Saint Paul Bread Club
We knead to bake!
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Latest News
12-30-2008
The initial schedule for 2009 is now available.
Other Links:
Home of the Saint Paul Bread Club (SPBC)
This is the official web site of the Saint Paul Bread Club.
About the SPBC
Membership in the club is free and open to anyone interested in bread. Bread bakers with any level of experience are welcome. The SPBC charges no fees or dues. We are always looking for volunteers to work in the interest of the club.
Dan “Klecko” McGleno founded the Saint Paul Bread Club in 2003 to share his knowledge of breads and baking with home bread bakers. In 2003 we met in the Community Room of the Mississippi Market Co-op. Starting in 2004, we have had our quarterly meetings at the St. Agnes Baking Company.
We are the largest bread club we know of. (We have been listed as high as first place on Google if you search for “bread club” and second place on Yahoo.)
Meetings
Quarterly Meetings - The bread club meets approximately quarterly at the St. Agnes Baking Company, 644 Olive St. in downtown Saint Paul, two blocks east of I-35E and just north of University Avenue.
Monthly Meetings - The bread club also has subgroups that meet approximately monthly around the Twin Cities area. (We call these subgroups slices and we often refer to these subgroup meetings as slice meetings.)
Use the FUTURE MEETINGS AND EVENTS tab above to see the schedule for future meetings and other SPBC-related events.
On-Line Forum
If you can’t get to a quarterly meeting or one of the monthly meetings (or you live out of town), you can still participate with bread club members by joining and contributing to the on-line forum (there’s a link to it on the right).
Because of spammers, you must provide a valid e-mail address and tell us why you want to join the forum. (We get hundreds of requests to join the forum but only a few people answer the question.)
Other Bread Clubs
Tell Me If You Know of Any
If you know about any other bread clubs, we would be overjoyed to know about them. Please send e-mail to me and I’ll add the other club’s information to our list.
Starting Your Own Bread Club
If you would like to start your own bread club, we would be glad to be of any help we can. Please send e-mail to me and I’ll help you however we can.
Klecko
Klecko wrote a chapter about forming your own bread club in the cookbook that is very useful.
Kim Ode
Kim Ode has this to say about starting your own bread club:
I encourage people to think about a bread club the way they think about a book club. Gather people around a common interest and let them help guide the direction as to topics and approach. Bread by bread? Cuisine by cuisine? Flour by flour? Etc.
If you don’t have a welcoming commercial bakery, consider the other large kitchens around you, such as community centers and church kitchens. Chances are, they’re going unused a night a month, or a night a quarter. If your group aims to be large, that’s necessary. If you want a smaller group, a private home may be all you’ll need.
The key is to keep it simple. Invite guest experts, but also discover the expertise within the group – or welcome the chance to become experts together in the best way possible: baking again and again.”
Ovens
We are on a Quest for Ovens. Members of the bread club have baked at ovens in Historical Ft. Snelling, and participated in building a clay oven at Gale Woods Farm Park.
We are especially interested in hearing about ovens where members of the community can come and bake. Please let me know if you are aware of any brick or clay ovens in operation, but especially ones where we can bake.
In 2008, there were at least four new ovens built. If you have an outdoor brick or clay oven that you are willing to let SPBC members visit or bake at, please let us know.
In 2009, I expect we will have a few field trips to people’s ovens.