A Brick Oven for Michael's Bread!
Donation protected
We're building a wood fired bread oven over at Germantown Kitchen Garden! The naturally leavened bread you know and love (available by local home delivery subscription and at the GKG and Tine & Toil farm stands) has been baked until now in a tiny, aging home oven. It's time for something bigger and better!
Many of you have asked how you can help. Good news: you don't have to cut bricks or mix concrete--just choose a contribution level to help with material costs, then show up at the farm for some hot pizza at the oven warming party. See more about reward levels below.
Farm stand customers are familiar with the frustration of sold-out bread, because my home oven is too small to meet the increasing demand. It doesn't have the intense radiant heat that forms that glorious brick oven crust, or the magic of a cooking fire that brings people together. I hope to use this opportunity to build something beautiful and timeless that can meet demand while delivering the best bread possible to the farm's community and my subscribers. And I can't do it without you.
These days, as our horizon of certainties seems to be shrinking, working for the resilience of our communities and the security of our own basic needs looks like a better and better investment. What grabs my imagination about an outdoor brick oven are its simplicity, its ability to store and use the energy of wood (a local, renewable energy source), and its connection to the deep history of food. It's hard to believe, but even in 2018, a modern bread oven's performance is still judged against that of the masonry ovens people have used since they invented bread. So I figured, why not build one here, for us?
I hope you can help, and I'm sure you won't want to miss the unique opportunities offered at the different donation levels listed below. I'm especially excited about the book option--Read on:
Reward Levels
$1-44: I just want to help! Any amount will help make the oven a reality.
$45: One invitation to the oven-warming pizza party (Date TBA, dependent on construction; add $20 for additional spots, please indicate number of intended guests)
$85: By popular demand: receive a limited-edition book copy of all archived le Deluge baker's notes, beautifully printed and bound. If you're not familiar with them, weekly subscriptions are always accompanied by a letter from the editor -style note from me on a variety of topics or a short poem I've found. If you haven't subscribed, this is your chance to catch up! (+one invitation)
$160: Books and Invitations for two. It's good to share.
$400: One year's home delivery subscription (local NW Philly delivery only between Chew/Wissahickon & Queen/Allens) (+one invitation +one book)
$600: Home bread baking workshop. This is the big one. I will risk losing your business by coming to your house and teaching you and up to two friends how I bake my bread in your own kitchen. We'll bake together and I'll leave you with a cup of my starter and the insights I've gained about the details that make naturally leavened bread a simple yet subtle craft. (+one invitation +one book)
Thank you so much for reading. Even if you're unable to contribute, sharing this campaign in any way with your local networks in northwest Philly will help make more naturally leavened, wood-fired bread available to your neighbors. I am deeply grateful to everyone who has helped grow this little bread operation and shared their loaves with friends and family. Just click below to share on Facebook, Twitter, or to copy a link!
V V V
Many of you have asked how you can help. Good news: you don't have to cut bricks or mix concrete--just choose a contribution level to help with material costs, then show up at the farm for some hot pizza at the oven warming party. See more about reward levels below.
Farm stand customers are familiar with the frustration of sold-out bread, because my home oven is too small to meet the increasing demand. It doesn't have the intense radiant heat that forms that glorious brick oven crust, or the magic of a cooking fire that brings people together. I hope to use this opportunity to build something beautiful and timeless that can meet demand while delivering the best bread possible to the farm's community and my subscribers. And I can't do it without you.
These days, as our horizon of certainties seems to be shrinking, working for the resilience of our communities and the security of our own basic needs looks like a better and better investment. What grabs my imagination about an outdoor brick oven are its simplicity, its ability to store and use the energy of wood (a local, renewable energy source), and its connection to the deep history of food. It's hard to believe, but even in 2018, a modern bread oven's performance is still judged against that of the masonry ovens people have used since they invented bread. So I figured, why not build one here, for us?
I hope you can help, and I'm sure you won't want to miss the unique opportunities offered at the different donation levels listed below. I'm especially excited about the book option--Read on:
Reward Levels
$1-44: I just want to help! Any amount will help make the oven a reality.
$45: One invitation to the oven-warming pizza party (Date TBA, dependent on construction; add $20 for additional spots, please indicate number of intended guests)
$85: By popular demand: receive a limited-edition book copy of all archived le Deluge baker's notes, beautifully printed and bound. If you're not familiar with them, weekly subscriptions are always accompanied by a letter from the editor -style note from me on a variety of topics or a short poem I've found. If you haven't subscribed, this is your chance to catch up! (+one invitation)
$160: Books and Invitations for two. It's good to share.
$400: One year's home delivery subscription (local NW Philly delivery only between Chew/Wissahickon & Queen/Allens) (+one invitation +one book)
$600: Home bread baking workshop. This is the big one. I will risk losing your business by coming to your house and teaching you and up to two friends how I bake my bread in your own kitchen. We'll bake together and I'll leave you with a cup of my starter and the insights I've gained about the details that make naturally leavened bread a simple yet subtle craft. (+one invitation +one book)
Thank you so much for reading. Even if you're unable to contribute, sharing this campaign in any way with your local networks in northwest Philly will help make more naturally leavened, wood-fired bread available to your neighbors. I am deeply grateful to everyone who has helped grow this little bread operation and shared their loaves with friends and family. Just click below to share on Facebook, Twitter, or to copy a link!
V V V
Organiser
michael holland
Organiser
Philadelphia, PA
