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Doughday

Having a great day being a future bakery owner!!!

Who knew dough was so much fun!!! It’s really got a personality. For those of you who don’t know, Matt and I are opening our own Great Harvest Bakery in Charlottesville, VA this fall.  We’re selling our house now, moving when I’m finished with my dietetic internship (likely August 1st) and hoping to open our store in October. Matt has been baking for Great Harvest for a year and a half and is the King of Bread :mrgreen:

[Hey Charlottesville readers, we’re a’coming for a visit March 6th!!]

I started the day at 5:45, woke up, dressed and went over to Great Harvest where Matt was well into his workday!

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He brought me a cup of coffee 🙂

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And an apron to put me to work!

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And I fueled up with a banana + PB toast. Brought the banana from home and assembled a delicious goo on top of some Whole Grain Goodness

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After a few minutes in the oven with a drizzle of honey!! DELICIOUS!!!

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At 7 it was time for "first pan" and we got started shaping the dough into rounds + loaves

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Picking this guy up from the mixing bowl was QUITE heavy!!

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Shaping dough is quite the art, but I caught on quickly, and Matt said I was an excellent student!!

I had a bite of Blackberry Oat Bran muffin sample for a snack a while later

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And a Virginia bun fresh outta the oven swiped in a focaccia pan oil headed to the dishroom! (Apparently this is the cool way to get your energy 😉 )  I tried a few more bites of dough and breads throughout the morning, but nothing significant. I also made a point to cut myself off at 8:30 because I was planning to go running!

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After all the shaping, Matt and I had to make some more brown sugar as we prepped for the next day’s sweets

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Sugar + molasses…

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= brown sugar! (FYI, molasses smells disgusting concentrated!)

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I was very surprised at how tiring my morning was. Lifting heavy things, being on my feet and shaping dough wore me out! My legs felt like I’d been on a run.

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Like scooping 25 pounds of brown sugar from the mixer into a bucket

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I had originally intended to go running afterwards, but after four hours of work, I knew it wouldn’t be my best run, so I did a quick change of plans: NEAT today and run with Matt tomorrow when we both would have fresh legs.

We came home and both crashed into a nap!! (I pretended I had been up since 3AM too 😉 )

After a power nap and showers, I was quite hungry for lunch.

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Turkey Salad (shredded organic turkey bits combined with carrots, celery, cuc, dill, mustard and mayo) over spinach with Dr. Kracker roasted vegetable crackers (which are awesome!!!!!!!!)

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And fruit (ate more of that orange as we were prepping)

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Matt had two sandwiches. I swear the guy lives on bread!! But bread is fuel and he sure earns it, I now know.

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I had a really great time this morning and am super excited to be a bakery owner!! I love hands-on work and find it very fulfilling. I also love working with food. And I love bread! And what a coincidence I picked a career that would prepare me for working in an industrial kitchen and with healthy food products!?  I never would have predicted three years ago that this is where we’d be headed. Thus is life.

If you’ve never tasted Great Harvest bread, I urge you to go find a store if you have one nearby and taste a slice from their bread board of samples. I really do think it’s the best bread in the world!

Gotta run because the people coming to see our house will be here soon!! Crazy day. Have a great one!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tis true, Great Harvest bread is the best i’ve ever tried. And I’ve tried LOTS.
    I’m so happy for you!! It sounds like the perfect fit for both you and Matt. You never know where life will take you.
    Your salad looks yummy! How funny that he has two sandwiches… ah to have the metabolism of a guy…

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  3. Awesome day! 😀 I think it’s a perfect fit for you guys to be bakery owners. And how much fun would that be? I find hands on work very satisfying too. At the end of a long work day, I love feeling physicall tired…it’s very fulfilling. 😀

    I’ll be you’ll be swarmed with KERF readers in the bakery when you guys open up. :mrgreen:

    Reply

  4. That sounds like so much fun! I love the behind the scenes views of any kind of food production. When you open your store will you have all corporate items to produce or will you and Matt have any say in creating new menu items?

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  5. That looks so fun!! I love jobs where I DO stuff, too. And I can’t BELIEVE that Matt’s been working there for 1.5 years. Wow. I remember when he was still doing finance stuff and then trying to find a new job! Times flies!

    Also, I totally never thought about how brown sugar became brown sugar! Lol. Interesting 🙂

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  7. As I was reading I thought “wow that is a lot of NEAT, how is she gonna go on a run” and then you wrote that 🙂 I find NEAT has a bigger impact on weight than actual exercise.
    Are you going to work in the bakery or work as an RD (or both)?

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  8. Being a fellow onion hater I absolutely love your shirt “NO ONIONS” =)
    Oh, and the grapefruit cutting tip….Genious!!! I love eating grapefruit out of hand & this is such an easy way.
    Thanks for all you do! I’ve been a long time blog follower (prefer that than lurker or stalker) and am continually inspired by the passion and dedication you put into all aspects of your life. Enjoy the day!

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  9. I loooove, love, love GH bread. There’s a little GH shop right by my work and my husband and I go down on Friday’s at lunch to try samples and pick up some freshly baked bread. The people are always SO nice and will give you a taste of anything you want – they really want you to try their products. Sooo yummy!

    Have a great rest of your day! 😀

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  10. i had no idea you guys were opening your own great harvest, that is really exciting! how cool! wow i would have so much playing around in that kitchen 🙂

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  12. Wow, I am going to look forward to reading about life running a bakery. It’s always been one of those random things I have wanted to do! 🙂 Also, I’m not sure you mentioned this before but I was wondering what your plan is if you sell the house soon and aren’t moving until August 1st. Just curious!

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  13. You’re right, that does look so fun!! I would LOVE to work in a bakery – it helps that I like early morning :p it does look like an awesome workout too.
    I wish you all the best with your bakery!! If I lived in the US I’d be at a Great Harvest bakery all the time cos it looks great 😀

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  14. Wow, that dough is enormous!! And I’ve never seen brown sugar “made” like that before – I learn new things everyday on your blog! 😛 Wish I was still visiting Charlottesville in March – would have loved to meet you, or even just see you and be starstruck from the other side of the street 😛

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  15. It is tiring, but so fun and rewarding. I actually worked at my local Great Harvest for a year before I went to culinary school. I started helping to shaped the bread before moving to be their “sweet girl” in the morning making scones, muffins, etc and then also sold bread and closed the store. I’m sure with your dedication your store will be just as fun and supportive of it’s staff as mine was 🙂
    Plus Charlottesville is a wonderful, natural foodies town that your store will be loved very quickly. I can’t wait to visit it after it’s opening!

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  19. Good luck with the bakery! I’m sure you guys will have your own spin on it and it’ll be fun.
    Plus it seems like you could get work and exercise done at once and have more time for other fun things! ^_^

    And the grapefruit/orange slicing technique is a complete win – thanks so much!

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  21. I tried Great Harvest bread for the first time when I was on vacation in Bend, OR and LOVED it. I was so bummed to come back home because there weren’t any nearby but finally someone has opened one about 20 minutes away. YAY!

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  25. You know we love the GH! I tried baking my own bread again last week, and I thought, “Why do I do this?!?” GH is so delicious and healthy!

    Good luck with your house showing!!!

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  27. Do you eat the skins of your kiwi? I’ve noticed a lot of food bloggers picture their already-cut kiwi with the skin still on. I didn’t think it was edible.

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  30. I clicked on the Great Harvest link and found out there is a Great Harvest in my area! Yay! I’m definitely going to check it out. Can’t wait to see more of the Great Harvest experiences.

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  32. I was a baker for a year in Vermont and it is definitely harder work than it might appear to be. When I first started, I had to ice my hands sometimes after tightly shaping hundreds of loaves and lifting heavy bags and bowls all day. It’s very satisfying work, though. The BEST job I ever had. I look forward to the day I can work as a baker again.

    Good luck with the bakery! I wish you both the best.

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  33. I love Great Harvest bread! Whenever I am in North Carolina visiting family we always go there!!! I love their spreads too! Are those made in-store also? How awesome you will be owning your own store!! 🙂

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  34. You’re so lucky- what a great thing to be doing! Owning a Great Harvest is probably a good choice in our economy right now too, I can’t seen them going out of business! I wish I had one nearby where I live.

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  39. Loved the NEAT explanation – it makes me feel a bit better about the days during the week that I don’t do extra physical activity on top of my everyday crazy amounts of movement (as a primary grades teacher).

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  40. Fun fun fun!!! LOVE pb+honey+banana. My dad used to make that for me when I was a kid and obviously I still love it. What a fun but tiring day. I bet it was exciting to learn all about the baking side of your business!! good luck w/the showing 🙂

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  41. From now on I’ll say I worked in a “bakery” – my experience in a supermarket bakery department wasn’t a thing like the work that goes on at GH!

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  44. That is so exciting! I live in Richmond, which is only about 45mins away. I will have to make a trip in the Fall… Great Harvest, apple picking, and wine! 😉

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  47. I’m pretty sure I’m the only Charlottesvillian blogger, but if you could wrangle a few more, it’d be fun to have a blogger meet-up when you’re here in March! Can’t wait for the bakery opening!

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  50. that sounds like so much fun! i’d love to own a bakery! i’ve never been to a great harvest, and sadly, there are none around me! the closest one is 50 miles away! i’m dying to go to one though!!! maybe someday i’ll make a special trip! 🙂

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  51. I have to say that about a week ago today I stumbled across your website while looking for recipes that use Great Harvest Breads. Since then I have completely transformed my pantry! You are such an inspiration and I have become absolutely obsessed with anything involving oats since reading your “tribute to oatmeal” section.

    I have never been a blog follower, but I find myself wondering what you’re doing and what cool recipe you’re coming up with! The pictures are amazing! My husband and I have made your signature oatmeal like 3 times in the last week already! Congrats on opening a Great Harvest store! That’s so awesome! You’re business is going to do awesome b/c of your blog. Good for you! I am now a loyal follower. 🙂

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  52. I’m so beyond excited for you and Matt. You guys both deserve such happiness and it is such an accomplishment to run your own store at such a young age! Congrats! 🙂

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  54. I am LOVING these pictures! I work in a bakery…I don’t actually wake up at 3am and make all the stuff, but all summer long I’d get there around 5:30/6 and always had a blast seeing their creations and talking to the bakers about what they were making. I have no idea how they work under such weird hours but I have a lot of respect for them! Hope you had fun!

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  55. I have to agree with you Kath, I am not big on bread but Great Harvest is amazing, I really enjoy their breads! So happy you guys are opening your own, I wish super good luck and all the best for you two!!
    Oh and aren’t those Dr. Crackers fire roasted ones the best? Oh man, I bought a container to try a couple weeks ago and loved it, so flavorful! I also tried the hummus one, but the fire roasted was way better, I couldn’t taste an actual hummus flavor on the hummus variety, there was barely any chickpea taste, more like lemon and coriander for us.
    Ana

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  60. Hey, I just wanted to mention that I sell spreadable fruit at a farmer’s market. A few years ago a guy from the local Great Harvest had a booth nearby. I was psyched about the bread until I read the ingredients and they all had HFCS in them! I asked if they had any plans to change and he said he really doubted it; it would be too much money to make bread without it. I was kind of shocked (we worked at a pretty swanky farmer’s market and I know I pay more for bread without junk in it personally) – so I am happy to see that it meets your approval. I will have to look them up again now that I know they are made with good ingredients!

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  62. hey kath,
    i might have already missed the q&a on this post, but since it was all about bread:
    i was wondering what your take/if have any tips about incorporating bread into weight loss — i feel like dieters always “fear bread” (or at least good bread, that doesn’t come in a baggie with a nutrtion label — yuck!) because it’s hard to know portion size, nutrition/calories etc. but obviuosly you eat a lot of bread and make it work in your diet. any suggestions?

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    • I’m not sure what kind of tips that might be!? I think one should have whole grains at at least 2 of the 3 meals in the day because starches provide energy for the body. Whole grain breads are a great way to get this! Just don’t eat too, too much 🙂

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  63. That would be great to work in a bakery that actually makes healthy breads – you will have so much fun when you guys open up your own GH! I worked in a grocery store bakery a long while back, but never worked with the breads – it did look like a lot of work!

    K

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    • Not sure I have the authority to answer that, but my guess is because bread shaping is so much about feeling it with your hands. Employees follow the strict hand-washing practices of the health department, and also, all of the products are baked in a very very hot oven so they are sterilized before being bagged for customers.

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  68. What a great day! I get so excited when my mom brings home Great Harvest bread and it’s always gone within days… it’s so exciting that you liked the work (and a good thing considering you will be doing it on your own so soon! haha)

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  69. LOVE Great Harvest bread! When you guys open up, make sure to have the Red, White, and Blueberry bread every now and then! (Usually a special for the 4th of July. By far my favorite sweet bread there!).

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  70. So much fun! My husband works down the street from a great harvest, so I will definitely be asking him to bring home bread now! I can’t wait to find out how owning a great harvest goes! I love the NEAT reference. It’s true though, when I run on super tired legs, I just end up getting frustrated since the run is always bad!

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  71. How did Matt end up at Great Harvest? If I recall correctly, he went to Davidson with you; what was his major? I wonder how he chose this unorthodox path… In any case, you two are SO admirable for your work ethic and determination. You deserve everything you’ve achieved- and more!!!!

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    • Good ole unemployment. I told him to go find a job – anywhere – to tide him over while he job searched. He chose bread because it was his hobby. Turns out he LOVED it. I don’t think there’s anything not admirable about making something with your hands for a living, but I think becoming owners will add a new level of challenge to the path.

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  72. Hi, I’ve been following your blog for a while and and I love it! When I read that you have plans of opening a bakery in C’ville today I almost spit out my coffee. That is my home town! But I live in Pittsburgh, PA now. I will have to stop by the next time I’m back home. Best of luck with your Bakery. BTW, where will it be located? I still have some family in the area, I’ll be sure to let them know!

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  77. I can’t tell you how excited I am that you guys are bringing a Great Harvest to Charlottesville! I used to live closer to a Great Harvest and have missed having one nearby!

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  78. Good for you! My first job was “working” (aka playing) in my aunt and uncles bakery when I was younger. I loved it there! The best of luck to you!

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  79. YUMMMM. I LOVE bread. Crusty bread, toasted bread…bread-bread..err….yeah. Carbs. Yum.
    I would LOVE to try some Great Harvest bread, but sadly, NONE where I live (or anywhere in Canada, I think!) 🙁 So sad. I’ll have to plan a special trip to the states and try all these goodies i’m always reading about!! (Like going to a Trader Joe’s ;))

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  81. I’m just getting caught up on blogs
    I’m from BC, Canada and made my mom go down to the States with me so that we could find a Great Harvest. It was sooo yummy! The taste testing was so delicious but I couldn’t believe how heavy the breads are and filling..So good! Now I just have to finish convincing my dad all the reasons we should buy a bakery together!

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  82. I love bread and I usually multi-grain bread for my breakfast. I searched Great Harvest bread and it serves really good and various kinds of wholewheat breads! I found a store nearby from my place and am definitely going to check it out. Anyway, I just got jumped into your blog and I’m going to really enjoy it! 🙂

    Reply

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