The fact that bakers Debbie Sultan and Matt Herren were opening a bakery was welcome news to the Edwardsville,
Ill., community.
Residents were already familiar with the breads and coffees the couple sold every Saturday morning at the Land of Goshen Farmers’ Market for the last two years. “We weren’t quite prepared for such an overwhelming welcome,” Herren said. “One of the judges over in the courthouse was so excited about our opening that he made us a large variety of rolling pins that we are honored to use every day.”
Their shop, 222 Artisan Bakery, opened at 6 a.m. on July 5. “And our cases were empty, and I mean empty, by 8:30.” By mid-July, the couple and the staff were able to keep up with the demand for their products until about 9:30. Sultan said, “It’s incredible. Just incredible. It’s so sad when a customer comes in about 10, and we have to tell him/her that we are sold out, but at the same time my insides are smiling that we have been so well-received.”
Herren said, “By August we were having a better feeling for what we can sell on a daily basis.” But by noon, the cupboards are virtually bare. There are some cookies and maybe a few pastries left, but the team “merely gears up for a bigger day tomorrow.”
What’s been the biggest challenge of opening the bakery?
Herren: Keeping the shelves full. Every day we produce more and more, and we run out quicker and quicker. Right now, well, I don’t know how many hours a day I’m working, but it’s long hours. We always knew we wanted our own business, but it would be nice to have a little more sleep.
Sultan: Getting the building ready was hard. This was once a video store that we gutted. We found the original tin ceiling and bead board as well as the beautiful brick that we left exposed. It took four long months.
Who does what?
Herren: I’m the coffee roaster and bread baker. The current roaster is custom-built, and I do about 500 pounds a week. I roast daily, usually around a minimum of 15 pounds. We are building a new one that will produce about 1,800 pounds a day. As far as the bread goes, well, right now I’m making about [200] loaves for a Saturday morning. They’ll all be gone. The bread is baked in a wood-burning brick oven.
Where do you get your beans?
Sultan: Central and South America, Indonesia and Africa. We purchase the green beans through a green bean importer here in the U.S.
What’s the best way to describe your business philosophy?
Herren: Our ideology is that people have lives and shouldn’t be ruled by their jobs. We take a European mentality approach to life in that no one but us works more than 30 hours a week and it’s flexible. We believe that people should be part of their families’ lives first, then the community’s life, then the job’s life. That’s why we will be closed the week between Christmas and New Year’s, so people can enjoy spending “real” holiday time with their families.
Sultan: To be a part of a community. That’s why we came here from Seattle. There we couldn’t make a big difference in creating a better place to live. We can really do that here. And my parents are here; my roots are here.
How often do you change the menu?
Sultan: We offer variety of rolls, turnovers, tarts, croissants and cheese sticks. In the winter we plan to offer some rustic soups. Also, we’ll be getting in more specialty items like chocolate, jams, olive oils, that kind of stuff.
What one thing won’t we find in your kitchen?
Herren and Sultan: Preservatives.
Sultan: We are certified organic coffee roasters. Our breads are leavened, not yeast-risen, and we get the flour from a local mill. We might add a spice, a fruit, a pesto, but no preservatives.
Where do you get new ideas for the menu?
Herren: We make it up as we go along. Once we come up with a recipe, we send it to our mentor in San Francisco. But it might not work there. Climate plays an important part in baking. The flour has to climatize, which is why we switched to a local mill. Temperature, humidity and ingredients all play a role in whether or not a recipe works. Sometimes that’s why recipes from cookbooks don’t work. What works well in New York or San Francisco may not work here in the Midwest.
How did you get involved in the bakery business?
Herren: Both of us trained at the San Francisco Baking Institute. I grew up in the Bay Area. We met and moved to Seattle. I have a passion for baking, for the community, for natural things.
Sultan: I’m from Edwardsville but went to college in California. I think that, for both Matt and I, baking is an innate part of
our nature.
This article appears in Sep 1-30, 2005.