
I don’t consider myself a professional baker by any means. I’ve never studied a baking program, never worked in a bakery. I’ve learned a few tricks from books, watched a few videos like everyone else. And I’ve learned a bit by doing. Making larger quantities of bread than just a couple of loaves at a time.
I’m more of a serious home baker. I still mix my doughs mostly by hand. I still struggle with consistent results. I look at more experienced bakers who turn out hundreds of loaves by themselves, instead of a few dozen like me.
Yet I manage to sell my bread and make a small living from it. But that does not make me professional.
The physical toll of mixing dough
It’s hard work. I feel the physical toll at the end of a day of dough mixing and still facing an early morning shift with Mildrith, the wood-fired oven. Math was never a strong suit of mine. Yet, I spend up to an hour each baking day, working out hydration percentages, calculating how much extra sourdough levain I need to make. I’ve had to learn Baker’s Math. Yes, that’s “a thing.”
Managing supplies, placing orders, taking orders — all of that is part of a professional baker’s life, yes, but I’m a long way from being a professional baker.
I take particular pride in being self-taught. It’s all fuelled by a passion for bread and baking that still pulses through me. The magic of mixing flour, water, and salt, feeling it come alive in my hands, taking on a life of its own. Pulling lofty, chestnut brown loaves out of the oven, the gorgeous aroma, and the great flavour of freshly baked loaves. And the generous compliments of customers, who clutch their bread close to their stomachs and smile!
A professional baker might be less charmed by these pleasures. Perhaps there is a point where a hardened baker takes more joy in devising a baking schedule that results in a 15 percent increase in bread output. Or introducing a new piece of equipment that produces more uniformly shaped buns.

The pleasure of a fine loaf
I can appreciate those kinds of rewards. But every baker I’ve met or read about is driven by the end result: the pleasure people take in a loaf or cake made from their own toil and ingenuity. The crust colour of a baguette translates to flavour and texture. The loftiness of a country loaf suggests a soft, pillowy crumb. There is something magic in the craft of baking. I’d venture to say all bakers, professional or otherwise, are turned on by it.
From time to time, I crave a baker-mentor. Someone to turn me in a new direction, show me how to achieve a 15 percent increase in bread production, or suggest how to incorporate pastry into the Happy Monk repertoire.
I get inspired about growing wheat here on Pender (where would I ever start?), milling more grain for better flavour (very time consuming and technical) or even starting a full-blown bakery.
I’ve been warned away from all of these ambitions by bakers and friends who know me too well. “It’s too much work just being a baker, David,” one baker friend told me. “Plus, I don’t want to have to come to Pender every time your mill needs to be dressed.”
A worthy mentor
Knows me too well.
Jennifer is my real mentor. She sits patiently, quietly (for the most part) as I rattle off my ambitions, plans to take over the world. Turn it into bread paradise, feed the multitudes with a handful of grain.
But I’m coming around to the belief that my real ambition is simplicity. That I need nothing more than to produce a few beautiful loaves for sustenance and pleasure. The kind of bread that you can hold against your belly, and that makes you smile.
Happy Monk Tidings - Dec. 16, 2020 - Happy Monk Blog: Time to Hang Up the Baker's Peel for 2020; Baker's Choice: Fruit Sourdough [ See link in profile ]
Instead of “figgy pudding,” I made some Figgy Bread! Fig and a hint of Fennel. Doesn’t roll off the tongue as well as figgy pudding, but it tastes better! (Thus the red carpet threatment!)
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#figbread #figgybread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #woodfiredbread #coboven #bread #breadlove #baker #bbga #happymonkbaker #happymonkbaking #naturallyleavened #artisanbread #realbread #rusticbread #penderisland #southpenderisland
Salish Country Loaves tumbling out of Mildrith, the wood-fired oven this morning. There are a few extras, so if you’re interested, I’ll be at Medicine Beach until 2pm today (Friday, Dec. 11)!
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #coboven #Mildrith #Mildriththeoven #woodfiredovenbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #breadporn #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderislands #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Happy Monk Tidings - Dec. 11, 2020 - Baker's Choice this week: Fig and Fennel Loaf; Happy Monk Blog: Praise the Rain! [ See link in profile ]
Volkornbrot casts a long shadow … getting bagged up for deliveries today. The aroma of 100% rye in the kitchen is otherworldly! I’m walking around in a trance.
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#volkornbrot #rye #ryebread #ryebreadlove #sourdough #sourdoughbread #woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #woodfiredbread #coboven #bread #breadlove #baker #bbga #happymonkbaker #happymonkbaking #naturallyleavened #artisanbread #realbread #rusticbread #penderisland #southpenderisland
See you in the morning, Mildrith!
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#woodfiredovens #woodfiredbread #woodfired #sourdoughbread #baker #bakersofinstagram #bakersoven #woodfiredovenlove #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany #southpenderisland #penderisland #penderislandbc
Happy Monk Tidings - Bread 🍞 and Blog 💻 - Baker's Choice: Volkornbrot - German Rye; Happy Monk Blog: The Good People of Pender - [ See link in profile ]
Making this Olive Loaf is almost as delicious as eating it. Marinated Kalamata and Haldiki with zested lemons and spices.
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#wildyeast #michaeljamesbakes #tivolirdbakery #naturallyleavened #artisanbread #realbread #rusticbread #woodfired #woodfiredbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Happy Monk Tidings - Baker's Choice: Olive Loaf and Happy Monk Blog: The Joys of Firewood - [ See link in Profile ]
Breadcrumbs
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#innomine #sourdough #sourdoughbread #happymonkbaker #happymonkbakery #bread #breadcrumbs
Bread love 🍞 ❤️ 🍞
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#countrybread #countryloaf #salishsourdough #sourdough #sourdoughbread #sourdoughbaking #bread #breadlove #breadlabcollective #bbga #breadstagram #breadsofinstagram #artisanbread #baker #bakery #happymonkbaker #happymonkbakery #happymonkbaking #southpenderisland #southpender #penderisland #southerngulfislands
Intense little Seed loaf!
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#seedbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #sourdoughbaking #bread #breadlove #breadlabcollective #breadstagram #breadsofinstagram #artisanbread #baker #bakery #happymonkbaker #happymonkbakery #happymonkbaking #southpenderisland #southpender #penderisland #southerngulfislands
Sprouted Kamut bread tasted fruity, like banana, and of course grassy and sweet. And the loaves have that haunted face look! Halloween was two weeks ago!
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#kamut #kamutbread #khorasan #khorasanbread #bread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #breadlove #breadloaf #scarybread #halloweenbread #woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredbreadoven #woofiredbread #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany #happymonkbaking #baker #bakery #southpenderisland #southpender #penderisland #penderislandbc #sproutedgrains #sproutedbread #sproutedkamut #sproutedkamutbread
Happy Monk Tidings 🍞 - This Week's Baker's Choice: Sprouted Kamut Loaf; Happy Monk Blog: To Autumn - [ See link in Profile ]
A hint of brotgewürz, bread spice. A mix of caraway, anise, fennel and coriander lifts this seedy Mountain Rye into a different realm.
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#brotgewürz #mountainrye #wholerye #ryebread #woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderislands #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Happy Monk Tidings - Baker's Choice: Mountain Rye; Happy Monk Blog: Entangled Lives and the Election - [ See link in profile ]
Cinnamon-Raisin Loaves are St. Francis’ favourite, you can tell. He moves along the wall and stands behind the trays fresh out of Mildrith, the wood-fired oven. There, he can inhale the intoxicating perfume of warm spice and warm his stone-cold feet. And dream of what these loaves could taste like, if he could only taste.
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#breadhead #breadlove #sourdough #sourdoughbread #cinnamonraisin #cinnamonraisinbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #penderisland #southpenderislands #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Tidings from the Happy Monk 🍞 - Baker's Choice: A Warming Cinnamon Raisin Loaf; Happy Monk Blog: The Isle of Apples ... [ See Link in Profile ]
1. Spelt and Hunny on their first date. 2. Alejandro and Sandra like each other too much. 3. Happy, well-adjusted Spelt-Honey loaves.
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#spelt #speltbread #honeybread #breadhead #breadporn #breadlove #wildyeast #michaeljamesbakes #tivolirdbakery #naturallyleavened #artisanbread #realbread #rusticbread #woodfired #woodfiredbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Happy Monk Tidings, October 14 🍞 - Baker's Choice: Russian Rye; This week's Blog: A New Look at the Noble Miche [ See link in profile ]
Why make a 5-pound miche? Bread-making tradition + dreams of Poilâne + the heft and bulk of a massive whole-grain loaf held against your chest. The sheer joy of so much bread!
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#bread #wholegrainbread #breadhead #michebread #redfife #redfifesourdough #sourdough #sourdoughbread #poilane #poilâne #peterreinhart #rusticbread #woodfired #woodfiredbread #wildyeast #breadporn #realbread #artisanbread #naturallyleavened
The way this fog transforms the landscape, as if our little piece of land has lifted into the clouds drifted about and landed us in another world!
REMINDER: The Happy Monk is on a Bread Break! 😎 See you all in two weeks! Also: read back issues of the Happy Monk Blog [ See link in Profile ]
Pender Island Apple Bread! We’re awash with apples so we used some up in today’s Baker’s Choice. Straight up apples; no walnuts or spices.
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#apples #applebread #woodfiredbread #bread #wildyeast #artisanbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #southpenderisland #penderisland #happymonkbakingcompany #wholegrainbread #organic #breadhead #bbga #ihatehashtags #ihatehashtagsbutwhatever
I consider you a craftsman, David, and your sourdough loaves already perfection. I suspect that accolades won’t prevent you from striving for it, anyway. I’m cheering you on.
Entrepreneur-artisans like you are a national treasure. Wish you 15% more pride. Keep your quill sharp!
So great to hear from you, Linda! Thanks for the cheery message … and love to Bob!
Davy, thank you for your kind words!
You are a true artist David. Included in self taught passions are some of the finest artisans in the world and you are among them. We on Pender, are so very fortunate to have you here baking the most wonderful and delicious bread. Thank you for your hard work and for providing us all with such a gift.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Anne!