Signing off, with love and gratitude
f&d
Monday, September 24, 2012
An end to this chapter...
After much deliberation, the bakers of F & D have come together and
decided that the end of this summer's bread share will mark the
conclusion of Fancy & Delicious Bakery. We are grateful for the
opportunity to gain skills, experience, and the love of baking, and look
forward to how our shared passion for bread will manifest in future
projects. Thank you to all who have supported us, our bread, and our
mission.
Signing off, with love and gratitude
f&d
Signing off, with love and gratitude
f&d
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Whew! back from the Kneading Conference 2012
We're well into the summer share, and I took a week off to journey to the wild interior of Maine for a bread conference and fair. I didn't really know what to expect other than the possibility that I could bring back some useful skills and info that F&D could use.
From the first class on baking with sprouted grain flour to the last panel on the business of baking, it was a wild ride of knowledge acquisition. By the end of each day my brain felt like a sponge that couldn't absorb any more water.
And aside from the useful baking techniques and know-how I brought back, there were the human connections. The best part was that everyone there was crazy about bread, and I went into each casual conversation with no inkling whether the person I was talking to was a home enthusiast or a celebrated instructor and professional baker (hey, I could have done a little preliminary stalking, but where's the fun in that?) I went in thinking that our little bakery would be nothing special compared to the bread world stars I'd meet, but then met people who had heard of F&D, people who thought the bread share model was awesome and aspired to one day run a bakery like ours (!!!), and people whose illustrious baking careers inspired me even more.
Skowhegan ME is the center of a local movement that involves millers, farmers, bakers, and myriad other local producers (can we talk about the local cheese?) Their vacated county jail building has been transformed into a grist mill by members of the Main Grain Alliance, which was an ambitious and logistically daunting undertaking. I am blown away by all of the good stuff happening up there and inspired to dive more into Buffalo's local food movement.
I also have a mean case of oven envy. Most of the workshops were run out of mobile wood-fired ovens, and the smells were reminiscent of baking days of yore at our clay oven on the East Side. There is no bread like bread from a wood-fired oven. The gas ovens we work with now just can't compare (sorry Ol' Wondermoth.) Maybe someday we can once again run production out of a clay or brick oven. Who knows what the future holds?
Anyway, lots of food for thought. The Kneading Conference is recommended for any baking enthusiast who wants to take it to the next level, whatever that level might be. Especially if you get accepted to the work study program. And want to carpool from Buffalo.
A.
p.s. Fancy and Delicious is hosting a film screening on Thursday as part of the Infringement Festival. Check it out. A few details:
The Take is an incredible film about organizing, worker cooperatives, and globalization!
Unemployed Argentinian factory workers seize the shut down factories from their previous owners in the wake of the 2001 economic meltdown, putting them under worker self- management. All they want is to restart the machines. But the act – The Take – has the power to turn the globalization debate on its head.
a documentary film by Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein
Presented with special thanks to the Coalition for Economic Justice and the Worker Cooperative Forum Series
 |
| Babysitting a starter: best part of work study |
From the first class on baking with sprouted grain flour to the last panel on the business of baking, it was a wild ride of knowledge acquisition. By the end of each day my brain felt like a sponge that couldn't absorb any more water.
And aside from the useful baking techniques and know-how I brought back, there were the human connections. The best part was that everyone there was crazy about bread, and I went into each casual conversation with no inkling whether the person I was talking to was a home enthusiast or a celebrated instructor and professional baker (hey, I could have done a little preliminary stalking, but where's the fun in that?) I went in thinking that our little bakery would be nothing special compared to the bread world stars I'd meet, but then met people who had heard of F&D, people who thought the bread share model was awesome and aspired to one day run a bakery like ours (!!!), and people whose illustrious baking careers inspired me even more.
 |
| The sprouted flour workshop resulted in some of the best bread I have EVER tried. The local butter didn't hurt it either |
Skowhegan ME is the center of a local movement that involves millers, farmers, bakers, and myriad other local producers (can we talk about the local cheese?) Their vacated county jail building has been transformed into a grist mill by members of the Main Grain Alliance, which was an ambitious and logistically daunting undertaking. I am blown away by all of the good stuff happening up there and inspired to dive more into Buffalo's local food movement.
 |
| Jailhouse no more! |
I also have a mean case of oven envy. Most of the workshops were run out of mobile wood-fired ovens, and the smells were reminiscent of baking days of yore at our clay oven on the East Side. There is no bread like bread from a wood-fired oven. The gas ovens we work with now just can't compare (sorry Ol' Wondermoth.) Maybe someday we can once again run production out of a clay or brick oven. Who knows what the future holds?
 |
| How to wash the MGA's oven: "like a car." Photo shamelessly borrowed from newfound comrade Katie at Slowfire |
Anyway, lots of food for thought. The Kneading Conference is recommended for any baking enthusiast who wants to take it to the next level, whatever that level might be. Especially if you get accepted to the work study program. And want to carpool from Buffalo.
A.
p.s. Fancy and Delicious is hosting a film screening on Thursday as part of the Infringement Festival. Check it out. A few details:
The Take is an incredible film about organizing, worker cooperatives, and globalization!
Unemployed Argentinian factory workers seize the shut down factories from their previous owners in the wake of the 2001 economic meltdown, putting them under worker self- management. All they want is to restart the machines. But the act – The Take – has the power to turn the globalization debate on its head.
a documentary film by Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein
Presented with special thanks to the Coalition for Economic Justice and the Worker Cooperative Forum Series
Monday, June 25, 2012
SUMMER BREAD SHARE
We're gearing up for another 12 week bread share. It starts June 30 - which is this Saturday. If you haven't signed up or renewed and would like to, please email us! or call us! (716) 534-8385
More details:
The share will run from June 30 to Sept 22 and will skip the weekend of August 11. It costs $60. Pickup will be from 2-4pm at the Nickel City Co-op house at 208 North St. (the big brick house at the corner of Elmwood and North.) We usually distribute the bread on the porch; if not, the front door will be open and we'll be in the front room.
We'll be offering familiar breads like sourdough, deli rye, struan (sweet whole wheat multigrain), and of course our cult favorite cinnamon raisin. We'll have new breads on offer like a sweet oatmeal loaf that's great for toasting, a sourdough with seeds, and we're developing a pumpernickel recipe.
Our flour is organic, grown and ground in Ithaca. We use local honey and will be switching to alternate sweeteners for our cinnamon raisin swirl (formerly white sugar.) We buy our ingredients from local distributors and when possible source them from independent stores in Buffalo a bike's ride away from our kitchen space.
Our success in the past and hopes for the future are grounded in our connections with community members who love our bread, believe in our mission, and support our vision to become Buffalo's cooperative artisan bakery and spread our baked goods far and wide.
In bread we trust,
F&D
p.s. Join us on Wednesday at 8:30pm for our forum on worker cooperatives!
More details:
The share will run from June 30 to Sept 22 and will skip the weekend of August 11. It costs $60. Pickup will be from 2-4pm at the Nickel City Co-op house at 208 North St. (the big brick house at the corner of Elmwood and North.) We usually distribute the bread on the porch; if not, the front door will be open and we'll be in the front room.
We'll be offering familiar breads like sourdough, deli rye, struan (sweet whole wheat multigrain), and of course our cult favorite cinnamon raisin. We'll have new breads on offer like a sweet oatmeal loaf that's great for toasting, a sourdough with seeds, and we're developing a pumpernickel recipe.
Our flour is organic, grown and ground in Ithaca. We use local honey and will be switching to alternate sweeteners for our cinnamon raisin swirl (formerly white sugar.) We buy our ingredients from local distributors and when possible source them from independent stores in Buffalo a bike's ride away from our kitchen space.
Our success in the past and hopes for the future are grounded in our connections with community members who love our bread, believe in our mission, and support our vision to become Buffalo's cooperative artisan bakery and spread our baked goods far and wide.
In bread we trust,
F&D
p.s. Join us on Wednesday at 8:30pm for our forum on worker cooperatives!
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Join us as we cooperatify!
This year is the United Nations International Year of the Cooperative. And on Tuesday the Common Council of the City of Buffalo honored local coops with a proclamation. "So what?" you might ask. Well, our little bakery is made up of folks involved in various coops around town, including Nickel City Housing Coop, the Buffalo Cooperative Credit Union, and Lexington Coop, and we're big believers in the cooperative movement. After a lot of thought and discussion, we decided that as Fancy and Delicious moves forward, we will be restructuring into a worker cooperative.
To steal Wikipedia's definition, "A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and democratically managed by its worker-owners." Our bread won't be drastically altered, but the way we run our business will.
Two of our bakers, Tori and Emily, will be attending the 2012 National Worker Cooperative Conference this month and will return to present their findings in a forum at Nickel City, the house where we distribute the bread. Join us on Wednesday June 27 at 8pm, 208 North St. to learn and discuss the worker cooperative model. Or come early for a house potluck dinner starting at 7!
To steal Wikipedia's definition, "A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and democratically managed by its worker-owners." Our bread won't be drastically altered, but the way we run our business will.
Two of our bakers, Tori and Emily, will be attending the 2012 National Worker Cooperative Conference this month and will return to present their findings in a forum at Nickel City, the house where we distribute the bread. Join us on Wednesday June 27 at 8pm, 208 North St. to learn and discuss the worker cooperative model. Or come early for a house potluck dinner starting at 7!
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
F&D at Allen West Fest!
This weekend we'll have a table at Allen West (you know, the festival on the western end of the Allentown Art Festival) and will be signing up shareholders for summer, giving samples, and saying hi to friends old and new. Stop by and see us if you're in the neighborhood!
For more info on the summer share or to sign up, drop us a line... more will be posted here too! Stay tuned!
Friday, May 18, 2012
Last week of the spring bread share!
Whew!
This has been a fantastic three months. We've made some of the most delicious bread in our history and are fired up with plans for the future. We debuted some exciting new varieties last week at a bread tasting and are dreaming of what we could do with our own kitchen. Baking more than once a week? Outlandish!
We'll be taking a few weeks off to catch our collective breath, but will be returning for our SUMMER BREAD SHARE on June 30. There will be more announcements about this, be assured. There are lots of exciting things in the works for our little bakery, but until they're solid they're staying under the hat.
For now, thanks to all of our wonderful shareholders and supporters. Without you we would not be Fancy & Delicious.
In bread we trust,
F&D
This has been a fantastic three months. We've made some of the most delicious bread in our history and are fired up with plans for the future. We debuted some exciting new varieties last week at a bread tasting and are dreaming of what we could do with our own kitchen. Baking more than once a week? Outlandish!
In bread we trust,
F&D
Monday, May 7, 2012
Bread party!
This Saturday will be the penultimate week of the spring bread share, and to celebrate this and announce the details of our summer share, we are having a bread party!
You are cordially invited to join us for food&drink, bread samples galore, music, bread-based camaraderie, and ideally some really nice weather best enjoyed from the Nickel City Housing Co-op's beautiful brick porch on the corner of Elmwood and North. Swing by all afternoon and early evening, we'll be around. There will be opportunities to give feedback on this past share and suggestions for the next. And there might be some exciting announcements!
(There's a Facebook event page here if you're a FB type: http://www.facebook.com/events/430550946973824/)
We'll be giving out more details about the summer bread share, but for now: it starts June 30. It's $60 (or $55 for returning shareholders who renew before the end of this share.) And part-time baker Emily has been cooking up a pumpernickel recipe for all you lovers of dark bread.
In bread we trust,
F&D
You are cordially invited to join us for food&drink, bread samples galore, music, bread-based camaraderie, and ideally some really nice weather best enjoyed from the Nickel City Housing Co-op's beautiful brick porch on the corner of Elmwood and North. Swing by all afternoon and early evening, we'll be around. There will be opportunities to give feedback on this past share and suggestions for the next. And there might be some exciting announcements!
(There's a Facebook event page here if you're a FB type: http://www.facebook.com/events/430550946973824/)
We'll be giving out more details about the summer bread share, but for now: it starts June 30. It's $60 (or $55 for returning shareholders who renew before the end of this share.) And part-time baker Emily has been cooking up a pumpernickel recipe for all you lovers of dark bread.
In bread we trust,
F&D
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