Recently, we were early meeting friend at Nashoba Brook Bakery. We happened to stand inside where we could watch the bakers through the window that overlooks the brook-side of the building as viewed from the kitchen. We were watching the oven nearest the window being loaded. It can simultaneously handle 163 full-sized loaves we were told; the loading operation was what we saw, and it was a performance worthy of a ticket-buying audience.
Two young men were taking ready-to-bake loaves and putting them in the oven. Now, that sounds awfully pedestrian -- and this was anything but! The loaves had finished rising in their individual, lined baskets and had to be carefully turned over onto the baking peel (more on that peel in a moment) without undue harm to their loft. There were something on the order of 50 loaves turned out one-by-one for each insertion of the peel. The whole shebang was then lightly dusted with flour, and each top was slashed with a blade along its length. The entire peel was raised/lowered to be aligned with the proper baking chamber (there looked to be at least four total), and the loaves were inserted into the oven. The peel pulled out and the door shut for baking.
As interesting as the above paragraph is, it's still not nearly evocative of what we saw. Every movement was spare, efficient, full-bodied, rhythmic -- and performed at high speed. Not rushed, but as fast as the bakers could go and be in control of the process. There were two of them working on each batch together, and they worked smoothly toward the same goals together -- sometimes one doing more of one task, sometimes the other -- but getting the job done as a well-oiled team.
There were moments where they had to work together in a fully synchronized manner, particularly when the peel was withdrawn from the oven. And don't think "flat, wooden paddle" when you read "peel" -- instead, visualize a flexible but stiff surface about four-feet in diameter and maybe 10-feet long. It's rolled out with a snap onto the prep surface, the loaves loaded onto it and readied. The ready-to-bake load is positions in front of the open oven door and the pair of workers slide it in. With another snap -- this time with more speed and muscle -- they both pull on the outer edge of the peel and out it comes. From the distance we were watching, more detail was not possible to discern. But their skill and teamwork shone forth clearly. We never saw those finished loaves emerge from the oven -- much less taste them -- but nonetheless, the view was quite exciting.
Nashoba Brook Bakery bakes their awesome bread 14 hours a day, 7 days a week. Come watch the performance any time the cafe is open, which is Monday to Friday 7:00 am to 5:30 pm, Saturday 7:00 am to 5 pm, and Sunday 8:00 am to 5 pm. 152 Commonwealth Ave, West Concord.
