Won’t Be At Market This Week 8/10/2024

We won’t be at the Clear Lake Farmers Market!

Normally, we invite you each week, to join us at the Clear Lake Farmers Market on Saturday from 9:00 AM to NOON in the parking lot of the Surf Ballroom & Museum. WE WON’T BE THERE THIS WEEK (August 10, 2024)! Of course, you can still stop by the market and get tons of amazing stuff -you just won’t be able to get anything from us.

Here’s what we’re bringing*:

Nothing this week!

*List not subject to change

This list is one of the few times we know everything we’re bringing for sure. Normally, this is the spot where I make a goofy list of crazy things that could stop us from bringing the week’s listed items, but there’s nothing on the list this week! So, we’re 100% certain we won’t be vending at the Clear Lake Farmer’s Market this weekend. And, ironically, that’s pretty crazy. 🤪

What happened!?

Last week, our mixer broke. Specifically, the cast aluminum housing of the planetary gear assembly on our bench mixer, split in two. This means that last week, Shaun mixed the last four batches of bread by hand. It was do-able, but the labor that goes into doing that is grueling work.

What normally happens?

On a normal week, Shaun mixes all the ingredients together in our mixer, lets the dough rise, then he does a final knead of the dough by hand. After that, the dough is divided into individually pans, where it goes through a second rise before finally being baked. The only way Shaun is able to make 200-300 loaves of bread, fresh every week, is because he’s figured out the timing to make it all happen. (Yes, Shaun really does make every loaf by himself, every week! We’re astounded, too!) His timing is crucial to being able to make all the baked goods we bring every week. (If you know a bit about mechanics, just think about how important proper timing is in an engine!)

Why it’s bad

Of course, a broken mixer sounds bad, but why can’t we do something else? I want to assure you, we’ve done what we can, and we’ve considered other options. The day the mixer broke, Shaun started digging around the internet looking for replacement parts, and even whole new mixers. The replacement parts are ordered and shipped, but they just arrived last night, which is not in time for Shaun to fix the mixer and keep his normal baking schedule. Remember, the timing is important!

Why we won’t be at the market

Our broken mixer doesn’t technically stop us from coming to the market. Shaun could make just hand-make a few tiny batches of bread and bring those along with our jam, Maple syrup, and Italian seasoning, this week. But it wouldn’t be enough. And it wouldn’t be the same. We want you to have a good experience when you stop by our booth, and it feels disappointing for you (and us!) when we don’t have the items you really want. So, instead, we’ll take these next couple days off of baking, and work on some other exciting plans we’re cooking up for you! 😁 (And of course, we’re working on the mixer, too.)

Join us at the Clear Lake Farmers Market next week!

We so love being part of the Clear Lake Farmers Market, and our plan is that this will be the only market we won’t make it to this season. Thanks for being so understanding about our situation, and we plan to be in the Surf Ballroom parking lot from 9 AM until noon, next week. The Clear Lake Farmers Market is the largest producer-only market in North Iowa and it’s definitely worth a stop.  Feel free to put it in your calendar, and we’ll see you there!

Here’s a link for the interactive map so you can find various vendors at the market this year: http://www.clearlakefarmersmarket.com/for-customers/ We know you’ll find your way around, and we can’t wait to see you next Saturday!