All Happy Monk bread is made with wild-yeast sourdough and left to ferment for hours to develop flavour and strength. Commercial yeast is added to bolster the rising power in some rye loaves. Breads are available by order, which you can do at the Shop page.
Each week, the Happy Monk Baking Company bakes a sourdough loaf we call the Salish Sourdough, and a seed loaf that we call the Seed Feast. We also make a “Baker’s Choice” each week, which is whatever inspires Brother Geoffrey. A weekly listing of breads is posted here or emailed to our customers.
Here is a list of some of the Happy Monk’s favourite loaves that you will see at the market or in your subscription:
Salish Sourdough Country Loaf – A lofty country loaf with a gentle sour taste, shattery golden crust and tender creamy crumb. Made with freshly milled Red Fife and bread flour.
Ancient Grain – Long before the GMO varieties of wheat we consume today, there were luscious grains that were beautiful to taste: einkorn, spelt, Kamut®, emmer, durum. Every week Happy Monk will feature one of these wheats as they are available. Mixed with Red Fife and bread flour for further nutrition and strength.
Porridge – Similar dough to Salish Sourdough, but with the addition of a porridge to bring different flavours to the loaf. Fermented steel cut-oats, toasted millet or nixtamal corn.
Seed Feast – Our Red Fife and bread flour loaf bolstered with handfuls of toasted seeds that are soaked overnight. Handfuls of flavour, too, with sunflower, pumpkin, sesame and flax seeds.
Seedy Rye – A substantial loaf with the tangy flavour of rye and sourdough. This is a dense bread loaded with seeds and made to be sliced thinly and savoured as an open-faced sandwich. Long-lasting, the flavour comes into its own after one week.
Rugbrøt – A Danish bread, the one the Danes choose above all others. Made with coarsely milled rye grain, flour and sourdough This is rye, unadorned, celebrating the grain’s old world flavour and character. Best enjoyed as smørrebrød, Danish open-faced sandwiches.
Desem – One of our favourites, this simple loaf is made with nothing more than Red Fife flour, salt and water and tastes creamy and wholesome. Belgian in origin, it makes superb toast and can handle any topping you love.
Baker’s Choice – When a sack of spelt grain comes our way, we’ll make something delicious. Or Kamut or Emmer grain. Occasionally, we will venture into the gluten-free realm. Sign up for the weekly newsletter below.
Seasonal – The Happy Monk likes to stay close to home. Pender Island is full of promise with its locally grown produce and artisanal creations. Brother Geoffrey loves experimenting. Look for Pender Island Apple Bread in the fall, Panetone in December, fruit breads in the summer.
![The Happy Monk Baking Company - Baker's Choice this week: Einkorn; Blog: Rise Up Podcast for early morning listening - [ See link in profile ]](https://i0.wp.com/happymonkbaking.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed-pro/img/placeholder.png?w=980&ssl=1)
The Happy Monk Baking Company - Baker's Choice this week: Einkorn; Blog: Rise Up Podcast for early morning listening - [ See link in profile ]
The Baker’s Life: what would you rather do at 3am waiting for the wood-fired oven to cool down? Stamp paper bags? Work on the Excel ordersheet? Write a blog? Sometimes the prow just calls me down to the water and I watch the night sky, flashing red lights on Orcas Island, listen to the water lapping against the rocks. It’s gonna get busy soon! Nice to have a little pause ...
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#orcasisland #bakerslife #happymonkbakingcompany #southpenderisland #bakery #gulfislands #gulfislandsnationalseashore
“And who are you?" she sternly spoke
To the one beneath the smoke
"Why, I'm fire, " he replied
"And I love your solitude, and I love your pride." "Well then, fire, make your body cold
I'm gonna give you mine to hold. "
And saying this, she climbed inside
To be his one, to be his only bride. .
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredbread #fire #bread #leonardcohen #joanofarc #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakingcompany #happymonkbakery
Happy Monk Tidings - Baker’s Choice: Hearty Seeded Rye Bread – Blog: Make your own yeast! [ See Link in profile ]
This Cinnamon Raisin loaf!
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#woodfired #woodfiredbread #sourdoughbread #sourdough #woodfiredoven #bread #bbga #breadlove #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakingcompany #happymonkbakery #southpenderisland
Seed and Salish Sourdough today ... Cinnamon Raisin Sunday. Moving to two bake days to lessen the pressure on Mildrith, the wood fired oven! She’s thanking me and I’m thanking me. No more stress trying to get enough heat out of the last load!
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #bread #bbga #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakingcompany
Happy Monk Tidings: Baker's Choice - Cinnamon Raisin Bread; Happy Monk Blog - Bread: The Great Leveler; New Bread Delivery schedules; FolkLife Magazine and more! [See link in Profile ]
Happy Monk Tidings - Blog Post: The Approachable Again - News: Mildrith is Back and Beautiful [ See link in profile ]
Happy Monk Tidings: BREAD DAY SATURDAY instead of Friday; Baker's Choice: Mountain Rye Bread; Blog: Mildrith Emerged Radiant [ See link in profile ]
Day Two: A new layer of cob made from the reconstituted stuff chipped off yesterday. @jacques.marmen mixed up covering plaster made of cob, manure, rice flour paste, cattail fluff and shredded newspaper. Lots of fibre to absorb the stretch from the expanding steel door assembly. Now convalescence for Mildrith! Big sigh of relief!
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#woodfiredoven #woodfired #coboven #southpenderisland #penderislandbc #happymonkbakery #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakingcompany
Day One: If you’re a little squeamish, you’d better not look at these pictures. Graphic, some would say, gory. My Mildrith went under the knife today to repair cracks caused by the expansion of the steel door assembly. Refurbishing the thermal mass over a layer of insulation to allow some room for the steel to expand and contract without causing such big cracks on the exterior body. I was nervous, pacing the stone driveway. @jacques.marmen and me, both. It’s an experiment, a hope and a prayer, fingers crossed, we’ll see. No bread for a week!
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#woodfiredoven #woodfiredbread #woodfiredbreadoven #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakingcompany #bbga #penderisland #southpenderisland #gulfislands
Struan Bread is supposed to be the best toasting bread in the world! This version is leavened with 100% sourdough and 30% whole spelt and I would agree with the claim 130%. Bakers Choice this week!
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#struan #struanbread #peterreinhart #sourdough #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakingcompany #happymonkbakery
Happy Monk Tidings - Blog: The France Factor-Rhythms and Life around a small village boulangerie; Baker's Choice: Eminently Toastable Struan Bread; News: Mildrith gets an upgrade! - News: Mildrith gets an upgrade! [ See link in Profile ]
Le petite épautre, fresh milled Einkorn flour, baked into a grassy flavored sourdough loaf that sings of the Fertile Crescent at the dawn of civilization. Well that may be a tad overblown, but it tastes damn fine!
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#sourdough #sourdoughbread #bread #einkorn #freshlymilled #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany #southpender #southpenderisland
Tidings - This week's Baker's Choice: Einkorn Sourdough; The Happy Monk Blog: The Beatles and the Hot Cross Buns
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To infinity and beyond!
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#hotcrossbuns #sourdoughhotcrossbuns #sourdough #sourdoughbread #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakingcompany #happymonkbakery #southpenderisland #penderisland
The Approachable Loaf made today’s trifecta of Happy Monk bread choices, along with the mighty Seed Feast and the stately Salish Sourdough. It may be strange days, but some things are still OK here on Pender Island.
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#approachablebread #approachableloaf #happymonkbakingcompany #happymonkbakery #happymonkbaking #breadlabcollective #breadlab #woodfiredoven #woodfiredbread #bbga
Happy Monk Tidings: Baker's Choice: Approachable Bread - Happy Monk Blog: End of Days? - Coronavirus Coping [ See link in Profile ]
The way I feel after a Happy Monk bread day. Happy, tired a swim in the great blue and maybe a g&t in the hot tub. #socialdistancingworksforme #socialdistancing.
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#happymonkbaking #happymonkbakingcompany #happymonkbakery #penderisland #penderislandbc #southpender #southpenderisland #southpenderislandbc
This is Ammerlander Schwartzbrot ... Black Bread for Happy Monk folk but the colour makes it look more like chestnut bread! Gotta tell you the smells in this kitchen are heavenly! This Aroma is why we bake! Smell-o-vision app! 📲 😂
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#rye #ryebread #blackbread #woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #vegan #bbga #wholegrain #wholegrainbread
Happy Monk Tidings - Black Bread: a new loaf for rye enthusiasts; and Happy Monk Blog: Coronavirus shall have no dominion! [ See link in profile ]
Sunday’s off to a slow start.
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#happymonkbaking
Whole Wheat - Spelt Pan loaves, the milder flavored hard white wheat is the perfect showcase for the 30% spelt, all freshly milled by the Happy Monk. Such a treat!
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#wholegrain #speltbread #spelt #freshmilled #bread #woodfired #woodfiredbread #woodfiredoven #bbga #sourdough #sourdoughbread #happymonkbakery #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakingcompany
The Happy Monk swims nightly in the cold waters of Boundary Pass, with ocean liners passing by and sometimes whales. Then it’s time for a GnT in the hot tub at the top of the stairs.