OUR STORY
We had a vision of a place that could nurture our community, that could feed us honestly and with the fruits of our shared soil and water.
BEGINNINGS
We came into being over a glass of wine and a loaf of bread.
It was just dinner. Friends. Wine. Food. New ideas.
Thor had just bought a small stone mill, and he had dreams of turning his acres of grain into flour. Stef had cooked and baked bread for the evening. There was quite a bit of wine, lots of good food, and a couple of loaves of bread.
Thor started it: "Dude! You should bake bread with my flour!" Laughter all around. But by the time the wine was gone, it seemed that it might work.
After that there was nothing to do but learn. We owe a LOT to the generous bakers who shared so freely: Elmore Mountain Bread, Jeffrey Hamelman at King Arthur Flour, Thom Leonard, the Bread Bakers Guild of America, and many more. Bakers make inspiring company.
WE SAW the bakery as a place where skill and hard work could be applied to simple materials.
WE BELIEVED that our work could then feed our community and contribute to human thriving.
WE ENVISIONED loaves shaped with care, each embodying our attention and love.
WE IMAGINED those loaves shared and eaten, given away, or simply appreciated as a source of quiet.
Support from the start.
Thor Oechsner, Liz Brown, and Stef Senders own the bakery. Rachel Lodder and Dan Gladstone championed us from the beginning. Billy O'Brien shared his genius in all aspects of design, and in the building of the oven. The late Gary Redmond, for whom "Gary's Bread" is named, gave critical support of the bakery and mill. David McInnis, now owner of Nightingale Bread in Colorado Springs, joined us, like some kind of angel, as our first baking partner. Hope Rainbow shared her fiery spirit with us, and elevated us in the process. Folks all over Ithaca, and some from farther away, contributed funds to make the bakery possible.