DECEMBER 2020 81ELMORE MOUNTAIN BREAD, WOLCOTT, VT
Blair Marvin and Andrew Heyn are more than the faces
behind the most-loved bread of Vermont’s Northeast
Kingdom region. The couple are founding members of the
Skagit Valley, Washington–based Bread Lab Collective
(see “Better Bread for Everyone,” p. 82), and Heyn heads
up the New American Stone Mills project, which builds
high-quality grain mills for bakers around the world. Their
handsome, wood-fired sandwich loaf can be found (if
you’re fast) at markets and country stores throughout the
northeast corner of Vermont. elmoremountainbread.com
HEWN, EVANSTON, IL
After proving themselves indispensable to Chicago-area
bread lovers, Ellen King and Julie Matthei moved to more
spacious digs, a project scheduled for completion in the
middle of lockdown. At the same time, they’ve managed
to help out the worthy Neighbor Loaves program, a
donation-driven project that brings fresh, high-quality
bread—like their protein-rich spelt bread, made with
fresh, locally stone-milled flour—to food banks through-
out the Midwest. Pro tip: Their decadent chocolate babka
makes a perfect holiday hostess gift. hewnbread.com
LOST BREAD CO., PHILADELPHIA
After doing more than his part to make High Street on
Market (and a New York follow-up) extremely success-
ful, Sullivan Street Bakery–schooled Alex Bois opened
his own place, turning out some of Philadelphia’s most
exciting bread from locally sourced grains, milled right
in house. Amateur bakers should note that he also sells
his flour, and everyone should take heed that his pretzel
shortbread is life-changing. And yes, he ships it, too.
lostbreadco.com
MANRESA BREAD, LOS GATOS, CA
If there exists a more finely tuned monkey bread—that
sticky-sweet Saturday morning classic—than Avery
Ruzicka’s, kindly let us know. At this spin-off project from
one of California’s top restaurants, the breads overall are
everything one could expect, and Ruzicka’s baguette is
almost too good for this world. Manresa Bread is one of
the best bakeries that also ships nationwide, with offer-
ings that include a range of holiday goodies including
assorted cookie tins, babkas, and a limited number of
panettone (get orders in quick). manresabread.com