New website is up!

Well, well, well.  It's been a long time coming, but thanks to one of our talented customers, our website has been revamped, and has just gone live.  IT now includes our Twitter feed, as well as our most recent blog posts.  Our blog has had to move over to WordPress, so this one won't see much action any more.  Come check out the new site, and don't forget to follow us on Twitter, and the new blog.

market season once again...

I know I haven't posted much lately, but we've just been working our way through the winter.  We've tried a few new things, and changed the way we do a few others.  Bagels have been a big hit, but they are so time consuming, we're having issues finding the time to fit them in.

As usual, spring finds us gearing up for Farmer's Market season, and this year you'll be able to visit us at your choice of THREE.  Starting May 12th, from 4-6:30pm, we'll be at the Bowen Road Farmer's Market (at the VIEX grounds behind Beban Park Arena).  Then, starting on May 14th, from 10am-2pm, we'll be at the Nanaimo Downtown Farmer's Market (in the plaza at the harbour).  And last but not least, beginning on May 22, from 10am-12pm, we'll be at home at the Gabriola Farmer's Market (at the Agi Hall).

We are looking forward to seeing all our past and present customers again, as well as many new faces.
See you at the markets!

christmas break

We are going to take a short break from baking over Christmas. Our last bake day before holidays will be Wednesday, Dec. 23. We will be back to work on Tuesday, Dec. 29. A wonderful holiday season to all!

come see us in Nanaimo this weekend

We will be one of many vendors taking part in the first annual Christmas Farmer's Market at the Green Thumb Garden Centre. They will trees for sale, and the market place will be set up inside one of their greenhouses, so we'll be out of the weather. We'll have a variety of our breads, as well as honey granola, Garibaldi cookies, Christmas Stollen, and some other new treats. We look forward to seeing you there, Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 3pm.

we're on the map

Well, no, we're not on the map exactly.... but we are on street view.

oven repairs done...for now

Well, our oven repairs are done for now, the oven is fired back up, and we started baking again last Friday. The new fire box should last considerably longer than any of our previous attempts. Here is what it looks like now from the outside.

We are still playing with bagel recipes - we are finally getting our malt powder tomorrow, so now can try bagels for real! We'll be starting on our Christmas Stollen soon as well.

new door frame

The look of the oven changed dramatically again yesterday. Chris (the mason we had doing the work), placed the formed pieces in the top of the fire box, and lined it all with ceramic blanket, then began the block work that will hold the doors. I had to step out after the first blocks were laid, and when I came back, I saw the finished product in the lower photo. What a transformation! We'll wait until Thursday to light a small fire, and then it's back to business as usual.

Oven Repairs Under Way

On Sunday we took apart the inside portion of the fire box (top photo). Today we built the form for the new wall of the fire box, poured it, and prepared the two pieces that will sit on top of the wall, and the small slab that will become the new ceiling of the box. The ceiling will have a ceramic blanket placed between it and the underside of the main slab of the oven. Tomorrow we're going to build some block work in front of the fire box to create a more solid attachment point for the fire box door. The blocks and door will also be insulated from the main firebox by a gasket of ceramic fiber blanket.

Oven Maintenance

After Saturday mornings baking, we will be shutting down for a few days so we can make some repairs/modifications to the fire box of the oven. We are hoping to be baking again on Thursday. Thanks for your patience.