Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Baker finds success selling artisan bread
Matt Severson of Scranton waits on Rose Ann Smith and Dolly Cook, both of Wilkes-Barre, last week during the Wilkes-Barre Farmers Market on Public Square.
CLARK VAN ORDEN photos/THE TIMES LEADER
Crusty loaves of sourdough, whole-wheat and other types of bread are available from Mockingbird Bakery.
Matt Severson of Scranton sells bread from his Mockingbird Bakery at farmers markets in Wilkes-Barre, Dallas and Scranton.
Wild blueberries in the scones? Matt Severson picked them himself. Apples and cider in his sourdough? He bought them from a local orchard.
Before you ask, the cherry tomatoes that stud Severson’s focaccia bread are from a Northeastern Pennsylvania vine.
“I try to keep everything local, to maintain a connection between local farmers and all of us eaters,” said Severson, 33, of Scranton, who woke by 1 a.m. Thursday to devote the next seven hours to baking bread.
By mid-morning, he was greeting shoppers at the Farmers Market in Wilkes-Barre with seven dozen fresh loaves – most of them hearty and crusty and dusted with flour.
“They’re beautiful,” said a passerby named Kim who mentioned she had recently returned from serving with the Peace Corps. Overwhelmed by the abundance of the farmers market, she said, “We have so many choices in this country.”
One choice is to turn away from the mass-produced bread of supermarket aisles and look for artisan bread made in small batches, without preservatives, and often with whole grains.
Those last three qualities are important to Severson, who learned about organic baking from his mother and stepfather years ago in Minnesota.
His whole-wheat/four-grain bread, for example, contains millet, flaxseed, steel-cut oats and corn along with 75 percent whole wheat. The focaccia and sourdough also contain whole wheat but in smaller percentages.
“You were right,” a repeat shopper named Sandra from Mountain Top told Severson as she approached his stand. “(The sourdough) makes great French toast. It was excellent.”
Severson said his bread also makes a tasty sandwich and suggests turkey-lovers put their favorite meat, along with cranberry relish, lettuce and mayo, between slices of his apple and cider sourdough, which contains recognizable pieces of apple.
Other specialty breads he makes are Roasted Yukon Gold Potato Bread, ciabatta with basil and olive levain, which boasts a generous amount of Kalamata olives.
Last week, alongside the oval loaves of olive levain, he had some of that bread twisted into slender figure-eight shapes. That technique creates extra crust for customers who think crust is the best part.
Severson worked as a baker in Arizona before moving to Pennsylvania to be with his girlfriend. He started Mockingbird Bakery six weeks ago, baking out of two ovens in his home.
He named his venture after the mockingbirds he hears in his neighborhood because, like the birds who imitate other birdcalls, “I copy and reinterpret the breads and recipes I find most enjoyable to make and eat.
“I thought it sounded catchy, too,” Severson added.
You’ll find the baker at the Wilkes-Barre Farmers Market on Public Square on Thursdays, at the Back Mountain Farmers Market on the grounds of the Back Mountain Library on Saturdays and at the Scranton Cooperative Farmers Market off Albright Street on Fridays.
If you contact him at mockingbirdbakery@verizon.net, he’ll add you to an e-mail list and let you know what he’s baking next.
APPLE AND CIDER SOURDOUGH FRENCH TOAST
4 large eggs (local always preferred)
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon rum
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons sugar
canola oil or butter for griddle
1 loaf apple and cider sourdough cut into 1-inch slices (2- or 3-day-old bread is ideal)
Crack eggs into a large mixing bowl and add buttermilk, vanilla or rum, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and sugar. Whisk until well-combined or buzz with a blender to combine.
Heat griddle or saute pan over medium heat. Brush griddle or pan with oil or butter. Dip bread slices into batter, coating both sides. Place on hot griddle or pan and cook until lightly brown on both sides. Repeat until all slices are used. Top with butter and powdered sugar or local real maple syrup.
Serves 4 to 5.