We talk all the time about how we use local grain and fresh flour to make our bread. I hope that by now you know that our grain comes from the Upper Midwest. But just in case you don’t know, I’ll say it again: Baker’s Field grain is grown in Minnesota and North Dakota.
But I’m here today to tell you that here at Baker’s Field, we don’t just stop with the grain. Seriously, I was so excited when the bakery first opened to see how high-quality and locally-focused our ingredients are. Trust me when I say that this is a rarity. Today I want to talk about one of our local partners:
Jake Kulju of Skinny Jake’s Fat Honey.
We use Jake’s honey in our Goodwich sandwich bread. It is one of my favorite ingredients in the bakery. Jake delivers his honey in 5-gallon buckets. Jake’s floral honey is thick, amber liquid gold, and when we bakers scale the Goodwich, we get the treat of handling this gift of a product.
I love what Jake has to say about beekeeping: “My favorite thing about beekeeping is the space it creates for the poetry and practicality to meet and create something better than either one can create on its own. The best things in life are fueled by romance and steered by utility, and beekeeping is just like that. There is the beauty and poetry of the beehive, like a beating heart or a breathing lung that expands bees into the atmosphere and contracts nectar and pollen and honey into its center. There is also the necessity of good beekeeping practices to help them overwinter, defend themselves from mite and viral infestations, and sustainably harvest and process honey while leaving them enough to feed themselves and thrive. In that way I think beekeeping is truly a craft. It requires trust in the nebulous process of art, and dedication to the development of a practical and useful skill set.”
So, thank you, Jake, for your craft. Customers, now you know what you’re getting in our Goodwich sandwich bread! Also if you want to buy some Skinny Jake to use at home, check out his website, http://skinnyjakesfathoney.com/ for details about where you can buy his product. Pro tip: Jake’s favorite way to use his honey at home is for “baking and stirred into tea or coffee. I like to eat honey in ways that maintain its aromatic integrity, and these are the best ways to consume it for its flavor, in my opinion.”
Lastly, here’s the scoop: come summer, Jake will be keeping some of his hives on the roof above Baker’s Field. How’s that for local?
--Baker Hannah