POTSDAM – The Potsdam Food Co-op will host Earthbound Bread owner Christoff Bemis, former baker of the Co-op’s Carriage House Bakery, Saturday, May 24, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. in a tasting journey of the bakery’s wholegrain and sourdough breads.

Earthbound Bread bakery, located in nearby Pierrepont, began as an idea in 2014, when Christoff was on a trip to his mother’s hometown in Austria. He knew the food industry and was becoming passionate about bread, but he didn’t have any real training. When he returned stateside, he applied for a job at the Carriage House Bakery and began learning the trade.

Five years later, the time was right. He started his own bread baking business out of his home at Birdsfoot Farm, focusing on natural leavening, and organic freshly milled whole New York grains. In October 2024, Christoff began production in a new facility which he built in collaboration with local ciderer Lee Van DeWater of Pierrepont Cider.

When asked about his bread baking journey Christoff said, “Things have changed over the past six years, but I always want Earthbound to mean to the community what it does to me. Earthbound means tied to the earth, and it means headed there.” He added, “It’s firmly on the ground, and it’s among the stars. It’s destiny and duty, freedom, and responsibility. We are tied together, and we are all going somewhere together, so you’d better bring bread.”

Earthbound produces organic wholegrains, stone milling, and slow rise artisan breads. The owner-baker Christoff is expanding the bakery’s selection of specialty loaves. In partnership with the Co-op, he’ll host a tasting of breads including his Vollkornbrot loaf, an intense, dark wholegrain rye bread with an Austrian spice blend; a Maple Spelt loaf with 50/50 wheat flour/wholegrain spelt mix; a wheat wholegrain spelt and rye seeded sourdough; and other favorites.

Sourdough starter is as much about the scientific principles of fermentation as it is a culinary art. Each starter has its own unique flavor and characteristics based on specific yeasts, bacteria present, and other conditions. Bakers develop their own unique starter recipes and techniques. Sourdough breads taste amazing — they're more complex, more aromatic, and more adaptable to a wider range of flavors. The breads are also more easily digestible for most people, with a greater bioavailability of nutrients, and well-tolerated by those with certain sensitivities to commercial baker’s yeasts, sugars, or other additives.

Each bread baker “boulanger” carries the tradition forward by adding their own artistic style to the craft. The community is invited to taste the art of the Earthbound's wholegrain and sourdough loaves. The Co-op will provide jams, butters, cheeses, and pickles to complement the bread tasting.

Earthbound Bread's freshly baked loaves can be purchased each Wednesday at the Co-Op. For more information about Earthbound Breads visit: https://www.facebook.com/Earthboundbread/. Visit the Co-op's Facebook Page for upcoming promotions and events: https://www.facebook.com/PotsdamCoop.