8 Bread Bakers You Should Know

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Photo courtesy Eliesa Johnson Photography

Chris Boles 

Fire & Flour | Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota

Founder, Head Baker

Chris Boles likes to talk bread. He’s making a name for himself in the baking industry by hosting Bread Drops to share his knowledge and product throughout the Twin Cities. Chris’ Bread Drops last an hour or two at various times and locations (including local breweries, restaurants, coffee houses, and farmers’ markets), and serve to not only sell his naturally leavened, wild yeast breads, but to educate the public about heritage wheat and natural fermentation. Chris makes four breads, all by hand and all of which go through an extended fermentation process (anywhere from 8 to 15 hours) to give them more depth of flavor.

Signature bread: Daily Bread, Chris’ most robust loaf with a high percentage of culture and significant amount of whole wheat and rye flour; it’s the bread he eats every day—hence, the name.

Where to find it: Bread Drops around Minneapolis and St. Paul

Follow: fireandflourbread.com

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Avery Ruzicka   

Manresa Bread | Los Gatos, California

Head Baker, Partner

In 2013, Avery Ruzicka helped launch Manresa Bread by selling bread at local farmers’ markets until the first retail bakery was opened in Los Gatos in February 2015. Manresa Bread was born from Chef David Kinch’s three-star Michelin restaurant. Avery, who began as a food runner at Manresa, spearheads the bread making. From classic sourdough baguette and brioche to unique, ever-changing seasonal favorites like pumpernickel buckwheat rye, each of Manresa Bread’s small-batch, gourmet loaves is handcrafted.

Signature bread:  Levain, a naturally fermented sourdough with a mix of organic whole wheat flour and white flour, water, and salt.

Where to find it: Manresa Bread (locations in Los Gatos and Los Altos), Campbell and Palo Alto farmers’ markets

Follow: manresabread.com

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Photo courtesy Becky Stein Photography

Rob Alexander  

TGM Bread | Atlanta, Georgia

Cofounder, Head Baker

Rob Alexander, a Tennessean and 2016 James Beard Foundation Awards semifinalist for Outstanding Baker, is bringing artisanal baking to the South. Opened in January 2016, TGM Bread provides bread for The General Muir and its family of restaurants: Fred’s Meat & Bread, Yalla, and West Egg Cafe. From hand-rolled, kettle-boiled bagels to Asiago cheese bread and multigrain sandwich loaves, Rob uses natural flours to bake all of his bread in house.

Signature bread: Lila’s Loaf, a tribute to his grandmother, Lila, that he calls the “perfect Southern sandwich bread,” made with a small amount of butter and half the eggs and milk of brioche.

Where to find it: TGM Bread, local restaurants (including Miller Union, Ticonderoga Club, BoccaLupo, and The Luminary), and the Peachtree Road Farmers’ Market and Grant Park Farmers’ Market

Follow: tgmbread.com

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6 COMMENTS

  1. Is there any way possible to buy a copy of Bake from Scratch, The Bread Collection? Please respond with any suggestions for obtaining a copy.

  2. May I recommend an artisan bakery in the Okanagan, in British Columbia’s wine country? It’s called Walla Artisan Bakery in the town of Penticton, in the South Okanagan. Baker is Benjamin Manea, an Israeli self-taught bread genius. The breads are all 3 day fermentations, tremendous flavour and outstanding crusts. People come from all over for his Jewish Rye.with Caraway. His other products are pretty phenomenal too…
    I’m his wife 🙂

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