Carla Finley (@apt2bread) has seen her Brooklyn apartment-based micro-bakery take on a handful of evolutions. From the early days of the pandemic shutdowns to a full-swing bread operation, to slowing down and re-calibrating with an eye toward the future, Apt. 2 Bread has resiliently ebbed and flowed like the sourdough starter at the heart of the operation. In this episode, Carla and Dressler chat on a couch in the (temporarily) packed-up bakery and discuss Carla’s food industry journey, her love of bread, the elusive question of work-life balance when working in kitchens, the concept of not-for-profit restaurants, a technique to make cinnamon rolls especially soft, her plans for a hands-on European bread education (which she’s now fully in the midst of, and chronicling via social media and Substack), and so much more.
Links:
Carla Finley - Apt 2 Bread Substack
Grub Street - The Great 2020 Bakery Boom
NY Times Microbakery Article
The Perfect Loaf - How To Bake in the Rofco Bread Oven
MAD Academy Panel - Can a Restaurant Do Well and Do Good?
Mark Bittman - Community Kitchen
Erin Wade - Color Code of Conduct
Edward Lee - 610 Magnolia | Lee Initiative
Jenny Dorsey - Collective Kitchens reel
Jenny Dorsey YouTube channel
Studio ATAO - Food Systems 101
King Arthur - Introduction to tangzhong, the secret to softer bread
Bread art 1 | 2 | 3
Instagram: @regenerativebaking and @dresslerparsons