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Copyright © 2020 Albuquerque Journal
Jacob Brenner is not exactly a classically trained baker.
And he’s not really self-taught either.
But regardless of how he learned, he learned well as his new bakery, Bread Shop, is quickly becoming a local sensation.
“With baking, I’m really hesitant to say I’m self-taught because I’ve had so many people around me who encourage me and give me advice,†Brenner said.
A native of Santa Fe who attended Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, Brenner was educated working in the restaurant business and discovered a flair and passion for the food business.
“During and after college, I started cooking and worked my way up the ranks in restaurants,†he said.
Brenner, 30, a high school graduate from Santa Fe, ended up becoming one of the chefs at Ava Gene’s, an upscale Italian restaurant in Portland that used a farm-to-table concept.
“While I was in restaurants, I started cooking in my spare time and teaching myself how to bake sourdough bread,†he said.
The various chefs he worked with along the way provided him with information that he incorporated into his style.
In the fall of 2018, he returned home, working in Paloma Santa Fe.
“I knew that coming back I finally wanted to do my own food project,†Brenner said. “But I wasn’t sure if it was a pastry shop or some kind of little restaurant. Coming back here, I continued to cook a lot, and people really reacted to the bread I was making and offering. “
If only these people knew how much they had it.
“After a while, I just decided to really try to continue and open a little bakery,†Brenner said. “The people of Paloma, the owner, everyone was very supportive of me because I was working in the restaurant industry in Santa Fe and could actively pursue opening my own business. I came across a good starting point after coming back here.
It left Paloma at the end of November and spent December and January preparing for its February opening.
And now it almost takes a special effort to get a piece of Brenner bread.
“I try to be careful about the expectations,†he said. “For people who hear a little about me, this isn’t a huge new and fancy bakery. It is truly a humble operation.
It may be humble in that Brenner is a one-man bakery group, but its products are getting harder and harder to brand.
“I was overwhelmed with the support,†he said. “I don’t think I can overstate how grateful I am and how supportive the people of Santa Fe and the outside Santa Fe community have been. It was really fantastic.
Bread Shop, located at 1708 Lena St., Suite 101, is open Thursday through Sunday.
The store opens at 11 a.m., but like most bakers, Brenner is hard at work long before the Little Red Rooster crows.
He makes sourdough balls, baguettes, rye bread with seeds and sliced ​​and lightly flavored focaccia, all with natural sourdough.
“It’s just a different way of saying leaven,†Brenner said. “I keep a sourdough that is fed with ambient wild yeast in the air and use it to rise all the different types of bread I make. It creates a classic, super crispy European style bread.
The flour comes primarily from Mountain Mama Milling in Monte Vista, Colorodo, and Hayden Mills in Queen Creek, Ariz., But Brenner said he hoped one day to find a miller in New Mexico who could provide organic flour to meet the requirements. to its specifications.
And he’s trying to figure out where his production schedule should be, because the early successes have been a bit overwhelming.
“I come really early, I bake all the fresh bread every day that morning, and at this point, I personally sell everything all afternoon,†Brenner said. “The flip side is that I open at 11 am and sell almost every day. Sometimes close to 6, sometimes earlier, around 3-4. I’m slowly ramping up my production, but I don’t want to do this drastically and then end up with unsold bread.
It’s just a matter of getting a good idea of ​​the growing demand.
I’m trying to find that fine line between being here for the people and having the bread, â€Brenner said. “And sell, and be happy with that too.”
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