In the ovens of Oklahoma’s artisan bakers, Old World processes, inspiration, and simple ingredients yield loaves that aspire to their highest forms. State

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2125-4-OTRD DISCOV - Resize for Oklahoma Today (246-4)_8x10.875.indd 1 1/29/14 11:52 AM read is a contradiction— consists of whole , and is irregu- No stranger to European artisan thousands of years old and larly shaped. True artisan —like bread, Almenas cut his teeth in German cutting-edge in contem- the rich pumpernickel and airy focac- baking when he attended a trade porary culinary circles. A cia found in many western European high school in New York and worked staple food in many parts —cannot be relegated to the role of for one of his teachers, who owned a ofB the world, it is symbolic in religious side dish but often is the star of the . German bakery. practices across the spectrum and In German , for example, — “When I was young, there were critical to millions, perhaps billions, of often rich, dark ryes—are the focus of bakeries in New York on every corner,” family traditions. morning and evening meals. Abend, the Almenas says. “I would wait in line, First came prehistoric cooked German word for evening, and Brot, or and the line went out the door. It was on heated rocks. Then, in ancient Egypt, bread, even combine to form Abendbrot, the kind of place where they gave you a wild yeast spores made their way into or supper. little something extra, the baker’s dozen. coarse flour and water mixes. The yeast I remember the smell.” released carbon dioxide and, after being The bakery at Ingrid’s is heated, became the precursor to today’s humble, a few steps below ground fluffy, leavened bread. The antithesis of level and packed with essential equip- To many American children, bread is ment and ingredients. Racks are a plastic bag of uniform slices—spongy, common factory dotted with newly frosted gingerbread comforting vehicles for peanut butter men waiting to march into the and jelly, canned tuna and mayo, or bread, artisan case, and flour dusts every visible surface: melted , crusts cut off and dis- counters, containers, the floor, even bak- carded. To others, including a handful bread is handmade ers. Critical to maintaining the integrity of Oklahomans bringing the Old World of Ingrid’s family recipes, the restaurant’s to uncharted territory, it’s temperamen- by skilled bakers breads include no preservatives or tal, scientific, and fundamental. Good conditioners, chemical additives that bread, it turns out, is business, lifestyle, in small quantities allow mass-produced loaves to be frozen and history. prior to baking. Understood at its most basic, bread is using traditional “It’s all natural, hearty, earth- the sum of its constituent parts—flour, bread,” Almenas says. “There’s a dif- yeast, salt, and water. But its implica- methods. ference. Everything here is made from tions reach far beyond the boundaries scratch. This is a real bakery.” of a loaf. The concept of “breaking bread” dates at least to the Bible, and n a Wednesday morning in fellowship around a dinner table is as Germany’s dedication to bread is Midtown Oklahoma City, prevalent and perhaps significant a evident even in Oklahoma. Ingrid’s Oit’s still dark, and a few early tradition as Holy Communion. Bread Kitchen in Oklahoma City honors the patrons are sipping coffee shortages even were a major catalyst for bread-laden tradition of and speaking quietly in a handful of the French Revolution. with eleven varieties of German rye sold booths. At Prairie Thunder Baking In its highest contemporary form, it daily, both fresh from the bakery and in Company, the predawn serenity belies is known as artisan. The antithesis of various items on the menu. The bakery’s what those in this business know: common factory bread, artisan bread bread recipes, brought to Oklahoma By 7 a.m., when the doors open, it’s is handmade by skilled bakers in small from Germany by Ingrid Quitz herself quiet because most of the hard work quantities using traditional methods. in 1961, remain unchanged since In- is winding down for the day. Counter Never frozen before being sold, it grid’s Kitchen opened in 1977. offerings—breads and —are contains no preservatives, typically has During early mornings at Ingrid’s, be- baked overnight, while the city sleeps. a chewy outer crust and a heavy crumb, fore the breakfast rush, the only noise is Unwrapped baguettes stand tall the clattering coming from the kitchen. next to a shelf of country white bread. During proofing—the last dough-rising “Hold on,” says head baker Julius Also on display are several varieties of stage prior to baking—some Prairie Almenas, gesturing behind the counter levain, or sourdough; ciabatta; a darker Thunder Baking Company breads are placed in flour-dusted baskets. The and revealing a tattoo of a rolling pin bread dotted with Oklahoma wheat coiled design adds a decorative element on his forearm. “I have to pull the bread berries; and two sizes of Sonnenblu-

photo credit to finished loaves. out of the oven.” menbrot, a German-style loaf made

68 March/April 2014 OklahomaToday.com 69 Clockwise from top: Brotchen—crusty German- style rolls—are a specialty at Ingrid’s Kitchen and come really have to look ahead to see what plain or topped with sesame or poppy seeds. Prairie their needs are. It’s more like buying Thunder Baking Company By 7 a.m., when the lettuce or tomatoes,” McBryde says. “I owner John McBryde removes spend a lot of time with customers, ex- loaves from his three-deck, 18,000-pound Fringand oven, doors open, it’s quiet plaining that we’re not going to have it imported from France. The if you call in an emergency. That bread appliance has 150 square feet because most of the on the rack started two days ago, and of baking space—“the size of a bedroom,” McBryde says. the baguettes started yesterday.” Farrell Family Bread offers a hard work is winding Ordering a loaf of fresh bread days variety of loaves daily. in advance may seem counterintuitive, down for the day. but consider this: Preparation for Prairie Thunder’s sourdough—made from a starter that has been alive and maintained since the bakery’s inception in 2008—be- with sunflower seeds, cracked wheat, gins three days before the bread is baked. and honey. Before the café is in full Even when the bakery is closed, someone swing, the unmistakable aroma of fresh comes in to feed the starter. bread—tangy, sweet, comforting— Conversely, the yeast for the Swiss hangs in the air. farmhouse bread, offered once a week, A man walks in from the morning is newly cultured for each batch from chill and steps up to the counter to eye wild yeast that grows on organic raisins. the day’s offerings. “That smell,” he says, It takes a week to produce a single loaf, to nobody in particular. “It smells great.” and even then, there’s no guarantee. Owner John McBryde, seated at a Every now and again the yeast is finicky, nearby table, replies, “Does it? I have to and the ongoing experiment is on hiatus take people’s word for it, since I’m here for another week. all the time.” Anything from room temperature to McBryde retired from the oil and humidity can affect a culturing process gas industry several years ago after three as tenuous as this one. This is baking, decades as a geologist. Prairie Thunder yes, but it’s also a meticulously timed came from, he says, one of those “do science in which thousands-of-years- what you love” moments and a desire to old methods meet modern demand. fill an underserved niche for artisan bread Ancient Egyptians harnessed the in Oklahoma City. random cultivation of wild yeast and Prairie Thunder, like Ingrid’s Kitchen, baked bread in clay molds. The bakers uses no preservatives, resulting in a shelf at Prairie Thunder follow that initial life considerably shorter than the typical process but also go through two thou- store-bought loaves, generally three sand pounds of flour per week—all of it to five days. The ephemeral nature of transformed by human hands. artisan bread presents challenges for a “The bread is flour, water, salt, yeast,” rapidly growing restaurant industry in McBryde says, “grains, seeds, maybe a Oklahoma City, where Prairie Thunder’s little honey. All of this you’re looking at bread is a key player. is made from scratch.” McBryde calls his partnership with local chefs and buyers—among the n any Saturday morning, you bakery’s nearby clients are Tucker’s can walk into Farrell Family Burgers and Stella Modern Italian OBread, located in a nondescript Cuisine—a “two-way education.” strip mall in south Tulsa, and owner Tom “I’ve learned a lot about their busi- Farrell’s father, Jim, will greet you at the ness, and they’re learning to deal with counter. Almost fifteen years after its a fresh bakery. They’re used to having start, the bakery has a staff of thirteen and frozen stuff, and with our product, they a host of wholesale accounts. There’s a

70 March/April 2014 OklahomaToday.com 71 much larger output and a little less elbow The cooler at Farrell Family Bread is room—“We’re probably producing at stacked with bins and barrels the size of 125 percent of our actual capacity,” says industrial trash cans. To the untrained manager Rick Miller—but otherwise, eye, what’s inside is merely a bunch of Rise & Shine little has changed. dough, but it’s the lifeblood of Farrell A new educational facility Farrell, a classically trained , has Family Bread—the offspring of the earli- is training artisan bakers to been since age seventeen. He est bread to come out of the bakery. And meet growing demand. studied at the French Culinary Institute it’s very much alive. (now the International Culinary Center) “The whole-wheat flour we use in our Until recently, Oklahoma culi- in Manhattan and worked in restaurants, starter is Oklahoma-grown and ground nary education lacked the faculty but his journey to artisan bread was at John’s Farm in Fairview. It’s organic and teaching space to train artisan largely self-guided. and non-GMO certified,” Miller says. baking as a profession. “We use one part whole-wheat flour, one “There wasn’t a facility until a part untreated, unbleached flour. It sits at year ago, but now, I’m standing in room temperature for two to three hours it,” says Marc Dunham, director THIS IS BAKING, so the wild yeast on the organic and of the Francis Tuttle School of untreated flour takes off.” Culinary Arts in Oklahoma City. BUT IT’S ALSO A The hard red winter wheat Farrell uses “We have two pastry chefs with re- in its starter is Oklahoma’s primary breed gards specifically to bread who are METICULOUSLY TIMED due to its climate tolerance. It’s also high in the process of training people in magnesium and copper. right now.” SCIENCE IN WHICH “Stick your head in that barrel,” Farrell Prairie Thunder Baking Com- says, taking the lid off the bakery’s dough pany owner John McBryde says, THOUSANDS-OF-YEARS- starter. “Do you smell that sulfur smell? “Finding skilled artisan bakers has That’s the minerals in the flour.” been a really difficult thing, but OLD METHODS MEET The scent of transforming dough is now there’s a future there to feed thick and sharp, yet surprisingly familiar, into places like this.” MODERN DEMAND. even a little appetizing. With an academic foundation There are varying levels of tang to the available and established artisan bakery’s sourdoughs, Farrell says. Some bakeries in Oklahoma City and pair better with like beer and cured Tulsa, part of the responsibility of “The institute didn’t have a bread pro- meats, while others lend themselves to fine furthering artisan bread in Okla- gram when I was there,” Farrell says. “I wines and more delicate French . homa now must shift to discerning worked under [Tulsa chef] Michael Fusco All are made from a portion of the mother consumers—those whose tastes for for a while and baked breads for him, but dough, a percentage of the dough saved artisan bread are developing. I didn’t really have a teacher. I thought from the previous day’s batch to jump- Dunham says fans of such baking bread would be simple, but it’s start the fermentation. products must spread the word— actually quite complex.” Farrell offers more than a dozen daily and should expect to find a will- Farrell Family Bread’s origins stretch breads and a rotating menu of other op- ing audience. to 1999. That’s when Farrell, then a tions, including the popular sweet Honey “We need to listen to the stay-at-home dad, envisioned opening Challah. But it’s not easy for first-timers demands of the industry, toot a bakery—his culinary exploits were to know what to look for. From day one, a horn about artisan products, making a huge mess at home. He baked Farrell has walked newcomers through and create a demand for them,” a few sample breads that garnered the the products to be sure they understand Dunham says. interest of Tulsa grocery stores, and the what they’re taking home. business took off. “I ask if they like grainier breads or The Francis Tuttle School of lighter breads,” Farrell says. “Then we have Culinary Arts is located at 12777 Farrell Family Bread in Tulsa sells a to tell them how to take care of that bread North Rockwell Avenue in Okla- whole-wheat three-seed levain daily. when they get it home so it doesn’t go homa City. (405) 717-7799 or Levain originated in 16th-century francistuttle.edu/culinaryarts. France and, according to Tom Farrell, is bad, so they can enjoy the whole thing.” a milder type of sourdough than the one Farrell likens this tutoring to “selling a commonly found in the United States. dune buggy to an Eskimo”—there wasn’t

72 March/April 2014 OklahomaToday.com 73 bread. Farrell is the only bread we’ve ever carried, and if we couldn’t get their breads for our , we would be very sad. Nothing compares. We’re too spoiled.” wanna be rtisan bread, whether Startin’ purchased or baked at home, is Aa commitment of resources and Something? time. Artisan loaves can sell for as much You, too, can bake artisan as $10, and loyal patrons would say it’s a bread at home. It all begins worthwhile investment. with a good starter. Almenas says, “The burning of the oven, the flour, the yeast—once you’ve “The main starter we use in had that experience, nothing beats it.” almost everything is Poolish; it The tactile act of eating fresh artisan was created by the Polish, and bread—the tear of a thick crust, is French for Polish,” uneven grains on the palate, the tang Poolish of natural fermentation—is the result says Rick Miller, manager of of an immersive and complex process. Farrell Family Bread in Tulsa. Millennia of history, centuries of tradi- “The main purpose of a starter tion, and days of baking go into the is to jump-start the wild yeast chewy, distinctive loaves. Each starts in the flour and to help bring simply and emerges from the oven a out the fermented, sour taste of Clockwise from top: Ingrid’s Kitchen head baker Julius culinary work of art. the breads.” Almenas wears his work on his sleeve, so to speak. A small team of bakers Ingrid’s Kitchen is open from 7 a.m. to Pre-ferment (Poolish) labor overnight to create Ingrid’s bread. Scoring—making cuts in bread 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. Recipe dough—helps control its form and aids in to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and for • 6 oz. whole-wheat expansion during baking. Sunday brunch from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. flour (organic is best, Ingrid’s also offers German food, catering, because it has the most a reference for it. After years of guerrilla pastries, and special orders. 3701 North wild yeast) education and widespread local distribu- Youngs Boulevard in Oklahoma City, (405) • 12-16 oz. non-chlorinated tion, Farrell has built a reputation and a 946-8444 or ingridskitchen.com. Prairie water (use distilled water or relationship with customers. Thunder Baking Company is open from tap water left out overnight “We have European people in Tulsa 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday so that the chlorine has who work for Hilti [headquartered in and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The bakery, evaporated) Liechtenstein], and they say, ‘I wasn’t sure which offers several bread options per day I could live here until I found your bakery. and special breads that vary month to Mix well. The mixture should There wasn’t any bread here,’” Farrell says. month, also serves pastries, breakfast, and be very soupy, much thinner “It’s such a strong cultural and emotional . 1114 Classen Drive in Oklahoma than pancake . Allow to sit thing for them. It really touches you to see City’s Plaza Court Building, (405) 602- that it’s that important to somebody.” 2922 or prairiethunderbaking.com. Farrell covered with plastic wrap or a European immigrants rely on artisan Family Bread is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. damp towel at room temperature bakeries to give them a taste of home, but Monday through Saturday. 8034 South Yale for three to four hours, then those in the also Avenue in Tulsa, (918) 477-7077. Farrell’s refrigerate. The starter is best understand the value of good bread. breads also are sold at Reasor’s grocery stores made the day before you want “Farrell’s emergence into the Okla- in the Tulsa area, Sprouts Farmers Market to mix bread dough. Incorporate homa food scene was a game changer,” stores in Oklahoma, Whole Foods Markets in into your bread recipe, replacing says Suzy Thompson, owner of Forward Tulsa and Oklahoma City, and at Forward up to 20 percent of the water in Foods in Norman. “When I moved back Foods and The Earth Natural Foods in Nor- your recipe with Poolish. to Oklahoma in 2001, I often said what man. Visit farrellbread.com/locations for a I missed most about New York was good complete list of retail outlets.

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