The Fermentation Arts

I know this blog is called ADK Farmer Dan, but honestly,  I’m just here farming ideas. Luckily my main creative outlet has been the continued experimentation in the fermentation arts. This weekend was bottling our latest five gallon batch of homebrewed ales: a Summer variety of a yet to be named brew. The weekend before was more sourdough bread baking in the dutch oven.

Of Bread & Brew

Sometimes you gotta go with what you know & run with it. Bread and homebrew is something I am certainly drawn to. I think it’s something I could actually be good at given the right setting to flourish in. And that setting may be coming sooner than I think. Kimmy and I have been driving around the region nearly every chance we get, scouring the countryside for either 1. farm land or 2. commercial space to practice the art of fermentation. Lately the latter is winning out.

Sometimes you gotta go with what you know & run with it.

More and more the mantra is starting to ring true. Bread-wise it might not take much to get started, once a suitable space is located and available for rent. My mind rattles the numbers and they seem to work.

Of Crust & Crumb

Like an artist needs a canvas, I need a way to get more involved with this food that I love to make. A long wooden table, a used oven (a big ‘un) and a three bay sink would not be hard to come by. It could also be doable without wiping out my start-up fund which gives me joy and pushes me on to do more research.

It’s nice to be kneaded

Speaking of research, the Kneading Conference in Skowhegan, Maine in July will be another opportunity to test my mettle and continue learning. I was on the waiting list for the Wood-fired Production Workshop with Michael Rhoads, the head baker for Bread Alone, and Sharon Burns-Leader, baker and co-founder of Bread Alone. There was a cancellation and as fate would have it, I’m now in, having been next on the list of eligible bakers. Now I am eagerly awaiting the conference and having never been to Skowhegan, it should be stellar as I love visiting new places.

So, from me to you, from bread to brew – I’ll see you next time in the journey!