The Rural Voice, 1995-05, Page 23bakes is not your usual Canadian -
style white or whole-wheat bread.
The European -style bread has more
texture, more weight, than North
American bread. "Some people say
there is some kind of secret in it, it
tastes so much better than other
bread," she smiles. Growing up on
European breads, she doesn't find it
unusual herself. In fact she never eats
the fluffy white bread that is a North
Americanstaple. For many
Canadians it's just the opposite. "A
lot of people haven't had anything
but store-bought bread."
There may not be secret
ingedients in the bread but
there are not -so -secret non -
ingredients. "In Europe we
don't put fat, sugar or
preservatives in our bread," she says.
It makes for a heavier kind of
bread, one people seem to like, she
says. "I would never have believed
how many people are searching out
good bread." One couple drives from
Barrie to stock up on her bread from
the Walkerton market.
She was surprised, while handing
out samples at the recent Market
Grey -Bruce Spring Food Fair how
adventurous many young visitors
were. While most grew up on white
bread, they were quite willing to try
something different, she says.
And she offers plenty that is
different. She bakes 13 kinds of
bread including harvest, whole
wheat, 12 -grain, organic spelt, flax,
potato, sunflower, fruit bread and
sour dough. All the bread is sold
unsliced. "Maybe I could sell more
bread if I sliced it but I think you
should slice bread at home."
Paul and the whole family pitch in
to help at baking time, helping
package and label the bread, a time-
consuming task. Youngest daughter
Bridgitte, 13, in particular, sounds
like a chip off the old block. Like her
mother she likes to bake and she
likes to go to the market. "She knows
how to talk to people, how to take
orders from them," Marianne says.
Once, for instance, Bridgitte had a
ball tournament on the same day as a
market. Her mother gave her the
chance to take the day off for the
tournament but Bridgitte felt it would
be more fun at the market.
Marianne enjoys meeting people
at the market herself, though going to
Marianne (shown above cleaning her dough mixer) still makes her bread in the
house but she has a special room for her oven (below). She may have to get
larger equipment to keep up with demand, she says.
the market was hard the first few
times, she remembers. "It was hard
standing there trying to sell your
bread." But now, the market is not
just work, it's fun too, she says.
Her difficulty learning a new
language wasn't part of her original
discomfort at the market. "I never
was afraid to talk to people. I was
never afraid to make a mistake. You
have to learn all the time."
The farmers' markets help
Marianne not only to learn the
language but learn about her
customers' needs. "You can learn a
lot from your customers if you open
your ears," she says. "You have to
listen to exactly what they want. You
should recognize the customer is
king; serve him like a king. You do
what he wants, not what you want or
you won't be successful."
The bread is just one of the things
she offers customers at her market
booth. Besides baking, her second
love is gardening. "I've liked to work
in the garden all my life," she says.
She has a perennial flower garden
nearly an acre in size from which
she picks 10-12 varieties for each
MAY 1995 19