot Breakfast Menu!

Soon to be available
7am-11am Wed-Fri, Sat/Sun 9am-3pm

Quail Egg Crostini
Fried Egg and Cheese Sandwich
Buttermilk Biscuit and Southern Style Gravy

Doctored Grits

Seasonal Hash
Quick Oats with Britin's Butter, Cinnamon & Pure Maple Syrup

(more to come as Nick finalizes other specialties)

 You heard it here first, we are going to start opening earlier during the week! And serving egg sandwiches, as has often been requested.  We realized we are missing weekday morning drive-by traffic and the opportunity to provide a hot breakfast for those of you who travel Delaware Ave. on your way to work. We also realize we need to work on being open later (at least some nights) and have plans to do so as soon as we are able. Trust the wheels are turning! We'll keep you posted on when the new menu/hours will begin.

We hope you'll visit us through the summer and get involved in the activities we have planned. We aim to be a good-food-community-hub. I think we're on our way!

The AGB Team

Nick Foster
Chef/Baker/Owner

Britin Foster
Baker/Manager/Owner

Lauren Ciaglo
Sous Chef/Canner

Liz Alan
Customer Service/Jack of All Trades

Opening Wednesday, March 21 8am at 540 Delaware Ave.!

Almost exactly two months after signing our new lease, we are ready for a soft-opening at 540 Delaware Avenue on Wednesday at 8am!


Our new building sign! As soon as the buildling department
gives us the go ahead, we'll get it hung.


So many people have helped us get here, not the least of which is the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region, who helped us shape our business plan and funded our move.  We are indebted to everyone who has supported us in a myriad of ways as we have approached this stage of growth. We are coming off the adreneline rush of having accomplished everything required to get the new shop open, and we are ready to begin baking again!

Our regular hours will be Wed-Fri 8am - 3pm and Sat-Sun 9am - 3pm. We've hired two friendly, wonderfully capable people to give us a hand (Liz for front of the house, formerly at Mezzo Marketplace and Lauren who recently graduated from the Culinary Institute as Nick's Sous Chef). Liz and Lauren share our passion for fresh, local, sustainable foods and we are confident they will be very valuable first additions to our work family. Please give them a warm welcome them when you visit!

Our new retail area accommodates 10 seats inside and we'll be adding at least two patio tables outside to start. Nick has created an a-la-carte lunch menu of Six Seasonal Sandwiches (3 grilled cheeses for $5.00 and 3 vegan/vegetarian for $5.50/$6.00) that will also include seasonally-based soup and salads ($2.50-$5). We are sourcing biodegradable, compostable packaging for lunches to go and should get our first shipment within a couple of weeks (till then our ability to package soups and salad to go will be limited). Parking is available in our lot or on the street, we are in the same building as The Yoga Loft, next to Mingle.

"Little Green Monsters"

Our Muffins & Scone varieties will continue to change depending on what's available from our farmers, and we will prepare our Bialys, Cinnamon Buns, Energy Treats and Tartlets daily.  Nick will prepare his Soft Pretzels as time allows and our Saturday & Sunday Brunch menu will consist of Croissants (Traditional and Pan Au Chocolat), Quiche with local/seasonal ingredients and our own crust, Savory Bread Pudding, Savory & Sweet Philmores (stuffed croissant dough), likely French Toast and Pancakes, and specialty sides like Seitan Hash (as time goes on, we'll also offer a few other specials Nick has up his sleeve).  We'll continue using hyper-local, responsibly sourced ingredients as often as humanly possible and making our own butter every week (hopefully adding biscuits soon - we need to use up that buttermilk on something besides scones!).

Everything we serve will continue to be made fresh, from scratch.  And of course, THERE WILL BE BREAD, all of which Nick will prepare himself!  We intend to offer daily: Hearty Multigrain, Honey Whole Wheat, Rye (with molasses & caraway), Ciabatta, Country French Sourdough and a Specialty Loaf that we call a "Baker's Pick", which Nick will change up based on inspiration and inclination. 

For Beverages, we'll serve regular and decaf fair-trade, organic coffee from Hudson River Coffee House, a small variety of teas, local apple cider and our own fruit waters. We've also added a light weekday breakfast menu of toast and butter/jam/peanut butter, bialys with cream cheese and a kid's menu of a few sandwiches.

Travis from Organica (an organic growing supplies shop on Delaware Ave., next to Ultra Violet) is setting us up with a hydroponic garden in our kitchen (visible from our sidewalk window, take a peek!) where we will grow organic and heirloom herbs and a variety of lettuces, right on the premesis! We're pretty sure no other restaurant in Albany has a hydroponic garden - Travis will be helping us maintain it and he can help you too if you'd like an indoor setup. It's fun growing food, if you haven't tried it we recommend it.

Planting will begin very soon!

We will continue to rent to other small food producers looking to get a leg up. Katherine Hunter from Three Smiles Kitchen will be preparing her new Seitan for us and for the Saturday Delmar Farmers Market. Gatherer's Granola is still with us for a little while while their new production space is readied, and there are a one or two other producers we're in talks with.

Over the next couple of weeks, we will get our staff and organizational processes up to speed and soon after, we'll have a big Grand Opening Party, including a ribbon cutting with the Community Loan Fund! Our street signage should be complete by then and we'll hopefully work out any kinks in operations quickly.

We look forward to seeing you for opening week, starting this Wednesday at 8am! Time to make the butter!

Your bakers,
Britin & Nick Foster

New Beginnings

Greetings Fans,

(Britin here.) We haven't kept up with the blog as much as we would have liked this season, but the lack of time to dedicate to this forum was thankfully filled with an incredible year of growth for AGB.  Opening our shop on Quail St. has widened our audience significantly, especially due to Nick's ability to transform simple, fresh (local) ingredients into incredible lunch fare.  Everyone who has visited the shop has been very welcoming and enthusiastic, for which we couldn't be more grateful. We've gotten to know a lot of regulars this year - one of my personal favorite aspects of our "job" (it's hard to call it that- we are both really enjoying living the dream).

We've also made much deeper connections with our neighboring farmers and other small food-producing suppliers (Farmer Jon's Produce, Mountain Winds Maple Farm, North Country Farms Flour, Bulich Mushroom Farm, Capital District Community Gardens, Our Daily Eats, Meadowbrook Dairy, among others); groups dedicated to promoting Real Local Food like the Chef's Consortium of the Hudson Valley, From Scratch Club and the Saturday Delmar Farmers Market; local food bloggers Steve Barnes (Table Hopping), Daniel B. over at Fussy Litte Blog, Greg & Mary at All Over Albany, and Christina D. at FSC. It has truly been an incredible year for us and it was all capped off with Nick being chosen as a Rising Star Chef with the Albany Wine and Dine for the Arts Festival (happening this weekend)! Major Woot!

When we began renting our kitchen on Quail in November 2010, it was for the sole purpose of executing our first Community Supported Bakery season. We didn't intend to open up for retail, but when our landlord (Mark Guido of Guido's Frozen Desserts) said, "You're paying all of the overhead, the lights are on - why not open?", we started thinking seriously about it.  Nick and I have worked in restaurants since we were both 15 years old, and met while working in one in '03. Virtually since that day, we started talking about what we would do if we opened our own place. Guido's suggestion rang in our heads all that winter and we took the plunge in April of this year.

Most people in the Pine Hills neighborhood & surrounding Albany have welcomed us with open arms. Business owners, families, neighborhood associations, organizers, beat cops - all of our customers have all been wonderful to get to know and we are grateful for the opportunty to do so. We have participated in every way we can to be good neighbors, highlight the great aspects of the neighborhood and to be advocates for changing what needs improvement. Unfortunately, limited parking, street trash, vandalism and sporadic violence plague the Education District.  Although some issues are being addressed, we reluctantly accept that meaningful change is likely to be a long time coming.

By late October, the reality started to sink in that our location on Quail St. just isn't the ideal venue for what we do, and we began entertaining the thought of moving the shop. One major reason is that our rent increased in December.  We knew it would happen, we just didn't realize by how much and there's only so much we can produce fresh in our tiny kitchen in order to support the extra overhead. Gatherer's Granola has continued to rent from us three days per week, and has been putting out an enormous amount of granola to local farmers markets and co-ops. They are growing, too, and are looking for a larger production space.


The retail area at 540 Delaware Ave., still small, but bigger than we have now!

We started working with the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region and contemplated a few spots for a new building.  The one that has been calling our names for years, 540 Delaware Avenue, was vacant, and offered a multitude of improvements: Three times the square footage, 10 parking spaces, a slightly larger retail area, reasonable rent, fully-installed fire-suppression system (with fans and hood - a huge expense!), better quality finishes, on a main thoroughfare, accessible to our Delmar customers (but still in Albany) and we could walk to work in good weather!  Just last week, we closed on a modest loan with the great folks over at the CLF (big thanks to Lissa, Joe, Walt and the Board!), and LAST NIGHT we signed the lease on 540 Delware Ave.!  We've lived in the DelSo neighborhood since moving here in 2003 - having our bakery here will be an absolute dream come true for us. We'll start acquiring equipment and navigating the city permitting process next week.  We're hoping to open sometime between mid-February and mid-March, and will operate on Quail St. until then.

We'll be open 5 days per week, add more lunch and breakfast options, hire two staff members, increase our loaf varieties & share programs, and hopefully grow some of our own produce in a kitchen garden out back. We'll continue to use primarily local suppliers, prepare everything fresh, maintain our low-waste practices and hopefully be seeing more of you! We hope making this move will bring positive, measured growth for our bakery and our family - and we couldn't be more excited!!

More detailed information will follow as we progress. We hope you share our enthusiasm!

Your bakers,
Britin & Nick

Winter Bread Share Signups, Gift Certificates!

Greetings Friends! We're signing up members for our 2012 Bread Share program and now have holiday Gift Certificates available, please read on for details!

2012 WINTER BREAD SHARES
Last year around this time we rolled out Albany's first Community Supported Bakery ("CSB") Winter Bread Share Program and we are now ready to offer Shares for 2012! Similar to a CSA where one pays for weekly produce at the beginning of the growing season, our Winter Bread Shares offer weekly pickup of sustainably produced, small-batch, artisan loaves in exchange for payment at the beginning of our program season.  Members are benefitted with larger Specialty Loaves than those sold retail, a reduced price on Daily Sandwich breads, a unique view of the evolvement of Nick's skills and talents throughout the winter, and greater involvement with those in our community who care about consuming Real Bread!  

Nick's Hearty Multigrain Loaf


Each single Share equals one loaf per week starting Sunday January 8, for 18 weeks, for $103.50. Multiple shares may be purchased, sign-up sheets are HERE!  We will only be accepting 30 members this year and have 6 previous members signed up so far.  The deadline for sign up is Sunday, December 18 - please consider confirming your spot right away as they are sure to go quickly.  We are offering Sandwich Loaves (Whole Wheat, Hearty Multigrain, Rye, Ciabatta) and "Baker's Pick" Specialty Loaves this year; pickups will be Sunday afternoons from 3pm - 6pm at the shop (160 A Quail St., Albany).



Matt B., last year: he couldn't wait to dig in!

 Last year, we prepared our locally-sourced breads and from-scratch baked goods for 49 CSB members who split 69 shares over 6 months, including 4 sponsored shares for Catholic Charities Mercy House Women's Shelter and Refugee Resettlement Program. We will be offering this option again for anyone to who would like to sponsor a full share of Weekly Healthy Bread to Catholic Charities for the season at the discounted rate of $90.00 for the season (please indicate your choice on your sign-up sheet). 

Our first season went incredibly well! There were two babies born and we formed long-term relationships with many of our members who have given us valuable feedback, the ability to open our storefront and were reponsible for us beginning to use all Organic Flours and much higher-quailty ingredients all around. We are eternally grateful for their encouragement and support over this last year as we have grown our little bakery! We hope you'll join us as we embark upon our second Community Supported Bakery Winter Bread Share Season!


HOLIDAY GIFT CERTIFICATESWe are offering Gift Certificates in just about any denomination that will be great gifts for those AGB lovers in your life!  Choose $5, $10, $15 or more - all certificates over $25 will receive an extra $5 on the certificate to be redeemed by your chosen recipient, the balance of which doesn't have to be used all at once and the certificates have no set expiration date.  Please email us, or see us in the shop or the Saturday Delmar Farmer's Market to pick one up.

NEWS
The Albany Wine and Dine for the Arts Fest is coming up January 12-14! Nick will be in the Rising Star Chef Pavilion and participating in the Slider Slam on Friday night. Get your tickets now!

Please let us know if you have any questions, we're happy to answer promptly.

Your bakers,
Britin & Nick Foster

NOFA-NY September Locavore Challenge

We are members of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of NY, who this month launched its second annual Locavore Challenge state-wide, and we are proud sponsors!  Please read all about it here and take on the challenge of eating as much local food as possible for as little as a day, a week or for the whole month - the point is to learn more about our local food system on a level you are currently comfortable with, give a boost to our local economy and support our farming neighbors.  Read on for all the information and please visit the NOFA-NY website for a calendar of events & more info!

Our September 18 Food Swap with From Scratch Club is a featured event and we are a participating restaurant!

(Tickets for the swap will be released any day on FSC.)

http://www.nofany.org/events/ny-locavore-challenge/locavore-events-calendar

 "The New York State Locavore Challenge is a state-wide campaign organized by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of NY, the only state-wide non-profit organization dedicated to building the local and organic food movement from the farm up.  We help educate and train organic farmers, improve food distribution and access systems, and increase markets for organic food and ongoing advocacy work.

 The Challenge starts with the theory “vote with your dollar,” and takes it a few steps further, by appealing concerned citizens to participate in a wide variety of events and challenges that support their local economies, encourage organic and sustainable growing practices and propel the movement forward.

The goal for this campaign is to educate consumers about how to make healthy and ethical food choices, cook with in-season, local organic foods, while supporting local sustainable farms and food businesses. Our 2011 goal is to involve 5,000 people in this year’s challenge, and bring the concepts of local, organic and sustainable more into the forefront of the general public’s minds. 

This year’s program is versatile, fun and FREE! 

Challenge Levels

Bite-Sized (3 mini-challenges)

Meal-Sized (6 mini-challenges)

Feast-Sized (9 mini-challenges)

Challenge Categories

Grow, Cook, Eat

Join the Movement

Take Action

 

Grow, Cook, Eat

Bite-Sized Challenge: Choose 1

Meal-Sized Challenge: Choose 2

Feast-Sized Challenge: Choose 3

Take a 250 Mile Day Challenge

Take a 250 Mile Week Challenge (Counts as 2)

Take a 250 Mile Month Challenge (Counts as 3)

Shop at a Farmers Market, Farm Stand or U-Pick

Dine at a Locavore Restaurant

Join a Winter CSA

Join a Food Co-op

Eat (at least) 5 Servings of Local, Organic Fruit & Veggies per Day

Cook with Local Oils, Grains, Meats & Cheeses

Sip on Local Milk, Juice, Beer, Wine & Spirits

Swap Sugar for Local Honey & Maple Syrup

Try Food Preservation (Canning, Freezing, Drying)

Go Foraging!

Make Your Own Butter, Yogurt, or Ice-Cream

Grow an Herb Garden

Plant an Indoor Winter Garden

Plant at Cover Crop in Your Garden

Compost Your Kitchen Scraps

 

Join the Movement

Bite-Sized Challenge: Choose 1

Meal-Sized Challenge: Choose 2

Feast-Sized Challenge: Choose 3

Like NOFA-NY on Facebook and/or Follow NOFANY on Twitter

Blog About Your Challenge Experience (and send us the link!)

Become a Member of NOFA-NY

Attend a Locavore Event

Host a Locavore Potluck on Sept. 25th (Counts as 2)

Attend a Locavore Potluck on Sept. 25th

Read a Locavore Book

Host a Locavore Book Discussion (Counts as 2)

Participate in a Crop Mob

Take Action

Bite-Sized Challenge: Choose 1

Meal-Sized Challenge: Choose 2

Feast-Sized Challenge: Choose 3

Join the Millions Against Monsanto Campaign

Lobby Your Food Store to Include More Local Product

Ask Your Representative to Support Organic Farming

Speak With Your School About Local Sourcing

Start a Garden in Your Community or School

Volunteer at a Farm or Community Garden

Donate to the NOFA-NY Farmer Education Fund

The 250 Mile Diet Challenge

This 250 Mile Diet mini-challenge urges participants to eat only local and organic and/or sustainably produced foods. Participants who choose the Day or Week long challenges may select a specific day or week during the month of September that they would like to complete the challenge. The Month challenge can start anytime in September and be completed 30 days later. All foods consumed during the 250 Mile Diet Challenge must be produced locally within 250 miles and be produced using organic or sustainable methods. It is a difficult challenge, but there are a few helpful short-cuts allowed to make the transition a little bit easier.

1.) Marco Polo Rule: Salt, pepper and spices do not need to be local. Also yeast, baking powder and baking soda are nearly impossible to source locally so they are accepted exceptions as well.

This rule originates from the premise that if you could carry it in your pockets while at sea, you could bring it with you to the “New World.”

2.) Wild Card Items: Choose up to (5) Wild Card Ingredients that cannot be sourced locally but that you cannot live without.

Certified Organic, Fair Trade, or Locally Processed items are encouraged for all Wild Card items. Popular wild card items include: Coffee, chocolate, tea, olive oil, nuts and rice."

We hope you'll join us in support of our local food system.
Your bakers,
Britin & Nick

INGREDIENTS UPDATE: Better Butter

You may have heard, I (Britin) started making our own sweet cream and cultured butter for the bakery two weeks ago. We recently found out Meadowbrook Dairy wouldn't be able to bring us our usual beloved variety from The Country Creamery in Canestota anymore due to sustained high fuel costs and distribution complications.  When Chuck Van Wie (one of the Meadowbrook's owners) suggested I made our own butter, my mind started racing. Could I learn the skill quickly and thoroughly enough to prepare it in bulk?  Would our baked goods suffer or improve?  Is there ever enough time to tackle new tasks such as this?  Chuck pointed out that Meadowbrook's heavy cream is vat-pasteurized (the old fashioned way) making it superior to other local dairies.  Plus the cream is not subjected to high-heat, is GMO-free and with Meadowbrook we know the cows who provide us with such bounty are grass-fed for much of the year and treated humanely.  It didn't take long for panic to give way to excitement and I started researching all the ins & outs of butter making.  Tackling this new challenge has been exciting and fun (and messy)!

First 12 lbs. of sweet cream butter.

See, we are purists when it comes to food, especially with what we serve in our bakery.  Because we use almost 20 pounds of butter every week in our Croissants, Scones, Cookies, Muffins, Tarts and grilled Sandwiches, we can't settle for even one less-than-superior major ingredient.  We've experimented with a couple of other local butters from the Honest Weight Food Co-op, but found them lacking in depth, flavor and texture.  Culturing some of the cream before churning provides us with real buttermilk that we're beginning to use in our Scones, and Buttermilk Biscuits are most likely going to become a staple on Sundays in an effort to use everything we are producing.  The real buttermilk, which is thinner than store bought, can then be used to culture the next batch of heavy cream, which in turn gives us our own Creme Fraiche.  Once I started figuring out all of the derivative products we can use in the bakery just by simply beating fresh or cultured heavy cream, the decision to soldier through 20 lbs of butter making every week didn't seem so crazy.

I guess what I'm trying to convey here is, we're passionate about each and every detail of what goes into the food we offer to you.  We are deeply committed to providing consistently delicious Real Food, even when it means taking on a daunting task.  That said, I'm still working out the minor kinks regarding texture and proper culturing so you may see and taste some changes over the next few weeks as we figure out which baked goods respond better to each variety of butter and refine techniques.  It's important to us to hear your feedback, so please don't be shy about sharing your opinion. We change things up based on what we're learning from our community, so hearing your thoughts is crucial to our improvement.



1/2 lb pkgs sold this week.

We're thinking of starting a very small Community Supported Butter share program in a few weeks once the desired production consistency is achieved.  Ethical, NY-sourced sweet cream and especially cultured butter are rare (if not impossible) to find in the Capital Region, so we hope some of you will be very excited about this prospect!  I'm also thinking of flavoring a small amount with herbs, high-quality salts, garlic, maple syrup....the ideas are flowing!  We plan on making enough of each variety so that we can offer additional small quantities to the general public as well.  We'll keep you posted on the status of the initiation of the program.

I've been feeling pretty giddy with myself about all of this.  I've made 20 lbs each of sweet cream and cultured butter so far, and will begin culturing a new batch of heavy cream in the morning.  A recipe with detailed instructions will be posted on the From Scratch Club blog tomorrow, so if you're interested in making your own, please take a gander!  It's so easy to prepare in a small batch, everyone should give it a try.  I'm happy to answer any questions should anyone decide to take on the task.  We look forward to our continuing adventures with our own better butter, and hope you do too!

Your bakers,
Britin (& Nick)