Rise Up! The Baker Podcast with Mark Dyck

Mark first heard of Rustica Wood Fired Bakery when he talked to Emily Cayer on the show way back in 2019. He was enthralled by this tiny bakery way up in northern BC, with its hand made bread and wood fired oven. In this episode, Mark learns about Meg's start as a baker in Australia, building her oven in Smithers and how her bakery supports her community. It's a testament to how bakeries can nurture a community and provide a living for the baker at the same time. Helpful...

Noah Elbers has a massive impact on the baking community from his farm and bakery in New Hampshire. Whether it's generously helping bakery owners and oven builders, or redesigning his bakery as a training and education centre, Noah is willing to go the extra distance to build a business that lasts. In this episode, Mark gets to know Noah beyond the baking forums and digs into the history of Orchard Hill, its amazing apprentice program and even geeks out a bit about software for the small...

January is often a quiet time at the bakery (at least compared to December!) so it's a great time to step back and reflect on your business and what needs attention. In this episode, Mark shares how he and Cindy did their January planning at their bakery, and how a new book has helped him fix the gaps in his planning process. Plus his review of the past Covid infected holiday season. Helpful Links The EMyth Revisited, by Michael Gerber Fix This Next, by Mike Michalowicz Support the...

Mark shares his best tips for surviving the Christmas rush at the bakery. Plus, near death experiences, tiny Christmas Orders, podcast plans for 2021 and a musical recommendation that you're going to love. Maybe. Helpful Links Metro's Christmas Album on YouTube Support the Podcast Here! Rise Up! The Baker Podcast website The Bakers4Bakers Community Mark's Blog, with the Bakernomics series Mark on Instagram Credits: Produced and hosted by Mark Dyck Theme song and music by Robyn...

Hannah Sadler is baking the good stuff for the folks in her town of Springfield, TN. She started in her oven until her kitchen was full to bursting, then opened Grain + Honey last year. Hannah's been there for her community through Covid and is slowly building a strong team to keep feeding the people. In this episode, Hannah shares how she's been making the business work so far and how the town embraced her shop. And they dig into why joining the Bread Bakers Guild of America might be next...

Chris Stafferton is on a quest to bring delicious, nutritious gluten free bread to the centre of the table. Bread that everyone enjoys, whether they can digest gluten or not. Chris' book is the result of a decade of research and experimentation, with 60 gluten free formulas across the whole spectrum of bread. In this episode, Mark learns about the origin of Chris' 'bread architect' moniker, how he got started baking and how his book has been embraced by the wider baking community. Helpful...

Mark Primmer is a baker and a poet and you can find both at the Well Bred market stand in Duncan BC. In this episode, Mark the host talks with Mark the baker about his long, winding journey in baking and food before he built Well Bred from the ground up. And how words matter, whether in product naming or forging an authentic connection with customers. Helpful Links Well Bred Bakery website @wellbredbakery on Instagram Support the Podcast Here! Rise Up! The Baker Podcast website The...

Martin Barnett has been a baker, bakery owner and teacher for over 40 years. After retiring as the head of the baking program at Vancouver Island University, he built the bakery and teaching centre Seraphina's Oven beside his home in Ladysmith, BC and is still teaching professionals and amateurs alike. In this episode, Mark catches up with his friend and learns about his early days as a bread runner in a hippie co-op, shifting from baking to teaching and the adventures his students had in...

Rose Gray is back! After completing her cycling/baking adventure in Belgium and Denmark, Rosie returned to her native Scotland to oh, let's see, organize an awesome gathering on local grains, convert a horse trailer into a bakery and start baking six days a week for the people in her village. And start University. And more! In this episode, Mark gets all caught up on her adventures, learns how to pronounce Kincraig and gets schooled on some Scottish geography. And dig into the idea of...

After a full and successful career as a broadcaster and journalist, Stephen Knight switched to baking and has worked in some of the most renowned bakeries in the USA. Currently Stephen is the head baker at the Expedia Group kitchen in Seattle, or he will be again once Covid passes. In this episode, Stephen channels his inner journalist to learn more about Mark's baking journey, then shares his experiences from baking with NYC luminaries like Zach Golper and Amy Scherber, overcoming a...

Today is a special five person podcast! Coinciding with the world premiere of Bakers Dozen Stories, a series of short documentary films about bakers and their craft, we are joined by the filmmakers and the bakers featured in the first film, FERMENT. Andre and Rafa teamed up to make Ferment Boulder, a micro bakery with a ton of heart and some seriously fast delivery bikes. Brian is a filmmaker and gifted storyteller with a passion for bread. And Ian is a photographer who is used to filming...

Mike Vaona has combined his vocation and his avocation. By day, he brings his hardware engineering skills to the team at Ooni ovens, making incredibly small and highly effective pizza ovens. By night, he is either baking his own bread or advising his squadron of Instagram followers. In this episode, Mark and Mike discuss Mike's shift from Internet startups to pizza ovens, how the baking community on Instagram is thriving and how he is bringing back his great grandmother's way of cooking and...

Gregoire Michaud grew up in the Swiss Alps, but his career took him to the top hotels and restaurants in the US and Hong Kong, before opening Bakehouse in 2013. His bakery continues to grow and evolve, as he tried to bring his baking closer to the people. In this episode, Mark and Gregoire talk about his baking journey from three star restaurants to his own bakery, what it's like having a bakery in a hi-rise building and what it takes to make big leaps in baking and business. Helpful...

Mark returns from a brief hiatus with a Baker's Choice episode; short riffs and stories from around the world of baking and bakery ownership. What merit badges could your bakery staff earn? Are you bending to shape your neigbourhood or searching for people who need you as you are? Plus a visit to Seraphina's Oven in Ladysmith BC. Helpful Links Seraphina's Oven - Martin Barnett's bakery project Support the Podcast Here! Rise Up! The Baker Podcast website The Bakers4Bakers...

After 15 years in the food industry, Megan O'Connor and her partner Graham decided to settle in Arnprior, Ontario and open their own shop. They are putting all their energy into Mighty Fine Bakehouse, living and baking in the same building. While they opened mere weeks before Covid hit, it was enough time to be embraced by their new community. In this episode, Megan shares her vision for her bakery, how they adjusted to life with Covid and how her customers are also pitching in around her...

In 2014, three friends got together to bake and sell their bread to the restaurants where they worked. They grew in a shipping container and later in the building across the car park. Now, The Dusty Knuckle is one of the can't miss bakeries in London. In this episode, Mark and Head of Bread Daisy Terry discuss their evolution from a borrowed kitchen, how they continue to adapt to COVID, and what they dream of doing next. Daisy also explains a 'milk float' and gets Mark drooling over pizza....

When Sam Temple moved back to his native New Hampshire, he knew he needed a different career. So he started baking, a few loaves, then more, then more. These days, Fire Dog Breads is a full retail bakery making ferociously good bread and pastries for their community in Keene. In this episode, Mark and Sam talk about running across each other on the Guild forums when Sam was starting out, the slow, steady process to build and grow his bakery, who Sam thinks the podcast is really for, and...

We celebrate 100 episodes of Rise Up! with a wild, far reaching conversation with Charbel Abrache and Jonathan Bethony, bakers and millers at Seylou, in Washington DC. With baking journeys that bloom beyond the US to Senegal and Venezuela, Jonathan and Charbel are now hyper focused on the grains closest to their bakery, and are looking far beyond wheat to their menu. In this episode, Mark learns about more than the grain; he sees the bright spark emanating from this unique, vibrant...

Kostas Karamichos may live and bake in a tiny village of 400 people in the mountains of Greece, but he is connected to people from around the world. While he bakes for the people of his village and cooks for special events, he also hosts travellers from across the globe, sharing his special piece of paradise. In this episode, Mark goes on a virtual tour of Kostas' bakery as the delve into what being the Village Baker is truly all about. Helpful Links The Bakery of the Village on...

Khaled Mahmassani grew up in Dubai, but his family was originally from Beirut. Khaled moved back to Lebanon to when he became a professional baker, and has been making the good stuff for the people of Beirut ever since. Switching from baking to teaching before the Covid pandemic, Khaled continues to teach baking in Lebanon and the Arabian peninsula. In this episode, Mark learns about Khaled's baking journey and how it led to publishing an Arabic cookbook for the bakers and online video...