Small Scale Marketing & Little Olive Cheeks

Italian Black Olive Cheeks (Puccia) (recipe at A Year In Bread)

If your bakery cafe has 500 locations scattered around the country, launching any new product is a complicated endeavor. First there's the research and development stage, which in many cases can last as long as a year, even if all you're creating is a sandwich. Producing something that is not only tasty, visually appealing, and on budget, but that can also be easily and exactly replicated around the country — or even the world — is no small feat. Then there are the amazingly expensive, in-store and out-of-store publicity/marketing/advertising campaigns needed to spread the word about your delicious new invention.

If, however, your bakery cafe has only one location, one oven, and one baker, introducing a new item is as easy as flipping through a cookbook, pointing to a recipe and saying, "That looks good!" then baking it up and sticking the results in your display case next to a handwritten sign stating what it is. Years ago when I had a little bakery cafe in northern California, that's exactly what I used to do.

One of the nicest things about opening a small eatery several miles from any place to buy a cup of coffee, let alone a still-warm chocolate chip cookie and a latté made from freshly roasted coffee beans, or a pot of English tea and a freshly baked scone, is that you quickly develop a band of very loyal customers. And although some of them happily ordered the same thing day in and day out, I was fortunate to have a fair share of eager guinea pigs. These adventurous eaters were always willing to try something new and different, no matter what it might be. Some of my experiments, such as the pistachio olive quick bread, never made it onto the permanent menu (or even into the oven a second time), but others, like the pesto piezones, were instant bestsellers. This ongoing creative challenge was one of the most enjoyable parts of the job.

I haven't been trying many new bread recipes lately because I've been focusing on refining the five or six breads that will be the mainstay of the small wholesale bread bakery we're building here on the farm. But the other day I had an enlightening realization. When it comes to offering additional items for sale, things won't be much different than they were at the cafe. Testing out a new type of bread will simply be a matter of finding a recipe that sounds interesting, baking a few dozen loaves, loading them into the delivery truck, and seeing if our wholesale customers want to offer them to their customers. If the response is positive, we bake more. If not, there's no big loss.

That was all the excuse I needed to start baking new breads. Add in the publication of my new favorite bread book, Local Breads: Sourdough and Whole-Grain Recipes from Europe's Best Artisan Bakers, by Daniel Leader (renowned baker and author of my previously favorite bread book, Bread Alone), and my priorities around the farm have suddenly shifted. Weed-filled garden, piles of dirty laundry, ravenous baby chicks, and scorching summer heat be damned — I'm on a bread baking roll.



These little cutie pies, made with the strong and salty oil-cured olives I love so much, may very well make it onto our bread delivery truck some day. In the meantime, they've been on the lunch menu every day here for over a week, starring in a scrumptious new version of a very old summertime favorite: cream cheese and tomato sandwiches. Simply pluck a couple of olive cheeks out of the freezer and let them defrost enough so you can slice them in half (they defrost quickly at room temperature), tuck them in the toaster oven, then slather each toasted half with some nice cream cheese and top with thick slices of juicy garden tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste, and try to pace yourself.

These are absolutely amazing. So simple, and yet literally one of the best things I've eaten in months (and we eat pretty darn well around here). I used to have open-faced cream cheese and tomato sandwich on toasted English muffins as a kid, then later on bagels. They were always very good, perfect for lunch, brunch, or even breakfast. But the flavor of the olives in these delightful little rolls--which have just enough crunch and just enough chew--brings this humble meal to a whole new level. Three ingredients combine to become edible perfection. This is more fast farm food. This is seasonal eating at its best.

Local Breads is a 448-page, hardcover beauty of a book that I highly recommend for bread bakers of all levels, including complete beginners. It will be available in stores on August 13th, but you can pre-order copies now at Amazon.com for $23.10, which is 34 percent off the cover price of $35.00, plus there's no tax and free super saver shipping on orders of $25 or more. Click here for more info or to place your order.

There's no need to wait until August to start baking, though. Over at A Year In Bread we're devoting this month to Italian breads in Local Breads, and I made these Black Olive Cheeks. Click here for the rest of my article and the step-by-step recipe. It's easy to follow, and you don't even need a baking stone, just a couple of baking sheets. (Any kind will do, but if you do any baking at all, I urge you to treat yourself to a couple of commercial half-size sheet pans. I promise once you try them you'll never look back.) Kevin made a gorgeous Grape Harvest Focaccia, and I can't wait to see what Beth is baking up for next week. Ready, breadie? Then come bake bread with us!

Related articles & info you might find interesting:
--Parisian Breads, Local Breads, A Year In Bread includes the recipe for a four-hour French baguette, another easy and tasty bread from Local Breads, along with more about Daniel Leader's new book and why I love it so much.
--Don't know what A Year In Bread is? Click here to read more about this joint blogging project between myself and two other passionate bread bakers. I also discuss some of my favorite and affordable bread baking equipment.
--Oatmeal Toasting Bread is already a bestseller in my book. Try it and let me know what you think.
--My Ten Tips For Better Bread is one of the most popular posts in the Farmgirl Fare archives.
--I still recommend Daniel Leader's first book, Bread Alone, which was pretty much responsible for nudging me into the bread baking business. Considering that more than ten new cookbooks a day are published in the U.S. and it's still in print after 14 years, I'm obviously not the only one who thinks this book is wonderful.

© 2007 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where Farmgirl Susan shares photos & stories of her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres.