A note from Frank and Amy

A good deal of time has passed since we baked our first loaves back in September of 1992. Many things have changed in those years but a few remain the same. First and foremost, is that we still save dough from today to provide the flavor and energy for the loaves we’ll bake tomorrow. It has now been more than 9,100 consecutive nights that we’ve ‘fed our starter’ so that we can make bread for all of our customers the following day. While this is only a statistic, it’s one that connects us directly to our bread baking tradition that dates back more than 8,000 years. We’ve always felt like we were stewards of that incredible tradition and for that we’ve always been thankful.

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In 1992, after Frank’s first day of baking with Michael London (whose recipes we used originally and who provided us with a good baking foundation), he walked Frank outside and said that someday he hoped to ‘Create bread that would rise with the power of the rising sun.’ Frank had only had a couple of hours of sleep the night before because he was so anxious and excited to begin his baking training at 2 AM. In his state of fatigue, this statement kind of startled Frank. Michael was (and still is) quite spiritual and passionate about baking.

We grew to love Michael’s image of baking, but what has always driven us was the thought that we could make bread that would rise with our gratitude. Gratitude is a powerful force. After 25 years there are so many things to be thankful for.

First, for the unwavering support of our first customer Zingerman’s Delicatessen. Without their commitment to great food and relentless promotion from the start, we couldn’t have gotten our breads into the mouths of so many people.

Next, thank you to our community. We feel so fortunate to be bakers in our wonderful city of Ann Arbor. We’re honored to have our food be a part of your life in a small way. Your stories and connections have inspired us to continue traveling and learning about new baking traditions.

Then, thank you to the nearly 1,000 people who have worked at the Bakehouse over the years. There were just 8 of us when we started. While we didn’t know exactly what we were in for we were enthusiastic and committed to do something great. Without that continued energy and drive for greatness we could never have made all the wonderful bread, pastries, and cakes, soups, sandwiches, deliveries, and on. We now number 150 people who come to work each day and contribute to our success in so many ways. Thanks to all of you.

Finally to our partners of the Bakehouse Paul and Ari, without whose support, guidance, and help we couldn’t have gotten going and thrived for this many years.

In celebration of this quarter century we decided to write a cookbook. It includes our favorite recipes, our reflections on baking and business and some lighthearted stories. We hope you enjoy it.

And now we’re really looking forward to the adventures of the next 25 years!

Frank and Amy (sometimes known as Frankenamy)
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