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Volume 28 – Issue 2 summer 2020 IN THIS ISSUE 2 Notes from the Board 4 Guild News BBGA Toolkit New Members FRANKEN ROY PHOTO: 9 20/20 Vision Start Where You Are 2020 Calendar Formulas 18 Member News Plum Wine Poem 19 Industry News Old World Sourdough 22 Baking Reflections Bennison's Bakers Starting Breadboard Bakery Try This At Home Series Bagel Roundtable 46 International Baking Competitions 48 Technical Article Artisan Milling in Québec The Bread Bakers Guild of America is the leading American educational resource for artisan bread bakers. Our mission: to shape the knowledge and skills What do you think of when you hear the Netherlands? The Netherlands of the artisan baking community is famous for its windmills, flat landscape, cheese, clogs, tulips, red-light through education. Bread Lines, districts, and drug policy. When I am abroad, and people ask where I come the magazine of The Bread Bakers from, I proudly say, the Netherlands. Then you already see them looking and Guild of America, is published HEMP BREAD HOME COUNTRY four times per year. thinking, ah, you like weed. Continued on page 6 NOTES FROM THE BOARD P ositive things can come from the worst On June 16, 2020, the Bread Bakers circumstances. In these notes I want to Guild of America issued a statement briefly address two terrible circumstances standing unequivocally against racism that the United States and the world and in support of the overdue outcry have faced this year which are definitely of the Black Lives Matter movement. showing major positive outcomes. One is We acknowledged that we need to do RUIZ OF CARLOS COURTESY PHOTO: the horrific murder of Mr. George Floyd, better and we need to do more toward which was the most graphic testimony diversity, equality and inclusion, of a series of other recent cases where and that includes, in our particular African Americans died in the hands of profession, looking after the rights and law enforcement officers. The other is the dignity of all the immigrant men and COVID-19 pandemic which is still hitting women working in bakeries all over the the world and amounts now to nearly United States. We also shared a list of 700,000 deaths worldwide. Over 150,000 initiatives that the BBGA is currently of those have been in the United States. working on. The full statement follows Even with all the pain caused by both these notes. I feel hopeful and optimistic who prepares our daily bread: the nearest circumstances, very important positive when I see so many organizations, baker who does not imagine himself outcomes are following. including the BBGA, reviewing their to be a god. He does his majestic and structures, rethinking their ways and The outcry in response to Mr. Floyd’s unpretentious work … handing us our daily taking actions against racism and toward murder is bringing about overdue bread as a duty of fellowship.” And, if the diversity, equality and inclusivity. We are transcendental changes in every spectrum poet succeeds in achieving this simple seeing things change which should have of society, which makes me feel that we are consciousness, this too will be transformed never been the way they were up to this all witnessing one of the most important into an element in an immense activity, in date. That is happening! developments toward the eradication a simple or complicated structure which of racism and social injustice in history. On another spectrum is the COVID-19 constitutes the building of a community, Besides all the people that suffer first pandemic, which has hit us hard in the changing of the conditions which hand from the effects and abuse of the many ways. In addition to all the lives surround mankind, the handing over of systemic racism existent in the United lost, it has also brutally impacted our mankind’s products: bread, truth, wine, States and the world, people not part baking profession and businesses. But dreams. We (bakers) build communities, of the oppressed groups mostly knew or even as such, I feel very optimistic about and these communities are strong. heard about it. But now the world was able our future. And I’m not saying this in a In a not as poetic but more pragmatic to actually see how a defenseless human vague effort to cheer myself or others note, we need to take actions to continue being was murdered in front of a camera, up. I’m seeing a phenomenon unfolding to be there for our community. That is, we while others that could have saved his in plain sight where the community is need to follow a basic rule of supply and life only stood there safeguarding the stepping up to support us, in different demand, we need to understand what our perimeter for the perpetrator. Watching ways not quite as it used to be in pre- community needs, how and when they this incident brought tears, deep pain, and pandemic days, but they are saying loud need it, and figure out a way to give it a strong feeling of frustration to many and clear that they are there for us. We to them. The “what”, “who”, “how” and of us. As I saw that image, the feeling dug so deep into our continuous desire “when” certainly do not have the same that took over my soul was that I wish I to make the best products we could and answers they did a few months ago. Our could have done something to save that to serve our community the best way we customers’ needs and priorities are cer- man’s life. That was a call to action. And could, that we now discover that while we tainly different. They now need products I quickly understood that I needed to do were immersed in our task there was a delivered at home, or curbside pick-up, or more, maybe not for Mr. Floyd now, but to community growing together around us, ordered online, cashless, contactless, or save others from ending up in the same looking carefully and noticing our hard else. We need to pivot in that direction. tragic circumstances. work and commitment, and it is now out The worst mistake would be to resist and there, stronger and more grateful than Individuals and organizations all over try to make customers adapt to our ways. ever, standing behind us. the world reacted to this and started Pivoting is the most relevant concept taking action. Organizations that were As a baker with a genuine commitment for us these days, which is “a significant otherwise passive about issues of social to serve our community, at no other time business change usually intended to help injustice understood that they needed to I’ve felt Pablo Neruda’s famous words to a business recover from a tough period speak up and do much more to eradicate be more meaningful and revealing when or survive after experiencing factors that racism and other forms of social injustice. he artfully stated that “the best poet is he make the original business model unsus- { 2 } THE BREAD BAKERS GUILD OF AMERICA GUILD NEWS tainable.” We need to pivot in the direc- Members of The Bread Bakers Guild of America, tion of those new “whats”, “whos” “hows” and “whens”. And while doing this we We stand against racism and support the overdue outcry of the Black Lives have to look further than our direct cus- Matter movement. The Bread Bakers Guild of America unequivocally believes in tomer relationship, we also need to look access, education and opportunity and that Black Lives Matter. internally to our ways of doing things, our We should have done better in thoroughly addressing this issue in a more timely systems and processes. I assure you that if manner. We know that like many industries and organizations, the systemic you look carefully, you will find ways to do structures of racism allow us to be complacent and result in vagueness in things better and faster. language or defensiveness about why we haven’t done more. This caused This is what will make a difference in our harm and we are sorry for that. We realize our statements haven't relayed our businesses’ ability to evolve, survive and commitments clearly and strongly enough. We could have done better. We do thrive, or remain static and disappear. By have concrete plans to move forward to build a more equitable industry. For no means am I saying that it will be easy. those of you that feel we shouldn’t be saying anything, our commitment to In fact, the opposite is true. It has been equity and human rights requires that we do. hard, really hard in fact. But while going These days of turmoil have caused us to deeply reflect on where we are and through this process we have been forced envision positive, specific and measurable actions that will take us where we to finally do things which have been in the pipeline for too long. We have been able want to be. Here are some of the proposed initiatives: to come up with better, faster and easier : Encourage leadership opportunities for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color ways to process orders and transactions, (BIPOC) within BBGA such as board membership, content creation, special and have been able to identify and correct projects and committee work inefficiencies in our production processes. : Ensure the bench scholarship program is extended to BIPOC communities, even At the end, I’m absolutely confident that I if they’re not a member of The Guild have a better business model now than I : Offer one year ‘welcome memberships’ to BIPOC communities and educators did a few months ago.

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