'Food for thought': Bread subscription service makes a statement in Saskatoon

Peace, loaf, and understanding. That's the motto Joel Kroeker lives by.

Kroeker is the baker behind a monthly bread subscription service in Saskatoon called Baeker Kraeker. For the past two years, the local business has been offering subscribers a fresh, rustic, hearth-style sourdough loaf every Tuesday or Thursday, four times per month.

Saskatoon baker’s messages baked on bread offers ‘food for thought’

6 years ago

Duration 1:51

Joel Kroeker added another level to his bread subscription service when he began baking messages right onto his bread.

Kroeker said he likes to make his work stand out by adding a personal touch to each oven-baked loaf.

"Every week I create a different stencil that I use," he said, adding, "I dust the flour over top of it, so it's kind of like painting on your bread."

The designs are generally short statements that represent a certain issue or a topic that Kroeker wants to explore.

"It's kind of like food for thought, for lack of a better pun," he said.

An idea is born

Kroeker's interest in baking began with a fascination in fermentation.

"I was making things like sauerkraut and kombucha and stuff like that and I thought, 'Oh hey, I know something about sourdough,' " he said.

"I got books from the library and just started going down the rabbit hole."

Kroeker experimented with flour and water for five years. In the process, he would share his creations with friends and neighbours.

"Whenever you bake bread it's usually not just one loaf — I would often bake two or three, and I'd give them away," he said.

"One day we were talking and my neighbor said, 'You know, my kids only eat your bread. They don't like any other bread. Can I just pay you to make bread each week for us?' And I said, 'Okay, sure.' "

To curb the surplus of loaves he was producing, Kroeker decided to implement a system to keep his waste and excess down.

"I realized, 'Oh, well, if I get people to pay in advance and commit in advance, then I know how many loaves I need to make and I make exactly as many as I need," he said.

That's the moment Baeker Kraeker was born.

At the moment, Kroeker is operating his business out of his house, providing weekly bread for more than 50 subscribers. For the time being, he said he's happy with his one-oven operation at home.

"I think at some point I could entertain the idea of it moving to maybe a farmer's market stall or something like that, where there would be something a little bit more first-come first-serve."