Here in Nashville, Joe Gomez is a full-time filmmaker who’s also a hobbyist baker, selling sourdough loaves from his kitchen in town. Keep reading to hear his thoughts on feeding people, scaling up sourdough bakes, working in Music City and, whether making movies or baking bread, what advice he has to offer on pursuing creative work.
Joe’s freshly baked sourdough loaves. Photo used with permission from Joe Gomez
If you’re a sourdough baker, from Nashville, working in a creative field or otherwise curious about any of those things, you’ll love reading this interview with Joe Gomez.
If you live in Nashville and shop either Produce Place or Whole Foods, you’ve probably seen the artisan loaves of sourdough that feature 615 (our area code) in flour on the tops. These locally made breads are an example of the work of William Kruse, a Nashville sourdough baker with more than two decades of experience. Come learn more about him here!
a loaf of the signature 615 sourdough from Goldfinch Bakery, purchased at the Green Hills Whole Foods Market in Nashville
While I was gathering feedback from experienced sourdough bread bakers for the last Q + A, Nashville sourdough bakery William Kruse of Goldfinch Bakery was kind enough to give me his thoughts, too. What I love about his perspective is the breadth of experience–he’s been baking sourdough since before there was Google! Based off Trousdale Road in South Nashville, his bakery, Goldfinch Bakery, specializes in locally made, naturally fermented breads. Kruse says he uses minimal ingredients, slow-process fermentation and wild yeast.
So if you’ve ever wondered what a professional sourdough baker–one with products in Music City’s own grocery stores–would have to teach you, you’ll love scrolling through this interview as much as I did. Keep reading below!
After you’ve been baking sourdough bread for a while, certain questions tend to come up. Should you deviate from recipes? When and how? Could you turn your sourdough hobby into a business? What’s involved? Where do you go from here? So consider the following Q + A as your chance to get answers. Here’s what four experienced sourdough bakers would tell you!
All across America (and Canada!) there are home and professional bakers who have been measuring ingredients, slapping dough and testing sourdough bread recipes for years. Some of them are baking purely for pleasure, some teach classes, some develop recipes and some have dedicated followings online. Thanks to their experience, though, they offer a treasure trove of valuable information for the new or growing baker!
If you’re still on the fence about trying to bake sourdough, check out the following Q + A. Almost none of the five (update: make it six!) women featured in it were keeping a starter this time last year, and yet now they’re using words like “magical,” “miracle” and “fun.” Come read and see.
pictured: an example of a sourdough loaf baked by me, who started last May
What would new sourdough bread bakers across America have to tell you about entering the world of naturally leavened bread? This past week, thanks to six voluntary interview participants, I got to find out.
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