…every week at Montgomery’s Inn
Every Wednesday I volunteer at the Inn making bread that is sold at the Farmers’ Market. On Tuesday I go in and prep the dough that proofs overnight in the fridge. Wednesday morning we shape the dough, heat up the outdoor wood burning oven and bake 40 to 75 loaves of bread.
….from the firewood and bread bowls to the crust of the freshly baked bread
Every Tuesday and Wednesday, since 2018, I volunteer at Montgomery’s Inn and bake bread. The actual bread is baked in a wood fired outdoor oven.
…after a six week hiatus I’m back at Montgomery’s Inn
The break from baking after Christmas was nice but I’m happy to be back at the Inn with my baking friends. On Tuesday we filled the industrial mixer with four different doughs and left them to proof overnight in the fridge. The next day the wood burning oven was fired up. We had a new shipment of wood delivered to the inn that week but unfortunately it was a bit wet and getting the oven to temperature was a bit of a challenge but in the end we managed. Two more batches of sour dough bread were prepped that morning and then we kneaded and shaped six different breads for the oven.
Our lead baker, Dale made a wonderful tourtière for our lunch and I made a big green salad.
After lunch we removed the first batch of bread from the oven and then loaded the second batch. We bake about 30 to 40 loaves at a time.
Once all the breads are baked we turn it over to our sales staff to sell the bread at the Farmers’ Market that same day. All the profits go to fund community projects at the Inn.
…one of the reasons why I find it so hard to lose weight
As many of you know I volunteer at one of the historical museums in Toronto and bake bread which is then sold at the Farmers’ Market. All the proceeds go to the Inn to support their programming.
Every Tuesday I make the 15 minute drive to Montgomery’s Inn, where I prepare the dough for four to six different varieties of bread. I also feed the sour dough starter for the bread that we make the next day and the following week. The dough is stored overnight in the refrigerator. There are usually 2 or 3 of us that do the initial prep work.
The next day on Wednesday there are anywhere from four to six of us that prepare the sour dough bread, get the fire in the oven ready and shape the breads that we made the day before and that morning. We’re also in charge of clean-up and Jim is particularly good at it and likes doing it.
When the first loaves are in the oven we sit down as a group and have a lunch that is prepared by our lead baker and I’ve become the salad maker. Every week the meals seem to get more elaborate and in the past three weeks, Dale, has also added desserts which he usually prepares at home. Dessert is served after the second batch of bread is in the oven and we sit down and enjoy Dale’s sweet delights with a cup of tea.
All in all we have a great time together and look forward every week to meeting up again.
…thanks to Sue W and GC for hosting weekly prompts https://weeklyprompts.com/2023/06/14/weekly-prompts-wednesday-challenge-nostalgia-2/
As I get older I become more and more nostalgic. All kinds of things remind me of my past. Baking bread at the inn reminds me of our first trip to San Francisco where I first tasted sourdough white bread and my box of buttons reminds me of my mom and her button box. I even created a series of paintings called Needle and Thread that brought back memories of my childhood.
…after three years
You might think that my ‘happy’ place would be my studio and you would be right but on Wednesday I returned to baking bread at Montgomery’s Inn after a three year hiatus, due to COVID. Three of us were back from the original group and one other staff member spent the morning prepping dough, heating up the outdoor oven and shaping the dough.
This week and next week we’re preparing bread, not to sell but as a trial run for the big event in two weeks when the Farmers’ Market goes back outside. Routines and procedures slowly came back to us as we went through the process. A few times we asked what some pieces of equipment were used for and we had to search the inn for some crucial items. When we couldn’t find them we put them on the list to purchase. Back in the winter the inn had a flood so we think that some things were thrown away.
In the end we successfully baked 30 loaves of bread that we gave away this week to the staff and some of the vendors at the market. We had a fun day and I think that all of us found our ‘happy’ place once again. Can you tell from my selfie?
….I love it but it doesn’t love me back
My husband and I have been busy cooking and baking and one of the things we’ve made and eaten together is bread. We baked the last loaf today. I haven’t sampled it yet but my husband had some with his tea about an hour ago. I’ve already gained two pounds plus and if this social isolation goes on much longer I’ll gain back all the weight that I lost last year.
….bread making
Now that may not be your cup of tea but for me it’s fun and it helps support activities at Montgomery’s Inn (an 1840s-era inn operated as a museum by Toronto Cultural Services at 4709 Dundas St W (at Islington Ave) in Etobicoke, Ontario, 416-394-8113, montinn@toronto.ca.).
Every Tuesday I go to the inn to help prepare the dough for six to seven different types of bread. There are no preservatives in the bread and most of them are made with specific bread flours that are ordered from specialty mills. I’m usually in the kitchen for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
On Wednesday I return to the inn where anywhere from four to seven volunteers shape the dough, fire up the outdoor brick oven, prepare two sourdough breads and one or two batches of focaccia. Wednesdays is always a longer day because it takes anywhere from two to three bakes to get all the bread baked and ready for the Farmers’ Market where a another group of volunteers sell the bread. Typically on Wednesday we’re there for five to six hours and lunch is always prepared for us by our ‘boss’ who makes some of the most amazing meals from scratch (homemade soups and stews, sausages with homemade buns, pasta and salads, baked beans, etc.).
This week I took some photos of our beautiful and delicious bread.
….actually all year round
The biggest difference between baking bread now and in the summer is the weather. In the summer we can sit outside and enjoy the sunshine while the bread bakes in the outdoor wood fired oven but in the winter the sun may shine but the wind and the cold drive us indoors to wait out the baking time.
Today it was a beautiful sunny day but when the wind picks up and we can’t all stand in front of the oven door to keep warm we headed inside. It was a busy market day because it was also the Christmas market. We had to work quickly so that the vendors could set up but we also made more product because we knew that there would be twice as many people coming today. We experimented with a new recipe and made some mini panettone. The first five loaves sold in a matter of minutes and I’m sure that the remaining three didn’t hang around for long.
Mama Cormier 