wait a second, wtf is this, another post within a week of the last?!?!? i'm doing my best here team, i'll keep writing if you keep reading.
also i just love this new structure of Frequently Unanswered Questions, i am getting all jazzed by the idea that i can revitalize this space as a collection of all of y'alls very good questions and my mediocre answers. ;) so enough lollygaggin, on to the next volume of FUQ -
I LOVE YOUR BREAD BUT I LIVE FAR AWAY FROM YOUR BAKERY. CAN I MAKE YOUR BREAD AT HOME?
photo: Erin Kunkel @erinkunkel
well, you can't make MY bread at your home, but you can make YOUR bread in your home. and i want to support you in that, because it's really not that hard, you just have to put a few pieces in place to make it possible. first of all, watch this. second of all, read this. nothing will replace the rewards of a regular baking practice, both in process and product, so if you have any inclination to work this into your life, i'd like to wholeheartedly encourage you to do so.
WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO OPEN ANOTHER BAKERY?
i could have never imagined the "success" of JBB the way it has progressed over the last 7 years. now that we've landed where we are - a team of 15 bakers baking over 400 loaves a day, milling all of our whole grain flour, sourcing all of our wheat from California, using only organic grains, pizza and sandwiches everyday, multiple baking classes every week, a beautiful cafe that's filled w beautiful people... just pinch me because i'm not sure this is real life! and yet, each day is remarkably similar to the one that came before, and still a little different, which makes me think that perhaps this IS real life, and it also makes me stop and ponder once in a while: where exactly are we headed?
that's been a hard thing to figure out, much harder than i ever would have known, and frankly this is as far as my "plan" got. but something that's been really surprising to me is the ways in which cultural assumptions about "success" have imposed their forces. even when people have the best intentions and are trying to support us and help us be the best we can be, i've had to perpetually reflect and redefine what my own values are, what "success" means to me, what i want the business to grow into.
we operate in a culture that assumes that success equals growth. specifically, "growth" in the sense of moremoremoremoremore, that insatiable desire that's part and parcel of the American dream. it isn't inherently evil or wrong, just turns out that it's not what "success" means to me, it's not the path of JBB. i value growth, very much so in fact, both in my self and in my business and in my staff, it's just a different kind of growth... shaking hands with the farmer that grows our wheat. diving deep into developing new recipes and techniques that coax the full potential from the ingredients we use. imbuing our loaves with our massive spirits. sinking into ourselves and our communities in ways that help us grow *together*. maintaining clarity on these values has been much more confusing than i would have ever imagined, given the differences between my definition of growth and our culture's definition of growth. but i never liked being "normal," so that works out nicely now doesn't it? ;)
what does "growth" and "success" mean to you? how are these similar or different to the generally accepted definition?
I AM OBSESSED WITH YOUR ADVENTURE BREAD, WHAT IS IN IT AND CAN I MAKE IT MYSELF?
thank you for being obsessed with our adventure bread, we are obsessed with it too. and likewise it is obsessed with us, because without us it wouldn't exist. bakers all over the country have started making this bread, professional bakers and home bakers alike, and it just warms my heart. the truth is it's pretty darn simple to make. i included the recipe in my book, but my wonderful friend David Lebovitz included this recipe on his website from a few years back, so if you're curious to try your hand at crafting this loaf in your own home, just go here. oh yeah, as far as what's in it, it's basically just a bunch of toasted seeds held together with psyllium seed husk and almond flour, but all the details are in the recipe.
til next week my dears.
love, jb