Grains to grocery
A Fort Worth bread maker opens a local grocery store for farmers and artisans
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Flour coats the air and dances in the evening sunlight. The loud hum of a grain grinder fills the room. A bucket of yeast and water rests on the table to ferment.
Baskets lined with old, linen cloth wait to be filled with perfectly round loaves of sourdough.
The bread factory is filled with stacks of 50-pound bags of grains, mixers, a small oven, wicker baskets and metal trays crowding the area.
There’s only room for a small workspace and a bread maker inside Trent Shaskan’s garage. This is where he tests news recipes and baking times.
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A look at the garage Shaskan uses as a test kitchen to create new flavors of sourdough.
A look at the garage Shaskan uses as a test kitchen to create new flavors of sourdough.
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On this day, Shaskan has been tending to the bread for six hours.
His hands are caked in flour from a day of shaping dough, and he is only halfway done.
By the time the bread sits and bakes, Shaskan will have worked for 12 hours. He said while he gets physically tired, he never tires of making the bread.
“Bread is the bread of life,” said Shaskan. “It’s what’s sustained human civilization.”
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Shaskan's hands are caked in flour after hours of baking.
Shaskan's hands are caked in flour after hours of baking.
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Shaskan lines the wicker baskets with linen cloth to keep the dough from sticking to the basket and to keep it moist.
Shaskan lines the wicker baskets with linen cloth to keep the dough from sticking to the basket and to keep it moist.
Depending on the day, Shaskan will bake up to 100 loaves. While he uses his garage as a test kitchen, most of the loaves are made in a commercial kitchen. Making sourdough has been part of his daily routine for five years, but sourdough has been part of his life for even longer.
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Shaskan is from San Francisco and grew up eating sourdough. When he moved to Texas, he couldn’t quite find the flavor of the bread which has been a staple in San Francisco since the Gold Rush Days. So, he decided to recreate his own sourdough bread.
“For me, sourdough was an everyday thing,” Shaskan said. “Then it went viral.”
Shaskan said the new, larger interest in sourdough is because of health benefits from fermenting the dough instead of using commercial yeast and the use of whole grains in making the dough
Shaskan started as an amateur bread maker. Today he’s an artisan creating flavors like cherry chocolate and zest coriander to sell at the Clearfork Farmer’s Market every Saturday.
He spends nearly 30 hours a week in a commercial kitchen crafting loaf after loaf.
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Going to market
When it comes to making the bread and selling it at the market, Shaskan said it’s all about consistency.
Consistency starts with sourcing good grains. Shaskan gets his from a farm just west of Austin. After grinding the grains to create the powdery flour used to make the dough, Shaskan creates his sourdough starter.
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Shaskan uses grains from a local Texas farm to make his dough.
Shaskan uses grains from a local Texas farm to make his dough.
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After the grains are ground into a powdery flour, the dough can be made.
After the grains are ground into a powdery flour, the dough can be made.
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Shaskan adds flour to the sourdough starter to "feed" it. This allows him to use the same starter more than once.
Shaskan adds flour to the sourdough starter to "feed" it. This allows him to use the same starter more than once.
Sourdough starter is made by mixing flour and water and letting it sit to ferment. Sourdough starter is a live fermented culture that acts as a natural leavening agent in place of commercial yeast. This process is what cultivates the wild yeast in a form that can be baked.
Shaskan said the starter is the “soul of the bread.” It is added to the dough to help it rise and to give it taste.
Shaskan measures each loaf to about 96.6 grams and crafts it with his hands. The dough is then placed in the linen-lined wicker baskets to sit before being baked. Being consistent in baking the bread is about experience and technique.
Consistency at the market is about showing up.
“You just have to show up and be there,” Shaskan said.
But that wasn’t enough for some customers - they didn’t want to wait until the next Saturday to pick up another loaf.
“The number one question at Clearfork was ‘what other day can I get the bread,’” Shaskan said.
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The dough is measured so that it will fit in the pan and to make sure all loaves are about the same size.
The dough is measured so that it will fit in the pan and to make sure all loaves are about the same size.
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After resting on the table for 30 minutes, the dough is then placed in the wicker baskets to be put in the fridge over night before
After resting on the table for 30 minutes, the dough is then placed in the wicker baskets to be put in the fridge over night before
Grain to grocery: Shaskan opens The Table
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Shaskan opened The Table, a local grocery store, along with three other culinary enthusiasts to provide farmers and artisans with a space to sell their products all week long. It is located on St. Louis Avenue on the Southside. The Table also offers classes on making sourdough bread and has a commercial kitchen for farmers and artisans to use to make their products. This is where Shaskan makes his sourdough.
“The fact that we each independently make something and then wanted to partner together, it's magical,” Shaskan said.
The Table hosts over 20 vendors - all local farmers and artisans.
“The Table is a place that brings unique products in that you just wouldn't find anywhere else,” Shaskan said.
Customers said they know where their food is coming from and how it has been grown.
“We know exactly what ingredients he’s using and why and it helps us know exactly what we are feeding our family,” said Catherine Kinderknecht, a regular.
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The Table has many products from fresh produce to sourdough bread.
The Table has many products from fresh produce to sourdough bread.
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The Table sources its products from farms all around the Fort Worth area.
The Table sources its products from farms all around the Fort Worth area.
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Farm fresh milk for sale at The Table.
Farm fresh milk for sale at The Table.
Trish and Jack Stone of Stone’s Throw Farm sell their produce, jams and pickles.
“It was a pretty easy fit, and it's gone well,” said Jack Stone. “It’s a neat, quirky grocery store.”
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The Stone's farm has grown from a small garden to over 30 rows of produce.
The Stone's farm has grown from a small garden to over 30 rows of produce.
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Trish, Jack and their dog head out to tend to the farm and feed their goats.
Trish, Jack and their dog head out to tend to the farm and feed their goats.
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Trish and Jack grow cucumbers in their greenhouse to later turn into pickles and sell at The Table.
Trish and Jack grow cucumbers in their greenhouse to later turn into pickles and sell at The Table.
Trish Stone called their farm a hobby that got out of control. What started as a small backyard garden is now a full one-acre farm with over 30 rows of greens, lettuces, carrots, beets, onions, cucumbers and radishes.
“We both had these corporate America jobs,” said Trish Stone. “And you give so much to that job. So, we just decided we wanted to kind of change our lifestyle. We wanted to eat better, and we wanted to contribute to the piece of property that we had. So, we decided to turn it into a farm.”
But getting the food from farm to market is no easy task.
“Being small farmers, small business owners, it is an around the clock job,” Jack Stone said. “We contribute to the farm most hours that we're awake.”
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Trish Stone plows weeds.
Trish Stone plows weeds.
A lot of the work goes into making sure the soil is healthy, pulling weeds, keeping the plants safe from bugs and animals and harvesting the produce. The Stones don’t use any chemicals, pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. They make their own organic fertilizers and leave the rest up to mother nature.
“The only thing on these greens is sun, soil and rainwater, and that's what keeps the engine going,” said Trish Stone, who uses a garden hoe from her father’s farm to till the soil and pull up weeds.
Trish Stone talks about the garden hoe her father, who was also a farmer, gave her.
Trish Stone talks about the garden hoe her father, who was also a farmer, gave her.
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Homer Hawthorne raises chickens.
“It's really neat when you actually get product directly from the farm because they're fresh,” Hawthorne said. “And usually, the animals have really been cared for in the right kind of way.”
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Hawthorne poses with one of his chickens.
Hawthorne poses with one of his chickens.
Hawthorne's chickens are grass-fed. He attaches his portable chicken coup to chains that connect to his tractor to drag it to a new patch of grass each day. This way, the farm is fertilized, and the chickens get fresh grass.
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The eggs are collected from the coup through a tray that is attached to the
The eggs are collected from the coup through a tray that is attached to the
Hawthorne has 143 hens that produce up to 120 eggs a day. Each evening at 5 P.M., he collects the eggs that are sold at another local grocery store called Neighbor’s House Grocery.
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Beyond the farm
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Trish and Jack Stone use their trailer to take their products to farmer's markets.
Trish and Jack Stone use their trailer to take their products to farmer's markets.
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Trish Stone picks a carrot. They are ready for harvest.
Trish Stone picks a carrot. They are ready for harvest.
While Shaskan is providing farmers with a space to sell their products, these local farmers are going beyond the market, doing more than selling produce and eggs.
Stone’s Throw Farm is starting a non-profit to help young adults with disabilities. These young adults will be able to work at the farm, giving them the opportunity to form new relationships and have a stable job. The Stones decided to start this non-profit because of their 14-year-old autistic son.
“And that kind of inspired us to start our vision of our nonprofit, a place where someone like him can go and learn how to do some of these life skills and contribute and make friends,” Trish Stone said.
Their son has been able to help them on the farm, and they want to give other young adults that opportunity.
Hawthorne, whose passion for agriculture started when he was 12, is working on developing a hands-on agricultural teaching farm for the DFW area. The farm will not only have agriculture but cows, goats, rabbits, pigs and chickens for kids to see and interact with.
“This will be an opportunity to teach them (the children) that milk comes from somewhere besides a carton and chicken nuggets don’t just happen,” Hawthorne said.
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Hawthorne closes the chicken coup for the day. The chickens have water, food and fresh grass.
Hawthorne closes the chicken coup for the day. The chickens have water, food and fresh grass.