The Baker
I am Italian but was raised in France, the fourth of five children. Both my mother and father were fantastic cooks and great appreciators of good food. Fresh food was a staple in our kitchen, as were daily visits to the boulangerie. Baguettes, pains au chocolat, miches, little chouquettes … we did not discriminate.
I came to the U.S. in 2001 for college, met my Vermonter of a husband shortly after graduating, and decided to stick around. I am trained as an elementary school teacher, and I spent many years in higher education.
I began baking several years ago, tired of never finding bread that was quite up to par to those French breads. My first attempts were comically terrible – my husband and in-laws will readily attest to this – and my poor children were served their fair share of bizarrely dry bread (milk-less waffles are not, in fact, tasty). But as I seem to like doing things that are difficult, laborious, and time-consuming, I persevered and soon discovered that I am, in fact, a fairly good baker. My family delighted in my new hobby, and our neighbors started showing up for dinner unannounced on a regular basis. And so here I am, a bread-lover turned baker, kneading the days away.
Aside from being a carb fairy, I am the tired – sorry, proud! – mother of a wise 11 year-old bookworm, a fiery 8 year-old artist, and a sweet but sneaky 4 year-old. My husband is an architect and designer, and while I am the obvious ruler of the house, nobody takes me seriously. I sing jazz, write stories, and can build a killer Lego airport.
The Bakery
At the peak of COVID, in the middle of a long and hard Winter, I began baking bread for the neighborhood, both as a way of providing comfort to the community, and as a way of connecting with (and meeting!) our neighbors. I spent my mornings baking and juggling remote school, and I then delivered warm carbs around town. The joy this gave me was immediate: it was also truly appreciated.
And so in the Fall of 2021, with my children back in school, I became a licensed residential baker. Our house smells fantastic 24/7, and our community keeps growing by the day.
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