Lately,
it seems almost every time I open the Food section of a newspaper (yes, I still
read a real newspaper and you should too), or visit a food-related site, there
is an article about “artisanal” toast. Restaurants are charging anywhere from
$4-7 per slice for “artisanal” toast! What does that mean, anyway?
Bread
is the most basic of food groups; it has been called the “staff of life.” But
all bread is not created equal. There is your average supermarket bland white
bread, and then there is a whole other world of delicious, good-for-you bread. And
that’s where Dave’s Killer Bread
comes in.
Starting
with roots planted in Portland, Oregon in the 1950s, the story behind this
bread is one laced with twisting turns, salvation, and second chances.
The
“Dave” in the company name belongs to Dave Dahl. The baking business began when his father bought a bakery in 1955 and started baking breads with whole
grains and no animal fats. Dave and his siblings all worked at the bakery from
a young age, but Dave really had no desire for the family business, and ran
into hard times struggling with depression, drugs, and crime, ultimately
sentenced to15 years in state prison. During the time Dave was in prison, his
brother Glenn continued to run the bakery and brought the next generation into
the fold.
Dave
eventually got help for his depression and addiction when he was accepted into
a drug treatment program that resulted in his early release from prison in 2004.
He rejoined the bakery and began to think about creating the “ultimate healthy
bread.” The family developed recipes for four new varieties and set out to
introduce them to the world at the Portland Farmer’s Market in August 2005. The
response was nothing short of ecstatic! The company was asked to permanently
join the Farmer’s Market and by fall of that year, Dave’s Killer Bread was on
the shelves at local supermarkets.
All
13 varieties of Dave’s Killer Bread are USDA certified organic, and non-GMO
project certified. They are packed with omega 3, fiber, protein, and whole
grains.
The
nice people at Dave’s sent me two loaves to try – “Good Seeds” and “21 Whole Grains and Seeds.” Loved them both! Good
Seed has a slight sweetness to it, probably due to the organic molasses.
Toasted, it was a perfect base for my breakfast creation of Greek yogurt, a
drizzle of maple syrup, pumpkin seeds, toasted almonds, a sprinkle of
cinnamon and Nektar Naturals honey crystals.
One
Saturday morning, I persuaded my in-house short order cook, to make a fried
egg sandwich on toast using the 21 Whole Grains and Seeds – delish!
The
breads are chock full of what they call the “Good Seed Mix”
(organic whole flax seeds, organic sunflower seeds, organic ground whole flax
seeds, organic un-hulled brown sesame seeds, organic un-hulled black sesame
seeds), in addition to things like amaranth, barley, and spelt. These
ingredients give the bread a deliciously nutty taste and texture.
From
a start-up of 30 employees, they now employ about 280 people, 30% of
whom, like Dave, are ex-felons. The company is all about providing second
chances. They believe everyone is capable of making a contribution and seeing
the good in everyone. They offer the essential tools for success: training,
support, life skills, and camaraderie (seems to me these things could be
essential to everyone’s life).
So
where does the company name, “Dave’s Killer Bread,” come from? Their mission statement says it all: “We don't compromise, we don't settle, we don't give up until we have
'killed it' in everything we do, from the best quality ingredients to the
healthiest, tastiest, most nutritious products that delight our consumers. We
believe we can always do better.”
By the way, the definition of “artisanal,” according
to dictionary.com is “pertaining to or noting a person skilled in an applied
art.” In this respect, Dave and his team are killing it.
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