holy god, i just took a trip out to Chico to hang with the raddest dude, my main man Dave Miller. i visited him back in November, and i had such an amazing time that i decided it was time for another hang.
i don't mean to get all lovey dovey on you, but i just think this guy is the coolest.
he lives out on a nice big plot of land with not a neighbor to be seen, has some goats and llamas, and he just does his thing. what is his thing? freshly milled whole grain bread, baked in a wood fired oven, in a bakery attached to his house. he sells all the bread at a farmer's market, once a week.
are you kidding me???
nope. no kids here. just bakers. badass motherfrikkin bakers.
so if he made awesome bread from locally grown, freshly milled flour, that would be enough for me. super rad maverick style, hell yes. (see my previous post on this fella if you're thinking, "what the hell is josey talking about?") but there's a lot more going on.
the man just has awesome focus and clarity of vision. being in that space, and watching someone who is so clear in their intention and so skilled at their craft is just such a mighty inspiration. it reminds me of all the things i talked about in my last post, the things that i'm scared of losing as i embark on the next chapter of this funny little breadventure i'm on - HOLY CRAP ARE YOU KIDDING ME - BREADVENTURE!!! i can't believe i never thought of that before!!! have you ever heard that?!? i just made up a totally totally awesome word! i need to trademark that shit quick, don't go stealing it from me and skipping town with fat stacks of cash that coulda been mine if i'd actually trademarked the coolest word i've ever made up: breadventure.
ummmmmm, anyway......... look at these adorable little wheat berries falling to their doom between two humongous stones.
they kinda look like lemmings, right?
(that's my first animated gif in a post and it makes me very very happy of myself.)
and you don't need to be a baker to know that anybody who rocks a pink Artofex mixer is hella badass:
but back to what i was saying before i got distracted by my accidental fully genius word invention (that's breadventure, bitch) and the pink artofex, it really was re-centering to spend time with him. made me feel more sure than ever that i am on the right track with this whole thing. that is an excellent feeling.
and not to mention these other facts that made the trip god damn amazing: the newest member of the Josey Baker Bread Brigade, sir Nicholaus Aives III, accompanied me on this breadventure, manning the ship for the long journey out, and generally lifting my weary spirits. i feel very fortunate to have him on the team, and you'll all be seeing more of him as the days go by (he's a real looker, and i'm gonna make sure i get some pics of him in his undies, just for you). check out Nick behind this meat truck we found on 24th St on our regular Thursday morning breakfast stroll:
and another stellar baker was on the scene as well - Julie, a rad freshly milled whole grain wood fire oven baker, who runs
600 Degrees up on Vancouver Island. Jules was on a trip all over the states with her kind and talented partnerman Andrew, visiting the little bakers that are doing their thing the right way. turns out she'd just spent a bunch of time in Vermont (my homeland), hanging with folks like
Blaire and Andrew at Elmore Mountain Bread, and
Gerard Rubaud, and Adam and folks at
Bread & Butter Farm. also, she hung with
William Davenport of Turtlerock Masonry, whom i haven't yet had the pleasure to meet, but who is based in the Green Mountain state, and is making amazing wood fire brick ovens left and right. small world. i asked if i could come visit up Jules and Andrew up north, and they said i could! stay tuned - if i go, you'll hear all about it.
in parting - rye bread dough is kind of gross looking, isn't it?
but it tastes so good.
<3 josey
