Oh who are we kidding, we can tell you what happened in Vegas! For those who don’t already know, Holly and I, went to Las Vegas for a pizza and artisan bread expo. We ate pizza, met bread celebrities (I was in love), and most of all learnt lots to bring back with us. The trip was both educational but also affirming that, yes, we are on the right track. Running a small business is difficult and you tend to question yourself quite a bit. Are we filing things properly, are we correct in the way we cost and price our products, etc… Hearing other entrepreneurs speak about there businesses was so great, hearing the mistakes they have made and where there bakeries are at not was very humbling. Now for the things you really want to know! What goodies will we be baking up here at home that I learnt out there. Get ready for a variety of new rye breads, spent grain sourdough, and kouign-amann! I got to meet Stanley Ginsberg, an expert in rye breads and author of the the “The Rye Baker” It’s an excellent book and I’m looking forward to sharing the results with everyone. Spent grain is the fermented grain after which beer is made and bottled. It’s rich and earthy in flavour and extremely healthy for you. This formula that we will be trying out comes from the new cook book (Heritage Baking) that Ellen King wrote. Her bakery is just outside of Chicago. Now I know, what the heck is kouign-amann? (kween aman) Its essentially a caramelized croissant that’s in the shape of a muffin. All you need to know is its sweet, salty, chewy, soft with a crisp crunchy exterior. Over all amazing! Come in and ask for me (Julie) to talk to you more about all of these exciting new creations.

It’s been quite awhile since the last post, sorry for this, the bakery life is quite a busy one that ranges through all hours of the day. Now with Christmas and NewYears done and lets not forget about busy busy Valentines day we have finally come to a brief cool down rest. It’s a short one before the busyness of spring and markets are to come so it’s important to really try to rest up and restore so we can really bring our best baking selves to you. You might ask: how do we rest up for the next race? Going to the beach? Relaxing by the fireside? Sleeping? Oh how I wish it were all of those, especially the sleeping but no, it is not. Instead we rest by getting inspired by other bakers, learning the up and coming in the bread and pastry world, and getting amazing advice and ideas from bakeries around the world. That’s why for the first week in March Holly and I (Julie) will be attending the Artisan bread and pizza conference in Las Vegas. We are so looking forward to telling you all about what we learnt and bring some of these great ideas to the bakery.