Knead Love

Jud Smith may have started out as a carney making strombolis, but since early January the co-owner of Brimfield Bread Oven has been performing his own daring act inside his European-style bakery thanks to a 54-square-foot wood-fired oven. "The oven is kind of the soul of your bakery," he says. "I wanted to have as much control over it as possible." Called baking on a curve, the European technique requires the oven to reach its hottest point — 600 degrees — before Smith fires items such as focaccia, pretzels and breadsticks. As the oven loses heat, he quickly bakes a variety of hearth breads such as sourdough miches (French rounds traditionally used to feed families for a week) and a dense, flavorful 100 percent rye bread called vollkornbrot. It showcases Smith's culinary skills and allows him to knead in some bread history. "I hope it's a fun sensory experience for people," he says. "Not just eating and smelling good bread but seeing baking happen the way it might have happened 100 years ago." 
3956 state Route 43, Kent, 3304747800, brimfieldbreadoven.com